The Queen's Girl

Kal and the Queen

The Mistress of the Household approached the ebony doors and raised a knocker. She knocked twice, and stepped back.

The doors were opened by maids from within, curtsying low for the incoming Queen. They kept their heads down and eyes averted, and the Mistress of the Household stepped aside. "Your Majesty, and Your Ladyship."

Kal blinked and said, "What?"

The Queen thanked the Mistress of the Household. "I appreciate the lengths you go to as always, Madge."

"Happy to be of service, my Queen. Ah, but, there is one matter I must speak with you about." She grew quiet, and looked at the Queen's Girl.

The Queen kissed Kal's forehead. "Go on inside. I shall be along presently."

Kal nodded, uncertain. She wandered into this enormous, luxurious suite of rooms, with its ebony furniture and its sumptuous tapestries. The walls were jet black, as though the palace were cut from a vein of obsidian. It was very lovely. There was plenty of low lamplight, a hearth, and even a spacious balcony with glass-panes doors. Heavy velvet curtains could hide them from the world, and she spotted several heavy hanging gold ropes ending in tassels that she knew could call various servants.

She seemed to be in a sitting room. Beyond, she could see a small library and a desk. She wandered into this office, drawing her hand along the desk's edge, peering at the different books the Queen had collected. She seemed to have many classics, but there were also rarities that only Royalty could afford to keep. She might go looking through them later if she felt the mood strike.

The bathing room and water closet were so spacious she spun about in circles and laughed to hear her voice echo on the lovely mosaic tile walls. This was a bath of luxury, inset into the stone floor, tiled with portraiture of nature. It was so prominent and large! Even going to the public bath house in town, Kal had never seen such a large bath tub—and certainly not one for just one person's private use.

There were bedrooms. Multiple ones. She had three in total. Each one was different, and served different purposes. Kal discovered one had furniture with straps and restraints. One was just—books. Books everywhere. It was the coziest room. The final room was simple and quiet and had no tapestries or wild colors, but it had cushions and a low, inset bed covered in blankets and furs, wth long curtains to draw around it. Kal liked this bed the most.

When the Queen came into the Suite, she looked troubled.

Kal hurried to her side. "What's wrong, Finnula?"

The Queen looked at her, and smiled softly. "It is a problem I shall worry about after our honeymoon."

"What does everyone mean by 'honeymoon', anyway? And why did she call me—that?"

The Queen cradled her Girl's face. "Many of the state papers you saw me working on were regarding you. I was not going to bring you back to my palace without a few decrees."

"What...pray tell, are those decrees?"

"The first states your status as a noble lady of the palace. The second states your status as a maiden of the Queen's Court. The third installs you here in my apartments indefinitely. And the fourth? The fourth states that I take you as my lover, and as such, I am entitled to the same right to a honeymoon as any new couple in our country is entitled to. The longest, in fact, that a reigning monarch can have."

Kal stared at her Queen. Her eyes grew wide as she realized just what Finnula meant. Then, she jumped into the Queen's arms and kissed her.

Finnula caught her and kissed her passionately back, worries melting away.

The Mistress of the Household ushered the maids out. "Go, go, go," she hissed, and they pulled the ebony doors shut behind them.

The Mistress turned to face the maids. "You know your duties."

"Yes, ma'am," they said in unison.

"Guard our Queen well, and may her honeymoon be blissfully unaware of trouble and trial." The Mistress drew an invisible sigil on the doors, blessing her monarch and her new lover. "May the new couple see the Long Sunset together."

The maids watched the Mistress of the Household retreat, and stood at attention. These were elite guards of the Royal Army, and they were armed to the teeth and sworn to protect. By posing as meek maids, they looked very different from their true nature.

Their orders were clear: guard the Queen at all costs. The Queen's honeymoon was sacred, and they would keep it that way.