The golden sun completely rose over the horizon of Astro-Knights Island, and shone over Kingdom Arturus. The songs of morning birds filled the breezy air as the citizens started to wake up and begin their duties and chores. Among the Arturus castle, the people who lived there did the same.

Matilda, the queen of Arturus, awoke with a start. Sitting up and stretching her arms in the air, she also noticed that her husband, King Richard, had already been awake and off to the throne room. The queen frowned for a moment, but then stopped, as the vivid memories of that dream she had last night came flooding back to her. It was that dream again. She did not know whether she liked or hated it, but it was... enjoyable? It's a shame it was just a dream, though, but as of that time, she decided it was best to keep it to herself. The queen tugged the silky bed-sheets off her bare legs and planted her feet on the carpet floor, then trudged her way up to her mirror dresser.

As the queen stared at herself in the mirror, she began to notice a couple of white strands within her orange hair. She tried not to stare at it by fumbling her hands on the surface of the dresser to find her foundation and lipstick. Once she applied her makeup, her hands scooped up her hair and twisted it into a bun. While doing so, however, her arms were lifted enough so that she could see most of her body, from the thighs up. A sly smirk appeared on her velvety red lips. She loved seeing her petite figure with curves in all the right places.

Why waste such a voluptuous body just because I'm aging? She thought.

Just after she fitted into her red and white corset dress, a knock at the bedroom door reached her ears. The queen finally picked up her white, elbow-high gloves while walking to her door and hastily slipped them on. Upon opening the door, she tilted her head up to meet the eyes of Lancelot, the captain of the royal guard.

"Good day, your highness," he said in his rugged voice. His dark blue eyes were hard as stone but were polite at the same time.

"Lancelot," the queen simply responded, nodding up at the young man. "Is there something you... you need from me?" Her breath hitched in her throat in the middle of the ironic question, as she, herself, was feeling very... needy. She knows and always had known that at her age, *certain things* will start to become less eventful for her; it's already happened to her husband (who she, mind you, was forced to marry), but why, pray, must it happen to her so soon?

"Why," Lancelot broke into her thoughts, "to check to see if my lady is up and about."

The queen's face lit up. "How considerable of you."

He nodded once. "Aye. It is my duty to service you, after all," he answered nonchalantly.

Service me... she repeated in her head. The queen bit her bottom lip as he continued, "Anyway, allow me to escort you down to the crown room. Do you have your red rubies?"

"O-Oh, yes," she answered, snapping out of her daze. "Just a moment." She went back to her dresser and opened up one of her drawers, digging around to locate her key for her jewelry box. After unlocking and opening her box, she retrieved her crown's precious rubies. "Here we are," she said under her breath, walking back up to the doorway where Lancelot patiently stood.

"Excellent," he replied, his eyes darting down to the gems, then back to her rosy face. He redirected his stance to turn towards the hallway and added, "Follow me, your majesty."

While the queen trailed behind him down the hall, she couldn't help but swallow down her throat at what had happened a few years back, when a pair of thieves tried to take away her precious rubies. She clutched them tight in her hands, but after a few moments, she smiled about it. Yes, the both of them tried to steal from the queen, but what had made them unsuccessful was what the elder one of the duo did for her.

The one his partner called "Captain".

The more she thought about him, the younger and more lascivious she felt. Her eyes wandered down the back of Lancelot, and she bit her lip once again, this time, even harder. The queen yearned for the same affection the thieves' captain had once given her ever since the incident occurred.

"Lancelot, dear?.." she muttered out of her hot state.

He stopped in his pace and looked at her without any expression. "Yes, my queen?"

Her gaze had grown dark as she studied his handsomely structured face. Lancelot was a man who rarely ever smiled, hence most of the time, he seemed to be very serious about everything.

However, after a moment of listening to her heart pound out of her chest, the queen just shook her head. "Never mind," she finally said, brushing past him.

Lancelot cocked his head to the side while watching her walk away from him. He knew that the queen was a slightly dotty woman, according to the king, which was excusable, but as the times went by, she seemed to be acting a bit more peculiar than the last. As a matter of fact, he was overhearing Sir Cador's conversation with Sir Pellasus the other day about her, mentioning that she was "growing bored of the king". Lancelot didn't know what they were talking about, nor did he know why it was discussed, but at that moment, he was starting to suspect the queen of her behaviour as well. Seeing how far she was walking, Lancelot hurried forth to catch up with her.

*Author's Note*

No, I'm not dead :-P I was just taking a break from Fanfiction, that's all. And since it's been quite awhile since I've written, I want to see if I've improved at all. Please let me know what you think about these chapters; I'd really appreciate feedback! :-)

~PG