I grabbed Ansgar’s arm and squeezed a little, letting my eyes tell him what my words could not. Within a heartbeat, his brain must have translated my intention because the shadows in his eyes immediately dissipated, leaving only grey clearness and a dash of light. Hope.
“Welcome, your Royal Highnesses,” Rhylan spoke and my eyes turned to his direction just enough to see that he also stood, showing the same respect to the king and queen.
“General,” the queen exclaimed in delight, her voice a scraping of metal against my senses. She was a tall woman, slender and... old. Apart from Ansgar’s parents, I couldn’t recall seeing an old fae, even though my mate had told me they did not live for hundreds of years. But even so, the Earth Kingdom’s king looked vigorous and strong, like a fifty-year-old bodybuilder. This woman, however, struggled to drag her step and I knew her long black velvet dress had been designedto hide her difficulty in walking.
Wrinkles interlocked on her face, hardening her expression. Even her smile looked tired and exhausted.
“My beautiful queen,” Rhylan exclaimed and took two steps towards her, bowing even lower, his right knee hitting the ground, then grabbed her hand, adorned by lavish jewellery, and kissed it.
“It is a pleasure to have you back, Rhylan,” she spoke, her voice protruding through the carved stone of the walls, so thick and lashing.
“The pleasure will be all mine, my queen,” he replied, maintaining his kneeling position in front of her. I had never seen Rhylan like this, so humble and obeying, it shocked me.
“Let’s hope not,” she let out what I believed wanted to be a giggle but sounded more like a low bark.
“Rhylan,” the king was the next to greet him, and only then, he rose from in front of the queen, but still kept her hand in his.
“My king,” Rhylan nodded. Only nodded. None of the cordiality and obedience he had displayed with his wife.
So much tension accumulated that even the queen sensed it, having to act as a mediator between them. I could not grasp what happened, but I remembered how the king previously received Rhylan when he brought me in front of him the first time. They looked friendly, happy to see each other. What changed? I made a note to tell Ansgar about this when we returned to our room. When wehopefullyreturned to our room.
“Rhylan, we haven’t received an invitation to your quarters in decades, this must be an important event,” the Queen shifted the attention back to him, forcing the general to react and shift his gaze from the king, back to her.
“Please,” he pointed to the seat on his right, the one opposite my own, and pulled it aside, allowing the queen to situate herself in it before he gently pushed it back to help her reach the table.
“My King, if you would be so kind,” he then pointed to the chair at the head of the table, the one I occupied for a short while, which still had the glass of wine I had poured and a few wooden splinters from Ansgar’s anger just then.
The King inclined his head, obviously displeased with the situation but did not protest when he realised he would be sitting next to Ansgar, who tensed in his chair. I immediately extended my hand to grab his under the table, our fingers interlocking tightly.
The Queen started scanning me with curiosity, observing my every move and gesture, but her attention was snatched back to the door. When it opened again, a cheerful Marreth appeared in the room.
“Rhylan,” he nodded to the host, “My King and Queen,” he acknowledged the royals, and then his eyes shifted to Ansgar and I. “Other guests,” the commander politely said and occupied the seat in between the royal couple without awaiting an invitation.
“Will there ever be a day when you are on time?” Rhylan sighed as if admonishing a son.
“Forgive me for taking another minute for grooming, I wouldn’t want my general to be displeased by my rough appearance,” Marreth smiled, talking to a friend.
“Please Rhylan, explain this invitation,” the King interrupted the conversation, which the Queen was obviously enjoying and passed to abruptly serious matters. I stopped sipping from the glass of wine I'd been nursing through the round of appetisers, we all wanted to know what he planned.
“Of course, my king,” Rhylan smiled and placed his own glass to the side. “I cordially invited you tonight to introduce the newest member of our court, Anwen Odstar.” I choked with my own saliva. What? Without even acknowledging me, he continued, “Anwen is my personal guest and will be sharing my territory, I also demand a title for her status. I know how much she likes to be called a princess.”
He grinned, cold as ice, and only then his attention turned to me in such a slow-motion, that his eyes took a long while to find mine. Long enough for me to have enough time to paint all the confusion and surprise across my face.
“Unfortunately she arrives with an inconvenience,” his eyes transferred to Ansgar for a mere second before coming back to mine, “though I have been assured he is aware of what will happen if he continues to adopt his old ways of aggression and violence.”
“We shall measure the prince’s capabilities for self-restraint then,” the King agreed. “Is this a consort petition, general?”
What? My eyes gouged out of my head and by the way Ansgar squeezed my hand and his face turned as red as his boiling blood, I knew he was as surprised and angry as I was.
“It is, my king,” Rhylan inclined his head in approval and my jaw dropped.
“Excuse me?” I said, forgetting all about our plan and where we were. “What do you mean your consort?” My voice trembled, unsure and unready for the words I already expected to come out of his mouth.
“Let me handle the details, princess,” he accentuated the words, that damned title he had asked for me. Rhylan wanted me to be his fiancée and become a princess? My brain could not wrap around the new information, my chest became heavy and knotted with what felt like stones inside my lungs and I wanted to be sick.
I did not know what Ansgar’s reaction was, I could not look at him, because I barely focused on my own breathing and consciousness. Rhylan continued to speak but I did not hear the words, my mind unable to grasp their meaning until Ansgar’s fingers wrapped around my own again under the table, I didn’t even realise I had let him go.
“Do not trouble yourself, prince, I like to share,” was the only thing I heard before Ansgar erupted, crashing his fist on the wooden table, making it shake violently.
