Author's note: Everyone in this story would be over 18 if they were normal humans.
Part II: The Past
Chapter 7: First Kiss
Jacob, Marquess of Sparta, squire to His Majesty William CCLXII, King of the Twelve Realms was anxious to get back to Terra. Much of the court, including Ed, James, David, and his brother Malcolm had been traveling with the king for many cycles and all he wanted to do was to sleep in his own bed again. Sure, they had stopped on his home world of Citadel on their excursion, but that was at the beginning of the tour and besides, Citadel wasn't home right now. Terra was. He's lived on Terra, first as Page to the king and now Squire, for far longer than he had lived on Citadel as a child. It had been good to see his mother and father, of course, but Mal's presence always made his mother angry, so the visit had been more tense than he would have liked. But now they were arriving on Terra and they would be having dinner on Terra, and he'd get to sleep in his own bed.
Tomorrow David would leave for Academy to return to his father, his wife Lisabet, and their young son. James would return to Citadel to his duties as Squire to Jacob's father there. And of course Ed would go with Sabbatical to return to his own duties there. James and Ed were born within a few cycles of each other and the king intended for them to be made knights at the next winter solstice celebration on Terra.
"Hey Jake!" Ed's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "It's our last night together for a while. What say you to having some fun together down at the spaceport tonight?"
"Gods Ed, I just want to sleep in my own bed for once," Jake told him.
"Time enough to sleep when you're in council meetings with father," Ed laughed.
The squires continued to laugh and joke together as the king lead them through the Gatehouse into the Kype's lower ward where a group of courtiers waited to greet them. The Hoff was nearly full with nobles and one young woman breathless with anticipation.
"Papa!" The princess rushed to her father, her long hair streaming out behind her shining like molten silver. The king spread his long arms and lifted her into a hug as she kissed him solidly. William beamed at his daughter, his blue eyes twinkling with merriment.
"Princess, you make me very glad to be home," the king said.
"It's so good to have you home, papa!"
"Hey, Baby Girl," Ed said, grinning. "Do I get a kiss, too?"
Fiona walked over to her brother the prince and went on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. Jacob watched as she then quickly kissed Malcolm, David, and James before standing in front of his much taller form and winding her small hand behind his neck and pulling him down to meet her lips. When he thought about it later, he was sure that she meant to give him the same sort of kiss she'd given her brother and the others. But when her lips touched his... his whole body felt like a live wire. Electric current flowed from her lips to his lips and from his lips to his groin. He moaned softly when she ended the kiss.
"Wow," he murmured dreamily. She peered at him, her brows raised in surprise. He looked back, a combination of lust and surprised embarrassment warring on his face. She kissed him again, her tongue sweeping across his lower lip, leaning her body into his so that he could feel her soft curves against his chest.
"Fiona!" the king called to his daughter. "Stop teasing my squire and walk with an old man."
"Of course, papa," she responded, walking back to her father but sending a furtive glance towards Jacob.
Jacob surreptitiously watched the princess walk with the king, her hands on her father's arm. He could hear her telling the king of the latest palace gossip, what she had been studying with the Maesters while they were gone on his progress, and her mother's plans for a trip to Vanguard. Had Jacob not been watching her so closely for it, he would not have seen how she kept looking at him whenever she thought his attention was elsewhere. She didn't seem to know that every fiber of his being was riveted by her.
"Hey, Sparta! Penny for your thoughts," Ed called to Jake. He'd noticed his friend was preoccupied, but couldn't tell by what. "You seem a bit tense."
"I guess I am," Jacob responded, puzzled at his own feelings. He raked his hands through his mop of wavy, sandy blond hair, trying to clear his thoughts.
"Nothing that getting laid tonight won't solve," Ed teased him and laughed at his friend's blush.
***
Dinner in the great hall was an hours long affair that night. Queen Maeve wanted to welcome her husband home with pomp and grandeur. The king and queen sat at opposite ends of the high table. Fiona was next to her father and across from the Duchess of Steading. David, as the eldest and a knight, had the honor of sitting to the queen's right hand while her step-son sat to her left. James sat next to Fiona and Jacob was across from him. Lady Melissa Swarthmore of Steading was next to Jacob. Fiona was surprised that her mother had allowed the squires to eat at the high table with the king, but other than the Duke and Duchess of Steading, the Duke of Sabbatical, and the king and queen themselves, everyone at the table were of the next generation, heirs to the great Houses along with sisters and younger brothers.
"How was your Royal Progress, papa?" Fiona asked her father.
"It was excellent, Häschen. Perhaps next time you can join me."
"Oh, Papa, I would like that.
"What was your favorite thing that happened?"
"Coming home to you and your mother, of course!"
Fiona giggled, delighted. "Okay, other than that?"
"I enjoyed visiting Citadel. I always do. The lakes there are very beautiful, aren't they Jacob?"
"Yes, sir. That and the night sky are the two things I miss most about Citadel." Jacob smiled wistfully.
"The lesser planets in your sector each have their own rustic beauty," the king asserted.
"Yes, sir. I particularly like my Northern Marches on Sparta. The area is so full of life. I like how it sounds at dawn and dusk."
"Ah, yes. I used to hunt there when I was a boy and Squire to your grandfather. I probably have spent more time there than your father has, Jake."
"Probably, Sire. My mother considers Sparta to be too rough for her. And father doesn't travel without her."
"Your mother grew up here on Terra. Citadel itself can be quite an adjustment for city ladies. I imagine Sparta even more so."
"I want to visit Sparta, papa," Fiona said, bouncing a little in her chair before she noticed a disapproving look from her mother at the other end of the table.
***
It was well past midnight and His Royal Highness, The Prince Edward, heir to the throne of the Twelve Realms was smoking a pipe and gesturing wildly as he sang loudly and off key in a private party room in a brothel on the wide boulevard that lead from the island of the Kype to the spaceport.
"I thought your father was considering outlawing places like this," James yelled, trying to be heard over the sounds of music and laughter.
"He was thinking about it, but decided it was safer for the ladies if he just regulates them," Ed responded as he pulled a buxom redhead into his lap. "Safer for patrons, too, since there are medical checks for all the workers.
"Jake!" Edward shouted to the younger man. "You are still so tense! Relax!" Edward leaned down to whisper in the ear of the woman on his lap. She looked over at Jacob, cocked her head to one side and nodded before rising and going over to him. Edward chuckled at the look on Jake's face when the woman sat down on his lap and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Ed called over two more women, a brunette Terran and an Aelfir woman with short sunflower yellow hair, and sent them over to Jake as well. Soon all three women were enjoying Sparta's company.
"Hey, Ed, what's up with all the girls for Jake," James asked. In the dim light of the brothel only the whites of his eyes were visible, his dark chocolate skin fading into the darkness.
"Jake needs some experience with women. He has no idea how to behave around girls, even my baby sister makes him blush."
"Uh, Ed... your baby sister is growing up," James eyed his prince. "You might not have noticed. She made
me
