Once they'd recovered from their activities Hermione pulled on her underwear and Draco's shirt while Draco pulled on his trousers. The couple then spent the next hour or so lying on the blanket, eating their picnic and talking. There was also a bit of physical interaction as the couple shared several more kisses and caresses. Hermione was surprised that they remained out in the open half-dressed where anyone could come across them. Neither Queen Hermione nor Sir Draco didn't seem bothered by the prospect though so Hermione forgot about the worries of getting caught and just enjoyed the rest of the afternoon.
Hermione was lying on her side, her hand tracing patterns on Draco's torso, when he announced they should be getting back. He sounded as disappointed as Hermione felt and the couple shared a sad smile before they reluctantly got up off the blanket.
While Draco packed away the picnic and blanket Hermione stripped off his top and began getting back into her dress. She was halfway through tying the intricate laces of the bodice when a pair of strong arms wrapped round her waist and Draco dropped a kiss onto her bare shoulder.
"I had fun this afternoon." He whispered in Hermione's ear.
Hermione smiled and turned round in his arms. "So did I." She told him before reaching up and giving him a quick kiss.
When they separated again Hermione finished dressing before they mounted their horses and set back towards the castle. The journey back was slower as neither of them were in too big of a hurry to return to the castle and have to go back to being nothing more than a Queen and a Knight. The closer they got to the castle the less they were talking and by the time they entered the courtyard they hadn't spoken in nearly fifteen minutes.
As they brought the horses to a halt in front of the castle steps Hermione was dismayed to see King Severus walking down them. Draco also looked less than happy to see the King and his posture stiffened at the sight of him.
"Did you enjoy your ride?" He asked, moving to the side of Hermione's horse and helping her down.
"Yes." Hermione replied, extraditing herself from the King's grip as soon as she could. "The kingdom in lovely."
"Good, I'm pleased you like it." King Severus nodded. "Is Sir Draco keeping you entertained?"
"Yes, he's been very welcoming." Hermione snuck a look at the knight and found he looked distinctly uneasy.
King Severus smiled at his favourite knight and Hermione was hit with a pang of guilt that she knew came from the Queen. Hermione was beginning to find she was slowly becoming more in tune with what her royal counterpart was feeling and thinking and it was easy for her to concentrate on the Queen's inner turmoil. Queen Hermione was feeling guilty for seducing Sir Draco. While she felt slightly guilty for betraying King Severus she could cope with it because he meant nothing to her and she meant nothing to him, whereas Sir Draco was his top knight and there was clearly a lot of respect between the two men.
"I should be getting the horses back to the stable." Draco announced, clearly eager to be far away from the King.
Hermione watched in dismay as Draco turned and hurried away with the horses. She'd been so intent on getting what she wanted that she hadn't given any thought to the consequences of her actions. While she might be able to live with the guilt of what they had done and what she had been hoping they would continue doing, she wasn't sure if Draco could do the same.
Once Draco was out of sight Hermione excused herself and headed back into the castle. Her mind full of Draco and the afternoon they had spent together, Hermione went straight to her bedchambers. When she arrived in her room Ginny was waiting for her and she had no time to think as her maid immediately began gossiping about her afternoon.
:::::::::::::::
When the scene of Ginny gossiping about Sir Blaise faded, Hermione was initially relieved. As much as she loved her friend, both in reality and in the story, she wasn't in the mood to listen to her lovesick ramblings. Hermione's relief at the scene change was short lived as her new surroundings came into focus and she found herself sitting opposite King Severus as dinner was served.
This was the first time Hermione had actually experienced dinner with the King but her memories told her that they normally dragged on, with little conversation from either of them. Hermione knew that King Severus had little time for Queen Hermione, he wasn't interested in her opinions on anything and had only married her to avoid a war with Gryffindor.
As dinner was ate in silence Queen Hermione used the time to contemplate her afternoon with Draco. The lovemaking had been every bit as exquisite as she had hoped for and the connection she shared with the handsome knight only seemed to grow deeper with each passing minute. Despite that there was the problem with the King that she hadn't really thought about before now. Three months living in the kingdom of Slytherin was enough for her to know that while King Severus was a cold man he did seem to care about his knights, Sir Draco in particular. The feeling seemed to be mutual on Draco's part as normally the knight was fiercely loyal to the King.
Hermione wasn't sure why Draco had decided to give in to his feelings for her that afternoon but she had a feeling he would be regretting it by now. As much as she wanted more than one afternoon with the gorgeous knight Hermione was beginning to realise that she would have to bring their illicit activities to an end. It wasn't fair to ask Sir Draco to betray his King and she cared about him too much to put him in that position again.
As Queen Hermione made the decision to end her affair with Sir Draco before things progressed any further Hermione doubted it would work. Hermione seriously doubted that a book that boasted an affair between a Queen and a Knight would only feature one encounter between them. While the story was a love story it was also an adult book and Hermione was expecting plenty more racy scenes. If she was being honest with herself she was actually looking forward to more, she had been quite embarrassed by what had happened but she couldn't deny the feelings of pleasure was well worth the embarrassment.
"You're quiet tonight. Is everything okay?"
Hermione snapped her head up at King Severus's question. She found him studying her intently and she suddenly worried he was going to start taking an interest in how she spent her time.
"Everything's fine." Hermione attempted to smile but at the sceptical look on the King's face she failed miserably. "I'm just a bit home sick." She lied, thinking of a reason she could be so withdrawn.
"That's only to be expected." King Severus nodded, satisfied with the Queen's lie. "You've never been away from home before so it will take some getting used to living somewhere new."
"Yes, I suppose it will." Hermione agreed.
"Maybe we can arrange a trip back home for you." King Severus said.
"I think I'd rather wait a few months if that's okay. I want to concentrate on settling in here before I return home." Hermione replied. The Queen was worried that if she visited Gryffindor while everything was such a mess with Sir Draco then she might be tempted to stay and never return to Slytherin.
"Of course, anything you wish." King Severus nodded. "Just let me know when you wish to make the trip and I'll have Sir Draco organise everything."
Hermione smiled weakly at the King before returning to her food. The rest of the meal passed in more silence, until finally they were finished and Hermione excused herself.
Leaving the dining hall Hermione looked around the hallway for a knight. One of the good things about living in the castle was that King Severus was big on protection and you couldn't go very far without finding a knight on duty. Spotting Sir Gregory at the end of the corridor Hermione made her way towards him.
"Your majesty." Sir Gregory bowed to Hermione as she approached him.
"Sir Gregory." Hermione greeted the knight with an inclination of her head. "I want you to do me a favour. I need to speak to Sir Draco urgently, can you inform him I wish to see him in my chambers as soon as possible."
"Yes My Lady."
"Thank you."
Hermione left Sir Gregory to find Draco as she headed back to her chambers. Stepping inside the welcoming room she was confronted with Ginny, who began fussing around her.
"You can take the rest of the night off, Ginny." Hermione told her maid. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay and help you get undressed and ready for bed?" Ginny queried.
"No, I'm perfectly fine on my own." Hermione shook her head at her friend. Personally Hermione had never understood why the royalty needed so much help with dressing and undressing and apparently the royal version of herself felt the same.
"Good night My Lady." Ginny curtsied before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.
Instead of immediately undressing Hermione slipped off her shoes and unpinned her hair, letting it cascade down her back. For the first time since she immersed herself into the story Hermione looked at her hair, like the Queen's body it looked exactly the same as her own hair only the Queen seemed to have slightly more control over her curls and could get them to behave better than she could. Maybe by the time the story finished she would have a few tips and her own curls might be more manageable.
Walking away from the bedroom half of her chambers Hermione headed towards the fire. Despite it being summer it was still drafty in the stone castle on an evening so Ginny had lit a fire. Hermione curled up in the chair beside the fire as she stared into the flames, trying to decide what she would say when Draco arrived.
Ten minutes later Hermione still had no idea what she was going to say when there was a knock on the door. Bracing herself for the pain of what she was going to do Hermione stood up and called for Draco to enter the room.
"You wished to see me." Draco said as he entered the room. He was back to being dressed in his armour and the blank expression he wore reminded Hermione of the Draco she knew outside of the story, he often wore a similar expression making it incredibly hard to work out what he was thinking or feeling.
"Yes." Hermione nodded. "We need to talk. Or rather I need to apologise."
"What are you apologising for?" Draco asked, a puzzled expression taking the place of his blank one.
"This afternoon, I shouldn't have pushed you into doing what we did."
"You didn't push me, I knew exactly what I was doing." Draco argued.
Hermione sighed as she stepped closer to Draco, only stopping when she was standing directly in front of him. "I still shouldn't have taken advantage. I never once thought of your loyalty to the King and the position I was putting you in. I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry about." Draco said. "I knew what I was doing and yet I still did it. I knew I was betraying the King and the truth is I would do it again in a heartbeat."
Hermione looked at Draco and she felt the Queen struggling to stay strong and not cave in and turn her back on her decision. If it had been up to Hermione she would have kissed Draco there and then but her royal counterpart had more self-control as she fought against her attraction to the blond knight.
"I'll not be putting you in that position anymore." Hermione replied quietly. "This afternoon was a one off and it won't be happening again. I won't jeopardise your position in court for my own selfish wants."
For a minute Hermione thought Draco was going to protest but he composed himself and his expression returned to neutral. Hermione guessed he was hurt by the rebuff but she also guessed he was too proud to show how much pain he was in.
"Do you require anything else My Lady?" Draco asked in a professional voice, there was no hint of the friendly banter that was present all afternoon.
"No."
"Very well, I'll get back to my duties."
Hermione watched sadly as Draco turned and left the chambers. For the last few hours Hermione had been becoming more in sync with the Queen's thoughts and feelings and at the minute she couldn't distinguish the difference between her reaction and her royal counterparts. All she could feel was hurt and loss, mingled with guilt and regret. Hermione knew the Queen didn't regret her afternoon with Sir Draco, she just regretted the position she had put him in with the King. She also regretted letting him walk away without telling him that their afternoon together had been the most amazing one of her life and it would be a memory she cherished until her dying day.
Her thoughts full of Draco, Hermione slowly began the ritual of getting ready for bed. The Queen's dresses were intricate and it often took some time getting them both on and off but Hermione knew her clothing could have been a lot worse. She had seen some of the other ladies of the court wearing dresses that she knew would have required several maids to get them on and off. Undressing took nearly ten minutes and after she was washed Hermione pulled on one of the Queen's nightgowns and crawled into her large bed.