When the king came out of the bath, he saw his dress lying on his bed, prepared and folded with utmost care, and smelling of a fragrant rose. Standing on the other side of the bed was Maria. She smiled brightly at the king as he glanced upon her. He didn't say anything but perhaps his eyes had spoken enough words to rob Maria of her smile.
"Let me help you dress, your grace", said Maria hesitantly, managing a courteous smile.
Though the king hadn't asked for her, he saw no good in just sending her back. He gave her a nod indicating a 'yes'.
Maria approached him and undid the towel he had wrapped around his waist. She touched his chest and rubbed her hand all over him, embracing and stroking him gently. "You feel cold", she whispered in his ear. "Let me help you warm up, your grace", she said as her hand tried to reach for his manhood. But the king stopped her hand midway, "not today Maria", he said. He let go of her hand after he looked at the pain in Maria's eyes and realised that he had grabbed it tighter than he'd intended to.
There was an awkward silence between the two for some time but Maria broke it off saying, "as his grace pleases". She walked towards the bed, hesitantly picked up the dress and gave Ayden an awkward smile. "I chose this dress for you myself, your grace", she said, maybe expecting that she'd get some response from the king. But to her dismay, he gave her another simple nod.
.....
Jaron had sprinted to the library and gotten there in a minute or so. The library stood as a hallowed sanctuary within the castle's walls, a treasure trove of knowledge and stories that had accumulated over generations. The grand doors, made of rich mahogany, bore carvings depicting scenes and writings from ancient legends. Pushing them open, Jaron was immediately enveloped in the fragrance of aged parchment and the faint scent of an incense stick burning somewhere in the room. The room was vast, with towering shelves that reached for the vaulted ceiling. Each shelf was crammed with books of various sizes, ages, and conditions. Some were meticulously bound in leather while others bore the wear and tear of countless readings.
The glow in the library was duller than what Jaron was used to. He walked, as the wooden floor creaked beneath his feet, among the shelves to the section that contained the historical records and accounts. Most of them were still maintained in an unblemished condition, only some which were ages old were worn out. He grabbed the accounts of the king's great grandfather, not a single layer of dirt on it, which contained his records from the great 'Vistorian' war that was fought under his reign as the king of Nordencia. He then went on ahead to look for the maps. He found them all neatly folded in a shelf in the most extreme corner of the room, and selected the maps, old and new, that contained depictions of the southern border. Usually, he would have to check in with Master Bellton and make an entry of all the things that were being taken out of the keep. But the matters seemed urgent, and finding the old and shrunken Master in the huge library would be a day's job in itself, so Jaron didn't consider it necessary to make an entry. He grabbed the maps in his left hand, the record-book in his right, and dashed out of the library as the floor beneath his feet creaked louder than ever.
.....
The king was in the middle of dressing when he heard a knock on his room's door. "Who is it?" he asked and got an instant reply from one of the guards he had sent away earlier, "Jaron is here with some things, your majesty. He says you had asked for him…"
"Yes. You may send him in." The king had already worn his under-dress and he saw no reason to make Jaron wait, or rather, wait for the maps and records himself.
Jaron opened the door and peeked inside. He looked down awkwardly as he saw the king only half dressed. "You can come in", and so he did, closing the door behind him. He bowed down and greeted the king, and then spoke, "I have brought the things you asked for, your majesty."
"You may place them on my desk", replied the king, pointing with his eyes at the Blackwood desk. Jaron walked towards the desk and then back to the door. "I shall take my leave if you may excuse me, your majesty", he said politely, thinking it rude to disturb the king while he dressed.
"Thank you Jaron, you have my leave", the king replied without much emotion in his voice.
Jaron bowed once again and left through the door. Even though the thanks had not felt very real, it surely was surprising for the king he knew didn't indulge in courtesies much. He walked through the long corridor, amazed and somehow feeling uplifted. He had planned to go back to practicing his sword, but now the feeling had strangely vanished. For the first time in his life, Jaron felt the urge to return to the library and learn more things from the Master.
.....
It was almost time for the council meeting that the king had commanded Ser Nome Fey to arrange. He was dressed, and clear of mind. He had given the maps a look and the records a careful reading. He didn't feel prepared, but he did feel strangely confident. Maria had taken his leave and he sat all alone in his room. He poured himself a glass from the wine he had earlier shared with Ser Nome Fey and drank it all in one go. He then sprayed a sweet freshener in his mouth to get rid of the smell. And when he realized that the time was almost upon him, he left the room for the council's meeting.
Runo and Kell, his two guards, accompanied him to the venue. It was a long walk since the chambers built for meetings and such were on the other side of the castle, almost directly opposite to the king's chambers. The long embroidered cape he wore hung down from his shoulders and swayed with each of his step. He left a sweet smell of roses on his trail as he marched forward. He looked at his best today, even at the worst of times, and that was all thanks to Maria. As he walked towards his destination, he chanced upon various servants and guards, who all were amazed by the sight of their majesty, 'so early in the morning!' Each interaction went pretty much the same, the others bowed and said their greetings and the king acknowledged them all with a polite nod.
Walking through his own feasting hall, crossing the open gallery that led to the castle's official quarters, and then walking up the stairs that led to the smaller court-hall, the king reached the area that had been decided for the meeting of his council.
"His grace, Ayden Norr, ruler of the great Nordencian Kingdom blesses us with his presence", the gatekeeper, who stood at the large wooden gate of the hall, loudly announced the moment he saw the king coming.
The ministers, masters and other royalties sat on low chairs that went higher and higher in a step-by-step, almost stair-like fashion. The stairs were on either side of the king's east-faced throne, one set of chairs facing north while the other faced south. The chairs were made of a golden-brown solid wood and covered with soft and furry seats and cushions, which were further covered in a bright red cloth. The steps, on the other hand, were made of hard and black rock that seemed to bring out the wood's colour and made the chairs look even brighter. The hall was brightly lit with candles and lamps, and almost thirty guard knights were present at the occasion. Where the persons present sat on the chairs was determined by their role and importance in the king's court. The ministers with lower positions at court sat on the bottom most chairs, while above them sat those holding higher position than them, and above them sat those with even higher positions, and so on, until the upper most chairs, on which seated sons and grandsons of the Royal 'Norr' family, those who held important titles and were next in the line of succession. The squad-captains and war chiefs, who only seldom attended court, sat here and there as they wished. The ones humble seated themselves low while the prideful ones seated themselves higher above. A long row of chairs in the south-facing stairs, just a few steps below the royalties' stair, had been designated for the various masters of the kingdom.
Higher than any chair, and in the westernmost corner of the room, stood the king's throne. The room consisted of not more than a hundred chairs, for it wasn't the main court where the king held his court sessions for the common populace. And so, the throne, which was bigger than anything else in the room, wasn't as big as the throne in the bigger hall, and it wasn't the same either. This throne was made up of the white stone of 'Nyleria' and was called the 'White Throne' while the bigger one in the main court was made up of the legendary 'Blood stone' of 'Jorhart' and was called the 'Blood Throne'. If one thing was similar in both, it was that they both bore the carvings of kings being crowned and holy texts that preached the 'true king's way'. Though stunningly beautiful, the white throne paled in comparison to the blood throne's beauty, or so they said.
The king, personally, had always thought it foolish to have two thrones in the same kingdom, for according to him, it invited disrespect. But today, that thought did not cross his mind as he glimpsed upon the smaller, less pretty, throne.