The Great Hall was abuzz with joyful spirits; my men had taken it upon themselves to celebrate the births of my children early, and had been drinking since the sun had risen.
One of my servants had woken Lothar and I to tell me of the news, and I could not have been happier; there were three of them, twin boys and a girl. My heir, William, my spare, Henry, and my political pawn, Lark. The sweet little things had been brought to my castle immediately, upon their mothers' request - they wanted to be rid of them as soon as possible, in order to get back to the matters of God. They were safe in their own wing of the castle, under the watchful eye of their wet nurses and a plethora of servants.
Watching my men, Burchard stood up, chalice in hand, making his way over to me. I was seated on my throne, Lothar at my feet; he poured wine into my chalice, handing it up to me. Burchard raised his into the air as a silent toast, before sipping.
"Congratulations, my Liege. Two sons! How magnificent." He was beaming.
"Thank you Burchard, they are such a welcome blessing," I began, sitting up straight. "I would like to discuss the matters of their futures. They are but hours old, yet I want it to be as secure as possible -seamless, something to prepare them for. I have some ideas, yet I would like your judgement." My words were starting to appear slurred, I handed my chalice back to Lothar.
"Of course Sire."
I got to my feet, leaving the rest of my men to continue their celebrations as Burchard and I entered a room at the back of the hall. There was a huge wooden table inside, a map depicting the rest of the known territories; Europe, the East and Far East, Africa, all of whom I was desperate to build great relations with.
Burchard sat down opposite me, he unfurled a roll of parchment, and was sitting with a quill in hand, awaiting my thoughts. At that moment, I didn't have any thoughts, I simply sat and stared at the map, eyes wide. "Shall I begin Sire? We have already been approached by a number of suitors who have heard the word of Gregoria and Annora's pregnancies. The top contenders being France, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire." He said, pointing at each country as he said them, I squinted. Burchard was an extremely knowledgeable, he knew more about what was best for the country than I did myself; he was the man to trust.
"The French king has plenty of children, mostly girls, but the Dauphin will be most suited to Lark. He is five years old, strong, healthy, and already showing signs of being a great leader. The apple of his father's eye, he speaks of him fondly, and if he is as impressive as his father makes him out to be then it would be wise to have him as an ally very early on."
I nodded in agreement with him, it seemed like the young Dauphin was to be betrothed to my daughter. A great match that would secure a powerful ally for my country.
"Then the issue of your sons. I suppose that your heir is the babe that came first?" He asked, I nodded.
"Correct. It was William that arrived first, Henry came along soon after. I suppose that William, as the future King, should choose his own wife. If I had the privilege of choosing his mother I believe he should have the pleasure of choosing his own wife, with your guidance, of course." I said, Burchard nodded.
Lothar stirred next to me, handing me my chalice, I finished the rest of the wine.
"Would you bring us some more?" I asked, waving it towards him.
"Of course Sire. Would the good Lord like some mead?" Lothar asked, Burchard nodded. He slinked from the room, closing the door behind him.
"Who poses more of a threat, Burchard? Who would it be best to appease?" I asked, fingers drumming against the table. He sat back in his chair, pondering my question, before leaning forwards, hands interlocked.
"The Holy Roman Emperor, Sire, is beginning to stir up controversy with The Pope. He has created his own Pope, an Anti-Pope of sorts. I think it would be wise to pacify this man, to get his country on your side. Perhaps then, from within, Henry can convince him to stand down and retreat from this Holy war. It does not do well to argue with God."
Lothar re-entered the room, two bottles in his hand, Burchard grinned as he took the mead from him, plucking the cork out with his teeth, spitting it out. We clinked bottles, each taking huge swigs, liquid spilling everywhere. Lothar sat patiently at my feet, I reached down to play with his hair, curling it around my fingers.
"How many daughters does the Holy Roman Emperor have?" I burped.
"Plenty. He produces more daughters than anybody in civilisation. His poor wife Honoria, a Greek woman, is a human machine she gives birth every year." He chuckled, sitting back in his chair. "I believe his oldest daughter is fifteen, and his youngest is three. Although the word from his ambassador is that the youngest is a sickly girl, perhaps she will not survive until she is of age to marry the Prince." He shrugged his shoulders.
"Perhaps we can secure two, one of them being a contingency, on the occasion of her early demise?"
Burchard agreed, raising his bottle to me, finishing it off, slamming the empty onto the table.
"The Dauphin for your daughter, one of the Holy Roman Princesses for Henry, and William shall take his own pick. An excellent decision my Liege," He began, standing, staggering a little, "And now Sire, if you forgive me, I would like to return to the festivities. I have some expensive women waiting for me and I would like to ensure that I get my money's worth." He winked, bowing with a wry smile, I chuckled.
Then we were alone. Just Lothar and I. Wine was the worst for making me horny; I had the urge to bend him over the table and fuck him loud enough for the Great Hall to hear. I pulled his hair, encouraging him to look up at me, my fingers tracing his open lips. He sucked on my finger, his tongue swirling around it.
