The Vagrant King

Chapter 20

"Julian, wake up."

It was early morning, and he had to rise to start the fires. Ricker never rose early, for he was often sick after a night of drinking at the tavern, but he knocked Julian around if the house wasn't warm by the time he woke.

"It's time to wake up, Julian." The voice said, but it didn't sound like Ricker. It was warm and familiar, husky and masculine.

Julian opened his eyes slowly. The room came into focus, and he saw King Regulus sitting by his bedside. Regulus was already dressed for the day and wore linen breeches and a snug-fitting doublet over a white tunic.

Julian lifted his head from the pillow with great effort. He wiped drool from his mouth self-consciously with his sleeve. Behind Regulus, Percy stood with a black leather-bound book held to his chest. Both of them were staring at Julian.

"We just fell asleep," Julian said in confusion, moving to his elbows and looking over to the windows where the sun shone in.

"It's the middle of the afternoon. You slept all morning," Regulus said, resting his hand over Julian's on the bed.

"Afternoon?" Julian repeated in shock.

"The elixir was a wee bit strong," Percy said, opening his leatherbound book. He dipped his quill into a nearby inkwell and scratched inside his book. "Not surprising for his slender frame."

"He cannot hold his wine either." Regulus said with a laugh. "Any nightmares? I slept through the entire night for once, so you must have been quiet."

"No nightmares." Julian licked his chapped lips. He felt incredibly dazed, and it took a few moments for him to gather his wits. He looked at Regulus. "You-you're getting married today."

"In a few hours, yes." Regulus said, squeezing Julian's hand. He sat back in his chair and rested his hands on his thigh, looking at Percy. "Tell whoever is outside to send up blackberries and cream for Julian. Then call for Lanford."

When Regulus rose, Julian fell back onto the bed in exhaustion. He knew that he had to dress before Lanford arrived, but he couldn't gather the strength. If he caught sight of Julian in Regulus' bed, he might die of horror. Julian might enjoy seeing the shock and revulsion cross his face.

When Percy left, Julian dragged himself out of bed and dressed. Lanford arrived with a handful of servants. Each servant carried boxes and boxes of jewellery. Lanford barked at the servants and directed them where to go in the bedroom, then immediately began fussing over Regulus' appearance. Julian watched as Lanford unpacked a gold circlet sitting on a plush, velvet pillow and placed it gently on the dressing table.

"May I return to my bedroom?" Julian interjected, a spoonful of blackberries halfway to his mouth, because he couldn't stand another conversation between Lanford and Regulus about which jewelled belt Regulus should wear.

Regulus looked at Julian in the mirror. "Stay until I leave, Julian. We'll be apart tonight, after all." He said, adjusting the cuffs of his sleeves.

Julian sat down in one of the armchairs and placed his feet on the ottoman, finishing his mulberries and cream. Lanford looked at Julian, his thin lips tugging into an unhappy frown. As he passed by Julian, he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dropped it into his lap.

"I don't need this," Julian said rudely to Lanford, grabbing the handkerchief off of his lap like it was the thing that was dirty.

"You're dripping cream on the king's furniture." Lanford said brusquely, opening a wooden box that held Regulus' medallions. He lifted the medallions out of the box lovingly like they were something holy.