Tennyson

After breakfast, I return to my room with my new pet. I’m going to have to think of a name for him…her…I actually never thought about if it’s a boy or a girl.

‘You could just ask.’ A voice said in my head.

Who was that!?

‘It’s me!’ The voice says again.

I look around the room to try and see where the voice is coming from.

‘Look down.’ The voice says once more.

I look down to see the An’aria at my feet.

‘Hi! My name is Coco! I’m a girl to answer your question. I’ll be your protector and friend.’ The An’aria says.

I jump back in shock. How can it hear my thoughts?

‘The same way you can hear mine. Now that I have chosen you, we are mind linked. So no matter where you are, I will always be able to find you.’ Coco responds.

Ok, well that answers my question. As I go to sit on my bed, I hear a knock on the door.

“My Lord, it’s Shira. May I come in?” Shira asks.

“Yes, come in!” I respond.

As Shira comes in, there are a few people that follow in behind her. They are all between 6’10 and 7’5.

“My Lord,” She starts. “Since the Royal Wedding is tomorrow, we have a lot to do. First up: Picking your Steward. They will be in charge of taking care of and managing your schedule.”

I look at the people lined up in front of me. There’s a mix of men and women. As I scan each one thoroughly, one of them catches my eye. He has white hair, and looks to be about 5’6.

“What is your name?” I ask as I stand in front of him.

“Karl Knight, My Lord,” He responds as he bows. “It is an honor to meet the next Me’ah.”

“I think Mr. Knight will do just fine.” I say as I turn to Shira.

“As you wish, My Lord.” She responds as she bows.

Shira then opens the door and ushers the others out and closes the door behind her as they leave.

“So,” I say as I turn my back to Mr. Knight. “Where are you from?”

“My Lord?” He says, puzzled.

“Mr. Knight, I may not have been here for very long, but one thing I have pickled up on is the traits of the Demon folk.” I say as I sit on my bed “One of the major things is their height, and as far as I know, the only reason why a Demon would be short is if either one of their parents is a human, or if they are actually human. So, which one is it for you Mr. Knight.”

I see him shift and fidget with his hands. He’s nervous.

“My father was a human.” He responds carefully. “I spent the first 10 years of my life in the human world before I came here to be with my mother.”

“Thanks for sharing Mr. Knight.” I say as I breathe a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, I hear a knock on the door. Karl goes to open it, and is back in less than a minute.

“My Lord,” He says bowing. “You are needed by the seamstress immediately. She will be fitting you for your Wedding Robes.”

I rise from my bed and walk out the door. As I walk down the hallway to the seamstress, I notice that the An’aria is no longer with me. I wonder where she went.

‘Don’t worry master, I’m still here.’ I hear Coco say. ‘I’m just in the spirit world.’

It’s still weird to hear her voice in my head. I feel invaded. As we reach the seamstress’ room, I hear a familiar voice. I open the door to see Hugo and another man already in the room. The man looks to be 7’8 with brown hair and horns.

“My Lord.” They both say as they bow.

“This is Lord Oscar Sutton.” Hugo says as he gestures towards him.

“It is an honor to meet you, My Lord,” the man says as he sticks his hand out. “I used to be the King's fiancee up until recently. I had been dying to meet the man who took my place.”

I feel a chill go down my spine. Something about him seems off.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lord Sutton.” I say as I shake his hand hesitantly.

Suddenly, the door opens and Helena walks in.

“Your Majesty.” Everyone says as they bow.

I feel all eyes on me as I am the only one not to bow.

“My Lord,” I hear Lord Sutton say, “It is common knowledge that when the King enters the room, everyone is supposed to bow.” 

“What are you doing?” Helena says, furiously. “You need not worry about the ‘common knowledge’ of my future husband and your future Me’ah. You need only worry about yourself and your position in my court.”

Lord Sutton’s face turns red as Helena walks over and grabs my hand. I look over at her as she looks at the rest of the people in the room.

“Hear me now,” She starts in a loud, commanding voice. “From this moment forward, the only person in this entire Kingdom, no, in every world, that does not have to bow for anyone is this man standing next to me. You will put him on the same level as me. If you do not, death will befall you instantly.”

I continue looking at Helena, shocked. An uneasy quiet settles over the room. If someone dropped a pen, I think the world would hear it. I look away from Helena to see everyone in the room bowing to me. Suddenly, Helena starts to walk forward towards the seamstress, still holding my hand. Everyone stands as we walk past them. I catch a glimpse of fury in Lord Suttons eyes as I pass him.

‘Would you like me to take care of him master?’ I hear Coco ask me from the spirit world.

No, it would do me or Helena no good if Lord Sutton turns up dead right after this altercation.

“Your Majesties,” A voice says. “My name is Madam Hunt, and I will be making your ceremonial wedding robes.”

“Hello Madam Hunt, we are in your care.” Helena responds.

And just as quickly as everything had started, the incident was over.

Helena

Thank God I got here in time. If I didn't, who knows what would have happened. I look over to Tennyson as he nervously walks away with Madam Hunt.

“You’ll be fine.” I mouth to him.

He gives me a smile and continues to walk into the fitting room. At least nothing happened to him. I feel someone tap my shoulder.

“Your Majesty,” I hear a voice say. “Please follow me.”

I turn and follow the voice to the viewing room, where I see Tennyson getting measured. His shirt is off and his pants are undone to allow the seamstress to get the perfect fit for his wedding robes. I watch as the seamstress carefully wraps the measuring tape around his perfectly toned muscles, and I find myself wondering off. Tracing every inch of his body that is shown from his head, all the way down to the top of his pants. I’m entranced by him. Images start racing through my mind, and I allow myself to get aroused by his body. Thoughts of him wrapping me in those arms, and running my hands through his hair. Thoughts of our wedding night.

‘You must really like this human master.’ A voice says suddenly, breaking me from my trance.

Get out of my mind Iquirse. 

‘Oh come on master, you never let me have any fun.’ He responds.

And just as quickly as he appeared, he’s gone. Iquierse is a Tiamat, and my An’aria. He has been with me since I was a child, and is annoyingly right all of the time. Especially right now in this moment. I go back to watching Tennyson’s fitting and let myself drift off into my thoughts once more.

____________________________________________________________

After I finished getting fitted, I was immediately bombarded with meeting requests from my council regarding the incident with Tennyson. Oscar must have told them what had occurred. As I reach my office I see my door ajar once again. I walk in half expecting Gina to jump on top of me. Instead, I see a man sitting in the chair in front of my desk. As the man turns his head and stands to bow, I see that it is Lord Bellamey. My uncle.

“Uncle,” I say with a sigh of relief. “How can I help you?”

“Your Majesty,” he says as he bows. “I wanted to meet with you regarding the incident in the seamstress room earlier.” 

“Uncle, how many times do I have to tell you that you don’t have to be formal when it’s just you and I. You know how much I hate formalities.” I say as I sit at my desk. 

“Helena,” He starts as he puts his hands on my shoulders. “You have grown up before my eyes. I still remember when you first started growing your horns. I knew then that you would be a great ruler.”

“You knew from the moment I started growing my horns that I would be a great ruler?” I ask, laughing. “Uncle you jest.”

“I do not.” He responds. “All of the great rulers in the history of Hell have had white horns. They are a sign of great power and authority.”

We exchange a smile and soon, he wraps me in his arms. After my mother and father died, my uncle took care of me and raised me in their place. He’s the reason that I was able to remain in power during a time of unrest.

“My little Lena,” He says as he kisses my forehead. “I know what you are doing. Please be careful. I already lost your mother and father. I cannot lose you too.”

“I will uncle. I promise.” I respond as I look up at him.

I can see the sadness in his eyes. My parents were his best friends, and he lost them in an instant. They were the only ones who believed in him after the revolt. In truth, he’s not my blood relative. He’s the brother of the former Me’ah who went against him and his family in order to protect the kingdom and the royal bloodline. His help actually saved a lot of people, but he couldn’t stop my parents from being killed. His final order from them was to protect me with his life. If my parents were here, they would see that he succeeded.

“Now,” I say as I release him from the hug. “What is your actual reason for coming to my office, Uncle?”

“I have told you already Lena, I heard about the seamstress incident.” He responds as he sits in his chair.

“Uncle, just as you know me, I know you. That is not your only reason for coming.” I snap back.

He takes a moment to contemplate his response.

“Ok, Fine.” He says as if I was interrogating him. “I just missed my one and only niece.”

I smile. I can already tell what he wants to ask.

“Yes uncle,” I say, shaking my head. “You will be walking me down the aisle.”

Uncle Bellamey stands and bows.

“Thank you for this honor Lena. I know if your father were here, he would be proud.” He says as he walks out of my office.

Now I am alone, once again. I look up at the ceiling. It has already been a long day, and from the stack of files on my desk, it’s about to get longer.

____________________________________________________________

I look at Tennyson from across the table. He’s more comfortable now. I never thought I would be sitting across from my fiance at the dinner table. Even with Oscar, he never shared a meal with me.

“Tennyson,” I start. “Did Lord Sutton give you any more trouble after I left you today?”

He looks up from his meal.

“No, Your Majesty. He left me alone.” He responds.

“Tennyson, I already told you,” I say as I stand and walk towards him. “You do not have to call me ‘Your Majesty’. Just call me Helena.”

He turns his head away.

“But this morning when I didn’t follow protocol, it was a problem.” He responds, shyly.

“Tennyson, the only person that can tell you how to address me is me. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.” I say as I turn his head back towards me. “Now, you can call me Helena, or Lena, or any nickname that you may come up with.”

“Then,” Tennyson starts. “Can you call me Ty or any other nickname you come up with? I hate it when people use my full name.”

“Of course, Ty.” I say smiling.

We look into each other’s eyes. There is now silence in the room. The only thing that can be heard is the crackling of the fire. I can finally see his olive green eyes. It’s like I’m looking at a secret forest that’s hidden deep within his soul, away from the prying eyes of the world. I can feel something pulling me closer to him. We both inch our way closer and closer until our lips meet. The kiss is light at first, but slowly grows more intense. Something is ignited in me, and soon I get lost in the moment. I move my hands through his hair as he grabs my waist. It’s like both of us have a desperate need to be closer to each other. I climb on top of his legs, straddling him. Ty’s hands move from my waist to my thighs. Suddenly he pulls away.

“Ty? What’s wrong?” I ask, still flustered.

“Lena,” He starts. “Aren’t we supposed to wait until the wedding night or something? I don’t know how you do things here, but in my world, you are supposed to remain chaste until you are married.”

I smile.

“In Hell, we just give into our desires. There is no waiting.” I respond as I gently cup his cheek. “It’s Ok if you want to wait.”

Ty takes a moment to think.

“I want our first time to be special.” He says carefully.

Ty tucks some of my hair behind my ear and kisses me one last time.

“Let’s wait until our wedding night.”