The First Queen (Currently Being Updated)

Chapter 8

We stared at each other for a long while, sitting across from each other. He kept a stern face while I sat stoic. It felt as if hours had gone by until I finally let out a sigh. "You may speak freely, Lord Buckingham."

He got up from his seat and started pacing around my office, all over the world in tiles. "Eleanor, you know it was in your father's will not to involve Fraus in any political matter what so ever once you became queen. Even Queen Veronica knows this! How is she going to react when she finds out that you have gone against the words of a dying man, more the less, the words of her deceased brother? The tension between you and Francis is already visible, and there is has been talk of how the alliance will not fall through. Eleanor," he said, now kneeling in front of me, clasping both his hands together. "I beg of you. Your father would want the same thing. Do not let your emotions get the best of you."

I smiled to myself, remembering how my father would always tell me that whenever I used to cry from a small flesh wound or when my horse threw me off. The way Buckingham looked up at me told me so much, and how much of a risk I took by bringing Fraus into the picture. I gave him a nod, taking his hands in mine, making him understand that I got the message.

"Thank you, old friend. Go now, it is late. Before you retire to your chambers, be sure to check with Lord Cecil that the messenger is on his way. I too," I said as I rose out of chair with a bit of struggle due to the tightness of my corset, "will get some rest, we have a long day tomorrow."

Buckingham stood up as well before giving me a bow before he left. I didn't follow right after, giving myself a few moments of silence, away from the world I happened to live in, the life I was made to live. But then again, no one asked me to be a queen. I had to be a queen.

I opened the doors to my office, telling my guards I would take a stroll through the gardens before heading to my chambers. They gave me the usual "Yes, your Majesty," before trailing after to me. My office wasn't far from the gardens, just walk a few doors down and you enter the gardens from an arched pathway adorned in vines with little white flowers adorning them in the spring and summer. Before we entered it, however, I told my guards to stay at the entrance, and they obeyed, knowing not to protest; I was armed, and no one else would be in the gardens at this hour of the night. It was just before spring, but the air of winter still lingered, making me shiver a bit once I was in the open.

Walking forward, I weaved my way around, familiarizing myself with a part of the palace that I had long forgotten. It was like stepping into my childhood, how I would climb trees and Lady Harper - whom I call Di (short for Diana) - watched in horror as she begged for me to come down. Oh, and the times when me and Darien would sneak up on lovers stealing a kiss or two, scaring them from a hidden spot. Our secret? Climbing to the top of the cypress tree that overlooked a marble bench that held the entangled couples, and making animal sounds that made the woman squeal in fright and run off back to the palace, with her man trailing fast behind her. Darien and I would nearly pass out from laughter. I stopped in my path, realizing that I was behind the lovers' bench with only a large hedge of about twelve feet keeping us both hidden from the other. And the Cypress tree had grown a bit more the last time I saw it, which was about two years ago. My eyes shifted to the night sky, which seemed have grown darker since I arrived. That meant it was time for me to get my beauty sleep.

I shifted my feet to go left along the hedge wall, but stopped when I heart a feminine moan come from the other side. Shaking my head with a smile at the memories of childhood past, I continued to make my way until the moan was replaced by something else.

"Oh, Francis!"

Wha- what? Come again?

I turned around and carefully walked close to where the Cypress tree was, leaning in my ear a bit into the hedge to make sure my hearing wasn't deceiving me. And the identity of the man was reaffirmed with a, "You naughty little vixen," in the voice of the man whom was already all too familiar to my liking.

Should I? Said the playful side of me. No, that'd be silly, and childish, none the less. Chastised the wiser side. Oh, but what fun it would be to see the look on that imbecile's face! When was the last time I actually laughed from a simple prank? Oh - ugh okay fine. Just this once.

With a devious smile on my face, I made my way to the foot of the tree. I looked down at my dress, imagining the face of Di when she sees the tears caused from getting caught on the tree branches. "I never liked this dress, anyway," I said nonchalantly to myself before beginning my great feat.

After a bit of struggle - look, I may be a queen, but I don't climb trees on a daily basis - I made my way to a secure part of the tree that gave me enough vision of the scene below. There was King Francis, wrapped in lovers' embrace with a lady of the Torvan court, judging by the plunging neckline and how voluminous the dress was, even as she sat down. Mouths were locked, fingers entangled in hair - nothing I hadn't seen before in my youth. Rolling my eyes, I carefully put my hands over my mouth in the way I used to a made the sound of a wolf howling - the woman nearly pulled part but Francis reassured her by putting a hand at the hem of her dress before slowly hiking it up, gaining a mischevious grin followed by more kisses. Oh well, they made me have to go to my last resort. I positioned my hands in a different way and let out a growl that by something never heard before - probably because it is a myth -; the Gytrash, something that sparked in fascination of me and Darien in our boredom.

And the victorious sound caused the lady to pull away from Francis in so fast a speed that she nearly tripped on her skirts as she fled the scene with a shrill scream.

"Lady Duchamp! The creature must be outside of the palace gates, for the wind must have merely carried it along from the mountains," Francis tried to explain to the retreating figure. I let out a silent laugh at the sign of my sweet victory. I haven't felt this good in a long time, and it was nice to be reunited to piece of me that I though had already been put to dress.

However, the joy was short live when I encountered some, certain difficulty getting down - oh fine, my skirt of my bloody dress got caught on a branch which wasn't being so nice let me leave. I kept tugging and tugging, trying to get free, but to no avail. With frustration, I tugged a little too hard, and suddenly, I was thrown back, back first as I flew in mid-air towards the earth. Letting out a shriek, I tried to grab onto one of the branches that seemed to fly past be as I was sent downwards to the grassing floor. Closing my eyes, I braced myself for the bruising pain about to come when by back would meet the grass, but instead, a pair two, very well-toned arms were holding me, saving me nice blue bruise that would make Di scream for sure in horror. Carefully opening my one of my eyes, I found a very, very, confused and pissed off Francis looking down at me.

"Hi," I said with guilty smile.

"You truly are full of surprises, aren't you, Queen Eleanor," Francis said, with bit of growl before doing the unthinkable - the bloody bastard dropped me - he dropped me! I let out an "umph!" when my bottom hit the hard, cold, grassy floor. Before getting onto my feet I glared up at him.

"You have no bloody idea, King Francis. And believe me, there is more to come. Let's to this," I said as I began to back away, "How about we put this aside, forget about it, and think of how there is a war at our doorsteps, hmm?" I offered in a careful tone, only making him shake his head with a deep laugh.

Looking back at me, his sapphire eyes, now a dark, sea blue, seemed to be assessing what to do. And out came a playful but dangerous grin on his face.

"You wanted to play a game, right? How about this? If you can get back into the safety of your chamber without me getting to you, then this incident will be put aside and never brought up again. However, if I do catch you," Francis said as he began to walk a closer to me until we were face to face. Leaning his head down so that his lips brushed ever so lightly against my ear, he whispered, "then you must settle on my terms to keep this our little secret. Agreed?"

I tried not to shutter at the feeling of our intimacy, but I gained back my queenly confidence, gave him a quick nod, and I ran as fast as my feet could carry me back to my chambers.

By God, did I run.

Gytrash: "A legendary black dog known in northern England, was said to haunt lonely roads awaiting travelers. Appearing in the shape of horses, mules, or dogs, the Gytrash haunt solitary ways and lead people astray but they can also be benevolent, guiding lost travelers to the right road. They are usually feared." - Wikipedia