Notes and Dresses
The images of Ben's face still haunted her. His face twisted in pain as his body writhed on the table, his eyes wide but unseeing, lips moving but saying nothing. It was as though something had taken him away and replaced him with a mindless body that reacted only to the inner turmoil that had been left behind.
When he had come back from that place, wherever it had been, she could have held him forever, and it had been a very real possibility, but, just like on the bridge, she had remembered her duties, and so, she had to let go.
After what had happened, Priestess Mara had approached her with a proposition.
It appeared that the only reason that Ben had not fully succumbed to the darkness was because of the light that she had shared with him when she'd touched him. Without her, he would probably no longer exist, and if anything similar to this were to occur on the mainland, then she would be the only one able to pull him out.
In other words, she did not want Milena to be far from the Major's side.
Considering the rank he had been promoted to, it was entirely possible to keep him in the castle, but then that would be like keeping him prisoner, and he was no caged bird.
However, she realised that there was a lot of space in areas surrounding the city. Not only could this mean that he would be closer, but the economy would improve significantly, meaning that the people would have more money with which to feed their children. Plus, crime would decrease dramatically. Not many people would want to steal knowing there was an entire army right next to them. It was a win, win situation.
When she explained her proposition to him whilst on the ship back to Bowerstone Industrial, he couldn't but agree, though he did point out that "not all these soldiers are as honourable as me", though he swore he would keep men he trusted on watch.
There would still be camps dotted across the country which he would have to visit on a regular basis, but Milena was sure that she could excuse herself from her duties for a few days.
Since the incident in the temple, Ben had been able to sleep at night again, though the nightmares still touched him from time to time, and so he was behaving a lot more like his usual self. It was heartening to see him joke and laugh so freely.
It had been just over a month since Aurora, and the 'Desert Star', as Hobson named it, had been sold, the money gained going straight into the treasury. Yet another day sat in the throne room had mean the restoration of child benefits, the renovation of the Bowerstone shelter and orphanage, the plans for a sewage plant and the arrest of the notorious Nigel Ferret, but at the cost of four hundred thousand gold coins.
Luckily, Milena's work had paid off, and she was earning up to three hundred thousand a week had she spent her entire week in the smithy, and they were already up to around five million, so, considering how far away the attack was, the future was looking brighter than it had been some weeks before.
Ever since he'd arrived at his new camp, Ben had been spending quite a bit of time with her brother in the war room, or at least so Walter had informed her, discussing what the Crawler might do. Those discussions usually turned into arguments, during which time no progress was made, but on the rare occasions where they were able to keep their tempers down, it was possible to see the progress they'd made in the notes they'd scribbled across the desk and the arrangements of the models on the map.
Ben seemed to be handling everything well, but there was one thing she still needed him to do which she knew he could not.
Grabbing a piece of paper from her desk, she wrote a quick note and gave it to one of her servants to deliver it to him.
As soon as the maid left, she silently hoped he would get it in time, otherwise all would be lost.
Walking along the corridors of the castle, Ben wondered why he had been 'summoned'. The note had been incredibly vague, only saying that Milena wanted to show him something, but no matter how hard he tried to visualise what it was, he was stuck in the dark.
As she approached the throne room, where she had asked to meet him, he took a deep breath and tried to quiet his racing heart.
Over the past few months, he had found it increasingly difficult to think about her without his heart racing at a gallop inside him, but it was only recently when she would just pop into his head without any warning, distracting him from his task.
Logan had noticed these moments in their discussions, which was probably how most of the arguments began, though he never asked what they were about, for which he was grateful. Tell the ex-tyrant that his sister, the Queen, had been haunting his thoughts? No thank you.
Well… maybe haunting wasn't exactly the right word… but it had the right meaning behind it.
"He majesty is waiting for you inside, sir," one of the guards said, his face completely straight, before opening the door for him.
Nodding his thanks, the Major stepped inside and was surprised to find it almost completely empty.
As the door closed behind him, Ben continued down the carpet towards the throne, where the Queen was sat, smiling at his confusion.
"It's my birthday next month," she stated, standing up.
"Oh? Would you be wanting anything in particular?" he asked.
Milena smirked, "If I can remember correctly, whenever a monarch celebrates their birthday, it is… customary, shall we say, to have a ball. As a Major in my army, you have to attend."
Ah.
"Therefore, I shall be teaching you how to dance."
He stared at her. "D-dance?"
She nodded.
"But… but you're the Queen! Surely you could get someone else to-"
"I decided," she interrupted, "on that night, when you so gracefully stood on my feet," he glanced at the floor, "that you would have no chance with one of the dance instructors."
Ben coughed, "And why is that?"
Milena descended the stairs until she stood right in front of him, "I know you, Major Benjamin Finn. You do not take instructions from anyone that has not earned your trust, and so those fancy instructors would call you a hopeless case."
He rubbed the back of his neck. She did know him.
"I've been called worse things," he said, hoping it would get him out of the dreaded lesson, but she wouldn't hear of it.
"I'm sure you have, but, starting today, I am going to teach you how to dance."
"I already know how to dance. Just not like you."
She smiled, and he could feel his heart race in his chest. "I know you don't want to be a gentleman, but you'll have to pretend," her eyes shone with mischief, "How else do you think you're going to make the nobles uncomfortable?"
He grinned. He liked the way she thought.
The festivities for the Queen's twenty-first birthday had all been prepared. Banners had been hung, food had been cooked, wine, bought and musicians paid, and the only thing left was for the guests to arrive.
As with all royal events, Milena was going to have to wait until after everyone else was there before she made her entrance. Hobson said it was something to do with creating an image for her people. She just thought it was to torcher her. She hated being scrutinised by all of those eyes. At the moment though, she was consulting her wardrobe for what she was going to ware.
It was true that she was leaving it too much to the last minute, but she had trusted her servants to pick out a suitable dress for her. Unfortunately, her trust had been abused, and the gown that they had placed on her bed was hideous. It was exactly the wrong colour of green, and it puffed out too much on the arms and skirt. She didn't even want to think about the corset she would have had to wear in order to fit into the waist.
Green. Who in their right mind thought that that colour suited her?
With a further inspection through her wardrobe, she realised that there was a distinct lack of dresses, save the one she'd worn on her coronation. It wasn't all that surprising though; she hated the things. They were far too impractical. But now she was Queen, it was expected of her.
Sighing, she closed the doors and sat down in the chair by the window.
What could she do? Was she to turn up to the ball in her usual bloodied clothing?
Her thoughts turned to her mother.
Queen Sparrow, as she had been widely known, was the first Queen of Albion for many years. She had to attend many occasions such as these, and was never seen by the nobility wearing the same… dress.
Escaping her room, she marched quickly over to a room she had not entered for many years.
Her mother's room had not changed since her last visit. There was a thin veil of dust hanging over most of the furniture and ground, but everything else had been left untouched.
So many memories tried to surface as she stood in the doorway. So many reasons why she should never touch this room, and so many others to have it demolished.
Shaking her head, Milena dispelled any of those thoughts from her mind and headed over to the wardrobe.
Unlike herself, Queen Sparrow owned many dresses. Big ones, small ones, blue ones, red ones… even one or two yellow ones. But no green ones.
Her mother must have had better tastes than Milena's servants.
Looking through them, she eventually found one she had the least emotional ties with and pressed it against her as she looked in the mirror.
Yes. This one suited her perfectly.
Major Finn of the Swift Brigade. That was how they had introduced him when he'd entered that hall.
There were more people there than the last time, though that was probably because he was running a little late.
His talk with Logan that afternoon had been a lot more beneficial than most, and it was only when Walter had arrived to warn them that the Queen was nearly ready that he realised just how late it was.
Whispers had risen as he passed different groups of people, and there were many giggles that sprung from the younger girls. He heard snatches of conversations. Most of which involved how the Queen was still unmarried and who her best suitor was, but there were a few that spoke of that kiss they had shared down in the servant's quarters.
Some said that it was only a kiss, other said some more… rather elaborate things. Things that made him laugh. He knew the power of a rumour far too well. Even though they usually contained the truth, a rumour was like a fire. It grew and spread as quickly as the wind, and there was no stopping it.
He would have loved to dissuade them, for Milena's sake more than his, but he knew that any attempt to quiet them would only seem to confirm them. It was all a matter of patients, talking to the right person and having the right conversation.
Of course, no one dared to ask the Queen if these rumours were true, so Ben ended up in the centre of a fairly large crowd, explaining that it was only a kiss or two, and that was all. There would always be a few who wouldn't believe him, but, for the most part, he didn't have to worry too much about the scandals. However, there was only so much a man could stand.
Luckily though, he was rescued by a brave knight.
"Ben!" Walter cried as he spotted him, "I haven't seen you in ages my boy!"
"Wally!" he replied, catching the man's offered hand, "Weeks, surely."
The crowd started to dissipate as they noticed this was a meeting of old friends, going off to find new conversations as they waited for the lady of the hour.
"Thanks," the Major whispered, "I thought I'd never get rid of them."
"You don't think you're the only one who's been in a corner like that, do you?" the old man asked, laughing, "I remember when Queen Sparrow gave me a peck on the cheek, and within a week everyone was going on about how we were having an affair!"
Ben joined in his mirth, "Don't think I heard that one!"
"Well, she made sure they understood it was nothing more than a rumour," he replied, "Now your rumour… I recon there's more than a little bit of truth in it, considering the way you stare at her."
"I… I do not stare!" Ben retorted, his cheeks going red.
That only made the knight laugh louder, "You have feeling for her, boy. You may not have admitted that to her yet, or even to yourself, but they're there, and you can't deny that."
He felt like he should reply, but words escaped him.
Walter gave him a kind smile, "She's not like all those other girls you've fallen for. And I bet you this feels different than it did with them."
He gave him a dumb nod.
The old man put a hand on his shoulder, "I think Milena-"
Suddenly, the trumpets blared and the grand doors opened wide.
Queen Milena was here.
AN - Not much of a cliff hanger, I know, but you still have to wait for the next chapter to find out what happens! Mwahahaha!
I liked this chapter. It's nice to just write about the boring stiff from time to time, and pushing relationships along usually happens during these times. It's too bad Walter got interrupted... :P
On another note, this is officially my longest story (so far)! I think that calls for a celebration!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and yes, iamfinn, I will write as fast as I can to get the next one out ASAP, though it may be difficult with the Queen's jubilee tomorrow...
Until next time!