"On what adventures have you two been up to this morning?"asked Rei, as she sat in her favorite chair.
Both of them sat on stools at her feet. They each took a seat. Izolda, they noticed, was not there. Then again, she rarely was. She resented being allowed only a stool in the royal presence. She was at least allowed a seat, they thought.
"On call?"Deimos said.
"Certainly not at my call."answered Rei. "Just at whose?"
"Their paramour's, who else?"said one girl.
"Oh, were you?"asked Rei with a smile.
Everyone then gathered around them, eager to hear what they had to say. They weren't sure if they should say in front of everyone, or tell only Rei.
"Do you get to pick your husbands, or will you be married off?"one of the ladies asked. "There would be so many who would ask for you."
"They get to pick."Rei told them.
Although Phobos and Deimos were not of royal blood, they were certainly good catches. They had the queen's ear, and were her closest confidantes, after all. They were high in her favor, and that would mean whoever married them would be, as well.
"My father says nothing good ever comes of one picking one's own husband. You just don't know to know what would be best."
You don't know enough about inheritances, politics, and things like that, they mean. Who says something good will come from having your husband chosen for you, Rei thought, as she sipped her tea. It wouldn't do to say aloud, though. Then again, despite everything, she didn't hadn't done so bad, had she? Phobos and Deimos were right when they said she could have done so much worse, couldn't she?
The only thing was that she thought Jadeite a little too…cloying. He would insist that they breakfast together, with no ceremony, he would sometimes accompany her when she went riding, enter when she would be reading with her ladies, sometimes dismissing them, and he liked for them to give audiences together. That was because, of course, he wanted people to see them together. But what did that matter when…
She stood up. All of the girls in her household, however, she would see to it that no one arranged marriages for them. Especially her wards. These girls were brought to be educated in her household. Having been educated there, when they came of marriageable age, there would be no shortage of suitors for them.
"In one sense, your father is right. You don't know what's best, because you probably dream of a perfect prince."
"Oh, no, madam. Never a prince."
"Well, then you definitely know more than your father thinks."
"You married a prince, but that's because you're a princess, Madam."someone pointed out.
"Princes don't always make the best husbands."she told them. "They lie, they cheat, they're unfaithful, just like all other men."she looked around at them. "I once heard my mother say, when I was a very little girl, 'if there must be a mistress, better her than any other'. The one she referred to was one who was particularly nice to her, not that that made any difference in my opinion. My mother was only queen in name! My father's mistresses were the real queens. He discarded them rather quickly. None lasted very long, except for that particular one. I guess that's why my mother said it was better that she be his mistress. But it doesn't make any difference if you do marry a prince, a duke, a count, an earl, you see?"
Then she left the room.
Everyone remained silent for a few minutes, before they began conversing again. Most had never seen Rei in such a storm before. Interesting that it would be because of something like this.
"She was very nice to the queen."Deimos pointed out. "Mother said it was how she managed to stay in office for so long."
Rei glared.
"You say that as though it were a position, an occupation. It's not a very respectable one."
The next morning, as Deimos was about to return to the writing room, and go through her account book, she overheard a couple of voices belonging to a couple of the ladies of the bedchamber.
"-it must be true, what I heard about Lady Jarl supping with them. That must still be going on-"
Deimos opened the door, and glared at the group of girls who were huddled together.
"Shouldn't all of you be at your duties? And you, especially,"she glared especially at the speaker. "whoever that king or queen sup with is none of your business! You are immediately dismissed! So you had better return and begin packing your things, right this minute! And you will receive absolutely no pension! The same will go for anyone else who spreads gossip among the court about that woman, or Their Majesties, or to try to make trouble!"
The group disbanded, except for the offending woman.
"But Miss Deimos-"she began.
"Don't you speak to me! And get your things!"
Phobos was going thru the account book, when Deimos stormed in. She took her eyeglasses off, when she was her sister.
"You'll never believe!"exclaimed Deimos.
"You'll be surprised at the things I can believe many things, sister."she held up the book. "Just look at-"
Deimos took the account book and closed it.
"We can deal with those later! Right now I had to dismiss someone."
Phobos reached back for the account book.
"Then I'll have to put that down. And consider their pension, so I'll need the book back."
"There will be absolutely no pension. Everyone took yesterday's comment very seriously, when she was saying that princes don't make good husbands. I just heard the ladies of the bedchamber gossiping, and dismissed the one spreading the gossip that perhaps that the king might still be having an affair. A curse on that Lady Izolda! It was all because of her taking her into her service that this is happening."
"Her Majesty would be heartbroken if she hears that. Just that she thinks it might be true, has upset her."
"She herself doesn't do much to entertain the king."Deimos pointed out.
"And she won't while she thinks this."
"And she didn't, even before she ever suspected!"