"My Queen, would you care for more wine?"
Nareena awoke from her daze and nodded to the winebearer. "Thank you," she replied softly as the music played in the Great Hall.
She was queen now, wasn't she? She considered the idea as the jester danced about, entertaining the noble guests. Well, not exactly, she thought to herself. In order for the marriage to be binding under law and God, they would have to consummate the marriage. Her mind wandered back to the memory of only a few hours earlier, in her bedchamber. She did not suppose that counted, as King Gregory seemed knowledgeable of the rules of such things...of many things as it turned out.
She sipped her wine to calm her nerves and looked around the hall. So many strangers here to celebrate her. More likely, to celebrate their king and his treaty with Ireland. She was simply a part of a bargain. She held no ill feelings for her father; she had known all her life of her role as a princess. She knew marriage would never be for love. Not for her. Her hand held too high a price to be wasted on infatuation. She was always destined to serve her country in this way.
Her eye caught the gaze of a knight laughing with the king. His warm smile brought a blush to her cheeks, and she looked away as she sipped her wine, cursing herself silently as she realized the wine only exasperated her current state. The king began to walk in her direction while continuing his conversation with the knight. When they reached her chair, she rose to curtsy and the knight laughed as he quipped, "I've never known a queen to curtsy to anyone!"
Her blush deepened with embarrassment at this bold gentlemen who had laughed at her and chastised her all in a single breath. She glanced up at her king, wondering if her foolish behavior annoyed or endeared him. His cold expression gave no emotion away.
"Sir Charles, I would like you to formally meet my Queen, Nareena of the Isles. My Queen, this is my most loyal knight. I trust no other with my life so much as this man."
The man who had been so bold but a moment ago straightened his form and bowed before her. She regained her composure.
"Sir Charles," she said calmly as she held out her hand. He took it in his and gently kissed it, gazing up into her eyes. Her heart quickened, and she chided herself for drinking too much wine.
"It is time my queen," King Gregory said evenly. She met his eyes, wondering if she would ever be able to read his emotions. He could very well have been stating it was time for dessert, his face seemed so passive, but she knew the meaning behind his words. She nodded as her handmaid arrived to accompany her to her new room--the king's bedchamber.
"The king has asked that you wear only your underdress. All else will be taken for washing." She let her handmaid untie her dress and her corset, leaving her bare until she returned with her underdress. Nareena raised her hands into the air as the underdress slid down her body, covering her in a thin material that displayed every detail a garment was meant to hide. She supposed there was no point in hiding her body anyway. What was to come left no room for modesty.
Her handmaid dismissed herself, leaving Nareena standing alone in the chilly room. She could hear her own heartbeat in the silence that surrounded her. What if he was rough with her? Her mind drifted back to the conversation with her mother as she told her there were many different kinds of lovers; it was her duty to please the king in whatever way he preferred. The thought made her shiver even more than the cold, and her nipples hardened beneath the thin gauze of her underdress. She fought the urge to cover her breasts. He would, after all, see every part of her. Touch every part of her. Taste every part of her perhaps? The memory of their first meeting earlier in the day made her quiver within.
The heavy wooden door opened, and she stood waiting expectantly. But it was Sir Charles who came bursting into the room as his laughter filled the air.
"Alright Gregory, why have you dragged me all the way here so late in the evening?"
His feet stopped cold when his gaze fell upon the new queen, scantily clad before him. His eyes went wide and traveled the length of her body before she could collect her wits and cover herself.
"What on earth are you--" She began to scream, but the entrance of her king behind him scared her into momentary silence. "My King, I did not ask him here!"
"No, you did not." He replied in his calm, even voice that she could never decipher. "I did."
The shock of his words left her speechless. Her eyes flickered from her king to his knight, who seemed to be no more knowledgeable than herself of the situation by the look of it. She did notice that he could not help but glance at her body once more as she stood there all but bare before both men.
"My knight has served me well in many battles over many years. He saved my life once, only a season ago. I am in his debt."
