Miavel

Lord Malin was thorn in His Majesty’s side?

“How so?” I asked as I started walking around the room. I admired the greenery that seemed to have no idea of the anger I was starting to build up.

“He always seems to be in opposition with His Majesty during councils for one.”

Rogers seemed hesitant to continue in the silence, so I dropped that topic.

“Alright. Have the lands of these Lords and Marquesses been physically seen and checked?”

“Uh, no?”

I stayed silent for a moment. Even though Rogers’s questions were almost loudly swirling around the room after his reply, I ignored them for now. They’d be answered soon enough.

“Has this stack of applications gone through a first round of eliminations?” I asked as I made my way back to the table. He nodded in reply.

I gestured to the papers I had set down.

“Pick those up.”

He did, glancing over them before I even said a word. When he looked back up at me, a picture of confusion, I inclined my head to the pages again.

“Line four. Third column.”

“I… I don’t see it,” Rogers admitted sheepishly.

“Look for the indents. The erase marks.” I stared at the paper in his hand. “Lines twelve, fifteen, and seventeen. Then look at the second page. The fourth column and the totals.”

Rogers did as I asked, nodding absentmindedly as he looked at the places with intense focus. He flipped to the second page and looked it over. When he saw what I had, I noticed a difference in his grip on the paper. Tighter.

“Are you…” he muttered to himself before looking up at me. “How did you see it? The discrepancies are so small. And indents?”

I shrugged.

It wasn’t difficult for me, as I’d been given less money while my Sister and Mother were getting more. In one ledger, it stated the overall amounts perfectly. However, there was one time that I’d given my budget sheet to Mother to look over and approve. Those indents that changed how much I was given in total, and subsequently how much were placed for maids and clothing… I couldn’t forget those, not even if I tried. And after Father approved it, despite my pleas…

Rogers didn’t seem to mind my lack of a proper answer. He held the papers up.

“This could… this could solve so many problems!”

Nodding, I agreed with him.

“It seems Lord Malin isn’t just a thorn in His Majesty’s side. But I’d like to check for certain. If this was a slight error and I make an accusation that jeopardizes his dukedom opportunity? I have to be sure.”

Rogers stared up at me with wide eyes.

“What are you planning to do, then?”

“I’ll have to ask His Majesty for an outing. A secret one, of course.”

I hadn’t thought his eyes could get wider, but they did. He gaped for a couple seconds before his mouth began to open and close like a fish. After a moment, he straightened himself out and nodded once.

“Do you want me to ask him on your request?”

I shook my head after some thought. It was time I had proper conversations with my husband, about real matters in the kingdom, not just him giving me warnings and discussing my purchases and how practical they were.

“I’ll do it.”

That’s what I said. Yes, I’ll speak to him. Get permission. Mhm.

That was what I had said to Rogers.

Why was it that I still didn’t have permission to go anywhere? Why was I headed to the Emerald Room once more, with Lilia walking beside me as Rogers went to grab more documents?

Why, you ask?

Well, the answer was quite simple. Sort of.

Last night, I knocked on the door just after getting entirely ready for bed in the thickest clothes I had, just so he wouldn’t get the wrong idea about why I was knocking.

Honestly, I hadn’t expected much. Maybe silence. Maybe that he wasn’t even in his room. Maybe that he’d tell me to state my purpose before even unlocking the door.

But then the door opened.

The first thing I saw when the wood moved out of my sight was a chest.

Like skin.

Glistening pectoral muscles.

Like him, half covered in a robe, having just bathed.

Warmth was radiating off of him, his hair was wet and tousled. He held a towel over his arm.

And I panicked.

Without thinking, I grabbed the door handle, squeezed my eyes shut while throwing a hand over them just in case, and slammed the door shut again.

“Sorry,” I called out. “Never mind!”

Silence seemed to drone on forever. I scolded myself. What did I just do? Just when I thought he wouldn’t ever respond, I heard his low voice.

“Alright.”

Now, I fanned my cheeks just remembering that encounter. Sure, I knew he had to be fit to swing a sword as he did in battle. I also knew that from grabbing his arm. And I knew that I found his face to be more than a little attractive.

What I hadn’t known, was that I’d be so embarrassed. Or that I’d be equally ready to cling to him or touch him.

When I closed the door, it wasn’t just for me… it was for him.

“Your Majesty?” Lilia asked, concern written on her face as she watched me fan mine with my hands.

“I’m fine. I just recalled something…”

The subtle grin on Lilia’s face had me wishing to set her mind straight. I wasn’t recalling some passion-filled encounter. It was a… surprising, warm, and – and it would never happen again!

I nodded my head to myself and to the door. Going to the Emerald Room was a daily occurrence now. For some reason, I absolutely loved it. And if I was honest about my deep-seeded feelings, it felt like it was made for me.

I knew it wasn’t, but it was a nice thought to keep entirely to myself.

The door opened and I had a sense of déjà vu. It was so bad that I stopped in my tracks, alarming Lilia. But when she saw what had stopped me, she just smiled and stepped off to the side.

Silently, I pleaded for her not to go so far. The more I pleaded within my mind, the farther she seemed to go. She even ran into Rogers as she was slinking off with that smirk pasted all over her face, and instead of letting him come over and help me out, she took his arm and walked around the corner while whispering intently.

I let out a breath and stepped into the room quietly. He didn’t move from where he was standing, just turned his gaze back to what was in front of him.

“Do you like this place?” he asked me.

“Uh…” I nodded. “Yes, I do, Your Majesty.”

For some reason, seeing him among the flowers and plants, he seemed so much more at peace. He always looked calm, but here, he seemed almost like he was one with the plants, like they were an extension of himself. Less serious and more lively...

He reached a hand up and gently caressed the same iris I had yesterday. Only now, the petals were open, a deep blue. It was beautiful, so much so, that I stepped closer. I realized what I had done when he turned his head my way again, briefly.

“You do.” He lifted his palm to the backside of the flower before him. “Hm.” It was such a sight. A tall and strong man, known for being a villain and a monster, was someone who took land like it had belonged to him in the first place, was holding a blooming flower with such gentle grace and serenity.

He must really like flowers.

“Then it’s yours.”

It took me several moments to understand his words. Wide-eyed, I stared up at him. He had to be kidding. For someone who just held a flower like it was a part of himself, to give the whole room of them to a near stranger?

It had to be a joke, I told myself, there’s no way he meant that.

 “Pardon?”

But he turned to me, his face unchanging.

“This room is yours now. Do with it as you please, Princess. I’ll only come by if you grant me permission.”

I ignored the way he called me, as it was not nearly the most important thing he’d just said. The room was mine? He just gave me the room? He won’t come by unless I tell him he can? Disbelief coursed through me. Lilia had told me he came by every time the irises bloomed. Would he really give it all up for me? Never see the flowers bloom again?

“What?” I shook my head. “No! No, that’s not necessary. You had this room built, didn’t you? How could I keep you from visiting it if you wished to?”

If I had built a room like this, there was no way I’d be completely at peace giving it to someone else, letting them have complete control over it. Never to see the plants again? What if they were all removed or destroyed? What kind of person would I be if I kept it from him?

It was only after he stepped closer to me that I realized what I said.

“I have your permission?”

It was as if his words, as he spoke them, brought him closer and closer. I kept my eyes trained on the flowers, on the wall, the table, anything but him. But then he stooped down to my level, and I couldn’t avoid it anymore. All that was in my vision was him. All I could see was his green eyes sparkling as he looked at me, even if the rest of his face remained stoic and unchanging.

“To come here when I wish to?”

Gosh, Miavel, a voice inside me chuckled, what have you done now?