The Vagrant King

Chapter 9

The next day, Regulus came by in the afternoon to walk with Julian in the gardens. Without a guard, he led Julian down the corridor and into beautifully overgrown gardens. Large fruit trees towered over the garden and flowering bushes lined the path. In the centre, a decrepit stone fountain sat with two mermaids holding up a basin of water. Ivy crept up the stone walls that enclosed the garden. 

Julian glanced at the sun high of the sky. He rushed forward, sat on the edge of the fountain, and dipped his fingers into the cool water. Orange-colored fish flittered away from the ripple. It was so deep, he could not see the bottom of it. 

Regulus did not tear his gaze away from Julian. "Are you pleased?" 

Julian had asked for Regulus to take him to a secluded part of the castle grounds where they would not run into another soul. Surprisingly, Regulus agreed immediately to the strange request. It seemed he was eager to be alone with Julian too. 

Julian nodded. He dipped his hand further into the fountain and chased the fish with his fingers. He glanced discretely at the gate on the other side of the garden, swung open and unlocked.

Regulus slid his hands into his pockets and walked around the fountain to be near to Julian. "Do you remember when I kissed you?" He asked.

"Which time?" Julian said, withdrawing his hand from the water. He wiped it off on his trouser.

"Before you became ill. In the rose gardens."

There was that word again. Ill. Julian rose to his feet. He took a few steps back and walked down the dirt path in the direction of the gate, slow and unbothered so as not to rouse Regulus' suspicion. He periodically looked at the flowers to feign interest in exploring the garden. "Yes, I remember." 

"And you remember when we talked about the king's mistress?"

"Aye." Julian said, crouching down to look at purple asters.

"Then you understand what you have agreed to." Regulus said quietly. "You will not fight me when the time comes."

Julian coughed into his elbow. He wondered if Regulus could see how his fingers trembled as he gathered the purple asters. 

At Julian's silence, Regulus sighed. He moved forward and knelt next to Julian. "How many would you like?"

"Pardon?"

"I assume you are gathering these for your bedchambers." Regulus said, plucking the asters from their homes. "If you like, I can fill your room every morning with asters. You will wake up to the smell and sight of them."

"Oh." Julian said stupidly, clutching fistfuls of asters. He looked at Regulus who was kneeling in the dirt and dirtying his trousers to pick flowers for Julian. 

"If you like this garden, I'll have a servant clean it up. It was my grandmother's haven, but it grew wild after her death." Regulus continued, pulling a thin twine from his pocket and wrapping it around the asters' stems. "The branches should be cleared from the path, the fountain needs to be replaced, the plants are overgrown..."

"Don't change a thing." Julian said. "It's beautiful like this."

"Very well," Regulus handed the asters to Julian and pushed himself to his feet, wiping the dirt from his knees. He extended a hand to Julian and helped Julian to his feet.

Regulus did not release Julian's hand and pulled Julian closer. "I would like to kiss you again." He said softly.

Julian gave a small nod, worried he would stutter if he tried to speak.

Regulus pressed a hand to Julian's cheek and leaned in, kissing him on the mouth. Without realising it, Julian dropped the bunches of asters from his fingers. The flowers fell to the ground as he wrapped an arm around Regulus' neck.