A/N: I own nothing but plot. Enjoy!
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Soft moans mixed with the hearty groans of a male filled the room. Nearby, a knight guarded the room, his face emotionless even as he watched the man and woman coupling on the bed.
Princess Alana endured as Prince Octavian finished sooner than expected. Fool, she thought, controlling her facial expression to that of ecstasy. Now that this spineless prince had finished and was basking in the afterglow, she could put her magic to use, infiltrating Octavian's mind once more.
Except for status, Octavian could not compare to the crown prince of Tynan or even the knight, Sir Luke Castellan, watching blankly right now. The lanky prince of Barinia was just a washed down version of the other men, save for having some cunningness.
Alana frowned. It had taken weeks for her and Octavian to come to some sort of agreement for Barinia and Kiran to align against the other countries. Were it not for Octavian's way of words, she would not have had to share her bed with this foul man. Somehow, Octavian was perceptive of her light magic, not allowing her to get too close to him to work her spell.
It was only when they shared the pleasantries of flesh could she get Octavian alone and his defenses down to implement her magic. The strongest spells were placed in small doses over time so no one, least of all the person being cast upon, would suspect anything was wrong. And so this was the fifth time that she had to do this.
Alana stared down at the Barinian prince's now blank face. Just a little more of her magic, and he would be completely under her control. Then she could use Barinia's armies and attack Kiran at will. Then she would dispose of this disgusting piece of human.
Octavian apparently had certain self-esteem issues regarding her knight and would make Luke be in the room while Octavian and Alana coupled on the bed. Thankfully, Alana would blank out Luke's mind during such times to ensure that Luke would still be obedient to her.
Octavian's head slumped back into the pillows, asleep and under the spell. Alana sneered. Just this much and he was already fatigued. The coupling was lacking, and he couldn't even make her the least bit satisfied.
Alana waved her fingers and summoned a few golden sparkles. Obediently, Luke came up to her. Alana forced him down beside the unconscious Barinian prince. Now that the two men were side by side, it was clear what differences lay between them. One was a prince who barely lifted his finger to get what he wanted, a pale copy of the other, a battle hardened knight whose body was rippled with muscles.
Alana sneered as she and Luke coupled right next to the prince. When they finished, she beckoned to her knight.
"Let us go, my dear Luke. We have much work on our hands."
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Confined to the bed for a while, Annabeth was extremely bored. The king pampered her with books and conversation. When the king was not there, the maids and knights fussed around her with snacks and clothing, treating her as though she was a precious vase. The most work she could do was look over the budget management and approve of any light administrative changes.
During this time, Annabeth devoured books from the library about the history of countries in this world or played with some random toys that had been delivered to her. Eldoris had some rather interesting ones that were puzzle based that she liked to solve with. Most of these were for young children. Some found it strange that the queen was playing with such toys. Others with a more gossipy nature thought that it was a sign that the queen was with a child.
As for the king, he indulged in the queen's fondness for puzzles, thinking that her childhood in Kiran must have been so harsh that she was in wonder of such childish things. Annabeth just smiled at the king's thoughts and played to her heart's content.
Currently, she was embroidering a sachet. Her skills had gotten better in the weeks since she had made that handkerchief for the king. Annabeth smiled and looked down at the pale blue sachet with dahlias and gardenias showcased with bright thread. She had just slipped a silver coin inside when an arm embraced her waist.
"What is this?" The king asked, grinning as he inspected the little pouch in her hands.
Annabeth smiled and passed it over to the king. "I was making it for you."
"Really, this is for me?" He picked up the velvet pouch and took a whiff of the fragrant dried rose petals Annabeth had stuffed inside.
"Unless you think another king deserves it more than you do." Annabeth teased.
"Naturally, the pouch is for me. What's this inside here?" He had discovered the coin that she had slipped inside.
"It's a silver coin. I was reading some books in the library about Eldoris history. Apparently, there used to be an old wives' folktale of women giving their husbands a coin sewn up in a sachet to use for emergencies."
"Emergencies? What kind of emergency?"
"You know, in case you forget your money pouch or something."
The king laughed as Annabeth grinned. This was the king of Eldoris after all. What kind of king would he be if he couldn't even pay for something?
"And it's a silver coin, not even a gold?" The king raised an eyebrow. "Not even two silver coins?"
Annabeth stuck out her tongue. The silver coin was the smallest denomination she had in her treasury right now.
"I would have given you a copper coin if I could find one."
Giving him a gold coin would have been a waste. If the king really didn't have money on him, he could just pay with his face. Who didn't know what the king looked like in Eldoris?
The king clutched at his chest in pretend dramatics. "Now I see how much standing I have in your heart, my queen."
"But you're sitting down right now." Annabeth blinked, innocently.
His green eyes looked indignantly at her less-than-good pun. Annabeth pecked him on the cheek as he graciously accepted her kiss.
"Did you finish all your work?" She asked.
Normally, he only had some time to sit and chat with her during dinner or late evenings. Now, it was early afternoon.
The king sighed. "I'll have to go out again for a few days. The drought situation is almost gone as summer is heading out."
"I would be looking forward to cooler weather again," Annabeth admitted.
The king sighed once more. He was truly reluctant to leave the palace at such a crucial time. Annabeth wasn't fully healed yet and he loathed to leave her alone. While Ceto was now forever gone, the palace was full of dark secrets.
"Kiss me, my queen, and let me savor the memory for the next few days." The king said.
Annabeth wrapped her arms around the king's neck and closed her eyes as his lips delved over hers. Their kiss was soft, lips melting together. Both of them remembered the heated nights of passion they had. Regrettably, they were too few before something else always came up. Even now, the king was all too aware of the still healing wound on her shoulder.
"Oh!"
Annabeth found herself pushed back onto the bed as the king swung himself over her body. As if realizing that he wouldn't be able to kiss her for a few days, the king devoured her lips. A smooth wetness swiped at her bottom lip before a small nip opened her mouth and the king slipped his tongue in.
Her hands grasped his shoulders as the king's lips ventured to her neck. Annabeth moaned as his tongue and lips marked a constellation on her skin. But all too soon, they had to part. His green eyes looked at her with a dark desire. Annabeth looked up at him, chest heaving slightly from the exertion.
His finger caressed her neck. "By the time this mark fades, I'll be back home."
The king managed to dodge Annabeth's thrown pillow as he got off her. Before he exited the room, he turned around and mouthed three words.
Annabeth grumbled inwardly, but the tips of her ears were flushed. Those three words that he had said...
I love you.
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Percy mulled over the incidents that had happened in his life so far, connecting little dots in his mind. First, there was the incident at the dowager queen's ball with poisonous incense. The gardener maid who had buried a voodoo doll with nefarious intentions. The steward gave Guido stimulant herbs. And now, using drugs on Lady Ceto to incite an attack.
A long time ago, Percy had suspected his mother had passed away from poison but was not able to accumulate proof as the former queen of Eldoris had her body cremated...
It seems that a pig only knew the same tactics over and over again. No. Even a pig would be smarter than this.
In his past life there had been poisoning incidents of course, but not this often like it had been in this life. By now in this past, Eldoris was being invaded by Kiran on the pretense that Eldoris had killed Princess Annabeth. But currently, Tynan was allied with Eldoris, Princess Annabeth was alive, and Triton was more or less a spy on Percy's side. Now that Percy was no longer dealing with Kiran at the moment, it seems the most present danger lurked inside of Eldoris.
Of course, he was aware that Kiran would love to see him and the dowager queen fight for the throne so Kiran could swoop in unawares. Already, Lord Christopher himself had hinted that the Kiran princess was entertaining the Barinian prince that Percy had not chosen to be the heir to Barinia, a fact now confirmed by Eldoris spies in Kiran.
The information Triton had also brought over had been of immense help. With the cover of managing the drought, Percy had quietly snipped the root of much of the underground drug operation. With the last few branches on its verge of dying, Percy could finally head back to the palace and charge the dowager queen with treason.
He touched the sachet that was tucked safely in his coat pocket. Even now, he could smell the faint fragrance of roses emanating from that area.
"Your Majesty."
The knight's words cut through Percy's thoughts.
"The knights are ready at your command. Everyone is in position."
Percy nodded. At three separate territories in Eldoris, Eldoris knights had quietly settled around the mansions of the nobles in charge. The unsuspecting nobles had gladly let the Eldoris royal knights stay in their mansions on the belief that they were there to help alleviate the drought affecting their lands or to oversee their lands. While the nobles were distracted, shadow guards quietly inspected their lands for evidence of illegal drug importation. The last homing pigeon had been sent that evidence had been secured. All that was left was to round up all the parties involved at the same time so they couldn't alert their allies at all.
"Let's go."
Under the dark cover of night, the mansion was being invaded from both inside and out. The duke who had dared to lord his influence over the queen and tried to force his granddaughter as a concubine was roused out of bed at night to dark clothed men pointing swords at his throat. In an hour all the people involved were tied up at Percy's feet.
Before they could even protest a word in their defense, piles of paper records were thrown in bundles. Each bundle made a thud that echoed in the mansion's hall. Following the papers were chests of unknown drugs in the forms of herbs, powders, and candles.
The duke closed his mouth and swallowed his indignant words of protest. He knew that it was all over. The old duke glanced up in fear, managing to catch the king's steely-cold gaze. Percy let his lips curl up in a soft smile. The duke felt a chill in that soft gaze. Perhaps the king wanted to take even more personal revenge for the duke's intrusion into the queen's chambers?
"Lock them all up," Percy ordered. "I don't want their faces to see the light of day until the trial starts."
It was now so late in the night that it could be considered early morning. A couple hours or so and the sun would soon rise. Percy gathered his knights and started the journey to head back to the palace.
In the dark shadowy woods surrounding the path, darkly dressed soldiers were prepared for battle. Percy was startled by the brief movement in the corner of his eye. Before he could say a word of warning, a hail of arrows flew out from the trees, followed by the war cries of enemy soldiers.
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"Your Majesty!"
Annabeth woke up with a start. Groggy with sleep, she pushed herself up.
"What is it, Lucy?"
Judging by the dim darkness of the window, the sun was groggy with sleep as well.
Lucy was frantic, kneeling on the ground. "Your Majesty...the king...he..."
There was a dark premonition rising in Annabeth's throat. "Lucy, speak clearly. What's wrong?"
Lucy gulped. "The king...he's been assassinated!"
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A/N: Author doesn't update after cliffhanger. Updates after weeks and leaves another cliffhanger. Will update again once summer break hits...for now, I will be closeted in the library for finals seasons... The fairy tale stories should be updated occasionally.
As always, thank you all for your patience, and see you next chapter!