The Queen's Girl

The Queen's Suite

A meal for the Queen and her Girl was in order, and a honeymoon feast at that. The kitchens were in an uproar. Favored dishes were whipped up at speed, made beautiful by the meticulous hands of the palace chefs. A train of covered dishes on little carts were led in and out of the ebony doors of the Queen's Suite.

Kal was agog. She had never seen food like this. Even the nice dinners she had shared with the Queen back at her country estate weren't so nice. These weren't just...meals, these were works of art. She stared at every dish as though it would come alive right off the plate.

The Queen couldn't help but smile at her Girl. "What is it?"

Kal looked at her Queen. "This is...this is a lot, that's all."

Finnula smiled. "It is fine to eat, my dear Kal."

"I don't want to. The effort...it's a work of art."

Finnula smiled, and patted the settee she was sitting upon. "Come here. Sit beside me."

Kal did as she was told. She would do anything her Queen told her. She sat next to her, and tried not to notice the looks that maids gave one another. It was very incorrect protocol for anyone to sit next to the Queen when she dined.

Finnula fed her a bite that looked like a bird, which made Kal laugh. "What are you doing!"

"Oh? You won't accept a morsel from your Queen?" Finnula raised a brow.

Kal blushed. "I—I didn't mean—"

Finnula fed her a bite, and she ate it, blushing furiously. "I love it when I can fluster you, my dear Girl. It is something I adore."

"I might enjoy it too, but I wouldn't know." Kal fixed her Queen with a bright grin.

Finnula chuckled. "Now. While we eat this marvelous feast, we shall have a lovely conversation."

Kal nodded, but curiously waited until the maids had left the Suite before talking. When she did speak, she said, "I didn't want to speak in front of anyone that might take any gossip around the palace."

The Queen's smile disappeared, and she tilted Kal's chin up. "My smart Girl. I hadn't even thought of waiting to speak until the coast was clear."

"Eh. Not me," Kal said, trying hard not to blush even harder than she already was. "I know how bad maids talk. They cluck like hens, and any one of them can use a morsel of information for their benefit."

"I thought for certain you would have a hard time with the intrigues and background of the palace, but you're very careful and considerate, Kalati." The Queen fed her a bite of something savory. "Try this cheese. It is to die for."

"Cheese? A luxury!" Kal took the bite and savored it. "Mmmm. Do I detect onion? And basil?"

"You do. Our cheese maker is a master of his art."

"Well, I certainly think so." She leaned into the Queen and snuggled. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Anything. Everything. Who are your parents? Were you always a little thief? I want to know so much about you."

Kal's mischievous look disappeared, and she sighed a bit, and huddled closer to her Queen. She felt small. She didn't want to dig up ancient history, but if her Queen didn't know, she would find out. She was the Queen, after all.

"It's not like...I'm an orphan or anything. I do have parents. But they favor my older sibling and ignored me. It got...bad. I had to learn how to thieve just to be able to eat. It's not a pretty story."

"What class of people are your parents?" asked the Queen with interest.

Kal looked up at her. "Gonna push 'em off a cliff?"

The Queen smiled. "Perhaps. If they abused you in any way, perhaps."

"They're just middle class people, of no account but their own. Their favoritism bred a lot of hate and anguish and on top of that my sibling is an asshole." Kal sighed. "I don't think they would be happy to see me in your arms. They would find the smallest thing to criticize even if I were perfect."

"You are perfect."

"To you, I am. To them, I'm just a spare."

The Queen wrapped her arm around Kal's shoulders. "Kalati. You belong to me. You are my Girl. It was you I chose above all others, and they will never be able to criticize the monarch."

Kal fixed Finnula with a soft-eyed look, and smiled. "You make me feel like I'm truly special, Finnula."

"And you, my Girl, make me feel uniquely the same. I am loved in your gaze."

"And I in yours."

"Now. Take a bite. Were you ever schooled?"

"Up until it cost to school me. My parents preferred to pay for my sibling to be educated."

"What about you?"

"They wanted me to become a maid in their neighbor's household to bring home money to help pay for their schooling."

A dark look passed over the Queen's face, and she stood, and strode to a roll top desk in a little corner. She tugged out a piece of stationary, an exquisite pen, and took a few notes.

"You aren't going to put them in the stocks too, are you?"

"I am remembering to tell Lonnie later to make education tuition free."

Kal blinked. Her jaw dropped. Of all things! She hadn't expected her sob story to generate this kind of change! She picked her jaw up from off the floor and cleared her throat. "Oh Finnula," she said. "This will help so many people."

The Queen smiled at her softly. "I love the way you say my name. Would you like to continue your education one day?"

Kal blushed. "I...yes, I would quite like that a lot."

The Queen came to her and kissed her forehead, cradling her head. "I will give you the moon, my love, and every star in the sky."

"Don't spend every penny in the treasury, now," Kal giggled. "I'm not that expensive, I come fairly cheap. Just feed me pretty dishes."

"All your life. But, I would like to hear that ugly story of yours, every detail. The more I learn of you, the more I learn that my country is in a state of disrepair, and I have inherited it, so I must right it. You are helping me save this land."

Kal looked at her hands. "I...suppose you're right."

"Now. Tell me more."