There was a certain amount of flourish Santana expected to see when the king left.
She thought he would leave with great fanfare, following a celebration feast as had been done with his parents. Instead, the king left after troops and slaves alike scrambled to prepare for their upcoming journey. By first light the he had gone without saying so much as a hasty goodbye to the woman who carried his child, not that she or Santana actually cared.
For her part, Santana was merely pleased to see the man leave, from her vantage point on the narrow walkways atop the castle walls she watched his golden banners vanish into the distance. All while wishing thoroughly that he be killed by the first northerner he came across.
After being sure he was well and truly gone, Santana left her narrow perch and went to eat her morning meal. She found Matthew and Puck seated, eating with much more relaxation than they had the previous morning and when she sat down across from them Puck smiled widely at her.
"Tis a grand morning, is it not?"
"It is," she said casually, as if it was of no matter to her whether the king stayed or went.
"It's going to be a busy day, so I hope you're ready," Matthew said, and when Santana shot him a confused look he clarified, "You are now a lady in waiting to a queen regent, that means her daily schedule will more closely resemble the king's and the king was a busy man."
That surprised Santana, when she pictured his day she always thought of him marching through the halls, smacking random slaves and complaining about how no one was doing anything right. She supposed there had to be more to it than that.
"I'm ready."
"Hope yer, ah, special someone knows you'll be spendin' more time out," Puck said rather obviously leaving off an identifying pronoun.
She gave him a warning glare, but Matthew had already caught on, "Santana, I didn't realize you were involved with someone," he said with startled interest.
"I- er…"
"You don't have to tell me who it is," he laughed, "I'm simply surprised there is someone you are that close to, for a while I thought you and Puck were a pair."
"We were sorta," Puck said with a shrug and Santana threw her spoon at him without giving the action a second thought.
"OW! What, was it a secret? We ain't no more, so I thought it was okay t' say," he grumbled, rubbing the spot on his forehead where her utensil had bounced off.
Matthew chuckled, "Leave her be, Puck."
"What did I do?" he complained, looking between the two of them.
"How are you feeling this morning?" Matthew asked, changing the topic for her benefit.
Knowing he was referring to her wounds, she shrugged, "With Beiste treating me I'm feeling as well as one who was beaten can feel."
"I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner," Matthew apologized, genuine sorrow in his eyes.
"I'm surprised you found me at all," she said, recalling the way he and Puck had been present, "How did you manage that anyway?"
"Puck," he said while nodding towards the man that was still shoveling food into his mouth. "After Archibald told the queen what he believed we had been doing she became rather desperate to find you. I informed her that you would be along shortly and when you didn't appear… she became rather frantic."
Puck almost choked laughing through his mouthful of food, "Completely crazed's more like it, I heard her callin' for ya n' told her where you were. I saw ya gettin' dragged off and figured ya'd really messed up bad. Shoulda known he was up t' no good."
Santana smiled at his indignation on her behalf and finished her meal quickly to get to her queen's side as soon as possible. However, when she left the dining hall she found she had Matthew right on her heels and realized suddenly that she was now one of two people responsible for the queen.
With a pang of irritation, she entered the queen's bed chambers and shook her awake, making sure to keep a good distance from the bed since Brittany often liked to scoop Santana into her arms upon first waking to shower her with kisses, something that would be a terrible idea in the presence of the king's trusted advisor.
Her eyes fluttered open and found Santana a good distance away, confusion crawled over her features and the smaller woman understood her puzzlement. Quickly she cut her eyes to Matthew, Brittany's eyes followed slowly, and upon seeing him her expression melted into one of simple politeness.
"Good morning," the queen said to both of them.
"Morning, majesty," Matthew replied stepping forward, "There is much to tend to, so shall we start the day?"
"I suppose as regent I couldn't have a while longer to sleep, could I?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.
"I'm afraid the king often requested the same and was denied it as well."
With a pout she sat up and began to pull her nightgown off, an action that made Matthew blush more furiously than Santana had ever thought possible.
"I think I will wait outside until you are ready," he said and left the room with astonishing speed.
Once he was gone Santana chuckled slightly and helped Brittany remove her night clothes all the way. Now disrobed, she smiled up at Santana, "I thought he would never leave," she said, pulling her lover close for a deep kiss.
"You could have just told him you needed your privacy," Santana laughed before kissing her again.
"Talking takes too long," Brittany mumbled against her lips before returning the same treatment.
"We still have to get you dressed."
With an unhappy groan Brittany allowed herself to be maneuvered into a dress and as she was laced up the other servants entered the room followed by Beiste. They prepared her for the day and soon they met Matthew out in the hallway before he led them down the hall branching in a direction Santana had never been before.
While he walked ahead of them Matthew spoke clearly over his shoulder, "I will have the servants relocate your things to the king's chambers, they should be ready for you by tonight. As for right now, we need to discuss the war-"
"Sorry?" Brittany said, slowing a bit, "Isn't that what Artie is taking care of?"
"One of them, yes, but while he is away you are the one that the king sovereign will be keeping in contact with about the one overseas. Furthermore, the king had many issues left unresolved when he departed and you will need to make some decisions regarding those things."
Brittany looked worried, but Santana discreetly gave her hand a brief squeeze to gain her attention and then threw her an encouraging smile; the queen smiled back and increased her stride, looking far more confident in herself.
Matthew led them to a room with obnoxiously ornate doors that opened to a spacious inside; it contained a small table with papers piled high on it and a large comfortable looking armchair by a roaring fireplace. Books covered the walls reminding Santana of the library, and though the room wasn't quite so large, it did have a small staircase that wound around the room and up to the ceiling intersected with narrow landings to allow access to the books.
Sitting in the armchair, Brittany looked to Matthew for instructions, but he was looking at Santana with a critical eye, "My queen, it isn't customary for servants to be present during these sessions, I suppose Santana can wait on you from the top landing," he said, indicating the top of the staircase.
"You're a servant, are you not?" Brittany asked simply.
"I am indeed, but I have been given special privilege to-"
"Then I grant her special privilege as well," she replied swiftly.
"The council barely allows me to know all that I do, if they knew of her involvement as well…" he said, leaving her to finish the thought.
"Then don't tell them, as far as anyone outside this room is concerned Santana is in the rafters, now tell me of all these things that need my attention," she said with a stubborn edge to her voice that let them know the matter was past discussion.
Matthew looked like he wished to argue the point further, but merely sighed and walked to the far side of the room to retrieve the stack of parchments from the table.
"First, I must inform you of the king sovereign's progress, which is not what we had hoped for at this point, but it is progress nonetheless. The queen sovereign is ill, possibly with the same ailment that afflicts your father, and it has caused him to lose focus."
Brittany looked saddened by the news, "He loves her so much, I hope she pulls through."
Matthew nodded, though it seemed more out of a desire not to seem insensitive than actual concern, "Indeed. So far we have not told him to what extent things have gone awry here. The most he knows is that the border territories are still agitated."
Santana hoped the next thing out of her mouth would be to inform Matthew that they were going to tell the king sovereign everything. Instead the queen nodded and moved on.
"What of the fur and heating situation?" Brittany asked.
"Well, we are currently preparing the barracks to house the male servants and soldiers while the women stay on the opposite side in a storage room that used to keep our winter furs. We were going to put them in the unused stables, but since the king very nearly emptied the storeroom with his departure we are setting up there. He did so in the belief that he would be able to send us more soon, but until such time we have practically no furs. All we can do is use controlled fires to keep the two rooms warm."
She nodded and thought for a moment, "Is there truly no one we can ask for help?"
"The king has managed to upset every one of his father's longtime loyal castellans."
"Even if they knew the request came from me and not him?"
Matthew considered that for a while, then shook his head, "I did say the South was our only remaining ally, but in that I meant they were the only region that had not shown open hostility since their initial attack, and therefore may possibly be reasoned with. As I said before any furs they could provide would be barely usable and take far longer to get here than we can wait, assuming they survive the trip."
Santana watched Brittany continue to think through her options, wanting to be able to come up with something that would be of help to her. The room was silent for a long moment as Matthew shuffled some papers, clearly ready to move on, but Brittany suddenly smiled; it seemed she had an idea.
"I remember my homeland getting quite cold," she said enthusiastically.
Matthew frowned at that looking up from the parchment in his hand, "Yes, it is."
"Then that means they have furs, which means the king sovereign has furs, we can merely petition him to send over a shipment."
Santana thought that a brilliant proposition, but she could tell right away from Matthew's expression that it wasn't that simple, "My lady, if we ask him for furs he will want to know why we haven't received any from the North and then we will be forced to explain the situation here."
Once more the smaller woman did not see why that was such a problem, but kept her mouth shut anyway.
"Then tell him what you must. Tell him our fur stores caught fire or that my pregnancy has made me unreasonable and I demand far more furs than the North can provide, or that there is blockage on the trade route and they will not arrive in time. Whatever lie is easiest to cover, because even though my husband may well do as he said, I refuse to leave the fates of the people of this kingdom to the outcome of his brash actions."
Both Santana and Matthew stared at her in complete shock and awe.
"Uh…" Matthew said at a loss, "Yes, alright, I'll have them sent for."
"Good, now what is the next matter?" she asked simply.
He seemed unsure, he looked down at the papers in his hands as if he were still rather stunned that she had solved the problem that easily, "We… there's a, um… Defense!" he exclaimed, suddenly remembering. "Castle defense, the king left without giving a detailed outline of how we are to handle spreading the remaining troops. Part of the issue originated in us having to limit the number of guards out at any given time due to the fur shortage. Now it would merely be a matter of deciding how to spread out our forces."
She frowned, "I know nothing of how best to place the troops, so I will leave that to the captain of the guard, just be sure Azimio is placed as far from myself and Santana as possible."
Matthew considered her a moment and Santana could tell he was quite impressed with her ability to make decisions.
And as the day went on even Santana found herself surprised.
They made it through Matthew's stack of problems in little time and soon were on their way to another room Santana had never seen before. It was a large greeting room whose purpose was similar to that of the court except it was for those rich enough to warrant the personal attention of the royals.
Here lords and ladies came to sit and give long winded speeches which mostly amounted to 'Please give us money and/or furs'. Brittany would sit, listen politely to them and nod at the appropriate moments, she showed them all the utmost respect even though their requests and concerns could get quite outrageous and rather silly. However, even when she declined to give them what they wanted she did it with such regret they often left offering her their apologies for even asking.
Later, when it was time for council, it turned out that the meetings were little more than a quiz of what had happened earlier in the day. Brittany explained her plans for their soldiers and told them which wealthy families they were or were not paying and why. However, when she informed them that they were to receive furs from the king sovereign the room went into an uproar.
Apparently the plan had been to keep him in the dark as to his son's actions until the issue was resolved, to show what state the kingdom was in would surely prompt the man to return immediately. Brittany had merely smiled sweetly and told them that she only requested them as a precaution and that the king sovereign would know nothing more than that.
They had looked like they wanted to argue over it, but the overwhelming, obvious truth was that no one believed in the king's ability to send enough furs in time. So the old men had frowned, whispered amongst themselves and decided that since it was her first day as regent they would allow her to make the request.
As if they were doing her some sort of favor. As if every one of them wouldn't benefit from what she was doing. As if every person in the room wasn't aware that she had probably made a decision that would save all their lives.
Santana watched her play their game like she had done it her whole life and when she left and went to court she sat through an endless line of people, all asking some special consideration, with ease. Matthew was always at her side, but with every person that arrived she seemed to need his guidance less and less.
When they were finally free of the court, Santana was eager to be alone with her queen as her evenings were usually completely free, but as a ruler it turned out that free evenings were no longer a luxury Brittany could indulge in. There were what seemed to be a never ending line of officials to meet with before she was ushered off to discuss the crown's finances. She had no idea how Brittany wasn't breaking down before the end of it since Santana wasn't even being asked to do anything and she was ready to scream by the time the queen was ready for a bath.
Their journey was short since, having received access to the king's quarters, they were able to go into his private bathing room to find it even more large and luxurious than the one the queen had been using. And Santana had thought that one to be excessive. The room was well-lit and the walls had shelves housing a variety of oils, bath salts, and other things she couldn't even identify. In Santana's opinion it was far too large and stocked with entirely too many items, even when taking into account that it was for two people. There was a marble tub set into the stone floor that resembled a pond more than anything.
All she could think was how hard it must be to empty and clean.
The tub was filled with steaming water and Brittany gave an exhausted sigh as she lowered herself into it. Santana watched, rubbing her forehead, trying to ease the tension that had built since the morning while the queen merely lounged in the water, not even reaching for her cloth as she sat back against one corner and closed her eyes.
"Will every day be this trying?" Santana asked as she too took a moment to relax at her seat by the tub.
The blonde cracked open an eye, "Are you as worn out as I am?"
"Somehow," Santana laughed.
"Then join me," she said before closing her eye again as if it had been the simplest request in the world.
"I don't think I should…" Santana replied, eyeing the door warily as if she expected someone to come in.
"We are quite alone," the queen said softly, lifting an arm and waving her over lazily, "Come."
Looking back at the door one final time, Santana quickly disrobed, almost ripping her bindings and bandages off, and joined Brittany, sitting stiffly at the opposite corner. The hot water made her wounds burn, but in a soothing way.
Blue eyes opened and considered her with amusement, "Don't tell me you've become shy now."
A light heat colored Santana's cheeks as she curled up slightly - she wasn't shy, but she wasn't in a mood to expose her back either.
"I can enjoy myself here."
Brittany sat up, a frown in place as she considered Santana, as if staring could help her discern the problem.
"Come here," she said, it was a request and not an unkind one, but it was full of a curiosity.
Knowing avoiding her would be pointless Santana stood and trudged through the water to Brittany's side. The moment she exposed her belly she knew the queen had seen the angry cuts along her stomach and the expression her lover gave her was one of pure regret.
"I did not think of your wounds!" she gasped, and stood as if there was something she could do for them.
"I would have had to wash them anyway, hot water is better than cold, the river is like ice these days."
Looking stern, she sat Santana down, grabbed her cloth and began to wash the smaller woman in earnest. Already knowing her lady in waiting would protest she gave her a challenging stare that made Santana keep her mouth closed as she worked.
Brittany took extreme care of her back, washing thoroughly and carefully, never once aggravating the slashes that were carved into the darkened skin. After a time Santana was able to calm and lean into her touch, allowing Brittany to wash away her aches and pains. In the silence all she heard was the gentle splash of the water and soft breathing. The queen washed her from head to toe, even her hair and most intimate areas were given attention, though the blonde's intense focus kept it from becoming anything more than a cleaning.
Once she had finished Santana retrieved a fresh cloth to finally do her duty, but Brittany merely took it from her and began to wash herself.
"If you do everything for yourself then what purpose do I have?" Santana laughed.
"You do more than enough for me," Brittany said, a serious tone in her voice.
She shrugged, "It is my duty, and even if it wasn't I would want to do everything I could for you."
Brittany merely smiled and continued to wash her face.
"Why-" Santana began, but halted when the queen's eyes found hers, for some reason she hesitated to question anything that had happened that day.
"Yes?"
The tone was inviting enough to prompt Santana to continue, "Why do you protect him?" she asked and they both knew who, "You could merely write the king sovereign and tell him what has been happening. If he had to come home in the middle of a war campaign he would probably be furious enough to deny his son the throne and pass it to your child instead."
She chuckled slightly at the notion, "He very well might. But it isn't that I am protecting Artie, if I told his father and he came home Artie would be punished severely. However, he would know it was me who told his father and what do you think he would do then."
Santana shuddered at the thought, "Best to keep silent then," she said abruptly. Watching Brittany for a moment longer, she moved closer to her and held out a hand, "At least allow me to wash your back."
With a small huff she handed the cloth over and Santana smiled widely as she washed her gently.
For all her protests Brittany seemed to enjoy the sensation almost as much as Santana had and the brunette took all the time in the world to make sure her queen had the cleanest skin in the land before relinquishing control back to her.
After, Brittany allowed her to fetch them towels from the seemingly endless supply, though she did insist on being allowed to dry Santana off. Something that failed to have the same innocence as the washing. They kissed slowly in the quiet of the room, Santana half wrapped in a towel, panting at the way Brittany's lips trailed from her neck to her collar bone. But before she could gain control and return the soft touches Brittany had dried off and was pulling on the night clothes that waited at the ready for her.
Santana pulled on her shirt and pants, but merely collected her old bandages to be thrown away so she could put on fresh ones before she went to bed.
Since the bathing room and the royal's bed chambers were across the hall from one another the walk back to the bedroom was no walk at all.
When she opened the door and escorted the queen inside she saw that the bedroom was an even grander testament to the royal's opulence than the tub. The room was enormous, rivaling the servant's dining hall in size, and at the back center was a bed large enough for ten, framed in sheets of red silk trimmed in gold that complimented the black and silver that covered the bed. There was an area that was clearly set aside for the queen to be dressed and made up, as well as a portion of the room dedicated to books with a small yet beautiful desk in the center. In one corner Santana saw her own meager possessions stacked on top of the small night stand that usually sat in her room. It looked out of place next to the large, intricate carvings in the expensive wood that every item in the room seemed to be made out of.
The queen walked the considerable distance to the bed and sat on the edge before asking, "Do you have fresh bandages?"
Looking over at the small table she saw her bandages and ointment had been brought as well, she nodded, "I'll put them on now."
"Bring them here," Brittany said and Santana did as she was asked without complaint.
Showing the same care she had in washing them, the queen placed the ointment on each cut before carefully wrapping them up. She traced her fingers gently over them once she had finished, looking sad and distant.
"I should have never let this happen to you."
"It wasn't your fault," Santana said easily.
Without a response Brittany held her close and closed her eyes, her breath hot on Santana's skin. She almost sighed in relief when the queen finally kissed her shoulder.
Their embrace was broken, however, by a loud knock at the door.
Santana almost fell in her rush to retrieve her shirt and yanked it on, putting most of the buttons through the wrong holes. Brittany only laughed a little, pulling her close and redoing them slowly before tucking her shirt in and pulling her down for another kiss that wasn't readily returned as Santana's attention was firmly on the door.
Releasing her to put distance between them, Brittany finally turned and called out, "Enter!"
The door opened slowly and in came Matthew, looking somewhat nervous, as though he might catch the queen in a state of undress again, but seeing her in her night clothes seemed to relax him. Straightening, he walked up to her and gave a stiff bow.
"Is everything to your liking?"
"Why did you bring that?" Brittany asked, pointing to Santana's dour nightstand.
"Majesty, she needs somewhere to put her things," he said, confusion clouding his face.
"What's wrong with that?" she pointed to the large, black chest of drawers sitting against the far wall. "Was there no room after my things were brought over?"
"No, there are still several free drawers," he spoke as if he truly did not see where she was going with her line of questioning.
"Then I will have her put her clothes in one of them, please have that removed from the room."
Matthew looked like he might be in pain, "My lady, it is not at all customary for a servant-"
"Matthew," she said warningly, "I have had a harrowing day observing every custom this castle has to offer, would it really be so difficult to allow this?"
He faltered and glanced to Santana who was trying for all the world to not look like someone whose skin was still burning where the queen had kissed her, "I suppose not, it is equally unusual to have a servant's furnishings in the royal bed chamber. I will remove it immediately."
Without another word he turned, emptied the drawer, Santana following to take the items from him, and left the room taking it with him. Unsure of what to do she stood in place after he left, holding all of her possessions until Brittany stood and opened a drawer for her.
"You can put your things here," she said with a kind smile.
Santana did as she was asked with great concern, "I know you want good things for me," she said quietly, "but if you continue to behave this way I worry someone may come to understand our relationship better than we would like."
"That may be true for someone else, fortunately everyone in this kingdom thinks I barely have a thought in my head and I have requested stranger things for servants. My preceding reputation will be our saving grace."
Santana would have argued, but she figured if Brittany was willing to risk both their lives on this then it must be a safe assumption to make.
Matthew returned once more to be sure everything was as the queen wanted it and, once assured she was satisfied, left again for the night.
Waiting to be sure he was well and truly gone, Santana finally undressed to change into her night clothes. The queen watched her every move carefully, as if to memorize the way her muscles moved as she pulled on the long nightgown.
When she had finished Brittany crawled under the sheets and held them open, indicating that Santana should join her. Quickly, she closed the distance between them and lay next to her lover half expecting to be swept up in more passionate kisses, but instead Brittany only pulled her close and seemed to fall asleep the moment Santana was secure under her arm.
A light smile on her lips, Santana scooted closer and gave the blonde a kiss on the forehead, "Sleep well, mi reina," she said softly before nestling into her, relishing in the delicious softness of the sheets and pillows and the warmth of the woman holding her in a tight embrace.
Santana woke first as was her habit and was about to rise to take her morning meal when she realized that Brittany had wrapped both arms around her in the night, pulling them even closer together. Looking up, she nuzzled the blonde's neck, placing kisses along the way in the hopes of waking her. However, after she had traced her lips over all of the exposed skin she began to fear she was incapable of waking her that way, until she placed one last one on the crook of her neck to find the queen's pulse racing.
Leaning back, she craned her neck up, frowning at the face of the woman she now knew wasn't sleeping, "Were you waiting to see how far I would go?"
"Would you be angry if I said yes?"
With a laugh Santana sat up and looked down at playful, blue eyes, "You wish to make me late to my meal."
"Not just yours," she said, sitting up and capturing Santana's lips with her own, "but mine as well."
Deciding that as long as she ate quickly she could spare a moment, Santana returned the affection, pressing lightly into the woman below her, earning a soft moan. But her advances were cut short as the queen gave her a final kiss before pushing her back.
"If you do that we truly will be found out, because I will not be able to stop," Brittany said with a chuckle, "Go, eat and return to me."
She didn't know why, but the way the queen said those words made her want to skip her meal altogether and cater to her every need.
It was with great reluctance that she rose and went to the servant's dining hall where she saw Matthew sitting alone. Looking around, she saw all the other tables were quite crowded and it occurred to her for the first time that Matthew couldn't be all that popular with the other servants in the kingdom since it was more than apparent he was the one to give the king his strength.
Slowly she approached and sat next to him to find the man poring over more documents as was his habit. She placed her bowl down with more force than necessary to alert him to her presence and it worked, he turned to look at her with startled eyes.
"Santana, good morning. Did you sleep well?"
Better than I have in ages, "Well enough."
"The queen, she has a habit of treating servants so well it makes them uncomfortable, but don't worry you are in good hands."
Santana had to suppress a chuckle, "I trust her."
"Good," he said before returning to his papers.
"Will today be anything like yesterday?"
Without turning from his papers he said, "Almost identical, so goes the life of a ruler."
Santana took a bite of her tasteless stew and nodded to the parchment he held, "What are you reading?"
"Letters from nobles in nearby villages requesting various things."
She nodded before looking around at how empty their table was, "Do you think that maybe if you didn't do things like read letters from nobles the other castle servants may warm to you more?"
He frowned, looking up, as if realizing for the first time that everyone seemed to be avoiding him, "No, it isn't my reading that's the problem. As a port town Castle Abrams has quite a few servants that originally hailed from lands where even the poor are taught to read. Michael and Tina could not only read, but were well versed in the king's tongue before they were brought here, though for the longest they pretended to not speak a word of it."
"Then why does everyone seem to want nothing to do with you?" she asked.
Placing the papers down he looked into the bowl before him, "It would be because I am the one who brought quite a few of them here."
Santana had not expected that answer at all, "What?"
With an unapologetic stare he turned to her, "I am the one who chooses what slaves are accepted into the service of the royals and which are not. I chose Sunshine, Michael and Tina over others, their fates could have been different if my choice had been."
"You brought them here?" she asked incredulously, "How could they stand to sit next to you?"
"Because they realized what I hoped everyone would eventually; that no matter who chose them as servants their story would not be a happy one. I picked only Michael at first, but then Tina as well when I saw it would break him to be separated from her."
"And you gave her to the king?"
"No, he saw her and decided her fate, Michael was to attend him originally."
And for the first time Santana started to see the enormity of the weight he bore, "Why does Puck still trust you?"
"He was born into this life and cares nothing for gossip, however, the same cannot be said for others who were not chosen by me. They listen to the words of the ones who were and make sure to not speak to me."
"That's foolish."
"Would you still think so if I said I chose you, too?"
That caused her to give him another surprised look, "Did you?"
He nodded, "I read the Evans' plea for more time to move in exchange for a slave they could no longer afford to keep."
Matthew spoke as if his choice had been cold and uncaring, but she had learned to think more of him than that, "Why did you accept?"
"Because the king sovereign requested I find the princess a new lady in waiting."
"Why did you really accept?" she asked kindly.
His eyes went back to his paper as if he were embarrassed, "Because if they couldn't afford you then they would probably sell you for next to nothing to someone who would treat you equal to what he paid. I thought at the least the princess would never purposefully harm you."
There was silence between them for a while as he went back to reading, but Santana merely considered what he had said.
"If you had told me that when I first came here I think I might have been like everyone else, hating you silently from afar, but now…" she stopped and glanced at him to find he was paying close attention, "I think it was the best thing that could have happened to me."
She could tell the smile that fell onto his face was allowed grudgingly.
Clearing his throat, he turned back to his documents, "I'm glad."
Sighing she returned to her meal, taking several more bites before turning to him again, "I've been wondering something," when he glanced over at her with a questioning stare she continued, "Why did the king leave the castle in the queen's care?" she asked quietly. "I would think him one to believe her too foolish to be able to run things well."
Matthew gave a genuine smile at that, "He does, he thinks her almost completely lost to common sense which is why he has left me to guide her."
"But why? Why not appoint someone he thinks a better leader."
"The same reason his father did not merely relinquish the title of king to him," he said, lowering his voice even more.
She tried to think of why that was, but couldn't and shrugged at him.
"He wants it back. The king did not want to give up his control over this land so he gave himself a more powerful title, Archibald did not want some clever castellan staging a coup in his absence. The king thinks her too simple to want to control the crown and even if she did want to, as a woman, she couldn't."
"The king belittles her even in his seemingly kind gestures."
Matthew nodded, "He does, but you should take the time to relish the fact that for the time being you need not worry yourself about her being hurt at the hands of the king."
When she gave him a surprised look he elaborated, "Puck mentioned it bothered you, as it does everyone who gets to know her."
"I suppose you're right."
"The only fear I have for her is…" he paused and then shook his head, "best not to speak of it. I am not a superstitious man, but I would not like to tempt ill omens by telling them to the wind."
Alarmed Santana sat up, "What worries you?"
He looked back at his papers as he said, "Would it suffice to say the fact that our queen has lost two sisters to child birth worries me?"
And just like that the joy of the morning, of waking free of the king's terror, was crushed.