“Is there something I need to do to make that happen?”
‘Not that I have seen’
Prince Kelton sighed as tears filled his eyes. His hands and lips trembled. “E… even with everything I’ve learned this week,” he whispered, “in my heart, I still… very much want you to be my queen.”
‘I know, and while my impending rebirth dampens my ability to be your queen now, it doesn’t mean that we won’t ever be together.’
“Where will you go?”
‘That will depend on what Dagaz and Berkano do with my rebirth.’
“And if I need your help?”
Iredys shook her head. ‘Unless you are about to make an egregious mistake, I will refrain from contacting you. Your focus needs to be on the woman you marry and the family you will raise as you carry this kingdom forward.’
Prince Kelton leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs, as he slid his fingers into his hair before he gripped it firmly. “But I don’t know who to choose. Even coming to understand more about myself as I have interacted with Princess Analisa and Countess Lilia, I…. I don’t know that I could accept a political marriage, even if that has the best advantages for Greywolf Kingdom.”
‘Does it?’ Iredys asked softly.
He took his fingers out of his hair as he looked up at her with a furrowed brow. “Doesn’t it?”
‘Do the benefits outweigh the costs? And I’m not just talking about the physical costs.’
Prince Kelon folded his hands in front of his mouth. “Not… really. I mean… there is always going to be some give and take, I get that, but….”
‘Who has more give and who gets more take?’
He blew out his breath.
‘Is there a way to make that give and take more even with that person?’ Iredys asked.
Prince Kelton rubbed his tired and burning eyes. “Not easily. And even then… the cost will still be higher than the received benefits.”
‘Could you live with the choice?’
He sat back on the couch and continued to ponder for a while.
‘...Tell me your thoughts about Countess Lilia,’ Iredys requested after several minutes.
“She is... too soft,” he sighed. “Too soft for court. However, when it comes to aiding the people….”
‘Or time alone with you?’
Prince Kelton winced, but nodded. “That alone would save me and Greywolf Kingdom a lot of heartache and stress. ...If I knew she would be able to adapt to the role she needs to be able to take on, she would be a much better choice, in my opinion, than Princess Analisa.”
‘Given time and exposure, she will come to adapt. The road won’t be smooth and the two of you would need to make sure to talk candidly and often. In some aspects, you are looking at higher risks to maintaining the stability of the kingdom….’
“Then….”
‘I’m not done.’
“My apologies.”
Iredys nodded. ‘If, however, you continue to talk, the two of you will be able to walk through the more trying times relatively unscathed.’
“With your help.”
‘Without my help.’
Prince Kelton turned his gaze to the fire and tapped his bottom lip with his knuckle as he continued to ponder. “It would be easier if I could just re-consummate my marriage with you tonight?,” he sighed.
‘Only if you are willing to watch the three of us get burned alive come morning.’
He closed his eyes tightly. “Mother.”
‘Indeed,’ Iredys replied.
“And if… when your captor chooses to attack Greywolf?”
‘That will depend on how well you work with the one you choose, Kelton,’ she said softly.
Prince Kelton looked at her again. “But with your… knowledge….”
‘It is ever changing. Nothing is set in stone. No path is fixed.’
He sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face.
Iredys patted the knee closest to her. ‘Get some rest,’ she said. ‘Let your mind process everything that has come to light tonight so you may make better sense of it all in the morning.’
Prince Kelton picked up her hand and gripped it firmly. He kissed it once. Kissed it twice before giving it one final squeeze. “Thank you.”
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‘You are most welcome.’
He kept hold of her hand as he stood.
‘May you rest well tonight, Kelton.’
“You as well, Iredys.”
He then knelt in front of her and touched her belly. “Be good for your mom and Aunt Ponderosa, okay?” he said.
Several thumps against his hand answered him and he chuckled
He planted a kiss on her belly. “I love you.” Then he stood and planted a lingering kiss on Iredys’ forehead. “I love you, too, Iredys,” he murmured.
‘We love you also, Kelton,’ she replied quietly.
He nodded as he gave her hand one final squeeze before he let go and turned away. Prince Kelton nodded once to Ponderosa then left the room.
He walked the halls to his room slowly. The once simple decision of who to marry had become very complicated. Best for Greywolf Kingdom; best for him; best for Greywolf Kingdom and him. It was times like this that he almost wanted someone else to make the decision for him. Just almost, because, depending on who he asked, he would end up being the one holding the short end of the stick. Sighing, Prince Kelton pushed the door to his chambers open. Gailan waited near the changing screen for him.
“I’ve set out your night clothes, Prince Kelton,” Gailan said. “Is there any help I can offer you tonight?”
“Not tonight, Gailan,” Prince Kelton replied, tiredly. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
He smiled. “In the morning then.” He bowed respectfully then left the room.
Prince Kelton changed and then climbed into bed. He ran his hand across the sheets beside him. Which woman did he want there? The one that would keep the political stability his mother desired? The one who would grow well into the role demanded of her? Or hope that Iredys’ rebirth would be something that would allow him to have the one he loved most, despite her being anathema to Queen Leona’s Kingdom? And how did he keep the ladies he absolutely did not want to marry quiet so he could marry the woman he chose?
Exhaling loudly, he closed his eyes and tried to rest.
He found himself standing in front of the Archbishop, but what woman stood next to him? The veil she wore was thick enough that he couldn’t tell who stood there. The dress was plain. Their builds were similar. The neckline of the dress was high enough to cover where the stones were embedded in Iredys’ chest. The veil was long and thick, and the waist of the skirt high and poofy enough to conceal if there was a pregnancy bump beneath the fabric.
Prince Kelton sat up. The cold of the room pierced through his sweat soaked night clothes. He shivered. Gailan pulled the curtains around his bed back, allowing the warmth from the fire to reach him.
“Have you been awake long, Prince Kelton?” Gailan asked.
“No, Gailan,” he said, steadying his breath. “Thank you for coming early.”
“Of course. You are to wed the woman you chose last night and need time to prepare.”
Prince Kelton nodded, saying nothing about his inability to make a choice.
He climbed out of bed and stepped behind the screen to pull his wet nightclothes off. He lowered himself into the hot bath that Gailan had drawn for him. He let the water warm him. Draw away the aches and pains he felt from all the dancing and the tension he’d amassed over the last week. Prince Kelton tipped his head back and looked at the ceiling. He reviewed everything he had learned over the last several months.
From the changes that had come over Iredys—no thanks to her captor—to the reality that, while she would soon give birth to his heir, their child would not be recognized as such and her rebirth might change her into something he could not marry thereafter. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. He hadn’t even asked Iredys who she wanted to care for their son after his birth.
‘That would be Ponderosa,’ he voice replied. ‘She will keep him safe until it is time for him to step up and take his place.’
‘I doubt she would be able to do so on her own,’ he thought back, as he set his arm back down. ‘Even with her magic.’
Iredys didn’t respond.
‘Iredys?’
The door to his room opened. He anticipated it to be his mother coming to demand an answer about who he had chosen, but the muted clunking of armor reached his ears instead. With the arrival of his two favorite knights, he remembered that there was something else he hadn’t yet followed up on.
“You’ve chosen to marry Lady Iredys, right?” Sir Droyn asked.
“…The two of you have yet to tell me the oaths you swore regarding the options before me,” he replied.
“Tell us you are marrying Lady Iredys first,” Sir Hamnet pleaded.
“The oaths, Sir Hamnet.”
“Y… yes, Your Highness.” He took and let out a breath. “We swore to kiss the muck covered pigs if you chose Duchess Penelope.”
“To chase chickens through the halls of the castle if you married Countess Gracilina,” Sir Droyen added.
“If you chose Marquess Jemina, we were going to dress up as muck covered farmers who would constantly offer her a sheep,” Sir Hamnet said.
The corner of Prince Kelton’s lips twitched upward. He brought a hand up to his mouth and bit the knuckle of his pointer finger to keep himself from laughing as he listened to the rest of the oaths these two knights had sworn.
“If you chose Duchess Harriet,” Sir Droyn continued, “we were going to borrow some of your fancier clothes and parade around pompously.”
“For the shy Countess Lilia we planned to cross dress,” Sir Hamnet said. “And for Princess Analisa, we….”
“Go on,” Prince Kelton prompted.
“We will cover our doors and yours with fresh horse manure for a week,” Sir Droyn filled in. “A week we will happily restart if we are interrupted.”
“We have, also, both agreed that we will even happily endure the stocks as punishment for acting out,” Sir Hamnet finished.
“...And Lady Iredys?”
“Sire?” Sir Hamnet asked.
“What oath did the two of you swear regarding Lady Iredys?”
There was a slight click of their armor as they shifted. “We swear an oath right now to not do anything offensive if you marry Lady Iredys,” they said together.
Prince Kelton nodded once as he brought his left hand up to his mouth. No path would be easy going, but….
“Prince Kelton?” Sir Droyn asked when they didn’t hear a response.
He closed his eyes and let out a sigh before speaking the words that filled his heart and mind.
“…I will honor my betrothal to Lady Iredys of Abundare.”
“Yes!” Sir Droyn said in a shouted whisper.
“We shall inform Queen Leona and Lady Iredys at once!” Sir Hamnet said.
Sir Droyn’s and Sir Hamnet’s armor clanked a little more as they hurried out of the room.
Now to hope that fate would favor them to be able to have more than a month together without revealing what should not be revealed yet. Something that he needed to start addressing by making the majority of the noble ladies present unavailable. Prince Kelton sat up slowly in the cold water to finish washing up as he thought about who he could pair with whom and not have it bite him in the butt once he took the throne. He stood when he was finished and Gailan brought him a drying cloth.
“You’ve wanted this for a long time, My Lord,” Gailan said softly as Prince Kelton accepted the cloth. “Why do you look unhappy with your choice?”
“It is not that I am not happy about choosing Lady Iredys as my wife, Gailan, I am,” Prince Kelton replied, as he stepped out of the tub. “It’s just that… I am concerned about what those who will not share my happiness might do.”
Gailan’s expression softened as he nodded.