Ch 33

"Where is my King whom I've missed so terribly?" River called as she was brought into the throne room, slipping on the emerald encrusted wedding band that had been given to her by his majesty.

"Here, my dear queen." The King sat on his throne, everything about him radiating with arrogance and a hint of stupidity, not much of a change since the last time.

She smiled, walking to him with arms outstretched, "You look even more handsome than I remember. I cannot begin to tell how much it made my heart ache to be without you for so long."

He seemed to inflate a little. "I was expecting your return as of yesterday. This place is cold without your presence."

"I'm so sorry, my darling. We ran into bandits on the return, it was only when one of the footmen sacrificed himself for me that we managed to escape." She reached his side, sitting on his lap and kissing him deeply.

He looked only relatively sympathetic to her story, though instantly and rather disgustingly puckered up for her. "Had I been with you, no bandits would have dared come near."

Had she gotten the chance, she would have cringed so kiss such a man, "Oh, I'm sure, your looks alone could scare off any man." She purred, resting her hand on his arm.

He put his uninvited hands on River's belly. "Our son, how is my heir?"

She smiled, trying not to look at the state of his hands, placing her own over his to hide the sight, "Getting stronger every day, just like his father."

"I expect nothing less." He grabbed her face and non-verbally demanded another kiss. She was used to him doing this by now, though it still took some restraint not to react negatively. She gave him another deep kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Just then, a pager boy ran up to them, coughing quietly to make his presence known. The King pulled away and glared, taking this action as a rude interruption. River didn't move from her perch on the man's lap, glancing at the boy. "What?" The King demanded.

"Uh, s-sorry sir, your majesty, sir. The man you said to alert you of has been spotted in the marketplace."

"What is he talking about, my love?" River murmured, nipping his ear, trying to get his attention back to her.

"That king you used to belong to." He somewhat spat, clearly not fond him. "I just knew he'd try to get you back. Bring him to me." That last part was directed to the page.

River swallowed, "Oh...Does he have to come in here? I don't want to see that horrid man, I want to spend time with you." She rubbed his chest, "If we ignore him, he'll probably go away."

"He should have gotten my message that if he were to ever set foot in my kingdom that there would be consequences, he must pay the price. And," He added smugly. "I've been waiting for an opportunity to show him that I always get what I want."

She didn't want the Doctor destroying her plans, so she quickly resorted to the one thing the King always agreed to, "My darling, I've been away for so long, I need you to satisfy me." She purred against the shell of his ear, "Please, I can't wait another moment or I'll simply die. Besides, wouldn't it be so satisfying to deal with my former husband after you've had your way with me?" She trailed her hand down to his thigh, hoping to buy some time to come up with an alternate plan.

He let out a throaty chuckle, though outside of his head, it sounded pathetic. He stood, grabbing her wrist and dragging her off to their chambers, though the pager boy was already off to find the Doctor.

River let out a breath of relief, following behind her "husband", as he pulled her to their chambers. "My lord..." She started as she was shoved up against the door once inside. He grinned devilishly, snogging her sloppily. He was under the impression that he was rather good at this, though all of his so call 'nights of passion' with River, had been hallucinations given via a certain someone's lipstick. He didn't have to know that, though.

She was quick to apply her lipstick and snog him, hoping to get him to cancel his attack on the Doctor under her influence. "Darling..." She tried again, guiding his head down to her neck so she could actually speak to him.

He sucked roughly at her skin. "The bed is always so cold without you."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm sure it is my love."

"Sweetie pie," He slurred, her drug working fast, "Why did you ever marry that other man. His face is stupid."

"I don't know what I ever saw in him." She breathed, "I'm surprised you even remember what he looks like."

"Don't think about him while I'm satisfying you. Only think about me." He said boastfully.

"Of course, my lord." She smiled, "Where do you want to take me this time."

"Here. Now. Bend over."

"Oh, but you've hardly even touched me." She breathed, "I want to feel your hands all over me." She added a moan to the end of the statement, knowing the more she buttered him up, the better chance she'd have of getting him to call off his confrontation with the Doctor (even with hallucinations on her side).

His hands landed greedily on her shoulders, clearly thinking he was touching somewhere lower. "Anything for you, my queen."

She gave him several fake moans of pleasure, though they grew a bit more real as his hands eventually found their way down to her breasts. She had to admit, as much as the man disgusted her, she did enjoy getting some pleasure out of the act. "My love, I don't know how I could possibly have gone so long without your touch." She moaned.

"I'm sure your dreams of me held much reality." He pinched.

"And how badly did you miss me?" She purred, sucking in a breath when he pinched her, which he would probably pass off as a sound of pleasure.

"As the prisoner misses the sun." He declared.

"Truly?" She pulled him closer to her, "And how badly do you want me?"

"Like a dragon wants gold." He breathed.

"And what exactly are you going to do to me now that you have me again?" She purred, the words sultry and smooth, though this was important as he was known to request her to speak about her favorite parts of their escapade, so she needed to know what he was seeing in his hallucination.

He described a very vivid and rough experience to her. He probably thought he was being sexy, but he sounded rather like a horny teenager who didn't know how to talk dirty.

"Oh, my. How, utterly delightful." She smiled, though her voice was tinged with disgust. She added another layer of lipstick, hauling him against her lips.

He was instantly out of it and much more delirious than before, stumbling back and flopping on the bed. River rolled her eyes, wiping the remainder of the lipstick off before going to sit by the vanity to fix her hair. Knowing he'd be out for at least ten minutes, she had some time before she had to undress him, and herself, to make it look like they had actually committed the deed he would have imagined.

"You're almost tolerable when you're unconscious." She muttered, getting up after a few minutes and starting to undress him, throwing his clothes about the room. Before she could start with her own clothes, there was a knock on the door.

River faked a few loud, high pitched moans, "Oh, darling! More, there, please!" She cried, not bothering to go to the door. Usually, when there were knocks like this, she could scare off whatever servant was outside the door by pretending they were occupied.

The knocking didn't stop this time. "Um, very sorry my lords! So sorry, but there is urgent business!"

River quickly threw off her clothes, slipping under the blankets in case the servant decided to open the door. "If you don't leave now, the King will have your head, no matter how urgent the business!" She snapped.

"The man he requested is here, ma'am, your highness, ma'am. His head is at a higher risk than mine, and if the King no longer wishes to confront him, he'll be hanged ahead of schedule." The boy persisted, though his tone was obviously intimidated.

River swallowed, trying to think quickly. Grabbing one of the sheets and wrapping it around herself, she went to the door, ruffling her hair a bit before opening the door just a crack, blocking the servants view of the bed. "The King no longer has any interest in meeting with the man." She dropped her voice lower, "I, however, do wish to confront him. Please, take him to the west wing sitting room. Don't speak of this to anyone, my husband will be ever so cross if he finds out, though he's more likely to take your head off than mine. Now, take him through the servants passages and lock him in the sitting room. Confiscate anything on his person, no matter how stupid and useless it looks."

He nodded, looking quite serious. "Where shall I put the confiscated items?"

"Hide them in the servants quarters, I'll retrieve them later." She shut the door after that. The boy ran off to the throne room where the Doctor was chewing at the rope around his wrists.

River returned to fixing up the room, grabbing water from the wash bin and flicking it on herself and the man to falsify sweat. Making sure her hair was in disarray, she crept back into bed, positioning his arms around her, and closing her eyes, waiting for him to wake.

When he woke, he made some sort of noise that was supposed to be a purr but sounded more like he had congestion. "Satisfied, love?"

"Of course, my king. You always satisfy me." She smiled, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"I do love our reunions." He hummed, hand reaching down to squeeze her bum.

"As do I." She rolled so she was on top of him, straddling his waist. "Now, I do have a request to ask of you." She murmured against his lips as she leaned in to kiss him once more.

"Within reason." He murmured.

"I was hoping you'd cancel your meeting with the man I used to call my husband." She murmured, rolled her hips against him in hopes of softening the request.

He frowned. "Why would I do that?"

"I have no desire to see him ever again. It would upset me greatly to see you getting so worked up over a man who doesn't deserve our time. And you know that worrying isn't good for me in my fragile condition." She batted her eyes at him, looking as helpless as she could manage without wanting to vomit.

"That is why my intention is to rid the land of him, my queen. Clearly, he has come here to claim you back and I must punish him for it."

"Oh, my sweet, I beg you not to do this. As much as I hate the man, think of all of the trouble that will come with killing him. My daughters will have to come and live with us, and I know you don't like them very much. And we'll be responsible for marrying them off to wealthy suitors when they're older, which will take away some prospects from our own child, should it turn out being a girl." She tried again, bringing his hand to her belly, "You wouldn't want that for our princess, now would you?"

He looked like he was giving this some more thought, which for him was a challenge. "I do not wish that inconvenience on us, though I'm certain you will bear us a son. I will order my men to simply force him to go back to his own land."

"Oh, thank you, darling." She kissed him once more. "And if it's a son you desire than a son I shall give you, though it does trouble me that he will only be second in line to inherit the throne, after your first son." She was testing him now, seeing if he was in a good enough mood for her to ask about her real goal.

He scoffed. "That boy is a disappointment. When our son comes of age, Henry will likely be getting slaughtered in travels."

"Is that a prediction or a guarantee?" She raised an eyebrow, tracing circles on her abdomen.

"More of a prediction, but I decide who the throne goes to next." He pointed out.

"Well, it would please me greatly if you were to make our son the heir to the throne." She murmured, giving him a smile. "Which reminds me, I believe, before I left for my last trip, I was promised something." He raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to elaborate. "You promised me a crown with an emerald center stone." She murmured, "Remember? A crown for your lovely queen?"

This was what she was truly after, the crown. It had been around longer than anyone could remember, and was perhaps one of the most valuable artifacts in the medieval century, though no one at the time knew it. She knew the King had somehow come into possession of it, though it wasn't exactly clear how. She had seen it once, confirming that he did, in fact, have it, though, despite his promises to give it to her, he had been withholding it for the past few months.

"Yes, but that head of yours is plenty pretty without a crown." He toyed with one of her curls. "And I've decided to wait until our son is born. It shall be a reward for your efforts."

She bit back a groan of frustration. This mission was taking much longer than she had originally intended back when she started it. "But darling..." She pouted.

"My love, you have no need for a crown. All in this land know you belong to me and it is an artifact meant for viewing and not wearing."

"Of course, it's meant for wearing, they wouldn't have made it into a crown if it wasn't." She huffed, standing up and taking the sheet with her.

He was left on the bed, cold and bare. "You're just overreacting because you're a woman. I have more gold than that crown is worth. I can get you ten times the about of jewelry."

"I don't want ten times the amount of jewelry, I want that crown." She hissed, gathering her clothes, "You don't care about me, that's why you don't want me to have it. After I'm going through all this discomfort carrying your son. Your people don't respect me, the servants don't listen to me and nobody will think of me as queen until you put a crown on my head!"

"I have offered you many golden crowns but you will not settle!" He countered, frustrated as well.

"Because I want that crown! I don't understand why you won't give me what I desire when I have given you everything you've asked!" She fired back.

"It was a gift for my last wife!" He finally growled. "You will learn to hold your tongue before making such accusations of me! That crown was a gift for her but her death came untimely when bearing our son. You have proven prettier than her but not more useful and you are in no place to think you can demand such items without earning your keep of them!"

She swallowed the statement silencing her. In all the time she had spent with the man, she had never known him to be sentimental, and though he still was a horrible, misogynistic brute, she felt a pang of pity for him. She gathered the last of her clothes, "I'm sorry." She whispered though the apology was for the loss of his wife, not her behavior.

"Leave and do not return until I send for you." He crossed his arms, refusing to look at her.

She slipped her clothes, on. "I'm going to go see the midwife if you need me." She murmured, pausing at the door. He muttered something probably quite rude under his breath, nose in the air like a pouting child. "I'm sorry, darling." She repeated, hoping she hadn't just destroyed what she had been working towards for months now. She didn't wait for an answer, this time, exiting the room.