A few days after the synners had left, Meliss carried a tray to the queen's bedroom which had the morning light seeping through the curtains in front of the vast windows. She set it on the bedside table to the right of the sleeping beauty. She did so carefully to avoid awakening the person who was still sound asleep in the oversized bed. Under the thick, red covers to her left lay Leona, the queen. She slept on her back, and her fair black hair strewn across the goose-feather pillows made her face look like it had been swallowed by the night sky.
Meliss double checked the tray to ensure it was filled with the best breakfast treats before stepping away from it. Fresh bread from the bakery - toasted with a small cube of butter on the side - scrambled eggs, and a green apple were the order of the day. She walked back to the small basket she had brought, and picked up the small pot of tea.
I hope she wakes up before it cools. It'd be a pity to have her drink it cold, she thought.
Just as she completed her thought, Fulco stepped through the door with a look of disappointment on his face. "Come now, Meliss. This is not an hour at which a queen should be sleeping," he said in a loud voice. Meliss felt embarrassed that she had done something wrong, and looked down at the ground in silence.
"My queen, you must rise," he said aloud, drawing the massive curtains aside, tying them respectively. Light beamed more brightly into the room, and struck Leona in the face. Her eyes squinted and squished as she turned her head away from the source of her distress. "Wake up, milady," he continued after opening the second curtain wall.
The room was fully lit, and she knew now that there was nowhere for her left to turn. Not even her small painting station was safe from the beams. Her eyes opened but a little, and her pupils shrunk from the intensity of the sun. "It pains me to be woken in this manner," Leona said with a raspy grunt. Had she not been so beautiful, one might have assumed it was the voice of some disgruntled dwarf.
"Be swift, milady," Fulco said. "It's almost midday, and yet here you are hibernating like a bear in winter. It is not the most gracious thing for a queen to be doing," he said. Leona rubbed her eyes, and removed the covers to get out of bed. Her feet landed on rabbit pelt slippers, which were soft and warm.
She sat on the edge of the bed for a few moments, staring at the food Meliss had brought her. She grabbed a slice of the toast, and took a few bites out of it, but shortly put the remnants of the now violated bread back on the tray. She picked up the cup of tea, and used it to wash the dry toast down her throat. "Milady, where are your manners?" Fulco asked, appalled at her demeanor. "Where are the lords and ladies?" Leona just as abruptly.
Fulco merely shook his head.
"Oh, you don't see any here among us? So then tell me why I ought to act like a queen if I am in the confines of my bedroom, for I simply do not know," she said with an air of arrogance. Fulco scratched the back of his head and looked down at the floor. Leona smiled, knowing she had won the small argument, and proceeded to finish eating her breakfast.
When she was finished, she turned to face her servant, whose expression of defeat still owned his face. "My dear Fulco," she began to say while smiling genuinely, "do me a favor and summon Clare so that I may dress," she said. "Right away, milady," he replied, bowing out of the room. Meliss remained in the same position she had been in since Fulco had called her out on her benevolence towards the queen's sleeping habits.
"Has anyone ever told you that you would have beautiful children?" Leona asked after looking at Meliss' body for a few moments. "My lady?" Meliss asked, startled by the question. Her complexion went from a pale white to a bright red in an instant. "Good graces, Meliss, there's no need to be so bashful," Leona said playfully. "It was a simple question from one woman to another," she said.
"Now, do be a good sport and answer my question," she pleaded. "I do not believe so, my lady," Meliss replied. "Come now, you do not need to reply so formally," the queen said with a warm smile. "Imagine as though I were a regular human being, instead of a queen. As I have said before, there are no other lords or ladies present," Leona said in an attempt to make her feel more comfortable.
Meliss pondered over the reason for this new form of treatment for a few moments, but found none. She looked back at her queen. "I don't think anyone has had the guts to tell me so, except for you," Meliss finally replied in an extremely thick accent. "I beg your pardon? I barely understood what you said," Leona said, taken aback. "Your accent is most definitely not one from the Continent. If I were to guess, I would say that it is from the Gramm islands," she concluded.
"And you'd be right," Meliss replied smiling. "My folks are from there, and they brought me here to the Continent as a wee babe. Pa died when I was about six winters old. Ever since I can remember, I've helped my Ma tidy up other people's houses. Work had been regularly scheduled for us, and one day, we found ourselves cleaning Father Mourtis' house. That was the day Fulco found us. He admired our work, and offered us positions here at the palace," Meliss explained.
"And an excellent job you have done thus far," Leona said without sarcasm in her voice. "Thank you," Meliss replied. "You said your 'Pa' died when you were only six, which makes you how old, now?" Leona asked. "I have eighteen winters behind me," Meliss replied. "Good graces! You don't look your age at all," Leona said in shock. "You're much more of a woman than I was at your age," Leona said through a curt giggle.
The sound of footsteps resounded from the bottom of the stairway, and Leona heard them clear as a whistle. "That must be Clare, the heavy old goat that she is," she said, pursing her lips. "Listen, Meliss, it was really nice to get to know you a little, and I look forward to learning more about you," Leona said. "Thank you, my lady," Meliss replied with a curt bow. Just as she was getting back up, Clare walked through the door with the queen's robes for the day.
"Forgive me for taking so long, my lady," Clare said with her chest rising and falling. She was at least twice Meliss' height and weight, and had her light brown hair tied up in a bun. "I was having a discussion with Fulco as to what you should wear today, but we did not come to a conclusion. So, I brought a few of my personal choices, much to his disapproval," she explained. The sweat dripped down from her brow and rolled over her round cheeks.
The whites of her hazel eyes and her nose were red, suggesting she had been drinking, as opposed to doing her job. She was anything but a healthy person. "I see," Leona said, taking note of Clare's composure. "Well, it doesn't matter. Let's get this over with," she said. "Yes, of course, my lady," Clare replied.
"Ah! An excellent choice, my lady," Clare said, staring at the blue dress that took a few minutes for Leona to choose. "Here, let me help you into it," she said while walking over to Leona, who was observing her gait.
That's not the straightest of lines she's drawing on the floor with her feet, she thought.
When Clare got closer, Leona could clearly smell the alcohol in her breath, and soon found herself gasping for a drag of clean air. "My lady, I need you to turn so I can unlace your gown," Clare said. "Certainly," Leona said, trying to expend as little of her reservations of air as possible. "Is everything alright, my lady?" Clare asked after clearing her throat. Her breath went straight into Leona's face.
Her breath is making my eyes water, Leona thought.
"Yes, yes," she briefly replied, and turned around, with her eyes all teared up. Meliss was now standing opposite of her queen, who tried to read the desperate gestures for relief, however, she was unable to make out what Leona was trying to say.
She drank eel vodka, Leona tried to mouth to Meliss.
She did what? Shrank a sealed froth cat? Meliss mouthed back, giggling as quietly as she could.
No, no, no, Leona mouthed. She. Drank. Eel. Vodka, Leona said, pausing every word to try and make herself more understood.
Ah, eel vodka, Meliss mouthed back while nodding her head.
Leona grinned, and was desperately trying not to burst into tears of what before would have been of disgust, but now were of laughter. Clare stood up once more with a grunt. "There, all done, my lady," she said, and the waft of eel essence and vodka went back into Leona's eyes which teared up once more as a result.
"Get that off of you while I get the dress, milady," Clare said. Leona shrugged off the gown she had worn all night long. Her slim, proportionate body in combination with silky, smooth skin made it no surprise that she was lusted after by nearly everyone in the kingdom. She did not bother hiding her breasts, after all, there was no one else in the room besides her, and her two servants. The windows were too high for anyone to see into the room from the outside, so there was no risk of her nudity being exposed.
Clare came up behind her, swathed her in the blue dress, and tied up the laces. "Come, see how you look in the mirror, milady," Clare said, pushing the mirror towards her. Leona faced the mirror and smiled brightly. The dress followed the curves of her body as though it were a second skin she was wearing.
The dip in the fabric near her breasts was a little more promiscuous than what she usually wore, but due to the warming weather, it seemed appropriate enough. "You were right, Clare. This is a beautiful dress indeed," Leona said, turning and twisting, watching how the dress flowed. "Why thank you, milady," Clare replied, smiling from ear to ear.
The queen was now fully awake, especially after the magic the eel vodka had worked on her eyes. "I'm sure my husband wouldn't want me to tarry any longer than I already have," she said. "Of course not, my lady," Clare agreed. Leona gave her dress one final twirl in the mirror, and began to walk towards the door. Her two servants followed closely behind.
A few moments later, she was in the throne room, where Truls was having a small debate with Elhael, Mads, and Bashir who was there with his son Bashaa. "Ah, and there she is!" Truls said loudly. The lords turned about to see who he was talking about. Their eyes were so glued to her slim figure that they practically devoured her with them.
"Come, come! We were just talking about having a feast later on this evening, and we were wondering what sort of theme it should have," Truls said, reaching out for his wife's hand. She didn't allow her hesitation to show, but took the king's hand and stood at his side. "Well, I don't know about any sort of theme, although I do know what I want to have for supper," Leona said. "And what might that be, my sweet?" Truls asked. She felt disgusted by the name he had called her.
She looked at the other lords for a moment, but had slight difficulty taking her eyes off of Bashaa. "Zebura," she said with eyes still fixed on Bashir's son. He had bright green eyes, a gift from his deceased mother, which made them look as though they glowed in the morning light that beamed through the upper windows.
"I'm not one to question the queen's choice, however, I was expecting something along the lines of a boar or perhaps something less exotic that we can't get anywhere else," Mads said. "I could always change my mind, King Mads," she replied, smiling gracefully. "Zeburas are known to be eaten as a sign of peace between kingdoms. With this being the first time in nearly a century that our countries have been in unison over a common cause, I see no reason why we shouldn't indulge in it," she explained.
Mads let out a hearty laugh for a moment, and the other lords joined in. "A very astute observation, my lady. Does anyone disagree with the queen?" Mads asked cheerfully. "No complaints here, my lord," Bashir answered. Leona almost lost control over herself as he looked at her, smiling. She caught herself at last, and gave a brief chuckle.
"I suggest we begin the preparations," Truls interjected, noticing the exchange. "Each of you has a long journey ahead come tomorrow." "Indeed," Elhael agreed. "Although most of us may travel the same distance in opposite directions, the Rhydian Pass is a narrow one, and a harrowing experience at that," he continued. "I can only imagine the perils that may lie along the way," Leona added. "I will send a prayer to the gods for your safekeeping on your journeys home," she added. "Thank you, my lady," Bashaa said, the tone of his voice shaking her very core. She gracefully smiled and nodded in reply.
It's difficult to be around him with my husband present, she thought.