"Myra, have you ever been in love?"
"Yes, madam." She set down the breakfast tray and went to prop up Luvenia in bed. "He was beautiful. Glossy chestnut hair, gorgeous legs, and those eyes... and he seemed fond of me, too. He was skittish around strangers, but we got on just fine."
"What– Don't fuss, I can sit up by myself. –What happened?"
Myra shrugged. "My parents said we couldn't afford such an expensive horse. I cried and made a fuss, so we had to leave the fair."
Luvenia smiled to cover a laugh. "How old were you?"
"Six. I really did fall in love with that horse, though."
"I believe you. How about with a human?"
"Not yet." Myra smoothed back her ginger curls, which sprang right back into place. "Nobody's quite up to my standards."
"I see. How long until I'm allowed out of bed?"
"Three days, madam."
Sighing, Luvenia leaned back against the pillows.
***
"Mollie, have you ever been in love?"
The maid arched her eyebrows. "Not that I recall, madam."
"Really?" Luvenia stirred her tea absently. "Not even once?"
"I've been fond of a man now and again, but I wouldn't call it 'love'. Do you need more sugar, madam?"
"No, thank you. What's the difference between being fond of someone and being in love with them?"
Mollie held out a plate of flaky pastries. "For me, it's that I never cared enough about any man to want him all to myself, or to commit myself to him." The corner of her mouth curled. "I've been told that's strange, but it's how I feel."
Luvenia nibbled thoughtfully on a poppyseed puff while Mollie cleared up the tea things.
"It might be strange," said Luvenia at length, "but it's no one's business to tell you how to feel. I certainly won't."
"Thank you, madam. I appreciate you saying so."
"How long until I'm allowed out of bed?"
"Two days, madam."
Scowling, Luvenia bit into the pastry as if it were responsible for this situation.
***
"Mellie, have you ever been in love?"
The little maid nearly dropped the tea tray. "Oh, your majesty—I didn't know you were awake yet!"
"Unfortunately, I can only sleep for so long." Luvenia rolled onto her side and noted happily that it didn't hurt to do so. "Pardon me for frightening you."
"You haven't done anything wrong, your majesty."
"You're very sweet. If you don't want to answer my question, that's fine."
"I'll answer anything you ask me! ...Could you repeat the question?"
Luvenia giggled. "I asked if you've ever been in love."
"Oh. Oh, yes." Mellie's cheeks were bright pink. "I... I think so. My brother said it's just a silly crush, but he doesn't know how I feel."
"Never mind what your brother thinks. What does it feel like to be in love?"
"Whenever I see him, I get butterflies in my stomach, and I want to be close to him, and I want him to look at me and see me the way I see him..."
Mellie's expression was so adorable that Luvenia wanted to hug her. Since she wasn't allowed to leave her bed, she settled more comfortably in bed to watch Mellie.
"...and he's the youngest knight in his order, so of course he gets a lot of attention from the other girls, but he's just exactly the right height to dance with me so I'm hoping to ask him to dance at the midsummer festival this year..."
By the time Mellie finished raving about the object of her affection, the tea was quite cold. The maid was embarrassed and apologetic, so Luvenia claimed not to have wanted tea anyway.
"Thank you for telling me about Weszin. You have a glow about you when you talk about him."
"Do I really? You're not teasing me? –not that it would be a problem if you were, madam!"
"I wasn't teasing. It's lovely to see you so happy."
Mellie looked like she might faint. Luvenia quickly redirected the conversation.
"I won't be half so happy until I can get out of bed."
"This is the last day, your majesty. Just hold out until tomorrow!"
Luvenia nodded and beckoned Mellie closer. When the maid came up to the bedside, Luvenia took her hands and squeezed them gently.
"You're so cute, Mellie. I'm sure the right man will see that and love you to bits."
"Your majesty–!"
"All right, I'll stop. For now."
"Madam!!!"
***
Luvenia woke up at first light the next day. Too excited to wait, she ran herself a bath and luxuriated in lavender-scented bubbles until one of the maids arrived.
Finding the queen in her bubble bath, Millie chuckled and let her be. Luvenia felt a little self-conscious and hurried out of the bath, only to find that the maid had already laid out her clothes. She let Millie dry and dress her, then settled at her vanity table to have her hair fixed.
"Millie, have you ever been in love?"
The maid paused for a moment, then resumed brushing Luvenia's hair. "Yes, madam."
"What's it like?"
"It's different for everyone, madam."
"Fine, then what was it like for YOU?" When Millie failed to respond, she appended: "You don't have to tell me. I'm just curious."
"Well..." In the mirror, Millie looked lost in thought. "At first, it was... uncomfortable. I suddenly didn't know how to behave around him—the man I fell for. We kept dancing around each other, never quite finding our moment, until he finally confessed to me."
"What did he say, exactly?"
"Oh, something trite, like 'your beauty has captivated me' or some such rot. You have to make allowances for men; they're all a bit stupid when it comes to love."
Millie set aside the brush and started braiding Luvenia's dark locks. A nostalgic smile softened her face.
"And then...?"
"Then we got married."
Luvenia stared at Millie—or, rather, at Millie's reflection. "I didn't know you were married! You never mentioned it before."
"Didn't I?" Millie looked oddly nervous. "I suppose I don't talk about it much. The other maids are all unmarried, so..."
"They won't hear it from me," Luvenia assured her. "Your husband must not work in the palace, if you've been able to keep him a secret. What does he do?"
"He's a knight, your majesty."
"Oh. That's good."
The conversation stalled. A neutral silence settled over the room while Luvenia ruminated and Millie plaited.
Only when Millie was binding the braid with a jeweled band did Luvenia pose another question.
"If someone swears something by the gods outside of the temple, should you still trust them?"
"Depends on the someone, madam, and how they speak. A calm oath from a calm man is usually to be believed, and a desperate man swearing by Onibi is most likely serious."
Luvenia angled her head to look at the braid. It was perfect, as usual.
She thought back to the previous night. Hanna had used the names of the gods that were familiar to her, not the shorter ones invoked in Middewold.
"...Did you say 'Onibi'?"
"I–" Millie shied away, pale and anxious. "I'm sure I said 'Ibi'."
"We both know your didn't." Luvenia turned to her with a reassuring smile. "There's no reason to be worried, Millie. If you don't want anyone to know you're from Alatir, I won't say a word."
To her surprise, Millie reacted as though she had been threatened.
"Your majesty, please, have mercy! I didn't mean to hide anything from you, I swear–"
"Millie." She held out her hands, palms up. "What does it matter where you came from? You're wonderful at what you do. I don't mind you keeping your private matters to yourself."
The maid did not look entirely convinced, but she at least stopped cowering.
"I'd like to wear the fawn boots with the pearl buttons today."
At the word 'pearl', Millie flinched, her hand flying to the bandage on her neck. Luvenia winced.
"I'm sorry—I'd almost forgotten. How is your wound?"
"It's not so bad, your majesty." Millie looked at her feet. "About the necklace..."
"That wasn't your fault," said Luvenia firmly. "I don't care how important your attacker was. They ought to be held accountable, one way or another."
"It's kind of you to say so, madam."
"It's true that I'm trying to be good to you, but you deserve justice."
Everything Luvenia meant to be comforting seemed to have the opposite effect on Millie, who responded by bursting into tears.
"Your majesty... I'm sorry, I'm just... I don't know what's come over me today."
"It's all right. If you're not feeling well, you should take the day off and rest."
Millie went down on her knees at Luvenia's feet, hands clasped to her heart, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Madam, I d– I don't deserve your kindness."
Luvenia looked into Millie's eyes and saw the same fear she had so often felt in her father's presence. A notion began to develop in her mind.
"Millie," she said softly, "is your husband a royal knight of Alatir?"
The maid nodded miserably. Luvenia gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder.
"I won't ask you anything more today. Just tell Myra to take over your duties this morning, on my authority." She lowered her voice to a bare whisper. "I know you're scared, but we'll find a way through this together and keep him safe."
Millie accepted Luvenia's reassurance, as well as her handkerchief. "Thank you, madam," she mumbled.
"Actually, I do need to know one thing." Luvenia leaned in to speak directly into Millie's ear. " 'Should heaven fall, slay the hart and snare the hind.' If I'm the hind, who's the hart?"
She could feel Millie trembling. Without thinking, she pulled her into a tight embrace.
"It'll be fine, Millie. I promise."
"Yes, madam." Millie held onto her, still shaking but no longer crying. "It's... his majesty, your husband. He's the hart."
A shiver of relief ran through Luvenia. At least it wasn't Beaucaire whose life would be on the line.
"That's enough for now. Go find Myra, then rest for a while. I can't even imagine the strain you've been under all this time."
It took some coaxing to get Millie back on her feet and out the door. By contrast, it seemed to take less than a minute for Myra to appear.
"Is Millie all right, madam? She's–"
"She'll be fine. It's not something she's free to talk about, but I'm going to help her."
Myra looked concerned, but she didn't raise the subject again. She also knew without asking which boots Luvenia wanted.
"Will you need anything else, your majesty?"
"No, thank you. I'll break my fast with Gorogon, if I'm not too late already."
"Give me ten seconds with the buttonhook, madam. When you walk into the dining room, he'll fall in love with you all over again."
"Is love really that simple?"
"Of course not, your majesty, but men often are."