Chapter 6
After their tour of the grounds, they had some dinner and Hermione decided she wanted to take a bath so she did just that. Draco decided to have something to drink while looking over the documents his advisors had given him. One of the documents was about Hermione's heritage. She was the only daughter of King Henry II of Argon, the old king had no other living relatives as Hermione's mother passed in childbirth. After the kings passing, which according to the documents would be pretty soon since he had a fable health, Hermione would inherit the crown of her country. And after their marriage, and after Draco's new father's funeral, they would reign both countries together. He could see himself being a king. King Draco, that sounded pretty good. And with his queen, he would be the head of two countries. And maybe eventually, they could conquer some other country. It sounded a whole lot more possible than his survival at home, with Voldemort gaining power.
"What are you up to?" Hermione walked into the room.
"Nothing much, just looking over some documents my advisors gave me" he answered.
"Oh, anything interesting?" she asked.
"No" he lied. "How about you, how was your bath?"
She smiled. "It was amazing." She sat down next to him in front of the fireplace, combing her fingers through her hair. She wasn't wearing an elaborate dress, just something that looked like a nightgown. He looked at her, she looked so effortlessly beautiful.
"So we're really all by ourselves here?" she asked?
"Well, not really, there's all kinds of guards and servants here, but no other nobles to pester us" he answered.
"I guess that's as close to being alone we'll ever get out here." She sighed. He just nodded. She wrapped her hands together and pressed her eyes shut. As she opened them, she looked at the place between her palms.
"Nothing" she sounded very disappointed.
"Yeah, I know, me neither" he whispered.
"We're never getting out of here, are we?" she looked at him, her eves betraying her sadness. He grabbed her hand.
"Would it really be so terrible if we didn't?" he asked, pressing her hand in between his. "I mean, we're safe here, something we wouldn't be at Hogwarts, not any more at least" he whispered.
"We're certainly safer here" she answered. "But Harry, and Ron? And what about our families?"
He shook his head. "I don't know, Hermione, I don't know how this works." He answered. "But really, would it honestly be so terrible to stay here, with me and just live the rest of our lives?" he asked again, his face mere inches from hers. His breath rustled her curls. Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but found herself at a loss for words. He brought his other hand to the side of her face and pressed it against her cheek. She closed her eyes and felt his lips graze over hers, barely, like a gush of air. Their noses rubbing together softly.
"Lady Hermione!" someone came bursting through the door and Hermione and Draco backed away from eachother, but he kept a tight hold on her hand.
"James? What are you doing here?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.
"I've been riding since this morning, you're urgently needed at court" he crossed the distance towards her.
"Why?" she enquired. "Your father passed away last night." He laid his hand on her shoulder. Draco scowled and held her hand just that little bit tighter.
"What?"Hermione didn't know what the appropriate reaction was.
"You're now the queen of Argon" he stated, bending his knee and bowing to her. Hermione looked at Draco.
"I need to go back, right?" she asked him, he nodded.
"Yeah, you'll have to go to Argon, too, for the coronation and stuff"" he squeezed her hand once more.
"You'll come with?" she asked. Draco couldn't help but notice the subtle change in James's face.
"Of course I will" he answered. "I'll tell the guards to prepare the carriage." Now it was her turn to nod.
"I'll go change" she whispered.
"You'll be much faster on horseback, and then Prince Draco could follow and arrive a couple days later." James spoke to her and ignored Draco completely.
"I suppose that's true" she whispered. "I'll prepare myself and you prepare one of the horses in the stable for me?" she asked him. He nodded and sped off.
"It's dangerous out there on horseback." Draco turned towards Hermione.
"I know, but I have to get back, it will look bad if I don't make this a priority" He knew she was right.
"Promise me to be careful and I'll be right behind you" he brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.
"I promise" she whispered before letting of his hand. Neither of them noticed the small white spark that appeared as their hands separated.
It didn't take Hermione long to change back into the clothes from the previous day. However riské they were, they sure were a lot handier to ride in. In the meantime James had prepared her horse for her and was waiting in front of the castle. Draco was waiting alongside him. When Hermione exited, both boys' eyes grew big.
"Let's go" she stated. Draco helped her get on her horse while James got on his own horse.
"I'll see you soon" he whispered. She nodded and dug her heels into the horse's sides, speeding off down the dirt road, leaving Draco Malfoy behind. James smirked at Draco before doing the exact same thing. Draco turned around towards his drivers.
"Is the carriage ready? I'd like to leave immediately" he tried to not sound as annoyed.
"Yes, my Lord, it's ready" the driver bowed.
"We'll leave right now" Draco opened the carriage door and crawled in. He didn't want to leave her alone with that smug bastard one minute more than necessary. He was up to something, and Draco needed to know what it was. He made a mental note to ask his advisors to find out all they could about this James person. There was something fishy going on and he didn't want Hermione to be part of it.
"How long until we reach the castle?" she asked James.
"A couple of hours, I believe, but we'll need to water the horses soon, and let them rest for a minute" he answered.
"Fine, then let's do that and be on our way as soon as possible." He nodded.
"I know a little lake, not far from here, we can let the horses rest there while we eat something." He took the lead and Hermione followed suit. It didn't take more than a couple of minutes to reach the lake James told her about. It was small and secluded in a forrest and it was perfect. Hermione dismounted her horse and let the animal roam a little bit before she herself knelt down on the edge of the lake. She splashed some water in her face and wet her neck as well, slowly stretching her sore muscles.
"Here, I brought you some food" he handed her some bread.
"Thanks" she whispered before sitting down and eating.
"I'm sorry about your father" James sat down next to her. "thanks" she repeated.
"I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel, but I think overwhelmed describes it perfectly" she sighed.
"I can imagine that, and as soon as we get back, the pressure is only going to rise" he told her.
"How so?" she looked at him. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
"You're going to have to get married soon, as no queen can reign by herself" he explained.
"Well, there's no surprise there, I'm already engaged." She smiled.
"But you'll have to figure out where the best alliance lies" he answered.
"But what if I want to get married for love?" he shook his head and carefully grabbed her face in his hands.
"Love isn't a luxury queens can afford" he whispered.
"You're wrong, queens can afford what ever it is they want" she hissed before standing up. She walked over to her horse and carefully patted it on the neck.
"Men are dicks" she whispered to it. The horse raised its head and pressed it nose against her cheek.
"I'm sorry if I offended you, Hermione, that was not my intent" James grabbed her shoulder and turned her around.
"I try so hard to keep my distance from you, but you re like the sun and I can't live without your light." He whispered, his lips dangling over hers. Hermione looked up at him, at his bright blue eyes and suddenly she remembered their kiss.
"I really want to kiss you again" his breath touched her cheeks as he spoke.
"I don't think it's appropriate for queens to be kissing just anyone" she hissed before ducking from under his grip. "And I do believe it's time for us to get moving" she mounted her horse and waited for James to do the same, his face contorted in anger.
Seriously though, what is he thinking? I'm engaged to be married. When riding in silence, they didn't have to ride long to reach the castle. Hermione walked into the throne room where the king and queen were waiting for her.
"Queen Hermione" the king greeted her, a wide smile gracing his face.
"I am so sorry for your loss" he added, standing up to grab her hand and press a kiss on it. Hermione took a bow.
"Thank you, your majesty. I will need to return to my homeland for a couple of days." She told him.
"Yes, of course, and when you get back, we will have the wedding as soon as possible." The king told her. Hermione nodded, it was inevitable.
"I will arrange an escort for you to your country, Lord James has already volunteered." She turned to look at him, he was standing behind her, smiling.
"Your Grace, your son has also volunteered to take me, and as he is my fiancée and this will soon be his country too, I thought it would be a good idea to venture there together." She took another bow.
"What? You can't take my son into dangerous territory!" the queen hissed. The king held up his hand to silence her.
"I will talk to Draco about this when he returns" he simply answered.
"Now, I believe you must be tired from your trip, why don't you go and rest." The king ordered.
"I would love to meet with my advisors first, after all, I'm a queen now" she raised her chin and looked at the king, after all, they were equals now. "Very well" he frowned and Hermione nodded her head before walking out of the throne room.
She met with her advisors in her private chambers. They all bowed and vowed loyalty to her crown before speaking.
"I want to talk about what's best for Argon." She told them.
"I know that I will have to marry to secure my reign." They nodded and one spoke.
"Yes, your grace, but if we may, the match with the crown prince of England might not be the best option." Hermione frowned.
"How do you mean?" she asked them.
"Well, with the king's passing, we fear uprisings in Argon and we don't have the military support to suppress all if any of the uprisings. We need a match that ensures us military support." Hermione interjected.
"Surely England has armies?" she asked.
"Yes, your grace, but Englands armies are tied up at Calais and at the French border. You know the English king wants France. He won't bother helping Argon." Hermione placed her hands on the map on the table, bowing her head. Her loose curls brushed the miniature armies from their designated spots.
"There are other suitors" the advisor continued.
"What?" Hermione looked up at him from across the table.
"There are other suitors that have presented their case for marrying you" he repeated.
"But I'm engaged." She frowned.
"An engagement is but a contract, a contract that can still be broken. We want to talk to you about these other men" he grabbed some papers.
"The best match, the match that could ensure your rule is the one with Lord James." He continued.
"James? As in, the guy I rode into court with mere hours ago?" she asked.
"Yes. He is the bastard son of the king of Spain. Spain is in dire need of a new alliance and they are at war with England. They would love to have your country as an ally. As you know, they also have the best naval fleet in all of Europe and their armies are unparalleled." He continued.
"James expressed his interest in you after you went riding with him, he promised us armies and protection." Hermione shook her head.
"I will need to think on this" she told them. They all nodded and left the room. Hermione stretched her neck and threw her head back. She never wanted to marry Draco, but now she didn't want to be engaged to any other.
"You better get here soon, Malfoy" she hissed as she stood by the window overlooking the courtyard.