In Search of a Queen

Chapter 7

Augustus set out for his morning jog, taking to the forest trails before even the sun had risen. While Charles always had naturally been rather fit and had had to work little to develop muscles, it was quite the opposite for his younger brother. Augustus was forced to exercise and work himself physically every day if he were to keep in shape, and still his stamina was not equal to his brother's. However, this only encouraged him and made his desire to push himself grow stronger. Today, he jogged happily through the beautiful woods, the rising sun casting dancing patterns of red and green around him as it filtered through the leaves of the trees. He stopped at the trail's end, greeted by a breathtaking view of the surrounding valley sprawled out under him. He sat on the cliff's edge, dangling his feet over the side. For almost an hour he sat there, staring out and slowly relaxing as his heart rate slowed, completely unaware that he was being watched.

~~~~

Rowena had become quite tired of the other girls in the weeks she had been at this god forsaken campsite, and had decided to wake early for a walk in forest rather than spend another day with all of those babbling idiots who called themselves women. Ever since the prince had taken Nahia into his house she had known hope was lost, and had prepared herself to leave empty handed. Then, to her great joy, the younger of the brothers had arrived. Though it was true he was not destined to become the king, changing that was a simple matter of worming her way into his heart and mind until he was prepared to do whatever she asked of him. And so, her hope had been renewed, and she had set her sights on the handsome, single Augustus. Because he was not the crown prince, the rule that he must meet his wife at the festival when he became twenty did not apply, and she was free to woo and conquer him without breaking a single one of those silly ancient laws. And, after all, who would ever suspect a young girl of seventeen with big blue eyes and a shy smile to be plotting domination of a kingdom?

Her scheming was interrupted at a noise behind her, and she quickly crouched just off of the trail, careful not to wrinkle her dress in the process. She watched with immense pleasure as the approaching figure solidified into the form of the young prince of whom she had just been dreaming, and she stared as he passed. After several minutes had passed she stood and resumed her leisurely pace. She knew this trail had a dead end, and she would either meet him at the edge or "accidentally" crash into him as he returned. Luckily, the first of the two came to pass, and she took several deep breaths as she stood behind him, sculpting her face into one of humble, bashful, embarrassed surprise.

"Oh!" She gasped, stepping back and dipping into a deep curtsy as he spun to face her, rising to his feet. "Your majesty, I am so sorry to have disturbed you. I will be on my way." She turned to leave and a smirk spread across her face as he voiced his objections.

"Please, madame, that will not be necessary. I would rather like some company, if you would not mind. It truly is a beautiful view, and deserves to be shared." She looked up at him through long eyelashes, giving a small smile of acceptance before moving to the edge to sit with him. She gave a long sigh.

"You are right, your highness." she said sweetly. "This is very lovely." He looked at her with a warm, friendly smile.

"Please, call me Augustus. My father is 'your highness'". He extended his hand to her, which she took. "And you are..?"

"Rowena."

"Well, Rowena," he replied, bringing her hand up for a quick kiss, "it is a pleasure to meet you."

~~~~

"Sawyer, there is something else I'd like to talk with you about." Charles gently traced circles on his lover's shoulder and petted the mess of brown hair resting on his chest. He was answered with a soft hum. "Well...I've come to realize that I know almost nothing about you." Sawyer looked up at him. "Would you tell me about your family?"

"Of course, Charles!" Sawyer sat up with a broad smile and began chatting away about his little sister, Cika. How brilliant she was, how much promise she had, how it was her dream to be educated like all of the wealthy children, and all the help she had been to him when they were little. She had cared cared for the household, bought their food, fed the animals, and done everything else that needed doing while Sawyer spent his days working for anyone who would hire him.

"Sawyer," Charles sat up, "where were your parents?" He asked softly. Sawyer's face fell. "I'm sorry," the prince said quickly, taking his lover's hand in one of his and placing the other on Sawyer's face, "you don't have to answer if you do not wish to." He was met with a small smile and a quick kiss to his palm.

"No, it's fine. I want you to know." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Well, my father worked in a quarry with his brother, and the two of them were caught under a rock slide. My uncle lost the use of his right leg, but my father was not so lucky. My mother, who was pregnant with Cika when he passed, died three months later in childbirth. I was nine at the time, and I remember that my mother was a very small woman. I have been told that it was a miracle she survived having me, and she knew she would not live to see her second child open its eyes." He swallowed, and Charles gave his hand a light squeeze. A faint, reassuring smile crossed Sawyer's lips, and he continued. "So, my sister and I went to live with our uncle. He was always very good to us, but he could not work because of his leg. I took various jobs around our village, cleaning stables, slaughtering animals," he grimaced at the memory, "running various errands, and I made just enough for us to live on while my uncle cared for Cika. Six years we lived like that, and in the few hours I was home I played with my little sister, taught her what little I knew, and showed her how to do small chores. When she became able to care for the house on her own, I left to take higher paying jobs working in the houses of nearby noblemen, and I would send the money I earned back to my family. Every two weeks I would have a weekend's leave, and I would come home. They were both able to live comfortably on my wages, and that is how it has been ever since. Cika is actually turning nine in a week, but unfortunately I will be missing her birthday."

"No, you will not!" Charles exclaimed, startling Sawyer out of his melancholy reverie.

"What do you mean?" He asked, green eyes wide.

"Exactly what I said! I will not let you miss Cika's birthday! And," his face became red, but his determination did not waiver, "I would very much like to meet your family, Sawyer." He was answered with an enormous grin, and suddenly found himself on his back, pushed over by a bear hug from his ecstatic lover.

"Charles, I would love for you to meet my family!" His excitement was slightly muffled by the prince's chest. Charles wrapped his arms around Sawyer and returned the hug, kissing the top of his head.

"Then it shall be arranged, my love." He gently reached for the covers and pulled them back up before nestling his face in Sawyer's hair and closing his eyes once more. Just before he was completely asleep, he was startled by a knock on the door. "Who is it?" He squealed, covering Sawyer with pillows and blankets in a desperate attempt to hide him.

"It's Nahia, may I come in?" Charles breathed a long sigh of relief and patted Sawyer's head, returning all the pillows to their rightful places.

"Certainly!" The door slid open and she stuck her head in, a wide smile on her face.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" She teased, easing her whole body through the doorway before quietly closing it behind her.

"No, we were just napping." Charles laughed. "Would you care to join us?" Sawyer gave him a light punch on the arm and grinned.

"As a matter of fact," Nahia responded, walking towards them, "I would." Both boys snapped their heads toward her, and she chuckled. "What? I will never say no to a comfortable bed." She flopped herself down in the empty space next to Sawyer and closed her eyes, hands resting on her chest. The young men stared for a moment in shocked silence before shrugging to each other and resuming their nap.