Disclaimer: Sookie Stackhouse - Southern Vampire Mysteries belong to Charlaine Harris. I DO NOT OWN THIS STORY!

A Random On-Lookers Point of View...

Watching the king walk out onto the platform with a very pretty woman on his arm was a shock. I hadn't believed the rumors about a girl who had randomly appeared out of thin air. Impossible, if you ask me. But when I saw them walking together along the platform arm in arm, I now believe there is a girl.

There were rumors about the king keeping a woman as a bedmate; it had started with the arrival of the woman several days after as no-one saw her after that first night she'd arrived. Everyone thought she was being held hostage down in the below-ground dungeons, but when I learned from one of the guards if rumor was true, he said that there'd been no sighting of a woman down in the dungeons that he's aware of. He, too, hadn't seen her since that first night.

I kept my eyes fixed on her like so many others as she came through the doors on the arm of our king. She was very pretty and beautiful rolled into one package. The king, as usual, came in shirtless, showing off his muscled, toned body in black linen trousers made by his aunt who had retired from court life after her sister, the queen, had died.

The girl wore a pretty dress, which seemed to be the same one that had been described by many women. They envied her place at the king's side jealously and gossiped about her dress, wanting to know where she had bought such a frock – what country or shop; or if it had been handmade, they wanted to know who had knitted it for her. Her boots were similar to the ones our king wore, but hers were made in a feminine color.

She had beautiful long blonde hair that cascaded down her back and over her shoulders in soft curls at the ends that hung naturally. Her eyes were the brightest of blues and her face had a healthy glow to her skin and her dress clung to her body in all the right places.

When Prince Christian made the announcement of the arrival of the king, like he nearly always does in the morning, none of us expected him to announce the arrival of the 'mistress' as well. We all watched with our breath held in as the King moved a chair directly next to his and we watched as the woman silently thanked him with her eyes after she was seated and pushed her chair in a little. He nodded and proceeded to sit down in his throne and Christian soon followed him, in the next chair down.

Neither of the brothers ever sat in their mother's chair after her death and the king didn't sit in the throne for a while after his father's death. When we all sat down after the king and prince had been seated, the king rose again and began explaining the incident that had caused him to run late this morning.

I thought 'incident my ass, the woman looks like she's had delicious morning sex with our king.' I'd recognize the look of 'afterglow' on any woman. I was very surprised to learn from the king's speech that the woman was a princess from another country and that she was kidnapped from her family for ransom and that even after the thieves had received the money, they continued to hold her hostage.

It was amusing to see the king openly glare at his brother for announcing the princess as his mistress but I did not miss the smirk on young Prince Christian's lips or the amusement that glittered in his eyes at his brother's speech.

King Northman also said in a warning tone that, what he and the princess do is none of our business and he basically said that if he chooses to court her, he will; if he chooses her to be his wife, then he'll ask her for her consent. If he chooses to court another woman, then he will and he and his brother will not under any circumstance be blackmailed into dating one of our daughters for any reason whatsoever.

I had learned that the young prince, the king's brother, had woman troubles and knew that when the King said about the blackmailing part it was really directed at Lord Nickolas because the man had been pressuring the young Prince who was courting his daughter for a short time, that if he did not ask for her hand in marriage, he will take matters into his own hands, apparently he was threatening the young Prince by saying if he does not take his daughter for a wife then he'll make the prince's life a living hell.

I know for a fact that the young Prince was starting to fall in love with Lord Nickolas daughter Lady Isabelle, but when they got into a argument over court gossip she believed the court gossip over him and things turned pare shape, now she wants him back and he's apparently reluctant to reconcile due to her father's blackmail attempts, whether she's aware of what her father's been doing or not is a different matter.

After the King's speech everything sort of went back to normal, the King sat back down and nodded to one of the guards who went through a door that lead down to the kitchens and soon enough the cooks and serving maids came out with our breakfast dishes.

When the King said 'now we dine' the volume in the hall sky rocketed as the ladies and their companions gossiped, clearly over the Princess and the men spoke of business or whatever latest marriage arrangement they've arranged for their son or daughters or the latest plot of land or little business they've brought.

I sit and enjoy my breakfast in silence, taking in everything around me. I am not one for court gossip or court life, I return home tomorrow. I only came here in respect of our late King who was a very good friend of mine and stayed to show support for the Queen through this hard time, now she's passed away I no longer have reason to be hear and wish to return to my family in the country side.

My eyes return to the King and the unknown Princess, he looks so different around her, he's less guarded and more relaxed, as he converses with her in a way I've never seen him converse with another, not even his brother Prince Christian Northman.

It's nice to see a different side to our young King instead of the normally guarded, silent, bored looking handsome young man we've grown used to seeing over the years.

I hope the Princess is here to stay. She looks like she could be good for our king; she's already pulled him out of the dark place where he was slowly burying himself. Now just looking at the two together, I can see that they'd be a perfect match. Since they are both of royal heritage, and she's a beautiful woman who has the same hair and eye color as he does. From what I can see, they'd make an attractive couple and bring in a pretty family to our country.

I sure hope this good mood the King is in lasts for a very long time.

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