The knock on the door startled her, the book almost fell from her hand, the room was barely illuminated, she was leaning on window from which the first rays of sun entered the room. She was not happy about it, but she had a reputation of waking a bit later, no one bothered her this early.

She placed “Riders of Sunset” on her bead, she covered herself with a cape, she was about to open but waited for another knock, she was about to return to her reading when the door was hit again.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Aedrik, I am sorry if I woke you up, I wanted to talk with you” Aedrik voice answered from the other side, he was trying to speak as low as possible, next to her was Noelle’s room. She opened the door to find her smiling fiancé, his hair was still wet, he was dressed in white shirt and dark trousers.

“I… was going to apologize for waking you, but you were up already. Good morning, Frey” she had grown to like how he always greeted her, his eyes lit up, his charming smile, his entire attention on her.

“I woke up a bit earlier, I figure I could read for a while” she was going to omit her reading, but why? force of habit?

“I see, anything good?”

“It’s a tale from Faerun… it is good, miss Emeryn lent it to me” he took no offense on talking about Faerun, she needed to get used to it as well.

“Is there somewhere we could talk for a while?” she was suddenly aware that she had only her night gown below the cape, his eyes were on hers, but from time to time they looked elsewhere.

“Come inside” she grabbed his hand to pull him inside, he was going to argue, if someone saw this, the gossips, they would marry in a few days, he wanted to talk with her, she had to change if they went somewhere else, soon the castle would wake as well, and the guest were coming today, not to mention his sisters.

“I am not complaining, but should I be let inside?”

“You’ll have to wait for me to get dressed, or we could talk inside…” she moved apart from him, his eyes were burning, she considered offering a chair to him but after a moment, she pulled him to the bed, his hand tightened on hers, she could not help but smile, as she have him sit next to her.

“Frey, this… I…” he was flustered, confused, and embarrassed, and yet his eyes did not from hers.

“What did you want to talk about?” she asked trying not to grin.

“I had no particular subject, I just wanted to talk with you, just us for a moment” she smiled as she had been also thinking about it, she had been embarrassed to tell him, he was not “I am thrilled you are spending time with my sisters and your family, but I needed a moment with you, I guessed you have had almost no time to read, I am glad you found a moment for it, and I am sorry for interrupting” he said as he looked at the book next to them.

“Don’t be, I wanted a moment for us as well, are you reading anything? Do you really like reading or was it all a ruse?” she liked how he slightly raised his right eyebrow.

“I do, maybe not as much as you, but I also always have a book with me”

“What are you reading?”

“A fey fable ‘The night’s court’, I confess I have had little time for it, I’ve been trying to keep a close watch on our new borders and the north, but it is a good, you will like it” she had heard about it, Mrs. Emeryn had told her about it.

“It is about the fey vampire king; would you mind borrowing it to me once you are done?”

“Yeah, it was supposedly written by a member of the king’s court, it is a tale, but older fey sometimes talk about him, the king of shade. Sure, thing, we’ll exchange”

“That’s a deal, now, how would a regular day in the north would be for you?”

“I am sorry, but I had not a real routine, you described norkriegers as wandering knights and you truly did a good explanation. Siv lived that way, when I became her apprentice so did I, we moved from place to place, we are supposed to help the people, we would never stay on the same place for long. Then after the orc raid, we moved all over the edges of the Boreal Glades, once we reached a clear degree of peace, we continued to travel all over. I had taken more responsibilities from the Empire, that also had me moving more often”

“You surely had days off, where you could do your own thing”

“I guess, I would move around the town, set to the fields or farms, if I was close to the Myrkvidr Forest I would visit it if I had more than a day, I like to read on the afternoons, under the shade of a tree or next to a fire if it’s too cold outside. I would spend time looking for some place good to eat, play some wyrmchess, things are different now”

“Different how?”

“Well I came to knock on your door as soon as I considered it proper, I wanted to be with you, I am sorry if it sounded needy, it’s just that I enjoy being with you” she felt the rush of blood to her face, he was being more open about his feelings, she had wondered about the weight of being kismet, it did not matter, they chose, she also enjoyed being with him.

“What would a regular day for you would be?” he asked curious and clearly enjoying her blush.

“I would read a little just like I was” she truly spent too much time reading, she did not regret it though “Have breakfast with the family, I would listen to my father or Luka things to do, I’ll try to meddle with some if I could, I would have a walk around the city with Lea or Noelle, head to a good spot to read for a while. Perhaps join Noelle or Lea on one of their ideas for the day. From time to time, I would help my mother with her gardens, you know your day sounds much more interesting”

“I am not sure about that, but things change, I know you are working with the trade delegation still, you’ve been exchanging messages with the nobles who were more invested in the trade deals, you have been working for both Loire and the Empire, Frey, and yet, that I found you reading, makes me love you all the more for it” he was getting closer to her, the morning was cold, she could feel the warm coming from him.

“Frey, wake up, René invited the princesses to the market, open up” Noelle’s voice startle them, they turned to look at each other and were about to laugh “I am not moving from the door until you open up Frey” their initial amusement was slowly turning to panic, at least for her.

“We could tell her I came to see you at dawn break…” it was the truth, and yet, why it felt so wrong, even Aedrik stopped mid-sentence.

“No, we will never hear the end of this from Noelle. You could hide…” she stopped as she noticed Aedrik smiling, he was enjoying this “You have a better idea?” he stopped grinning once he heard her tone.

“I could jump from the window” she considered throwing the book on his face, but he was not making fun, after watching him sparring with his sister, she would not be surprised to hear he jumped from the window an managed to do uninjured.

“We are on the second floor of the castle, I… I don’t want you to hurt yourself” dammit why did he had to smile whenever she worried about him.

“FREY LUNEBLEAU WAKE UP”

“I’M COMING” she answered way too aggressive, but she was getting anxious.

Aedrik went to the window and she followed, it faced the west wall, there was a little garden her mother was starting, it was not a small height. She saw him more concerned about the armsman on guard duty, no one was posted in a way that they could look directly to the windows, they were enchanted to keep prying eyes out, but still, a little privacy was welcomed.

“I think I can manage the fall, but there is no way I can leave unnoticed, it is better to talk with Noelle than give the armsman something to gossip about”

“FREY, LET ME IN, I’LL HELP YOU DRESS UP”

“GIVE ME A MOMENT” damn Noelle and René, and the armsman, she looked desperately all over her room “You cannot hide on the closet, she wants to help me get dressed, under the bed?” she started to feel desperate.

“I’M ALMOST DONE, I’LL SEE YOU WITH RENÉ”

“FREY, I AM NOT LEAVING YOU SO YOU CAN DOZE OFF, HURRY OPEN UP”

“You could change and leave with her, I’ll hide for a moment and then leave” his words made sense, but that meant she would change in front of him. The thought of it and the sudden hotness on her skin was not helping “As much as I would like to see you, this was not the way I wanted to, I won’t look, unless you had any other idea?”

She felt the intensity of his stare, was he feeling as nervous as she was? They would marry in days, this… ‘Get it together, Frey’, she felt the pressure of her bitting down her lip.

“Please, look away” her voice trembled, but he said nothing else. He went to the furthest corner and faced the wall. She chose the first dress, and set everything on the bed, she turned and saw him facing the wall unmoving, she took a long breath and took her clothes off.

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Her hands were clumsy, her heart racing, she was struggling to put on her clothes, after a moment of struggle she was almost ready, the problem was, the dress she had chosen needed to be tied from behind, and she was having too much trouble doing it.

“Can you help me, tie the dress” she had turned her back to Aedrik, she was well covered, but she was too nervous and embarrassed, after a moment she felt him taking the laces, he pull them gently and slowly “A little tighter please” he was going to tie them but the dress would be too loose.

“Like this” his tone was lone, he asked after he had pulled just a little. She arranged the front, but it was still loose, he gave a last pull, and as he tied it behind her, she felt his hands burning, and trembling.

“Thank you” she turned and saw he was blushing, his eyes lost on her completely

“You… I’ll get under the bed” he hesitated and awkwardly went under her bed.

“I am sorry, see you in a moment” she leaned and kissed his forehead as he looked at her from under the bed. She grabbed the sheets and covered the space from the floor, she sighed tried to calm herself, and opened the door.

“What were you doing? I said I would help you get dressed, isn’t your dress a little too formal for a trip to the market? I am not complaining it is just not what you would wear. I didn’t think you were this nervous about Aedrik’s sisters?” her sister entered the room dressed in a marvelous violet dress, she had paid not much attention to the dress she had chosen, but Noelle was right.

“I think it looks good; come we should go”

“It does, but I am not convinced, I’ll help you change, come”

“The dress is FINE, we should go” she had not wanted to be so loud, but her sister was getting on her, and she was already on edge, for a moment her sister had recoiled but she looked at her with curiosity, why was she so damn curious.

“What is it? Are you hiding something?” her sister had a way for finding strange things.

“Fine, help me with the dress” she admitted before her sister started pressuring her, she turned her back to the bed.

“How did you tie your dress this way? This is a lovely bow, I am impressed” Noelle was untying her dress, it took her sometime to finally get it, the dress was going to slip of her, and she grabbed it by instinct “What’s with you this morning? Take it off, I’ll pick two choices.

She understood why her sister would take her actions as weird, but she was too aware of Aedrik under the bed, she felt her face hot again, ‘easy now, Frey, just calm down’, she took of the dress and place it over the bed, she was left on the thin cotton chemise but still she felt almost naked.

“Here, try this on” her sister offered her a bright pale green dress “Frey, I am sorry if what I told you about the wedding night made you nervous, it was not my intention, you don’t have to worry about it”

Part of her wanted to cry, the other to strangle her sister, she took the dress from her, and put in on as fast as she could, if things continued this way, it was better for Aedrik to come out, there was a limit to what she could endure, she was certain she was red all over but there was no point in arguing.

“Thank you, the dress is better, we should hurry now” she tried to sound as calm as possible, her sister was inspecting her satisfied by her appearance.

“You should pick your hair, I’ve seen how Aedrik likes to tuck you hair behind your ear, I am a little envious at how he looks at you when he does it, it’s a mix of tenderness and craving… you are right we should hurry” her sister gave her one last look and left the room.

“Wait one more minute, I’ll take her away” she had taken a deep breath, and considered saying too many things, she settled with that.

“How did it go?” he asked his wife as she was about to head to the kitchen.

“I think they enjoyed the trip, I did, Frey was too quiet for some reason, you should talk with her”

“Nervous perhaps? the date is getting closer, they barely know each other” he was worried about Frey at the beginning, but she had been so confident, he had not considered she might be getting nervous.

“I don’t think so, that’s why you should talk with her” he nodded at her words, René was empathetic to fault “You should have come”

“I had to discuss the development of the new lands with my father, we will have little time in the coming days” the royal duke would arrive before dinner, René, and him, were responsible for receiving the royal duke and his wife. He felt and hope, they could become true friends, entertaining them and the rest of the guest would leave them with little time to worry about nothing else.

“I know this is important, but it is Frey’s wedding, she is not going to the next dukedom, I still remember how homesick I felt, your family helped me fill at home, I don’t want you to miss this chance” he looked at his beautiful wife, she was his anchor, and she was probably right.

“I understand, I’ll talk with her, and make the most of these days” his wife smiled convinced he had heard her “Have you decided on what you are preparing?” René wanted to bake something for Aedrik’s sisters and the royal duke and his wife, it was her idea to invite the princesses to an early trip to the market.

“Cookies and a pie, princess Vania offered to help me, we will start after breakfast”

“What is it with them and cooking, you think the royal duke or princess Loraine would offer to help you?”

“I think they would if we made them feel welcomed enough, Aedrik is too affable, and even though his sisters are more formal, I think the way they greeted us with the gifts and all made us all comfortable with each other, it is a nice tradition, I was thinking of using it with our guests”

“It is a nice touch”

“I have to talk with madame Dumont, and then we head for the dining room with the rest” his wife gave him a small kiss on the cheek and entered the kitchen.

The development of the new lands was going well, his father had focused on the mine and establishing a proper way to communicate with the orc tribes who they were considering allies. He had felt more at ease when Aedrik was treating with them, and the same could be said for the orcs, but Sir Remy said they were reaching and understanding,

They would be able to send the first batch of iron for the empire in a few weeks, part of the iron was staying at their demesne, they would give some to Uncle Rowan and for the capital, the bulk of it was going for the Empire by way of Svet Cilar.

He remembered his father face when Danielle had talked about where Frey and Aedrik were going after the wedding. He was aware they would head for the Empire; his father knew Noelle and Frey would most likely leave Lune de Neige when they married, but he was surprised to see his father so vulnerable, René was right, he should also start paying more attention, with so many things happening he had really thought about her sister leaving.

Frey and him, had a curious relationship, she would always listen and involve herself with the how they handled the territory, for all he loved his sister, he sometimes wished their father would not be so lenient with her, but his sister was smart. He had even been upset with her just because he felt insecure,

“Come, breakfast will be served in a moment, stop sulking there” René offered her hand, he smiled as they were headed for the dining hall.

“Thank you for your attentions, my wife and have felt welcomed” the royal duke of Poitiers had asked to have a private talk, they were at the Blanche study, a medium size salon that had been made into a study as the west wing of the castle had been added, or so had lord Lunebleau told him “I wanted a moment with you because there is subject I would like to discuss, but first let me assure you I do not mean to judge or step over your decisions, I hoped we could discuss this as a friendly advice”

Lord Lunebleau was frowning, he was polite to the royal duke, but it appeared as if there was something bothering him. Luka and the duke were making a true relationship, Fleur and René were a good match.

The afternoon had gone well, the royal duke and his wife teleported to Château Lunebleau, it was a true sign of trust that they had not brought any escort with them. His sisters had behaved, and René gifted the newcomers with cookies, to celebrate their meeting.

“Fair enough, what did you want to talk about?” Luka answered, the duke looked at lord Lunebleau for confirmation, who nodded in response to it. Dinner had gone well, they had talked about the new lands and the wedding, lady Lunebleau intended to have them all a moment on her garden when the royal duke had asked for a moment to talk with them.

“Almost the entire kingdom will be present in Lune de Neige in the days to come, I have no doubt about the capabilities of your armsman, but considering that someone among or nobles was in contact with the orcs, we should prepare for any eventuality, as I am sure you most likely already have” Inside the study were Lord Lunebleau, Luka, Percy, Pan, Frey, Vania and himself, the prince had insisted on Vania and Frey to accompany them.

He dared not see Frey, he had her soft hand on his, but he had been avoided looking at her for most of the day, he had honored her space much, he was not sure if he was becoming stupid, but he could not unheard what Noelle had said.

The royal duke’s words were received with disdain form Percy, another frown from lord Lunebleau, a complicated face on Luka and Pan, a simple nod from Vania, and whatever Frey had decided to do, he had peaked at her when they entered the study, she was wearing the dress he had helped her tie, he could still remember the softness of her back ‘Dammit, focus’.

“We have been preparing, my lord, we’ve spared no expenses to ensure everything will be ready” lord Lunebleau answered.

“Again, lord Lunebleau I do not mean to offend, I also wanted princess Vania to be here, because I just wanted to give you my opinion, and I would also like to hear the position of the Empire, regarding safety” it was clear the royal duke knew about the attempt on Frey and him, he understood the response from lord Lunebleau, but that the duke had come alone, meant he was trusting them completely.

“We have not just increased the number of armsman and guards for the next days, we’ve prepared and organize how everything should be functioning, we consider our number to be enough to handle the wedding properly” Luka answered in a calm tone, but he was also surprised by the duke approach on the subject.

“I am sorry, I am not judging, what I wanted is to offer you armsman from my house if needed, and the presence of a detachment from our royal guard” the duke should have started from there, it eased up Luka and lord Lunebleau, Percy was calm for once.

“Thank you, my lord but I don’t think is necessary” Luka answered

“It is not bad idea, Luka, there will be guest who will not be comfortable while being surrounded by men with your house colors, the royal guard could look out for the nobles who had some history with house Lunebleau, it would the situation and save us the trouble of someone insisting on having a large escort, and there is also the men from the empire that came with my sisters” from the smile of the royal duke, it was clear he was understanding his intentions properly, it was a clever idea, they needed to not give the rest of the nobles any chance to criticize or present a chance to escalate things.

“It would avoid conflicts, and considering the importance of our relationship there would surely be those who would try to create or accentuate a difference between our countries, or worse, lead us into conflict” his sister added, there were to many options regarding whoever had paid for the attempt on him and Frey and there was also someone who was leaking information, it was possible that those who were against the alliance of their countries could try to create conflict, so all in all it was a good idea.

“If someone expects to break our alliance because of an insult during our wedding, they are wrong” Frey said with confidence, it surprised most of the people in the room “There are those who do not agreed with the alliance, I would dare say most of them are motivated by loyalty to the country and past misgivings, but had no other motivations, then there are those who have an agenda, they will push and incite the former, I agree with the royal duke, we need to make things as uncomplicated and natural as possible, show them our alliance makes us stronger” Frey was upset, he pitied whoever dare mess with the wedding, they had yet to know his lady.

“Right, you are lady Frey, I am also convinced our alliance is strong, I see, I had little reason to be worried” the royal duke gave Frey a bow, she grabbed his hand tighter. He saw lord Lunebleau smiling with mixed feelings on his face as he looked at his daughter.

“We should ask about the escorts and have and expected number” lord Lunebleau said after a moment.

He felt a pull from Frey, their eyes met. There was no need for anything else, there were many things to do.