♛ "Your Highness, you know I won't reveal that." The King's response was to strum his fingers on his desk in agitation. The King stared at Aislin's secretary steadily for a few seconds, then tried again- this time with more force in his voice.
"Mrs. Perreault, I need to check on the welfare of the Queen and I order you to tell me what she's not revealing to me."
Mrs. Perreault kept her rigid posture and continued to look passively at the King. "And once again, Your Majesty, my Queen gave me a direct order to never reveal her secrets to you or anyone else. Sir, she knew you would be questioning me, and the relationship between the Queen and myself must have an absolute foundation of trust or it is worthless."
Mrs. Perreault waited for the normal reply, this same interview had been going on for weekly for a month now.
But the King replied differently this time. "I need to keep her safe, I can't lose her." He clamped his jaw muscles in irritation, then continued. "I only ask you that if her emotional welfare is ever in jeopardy you notify me immediately, no matter the time of day or night or where I am." Picking up a pen on his desk he started to twirl it in his fingers. "She sometimes forgets to take care of herself, to realize her limits. I can't lose her again Mrs. Perreault." The King then looked at me and stood up.
Mrs. Perreault remained seated for a moment then told the King, "Sir, she might need a small vacation, perhaps once a month. Nothing that requires much planning, just simply leaving the Palace for recreation over a long weekend. But I assure you our Queen is very healthy, and very much in love with you."
Smiling at his mate's closest friend and confidant, the King nodded. "Thank you Mrs. Perreault."
She stood and bowed to the King and left the room quietly, then walked out of the Palace to the car that was waiting for her. The Queen had insisted that if her secretary wasn't going to live in the Palace then she needed a private car and driver. And due to the intermittent long hours the tired secretary had readily agreed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A few days after Lyda began working for me, Harding Spense scheduled a duel between them, with her picking her weapon against him- the epee. It seemed that she would be at a disadvantage since she was smaller, but I knew my secretary could hold her own in a duel.
The morning of the duel a small crowd of off-duty Palace Guards gathered in the arena to watch. The betting was fierce, but Kendrew was forbidding me from betting, and I just huffed at him. And he also asked me again about my secret stash of cash, and I just smiled and kissed him. I get to have a few private things for pete sake, and it wasn't even very much.
"Aislin, you have financial accounts with millions in them. You don't need to keep any secret accounts from me," he told me one morning as he was tying his tie. I just smiled. And kissed him.
We walked together to the arena, I was looking forward to it. I had earlier met Lyda's husband, he was a gym teacher at a local school of mostly werewolves. Seeing them in the arena, he had his arm wrapped around his mate's shoulders and was whispering instructions to her.
"Now remember to leave the man his dignity," he was telling her reasonably. She snorted and looked at him before giving him a quick kiss. Seeing me she pulled away slightly and pulled her husband over to us.
"Your Highness," she said formally while bowing her head in respect. Turning to Kendrew she said after bowing her head to him, "My King, this is my mate Daniel Perreault." Daniel bowed his head and said "Your Highness," before they shook hands.
I looked at Lyda expecting her to be nervous, but she had a certain challenging gleam in her eyes. She wore a turquoise jacket, black pants, and brown ankle-high leather boots over them. Harding stood a whole head taller than her, had much longer arms- but that didn't seem to bother her in the slightest. I looked around and the crowd was larger now, and some bleachers were hastily set up to handle the crowd. I saw servants, neighboring Alphas and some of their packs, and I even saw Shiner.
Grinning, I squeezed Kendrew's hand and 'linked' him that I wanted to talk with Shiner if that was alright with him and his wolf. I quickly added that if he ever wanted to talk to one of his ex-lovers I expected the same courtesy.
"And if I say no?" he replied stiffening at my question.
"I will remain at your side like a good little Queen." I left the answer completely up to him.
"I'll go with you then, since neither my wolf or I want you to talk to him. He's a criminal, Aislin, as you well know. You think of him as this type of guru teacher, but he has ties to the shadiest of wolves and men." I had told Kendrew a little bit more about my past with Shiner, how he had taken me under his wing to show me the private-detective business. Which actually bordered on the criminal side of things.
Turning to Lyda I wished her luck and excused ourselves, and holding Kendrew's hand guided him over to Shiner.
Shiner had been talking to some guards, but turned toward us when we approached. Bowing his head in respect he said curtly, "Your Highness, my King."
I smiled at Shiner as he smiled back. His short grey hair trimmed more than usual, and he was wearing a slightly better quality of clothes. The King must be paying him well. "I'm surprised to see you here, Shiner. And it's good to see you."
"This duel is the talk of the entire Palace and surrounding towns. There's heavy betting on both sides, but Harding is favored two to one."
Oh how I itched to place a bet but Kendrew just squeezed my hand in warning. I let out a breath, "I would encourage you to bet on Mrs. Perreault."
"Insider tip? How interesting," Shiner told me with a smirk.
I took my free hand and pulled out a small wad of cash from my pocket and handed it out to Shiner to take as a bet. "As I am," I added.
Shiner didn't take the money, but looked to his King. Kendrew simply stared at him, but then nodded his head slightly in agreement. Shiner smiled at both of us and took the money and put it in his pocket, it was most of my money and I was hoping I'd be rich shortly. Kendrew squeezed my hand a little bit tight and didn't let go.
Ignoring him I said to Shiner, "Oh, and I wanted to especially thank you for your improved security measures, they've made a huge difference already." Both men knew it wasn't a compliment, but was a thinly veiled complaint. Kendrew couldn't help a prideful smile at my comment, and glanced at me before looking away and loosening the punishing grip on my hand. He really didn't want a repeat of my escape, and brought in my mentor to make that happen. Even if he didn't trust Shiner, the man knew all about security.
But I knew of a way to escape from here if needed, my new 'security expert' had shown me a glaring weakness. I had hired her as my assistant secretary, after running her by Kendrew of course. But why I always felt that I needed an escape clause was strange to me, I think it was the challenge similar to how some people did crossword puzzles. I guess it was my hobby.
"Thank you my Queen," Shiner replied, but his eyes had a mischievous glint to them.
A Royal Guard that I didn't recognize stood in the middle of the room and addressed both combatants and the crowd. Since Harding was the challenger, Lyda got to select her sword from a pair of them. I'd studied epee fencing a little so I understood the formalities required. There was the posturing, where both parties boasted of their prowess through their body language. Then the 'choosing of the weapon', then the initial dueling where they sized up each other's skills, then the duel would turn deadly. I so didn't want this to happen, but resigned myself to it.
Kendrew could have stopped it, but I didn't ask him and he didn't volunteer. His appearance was mainly to communicate that he was aware of events in his own palace, and this was allowed by him.
The 'referee' explained that this particular duel was to draw blood three times. Severe injury was frowned upon, but not forbidden- meaning they could go for the 'death' shots. Following protocol was encouraged, but again not required- meaning they could fight dirty if they wanted. Basically both parties could do what they wanted, injuring themselves to the point of death. Again I wasn't happy about any of this.
This was no Olympic duel, this was no movie choreography. The tension surrounding this was very real, and strangely I felt that this would choose who would be the better protector of... me. A few days ago I told Lyda not to do this, but she respectfully refused my 'order'. She told me that her reputation in the Palace was at stake, and she needed to do this. And she added that she would win and deflate the male egos which was greatly needed, and implied that I should stay out of this.
Failing my efforts to get Lyda to back out, I switched to Harding to try to get him to see sense. "Your Highness," he had said to me. "I walked into the room and she was brandishing her sword in your presence. It is unacceptable and she knows it." He then refused to talk to me about it. Maybe the entire point of this from Harding's perspective was to get me to start taking my own safety seriously, I didn't really know.
The Palace crowd was pretty evenly divided. Both combatants hadn't been in residence very long, but this was sure to win them both supporters. And I'm sure the women would be throwing themselves at Harding which he would thoroughly enjoy. But like everything in Palace life, politics was everything. Allegiances and alliances were made in back rooms and corridors, verbal agreements and swift retaliations ran through the walls like fire. I hated all of it, and sometimes longed for my simple life before I met the King.
Only my life wasn't simple then, it was full of hate and plotting and revenge. But I sometimes wished for a more solitary life free from politics.
Lyda drew my attention as she carefully removed her jacket and handed it to her mate, showing her tailored white shirt. I suppose she wore white so the blood would show, but she then stood tall and looked at Harding with a strange calm on her face. She continued to look at him as she rolled up her sleeves, then put on some black leather gloves. Turning to the 'referee' guard, she picked up the first weapon and examined it. Flexing the steel with her hands she started to test the weapon by showing off some practiced moves. When she was done she did the same to the other epee, then held up both epees in each hand and studied how they moved in each hand.
Choosing the one in her left hand, she threw the rejected sword in the air and grabbed it by the blade and returned it to the referee hilt first. She ignored Harding by turning her back to him and continued to study the weapon in her left hand, occasionally flicking it in the air and becoming used to it.
The crowd had grown larger, and became very quiet during the choosing of the weapons. I stood next to the bleachers with Kendrew, I knew the actual duel wouldn't take very long. Of course the entire duel was absurd, but no one seemed to talk about that. They were too interested in seeing blood being drawn, and I was reminded of ancient Roman gladiators.
Harding put on his own display, ignoring Lyda while he took off his leather coat and examined his weapon. His white shirt had slightly puffy sleeves, and he also wore black pants with short black boots. It must have been the style used for swordplay. He took his weapon and completed a series of elegant thrusts and twists, waving it in the air with deliberate style.
After another minute, he nodded to the 'referee', who stood between the two and motioned them toward each other. A female guard walked between the two and offered them each a drink on an ornate tray. I assumed it was wine, and each of them took a cup and saluted the other. Then took a swallow of the drink while they both studied each other. The whole process seemed strangely intimate, given that they weren't mates. But I knew this was all part of the psychological warfare of the duel.
Lyda started smiling, then put her cup back the tray. Everything was so civilized, but I felt this strange crackling tension. It seemed to pulse and start to almost spark. Very confused I looked at Kendrew, and he just 'linked' me to enjoy this, and smiled at me standing with his arms crossed. I saw an answering glint in his own eyes, and realized that he'd done this many times in the past. I would like to see him training, but I wouldn't like to see him fighting.
Turning her back again, Lyda walked to her position. The 'referee' pulled out an epee he was wearing in a scabbard, raised it high while looking at both challengers in the eyes- then quickly lowered it to the floor backing away. Lyda kept her epee lowered but twitching in the air, her right fist on her hip.
Harding held his sword aimed at her chest high and started to circle her, holding his left arm out slightly in front of his chest. Lyda kept watch, waiting for any opening while Harding kept up his circling. Harding made a few exploratory thrusts, while Lyda simply flicked her wrists and blocked his sword.
Harding started taunting her, "So you're the new secretary huh? I would have thought the Queen would have chosen someone with more experience." Lyda suddenly thrust up from underneath, and they parried swords for a few seconds, then split apart. Everything happened so quickly in epee duels, the blades flashed so fast it was hard to track them.
Both opponents now started to circle each other, but Lyda kept her sword lowered but her eyes were watchful. Harding had obviously done some research on my secretary, "So how is it that someone who killed their own brother is hired for such a position?"
Lyda remained silent but quickly moved into his range and the dueling became intense. Lyda instantly became savage, this topic was apparently off limits. Both warriors briefly connected at their hilts, and Harding pushed Lyda aside and stepped in for a blow. Lyda deflected it, but not before blood appeared on her shoulder.
The 'referee' stepped between them and forced them apart. Harding turned to the woman carrying the drinks and took a healthy gulp from a cup. Nodding his thanks to her, he turned to face Lyda who was standing and waiting for him, her sword tip on the ground and shoulder openly bleeding.
The referee once again stood between them and dropped his sword, then swiftly backing away.
And it appeared that my Lyda had done some research of her own. They once again parried, and this time it was Lyda to speak, "So how does it feel to be driving when your best friend was killed in the accident you caused?" Harding became instantly enraged and attacked without mercy, his eyes black but on fire.
"I caused no accident," he snarled at his enemy swinging with all his strength.
Lyda faked attacking at his chest, then dove under his arm, and whacked him across his back instantly causing a diagonal red streak to be formed. The blood caused the shirt to stick to his skin. The referee immediately jumped between the two of them, forcing them apart. Lyda reached out her hand and her mate handed her some wine. Staring at Harding she took a slow drink, then handed the cup back to her mate without taking her eyes off of my bodyguard.
The referee again dropped his sword between them and stepped back. The two started to both advance and retreat instead of circling. Lyda kept her right hand on her hip, and started to advance slowly while twirling the tip of her sword. And instead of keeping it lowered she raised it so she was looking straight down the blade. Harding kept his blade at chest level and toying with her kept knocking her sword away.
Harding talked almost in a whisper to her now and everyone strained to hear, "My sole purpose is to keep my Queen safe, I will not have you endanger her- do you understand?" He then took a few fast steps forward and his sword slashed through the air toward her shoulder. Lyda quickly ducked down and attacked from underneath while Harding blocked her blow with the hand guard, pushing her away.
Lyda rolled and stood up quickly. "You're full of shit if you think I would ever harm her you idiot," Lyda snarled at him and rushed in for another attack. She knocked his sword up, but he recovered to throw hers out of the way, tripping her and stabbing her other shoulder as she fell. Harding turned away to get another drink.
Lyda stood up and both her wounds were bleeding heavily, the blood patches growing and streaking downwards. She ignored them. Facing Harding she held her sword up high, threw it in the air in front of her and caught it with her other hand. She had been fighting with her 'weak' arm, and Harding smiled at this.
Returning his smile, she stood there with her sword pointing to the ground fully open and exposed. "Do your worst," she taunted Harding who walked toward her with his sword waist high. "Besides I know of your cruelty to our Queen these past few months. I know how you abused her, how you bruised her, beat her with your own fists, how you insulted her every minute of every day." Harding stopped in his tracks as his eyes turned black again.
And then came her 'killer' taunt. "I know how you made her want to die." Harding growled loudly making the hair on everyone's neck stand up in response to the threatening warning, then jumped toward Lyda and attacked with a ferocity I hadn't seen in him before. Lyda became the expert swordsman I knew her to be. She deflected the frantic thrusts, and pushed him away when she could have drawn blood.
I was confused by her behavior but she wasn't done yet. "I know all about your tactics to bring the Queen to her knees, to make her give up her throne." And Harding again went for the kill, this was no gentle sparring. He used his strength to stab, hack, attack, thrust, and Lyda used his own momentum against him. Often ducking when he swung wildly, but still deadly. The entire crowd was silent and held their breath.
Harding kept going, using brute strength while Lyda deftly avoided all the attacks. Which made Harding even more angry, and continued even more energetically as the sound of the blades striking each other kept clanging to the ceiling. Lyda must have decided she had enough, so during one frenzied parry she deftly tripped him and stood over his back and using the tip of her sword scratched his cheek.
Then hopped off and walked away to get another drink of wine, never letting her eyes leave her opponent. Harding jumped up with fire in his eyes as his cheek was bleeding over his jaw and down his neck. He knew he was being toyed with now and didn't like it one bit. The referee cleared his throat, stepping between the opponents one final time since they both had two bleeding injuries. The duel was almost over as the guard dropped his sword.
Lyda stood there with her sword tip facing the floor and her left hand in a fist on her hip. Her shoulder wounds continued to bleed, but they were quickly healing. I could also see Harding's cheek wound starting to close up, but his eyes were sparking fire.
Lyda looked directly at him and spoke loudly, "You will never question my loyalty again, 'bodyguard'. I will fight for my Queen, I will die for my Queen, and no one- absolutely NO ONE will doubt my devotion to her. Do you understand this 'bodyguard'?" She shouted the last part and the entire crowd knew she was talking to them as well. She would kill anyone who stood between us and I was strangely touched. I still thought this was an entire waste of time, but there was no doubt left in me at all in regards to my new secretary.
Snarling at Lyda, Harding accepted her challenge. "And you will be the first to die by my hand if you ever fail her. Do you understand that 'secretary'?" Every member of the Royal Guard and Queen's Guard took their duties seriously, and Lyda's lack of respect to them grated on his nerves. I finally understood that both of my protectors were actually telling the entire Palace of their intentions, that my safety was paramount.
Well this was a hell of a way to announce it, and I wasn't defenseless the idiots.
Lyda smirked at Harding and started to twirl her tip above the floor, "Do you concede?"
Harding just huffed out a breath before advancing towards her. I believed they worked out their differences but there was the small matter of a duel that needed finishing. Their pride was on the line as well as their own blood.
"Where did you train?" Harding asked in a normal voice as he lunged his sword toward her heart in a fierce death blow.
Easily deflecting it and answering it with one of her own to his stomach, "Burgundy France with a swordmaster."
Harding returned by swinging his epee towards her neck, "Frenchie? I suppose they know a thing or two about their own swords."
Ducking and thrusting upwards Lyda responded, "The best in the world."
Harding responded by increasing the speed of the attacks, and it was hard to keep up with the speed and fury of the moving blades. They would attack and defend, respond and parry, swing and duck and this savagery went on for another two minutes. Often their blades would spin around each other making this metallic hissing sound, each waiting for the other to offer a weakness, a point of entry.
Finally Lyda took a step back breathing as heavy as Harding. "Bodyguard, I have another appointment so I'll have to cut this short." She swiftly moved in for an attack, then locked arms with Harding and they flung each other around. Harding threw her to the side, but she reached out and flicked her wrist and suddenly there was another scratch on Harding's other cheek.
Lyda rolled and jumped up on the balls of her feet, then held her sword up to her nose in salute to her opponent. Harding dropped his sword on the floor and fell to one knee, bowing his head to her as an act of concession and admiration. Harding was complimenting her, he didn't have to do that. Nodding to him out of respect she walked to her mate and finished the wine in the cup, kissing him hard on the mouth when she was done.
The crowd went berserk, they were on their feet shouting and cheering while everyone swarmed around her. Kendrew and I backed away so we wouldn't interfere. I linked him 'well that was a strange demonstration'.
Kendrew pulled my hand up to his lips and kissed my knuckles, making my knees weak. "She's not done yet my Queen," he said through the mind link. I looked at him with the question in my eyes when the crowd became quiet. Parting the crowd, Lyda walked over and kneeled on the ground in front of me while holding her sword handle up for me to take.
The entire crowd followed her lead and got on their knees bowing their heads as she led them to do. My secretary was full of surprises, and flabbergasted I took the sword not knowing what to do. Lyda lifted her head and started speaking.
"My Queen, as I told your Bodyguard I pledge my life to keep you safe. I will sacrifice myself if needed to ensure the safety of both you and our King. I will fight for the Monarchy, I will fight for my Queen and your efforts for peace."
I thought it was slightly ironic to talk of peace when my champion was bleeding, but that was the way of my people.
Lyda remained kneeling in front of me, and this was one of those unexpected times that my wolf needed to use her Royal Link. I asked her to help me immediately as I stood straighter and looking around at all the people. I remained silent as my wolf immediately linked to each of them, they all felt the Royal Power, and I was surprised to feel Kendrew's wolf add his energy to mine. Looking over at my King I smiled in surprise. He smiled back and took my hand.
The Royal Power created this intense, intimate bond between all of us and the entire stadium felt it. We were all connected, and I let them feel my admiration for both combatants.
I used my wolf's Command Voice which filled the stadium, "This powerful duel was a demonstration of the power of our wolves. This duel shows that differences can be resolved without death and war. Our people are better off for fighting civilly, our people are better off dueling and negotiating than rushing headlong into battle."
I pulled up Lyda and turned her around to face her crowd. "I salute these two warriors who fought today, and we will celebrate with a feast tonight in their honor and the victory of our Champion! Please rise everyone and honor what has happened here today!"
Again the crowd went wild with cheering and engulfed Lyda with good wishes and congratulations.
Kendrew pulled my hand as a few guards walked with us to an exit. "Well said Aislin," Kendrew said as we walked back to the Palace. "I'll have Jonathan help arrange the feast, there's too much for one person to do."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
With the help of the Palace staff we were able to put on a marvelous feast. The wine flowed, the food was simple but delicious, we were able to get first some musicians for gentle background music, then a rock band for the late night dancing.
I sat with Kendrew at the 'High Table' and leaned into him. He put his arms around me and whispered in my ear, "I believe I asked you not to bet."
Surprised I tried to pull away but he held me tight. "I can make a small bet if I want to."
"How much did you win?"
"Twenty thousand," I replied as I smirked feeling proud of myself. I'd have to collect tomorrow.
Kendrew huffed out a breath. "We'll need to discuss your finances, love. I don't think you know how rich you now are."
Frowning slightly I replied to my mate, "I don't need any money Kendrew, I don't want any of your money. I told you this."
"Oh mate, we definitely need to have a talk." He kissed the top of my head and we continued to watch the party change to more wild rock dancing. I decided this was not my scene and that it was time for me to leave, and tugged away gently from Kendrew.
"I'm heading back to our room, and thanks for all yours- and Jonathan's- help with it. I think everyone needed a release."
Smirking at me he stood up and pulled on my hand. "I'll join you, I just need to check with Alec about a few things." I kissed him and walked to my room.
I decided that a soothing bath was in order, and I could hear the rock band through the walls. Well maybe not soothing but I felt more peaceful. A short time later Kendrew entered the bathroom while he was loosening his tie.
"That was entertaining today, I'm glad to see the duel. I think many people needed to clear the air. Bringing you in has created certain tensions and this will help everyone calm down." I just smiled at him, I wasn't going to bring up for the millionth time that I didn't ask for any of this.
But neither did he, yet my mate always seemed to be more comfortable with the changes in his life than I was, I think it's because he'd been looking for his mate for a long time- and I hadn't even been thinking about my own. Kendrew rolled up his sleeves and I became slightly alarmed. This had never ended well for me in the past, and my mate walked over to the side of the Jacuzzi and sat down. Kendrew's eyes traveled to my marks, my breasts, my stomach, my groin, and all the way down my legs and back. His gaze was a huge turn on.
He trailed his fingers the same direction his eyes traveled and I started burning up. I moved to get up, but Kendrew gently held my shoulder so I stayed in the water. I sat back and relaxed then. Kendrew got to the place between my legs and put his fingers between my folds. I closed my eyes and groaned.
He put two fingers inside my wet core and I opened my blazing eyes. "Let me make love to you," I asked him and he smiled at me. Kendrew pulled me out of the water and dried me off. His eyes were burning with an intense lust, which must have matched my own. When I was dry he lifted me up and carried me to bed and we made love until we were both exhausted.
♛ Please vote, comment, follow, and howl at will. Also it was really difficult to write about a duel, the blades move so fast it's hard to describe. I watched a lot of Olympic videos on epee dueling. I'd appreciate hearing how I did in describing it!
The music is the Pacific Rim OST Soundtrack - 01 - MAIN THEME by Ramin Djawadi. He also wrote much of the first Ironman movie soundtrack which is also cool.
Thanks, Olympic Wolf