Months went by, Valerie and the King had become great friends again. With Alan around, they kept things from going past PG-13. They would often tease each other and Alan would call out when they said something that sounded gross to the young one.
It was the middle of August, and the King's assistant, Chris, had gotten better. He was around the King's age, 25 maybe, and he had hazel eyes and beautiful brown curly hair. Valerie had never seen him around the castle and hadn't met him until he arrived back at the castle.
"Ah, Chris! Welcome back, I hope you'll be feeling better for a while now because having to do your job and my job is extremely tiring."
"It's great to be back your highness, who is this lady? and is that her kid?"
"Oh that's Valerie, my personal maid, and no she has no children but that is her slave."
"I am not a slave papa, I am not!"
'Papa? What in the good grace? No, the King would never cheat on such a powerful woman.' Thought Chris to himself as he eyed the child.
"Sorry about that Chris, this is Alan. I bought him for Valerie and we can't get him to stop calling me papa."
Chris glared at the child, then the boy ran behind Valerie and grabbed the back of her uniform. That's the first time he got a good look at Valerie, who had long dark brown hair and liquid blue eyes that were big and cute like deer eyes.
She patted the boy's head and whispered something in his ear and the boy left. Valerie then turned around to pick up the boy's toys that were on the floor, leaving Chris to see nothing but her butt in white leggings.
The King noticed Chris looking at Valerie, he was looking at her for far too long and it made the King upset.
"Chris!" Chris snapped his head to look at the King.
"What is it that you are here for? Is something wrong in the kingdom?"
"Not ours, but Lilly's. A very small village on the border of our kingdom and hers are kidnapping people and killing them. We checked to see on who's side the village is more on and it is Lilly's" said Chris as Alan brought in waters for him and the King.
"Aren't you the smartest little cookie in the bunch?" the King said as he picked up the water " Don't you know the two kingdoms are one now? Tell the guards to send 20 men to the border and take all the people. Search their homes and get rid of them. We plan to build a new castle there."
Valerie didn't want to intrude on the conversation, but she still needed to reorganize one of the King's bookshelves. She decided to go play in the garden with Alan for an hour.
When they finished and Valerie was headed back to the King's study to see if his visitor was gone, she ran right into him.
"Hey, Valerie wasn't it? Where's the little one?"
"He is washing some berries that we got from the garden."
"Right, so why don't you come with me to a play tonight, I heard they have a new female actress that brings tears to the crowd."
"I'm sorry, but 1 I'm married, 2 I have to take care of Alan, and 3 I'm not allowed to leave the castle after 8" She could leave the castle anytime she wanted to, via the King knows, but she didn't want to leave with him. He is very good looking indeed, but he's the kind of good looking that you just know your gonna get heartbroken with. Mostly, she was married and refused to willingly cheat on her husband.
"Oh it's not like that, I just want to get to know you. You can bring Alan along with you, and I'm sure the King will let you leave the castle just this once."
"I'm sorry, I'd love to finish chatting, but I have to get back to his highness. I still am at work, I'm sure you understand." She would have loved to go to the play, even with him, but she had somewhere to be that night.
Valerie was passing through the dungeon with the King to go meet someone. A massacre had taken place in a village not too far away from the town Valerie used to live in, it was said to believe that this person had something to do with it.
Valerie went up to the bars first, then opened the cell for Malphus.
"Hello, pretty lady, what are you doing working here for this wretch and not on the streets making better money." That got him slapped by the King, while his face already being bruised. He had a black eye and a slit down the side of his face and on the other side rested a big purple bruise.
"Let's make this quick so that you'll be put out of your misery, where are the black witches who held the massacre?" The cell turned quiet and the man looked away.
"One night with her and I might tell you," said the man as he gave a wink to Valerie.
She backed up, not wanting to be put in the conversation at all. The King had enough for right then, so he hit the man so hard he fell unconscious.
Two hours later he was awake again, they had moved him to a room with cushions tapped to the roof, walls, and floor so that the man could not kill himself before they got the answers they wanted.
"Valerie, I need for you to try and use your womanly charm to get answers from that man. Seduce him if you have to, we need to know who did this in order to keep this kingdom safe." Valerie nodded as she walked into the room with a plate of bread, cheese, and water. She had no idea how to use her 'womanly charm' as she never needed to. She didn't want to have to seduce him, because she thought it would be weird.
"Hey, you hungry? I got some cheese and bread for you."
"I don't want your cheese and bread woman, I just want to leave. Doing by leaving the castle or dying, I don't care."
"You know, I might be able to vouch for you if you tell us where those black witches are. You might just leave the castle alive."
"In truth lady, there weren't no black witches who killed them, peoples." The man said as he picked up some cheese off the plate Valerie brought him "It was some men, who be working with them witches. They done killed the people and be bringing them to the witches as we speak." The man took a gulp of water as Valerie looked at him.
"Do you have any idea where they could be?"
"Nope, I only knows they were headed to the kingdom o' Cliffered"
"So they would most likely be in Cliffered right now, thank you. I'll come to collect your plate in an hour."
Valerie left the room and locked the door, then told the King what the man had told her. The King made plans to leave for Cliffered the next day.