The queen's rooms shone with the light of the kingdom's best candles, and the sweetest flowers perfumed its air. As was the custom, the high-ranking women of the court joined their queen in her lavish rooms before dinner, awaiting the king and his household. They'd process into dinner together, a sparkling display of Caprica's royal family and its allies. No doubt the king needed to show-off power and unity after his warning ridden council meetings throughout the day. Each moment councilors bombarded him with reports of unrest in his lands while others warned him not to ignore the Cylon threat at their borders. Even petitioners from Laura's own lands, whom she'd seen earlier after Bill allowed her to continue meeting them without requiring he be present, painted a grim picture of the kingdom. King Richard would be in a foul mood by dinner time.
The queen herself, a pale and golden-haired whip of a woman, reclined in an ornate chair with the plushest cushions. Her ever temperamental health left her tired and drained again. Once, these moments of weariness from the queen sent the king in search of Laura's company while the court wondered how long the queen could last. Despite the king's lustful appetites, the two women sat side-by-side in the ornate rooms; the highest-ranking women in the kingdom simply couldn't avoid each other. The queen wore envy and rivalry remarkably well and Laura embodied poised dignity treated while the two treated each other politely. Meanwhile, the surrounding ladies entertained their mistress with card games and music. And gossip.
Gossip was essential. Not only was gossip fine court entertainment but learning juicy morsels of information and knowing which bits to keep and which to pass on was a tremendously useful skill for a lady, as dangerous as any ability to wield a blade.
Laura barely heard the women chattering on around her as Lady Sharon shuffled the cards and dealt out a new round. Sweeping the cards up from the table and into her hand, the silk sleeves of Laura's dress shimmered in the candlelight from the movement. Despite wearing a pale shade of violet, Laura appeared radiant among the ladies especially when one caught the secretive smile tugging at her lips or noticed how her dress had its sleeves cut daringly high. She caused a few raised eyebrows.
Laura didn't care. Married off to a loyal soldier with her name now securely hidden in his, she decided to enjoy the newfound security and safety marriage brought. In her heart, there was an audacious and daring woman, and she was starting to come out again. Besides, her husband, her delightfully surprising husband, seemed as enthralled as he was exasperated by her. They'd both braced themselves for a hate-filled marriage after their disastrous first meeting, but they seemed shockingly well-suited.
Looking down at the cards she'd been dealt, Laura nearly laughed. They played using her own personal card deck of prettily painted images; although, Laura had taken twenty-two cards out of the deck and left them in the little satchel as they weren't needed for games but other purposes—purposes her mother taught her long ago. This first card in her hand was the Two of Cups, depicting a young man and woman exchanging said cup in ceremony. She thought back to her mother's teaching.
"When this is drawn, a strong bond is indicated from the card, Laura," her mother explained as little Laura sorted through the deck, picking out the cards she thought intriguing. "Two becoming intertwined and connected."
"Like you and papa?" The older woman nodded. Laura pointed to a flaming figure above the cup. "What does that mean, lady mother?"
"Fire and passion. You'll understand when you're older."
Tracing a finger along the edge of the card, Laura's smile brightened. Her husband was a passionate man underneath the stoic commander, and he proved to be a thoughtful and generous lover. Bill Adama seemed a paradox of strength and gentleness. She remembered their wedding night, when her knight shocked her by offering to leave and she'd surprised herself further by asking him to stay, and the night had then surpassed anything she'd felt before in her life. She'd been frakked before but neither cherished nor loved. Now despite being a married woman who was only expected to lay on her back, she instead became lover and partner. She even felt comfort while laying next to Bill's battle-hardened body at night as they drifted off to sleep while sharing a bed. Neither slipped away after sex for it seemed that unlike most noble couples, they would share a bedchamber. Laura knew he'd be within his rights to demand the best of their rooms to himself as the new master of the household, but they'd been hers for so long and she didn't want to relinquish her haven. Instead, when his household merged with hers, a few confused servants put his things in the master bedroom, and it became theirs which seemed to appease them both.
Laura tilted her head, considering the card. The whole arrangement, the whole damn marriage, left her battered heart thoroughly confused as she pondered her tangle of emotions. Did she dare hope for happiness after all? When could she drag her husband back to bed?
"Laura!" A hand shook her arm, jarring her out of her thoughts. Looking up from her cards, Laura found expectant faces studying her from around the table. More than one hid a smirk behind their cards. Hyenas sniffing a potential juicy piece of gossip, Laura thought. She noticed several cards in the discard pile and wondered how much of the game she'd missed.
The queen heaved a most impatient sigh. "It's your turn, Lady Laura."
"Sorry, your majesty," Laura offered. She drew a card and promptly discarded it, unable to summon even a vague interest in the game. She accepted that as the second-highest ranking woman in the kingdom, she needed to attend the queen and endure her gaggle of ladies. They were admittedly useful when wanting to know what was going on at court. Laura really hoped they'd stop staring at her soon.
"You're very distracted today," Lady Sharon Agathon probed, as she snatched up the discarded card.
A saccharine laugh filled the air. "New brides are always distracted," Lady Ellen, who had never been married herself but seemed an expert on the marriage bed, teased. Her vibrant blonde curls, a feature several male courtiers were rumored to find simply irresistible, tumbled over her shoulders as she laughed at her joke. She plucked a card off the deck, casting a conspiratorial glance at the table. "Especially if the rumors are true… a maid said she could hear many sounds coming from your window late at night," Ellen said, laying down her discard with a deliberate thwack as she eyed Laura to gauge the rumor's accuracy.
"And what was a maid doing outside my window late at night?" Laura asked as her traitorous skin reddened.
"What maids do, of course!" Lady Ellen threw her head back and laughed.
"Really, Lady Ellen," the queen's chief lady-in-waiting admonished, preferring a serene sense of decorum to be maintained. They were refined ladies after all.
"How do you find marriage?" Lady Gina asked curiously, the newest lady at court who was swathed in red velvet and would catch many courtiers' eyes at dinner.
"I simply couldn't imagine being married to a soldier," Lady Grey said and Ellen nodded.
"Well, at least there was nothing to surprise her," the queen muttered.
"I am not answering these questions," Laura said, sending a scathing look to the women around the table.
"Quite right," the chief lady-in-waiting said, continuing the game with her turn.
Turning back to her cards, Laura doubted she could express in words how she found her marriage anyway. They'd been forced together true, but it was clear to both of them that they had the potential to have something special. But that needed trust, and both of them guarded their hearts. Both of them were also tired of being alone, and they felt good.
Her stomach knotted. It all came back to fear; good didn't necessarily last, good didn't protect against hurt.
"Laura!" Lady Grey snapped. Laura heard Ellen's bubbling laughter as she looked up and felt the heat of several impatient sets of eyes. "It's your turn again."
The queen tossed her cards on the table, declaring she couldn't play like this. She went on about how her marriage never distracted her like this, and her ladies remained polite enough to not offer their opinion. The queen commanded her chair brought to the window and for Gina to come read to her. The others lepts to obey, arranging themselves around their queen.
Such behavior ruled the court. As a little girl, Laura had trailed behind her aunt, the former queen, while holding her mother's hand. Back when things were good, Laura thought as she gathered up the abandoned cards. They can be good again, her heart whispered. Straightening the cards together, Laura recalled the golden days and the things her mother taught her; how to be a lady, how to be a Roslin, and how to be a daughter of her line.
Mixing all the cards back together, Laura added in the previously hidden twenty-two cards. She shuffled them several times.
"We're descended from Pythia herself, Laura. The greatest of oracles. From her union with Apollo comes our line. The prophetic gifts she possessed, which the Pythiai after her strive to attain, come naturally to us," her mother explained.
Laura drew three cards; the past, the present, and the future. A shiver went down her spine as she laid them down on the table. She hadn't done this in years. Long ago, Caprica had outlawed witchcraft, and not many practised even remotely related arts outside of a temple's protection anymore. Although such arts were accepted during the Rosin's reign where soothsayers of Apollo, wise-women of Athena, oracles, scholars, augers, and alchemists were welcome, those days were gone. Richard never forgave or forgot how his court never attracted such people and their blessings. Laura hadn't risked the king's ire and jealousy by practicing something he didn't understand and that reminded him of the mystical aura his court failed to achieve. Killing her as a witch would have solved a problem or two.
Lining up the cards, Laura took a deep breath. She flipped the first one over quickly and found herself looking down at three swords piercing a ruby-red heart with great billowing storm clouds taking up most of the background. The Three of Swords, with its weapons wounding a heart, was easy to interpret with its obvious depiction of pain and hurt. No one denied grief and heartache haunted her past, and Laura quickly flipped the card back over because dwelling on heartbreak did her no favors.
She rolled her eyes when the next card showed a knight. Precisely, the Knight of Cups, whose motives were pure and will was strong. He moved slowly forward toward peace and calm. Laura hummed thoughtfully; she wouldn't have originally thought the compassionate and romantic Knight of Cups a match to the man she'd first met.
Her pale hand rested on the final card— the future. For so long, Laura avoided thinking of the future. With one determined flick of her wrist, she turned the card. She gasped, the surprised sound escaping her lips involuntarily.
The Empress.
Entwined in magic and nature, the beautiful woman sat on a throne of gold while shining stars formed a crown on her head. Great green trees grew in the background while wheat sprang up at her feet. Laura's gaze was drawn to how the artist had painstakingly painted the pomegranate patterned robes of the ruler so that the folds fell gracefully around her pregnant belly. To Laura's irritation, tears burned behind her eyes as she looked down at her former dreams on the table; the Knight of Cups and the Empress. In another horrible moment, the king's herald was announcing the king's arrival, and Laura snatched up the cards. She tucked them away in the little bag tied to the silver belt at her waist.
The king stormed into the queen's rooms like an angry thundercloud made human. The ladies dropped into nervous curtseys as the king greeted his wife as proper protocol dictated. With a resigned sigh, the king asked after his wife's well-being when he noticed her tired expression.
Laura turned her back on the scene, striding to the window to keep out of the king's sight. She dreaded what would happen if the king noticed her and let his eyes linger too long on her body. Resting her hands on the window ledge, her new wedding ring shone in the flickering candlelight. Truthfully, it made her stomach roll to think of Richard's looking at her in lust or summoning her. The days she'd have allowed the attention and shared his bed to then offer advice on how to fix the latest ailments in the kingdom were over. He no longer listened to her, and she'd decided to be faithful to Bill. He deserved no less. After all, his own obvious honor was the reason she knew he was no spy for the king.
What would she do if the king summoned her again?
A hand touched the small of her back and she gave a surprised jump. Her body tensed and immediately the warmth on her back retreated.
"Are you alright, my lady?" a rich, deep voice asked. Bill stepped into the space beside her, looking at her with those intense blue eyes of his.
"It's been a long day," Laura said. Besides attending the queen, meeting her petitioners earlier drained her. She looked over at Bill with a small smile. "You startled me," she explained.
"Ah," Bill said, relieved his touch in particular hadn't prompted her reaction. After a moment's hesitation, he slid an arm around her waist and grinned internally when he heard her quiet hum of approval as she leaned against him without even realizing it.
So, this is simple, honest affection, they both thought. It felt good.
…
Marrying Laura undeniably rose Bill in courtly status. With Laura on his arm, he now walked into dinner directly behind the king. He felt out of place in the procession as he followed after their peacock-like king and walked beside his own poised, beautiful wife. He moved as if marching in formation; with his head-up and looking neither to left nor right, the habit of a leader to whom his people could look. In reality and to many people's shock, his quiet and dignified persona made him look like he belonged, especially when paired against his polished wife.
Bill grumbled under his breath about the ridiculousness of the pomp and ceremony, which only prompted his wife to hide her face behind a delicate white hand as she giggled instead of scolding him.
I like seeing her laugh like that, Bill thought as she composed herself again but with laughter still dancing in her eyes. Did I so recently want to bend her to my will? He doubted she'd have even laughed like this with him if he'd forced her submission, and his world was brighter when she laughed.
"How did your meetings go?" he asked her as they walked toward the feasting hall.
"Do you really want to know?"
"I wouldn't ask if I didn't."
Laura regarded him from the corner of her eye as they walked as if marveling at someone so straight-forward.
"Tiring," Laura admitted, "but good. I think I did some good, but a lot of them are struggling…" she said before trailing off.
"Struggling?" He asked looking over at her, but she gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head and glanced at the king. He understood without Laura needing to speak, a skill between them that became quickly apparent. Sometimes they just didn't need words. Let's not talk about this around the king, she said silently. He redirected. "Any good news?"
Laura smiled. "There was a rather charming boy straight from university. Billy Keikeya. He wanted to know if he might find work in my household, a rather bold question for someone who couldn't stop fidgeting from being so nervous."
"So what will he be doing for you?" Bill teased lightly, already knowing Laura would have found it irresistible to encourage someone so young.
"Joining my other advisors," Laura grinned. "You don't mind?"
Bill shook his head. "You know what you're doing."
"I try," she said. "But, maybe we could look at some of the security arrangements throughout...our," Laura swallowed, only a little bitterness remaining now," our lands. There's been some trouble with bandits."
Bill puffed with pride at her nervous request; she'd turned to him for help. Granted, it was his area of expertise. You're being ridiculous, old man, he chided himself.
"Of course."
His heart did a strange flutter when her fingers tightened around his hand. He considered himself lucky that he'd chosen to soften in approach to her before irreparable damage had been done. Instead, they had an easiness to their interactions now, their progress a miracle after their first tumultuous meeting. They could have easily hated each other.
He really needed to stop seeing every station as a battle. He still thought her proud and haughty, but he supposed she needed that to survive this court and protect her caring heart. He'd needed to be a bastion of stone and strength to survive war and command.
He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze in return as they strode into the banqueting hall and up the dais to their seats at the table. Tonight they sat at their usual spot to the king's right. One of the most seen rooms, splendid tapestries and gilded candlesticks decorated the hall. Royal guards in full livery spaced themselves evenly along the hall. Apparelled in fine silks and brocades, satins and damask, which all glittered with jewels, the people of the court assembled to enjoy their nightly revelry. However, there was an even greater sense of grandeur to the air and Bill wondered if he'd missed whatever latest triviality the king wanted to celebrate.
The rich smell of thick garlic sauce over steak filled the air, wafting up from the kitchens like foretaste of the promised meat course. Loaves of fluffy bread covered in butter and surrounded by crushed nuts filled the platters already on the table. They'd of course begin the feast with soup, probably a creamy mushroom soup flavored with thyme and parsley. Bill certainly ate better than ever before in his life, and he had to admit to some enjoyment at being served portions of the best food from the castle's kitchen. It at least makes these dinners endurable, Bill thought taking a deep breath as those seated at the high table took their places where they faced out toward the great banqueting hall like a great tableau. Everyone gazed up at the king in the center, who wore his greatest crown and stood to address his people.
He spoke eloquent words about the kingdom's prosperity and strength. Pontificating on the greatness of his reign, his words dripped with self-praise. He extolled the virtues of his court along with the 'great and noble continuation of our reign,' and Bill marveled that nobody had passed out from the amount of hot air the moron was spewing. Bill knew actual war heroes who'd never dream of going on like this. However, the king's speech produced a wild roar of approval, everyone's faces brightening. Seriously, Bill thought, refusing to clap.
"We are strong among the Twelve Kingdoms. But we can't forget our allies who have sworn friendship with us, whose trade brings us extra prosperity, and whose allyship strengthens our position. To that end, we welcome the Sovereign of Sagittaron, King Thomas Zarek and his party, who have come at my invitation, to squash rumors of disharmony and reaffirm our everlasting partnership."
Silver trumpets blared as the doors to the banqueting hall were thrown open to allow the aforementioned ruler to stride into the hall. Everyone in the hall stopped to study the infamous Saggitaron who moved at a deliberate pace with an impenetrable shield of calm. Surrounded by his entourage, Zarek stood out with his sharp eyes that hinted at his unquestionable intellect. 'The Philosopher-King' they called him, like something from an old legend. He called himself a king of the people, but his raiment was as rich as Adar's.
Laura didn't quite hide her surprised gasp, letting Bill know this was as much a surprise to her as to him. It was impressive since she usually seemed to know everything that happened at court sometimes even before it happened. Out of the corner of his eye, Bill noted that she didn't quite hide her displeasure at seeing him; after all, the rumors stated that he had wanted to kidnap and marry her himself.
The two monarchs greeted each other amicably before Zarek took his place at the queen's side. She'd be duty-bound to charm him throughout dinner, helping reinforce the alliance that seemed tenuous not so long ago. Bill knew great feasts were arenas for politics, often witnessing Laura do her own work by talking with and entertaining the different visiting dignitaries and ambassadors seated around them. She didn't seem inclined to give Zarek the time of day, allowing him only short answers when he spoke over to her.
Zarek turned on his not-insubstantial charm throughout dinner, bewitching those around him. The queen laughed dainty at his conversation, and Adar enjoyed the waterfall of compliments. However, when his charisma left Laura unaffected throughout each course, Zarek was quick to ask her to the first dance of the night.
"If I asked you for the first dance, would you accept?"
Bill amazed himself by not sending the man through a wall when Laura graciously accepted. Her manners wouldn't let her refuse such a public request from the guest of honor.
They lead other pairs onto the dance floor. It was an easy dance; other couples doing their steps and then Zarek and Laura doing theirs. He stumbled over a move and laughed easily at himself.
"I think, my lady, we might have gotten off on the wrong foot," he said.
Laura smiled, giving him an acquiescent nod, but said nothing. She had little to say for someone who'd used her in any plot.
"You can hardly blame me, you are lovely, my lady," he continued. Laura didn't know how to reply, and she certainly didn't like how he was looking at her. She glanced over to the high table, but her husband had disappeared.
"We could have been unstoppable together," Zarek whispered when the dance brought them closer together. Laura decided there was something wholly repellent about being this close to the man even if the prescribed dance steps brought it about. A complicated series of flourishes and partner transitions finished out the dance. Laura endured the whirl of color, hearing a commotion as she turned back around and found herself in Bill's arms.
"Sorry," he offered to Zarek who was now partnered with a different pretty lady. "I'm not so used to court dances still. I thought we kept these partners."
"No. We change one more time," Zarek said but accepted the new lady he was partnered with instead of causing more of a mishap on the dance floor. Laura gave a relieved smile at Bill who led her through the remaining dance, noting how unperturbed he seemed at causing a kerfuffle on the dance floor. He shrugged to her.
"I am still getting used to this circus," he offered blandly as the dance ended and they bowed and curtsied. Laura gave him a look over his obvious lie. Bill didn't care and offered her his hand again, allowing her the option to stay with him for the dance and away from the courtiers eyeing her. She took his hand but led him away from the floor.
"So, if I told you it's early enough for us to sneak out, you'd believe me?"
"I'd follow you."
...
Author's note: So, so sorry about the long update. There was an unexpected death in the family, then an unexpected death in the community, and then I got sick. What an awful month! This might have been a weird chapter as a result, and it did end up being cut down so I could post sooner (because ya'll know if they are sneaking away there is a steamy scene coming up).
So continues the silly medieval a/u of the dystopian sci-if show. It is only meant to bring us some smiles at its sheer ridiculousness during COVID continues. No outline. No plan. No beta. Just gratuitous medieval fun.
Thank you to everyone who has dropped a king review. They are are always loved.