My carriage jolted on the cobblestoned streets of Medolina. I sat alone in the carriage with Lady Ilene. It was highly unusual for the Crown Princess to travel with only one dy-in-waiting. Usually any of the high royalty was followed by a gaggle of attendants. But Lady Ilene was the only dy I both liked and trusted at that time. She had been the only one of the dies I had taken on my honeymoon whose company I enjoyed, and since she had not been in the capital when the affair had been revealed, I could rest certain that she had not been among the many that had borne witness against Queen Reena.

  I had received the dresses I had commissioned from Adora that morning, and the quality had been so stunning that I immediately set out to commission more. I also felt it my duty to visit her, as she had been a friend to Queen Reena.

  When we reached the shop Alvar helped me down from my carriage. Our eyes met with a spark. I had not spoken to him since that night. I had told him not to come to my room, in case any prying eyes would see us. Since then I had demanded to always be guarded by my own guards from Havermark, not the Medoran ones. I felt as if I could not trust anyone in that pit of vipers. Also, this would eventually mean that Alvar would be my guard for some night sooner rather than ter. Then we would be able to talk about our pns to escape.

  Virtus had obeyed my request without comment. He was desperate to get me back on his good side without compromising anything in his retionship to his family.

  I knocked on the door to Adora’s shop. Her servant opened the door.

  “Welcome, Your Highness. We were not expecting you,” the young girl bowed.

  She was a mousy little girl with pale skin and brown hair. The sort of girl that disappeared when you were not looking directly at her.

  “Hello, is your mistress here today?”

  I stepped inside along with Lady Ina and Sir Alvar.

  “She is in the back. I will alert her to your presence.”

  The servant girl went in the back and soon Adora came out to greet me. Her dress and hair were as immacute as the first time I had met her, but her face was puffed up. It looked like she had been crying, and not getting any sleep.

  “Your Highness,” she said, and bowed to me.

  Something overtook me, and overrode all ws of courtesy. Seeing my pain and sorrow reflected manifold in Adora’s face I went over and hugged her. She hugged me back, softly, until I let go.

  She had started crying again.

  “I came to commission some dresses, but I can come ter…” I told her.

  “No, please, stay. I need the business. After the queen was disgraced my shop became disfavoured. Because of Doctor Wulun’s origin everyone from the East has been facing extra scrutiny too.”

  “That’s unfair.”

  “Life is unfair,” she gave a sad smile.

  Adora was taking my measurements as Lady Ina was deciding which fabrics she liked best with the help of the servant girl.

  “Find some pretence to make her go outside,” she whispered in my ear as she measured my shoulder.

  “Lady Ina, I think I left my fan in the carriage, would you please be so good to get it for me?”

  Lady Ina curtsied and went out to look for it. The fan sat squarely in my pocket.

  “The soldier as well,” Adora whispered as she ran the measuring tape from my waist to my neck.

  “I trust him,” I said out loud, looking Alvar in the eyes.

  Adora shot us a suspicious gnce, but did not say anything.

  “I’ll be quick,” she said. “I know this is stupid, but I am desperate.”

  Adora’s eyes were lit up with a fiery passion as she spoke.

  “I want revenge. Do you want the same thing?”

  “Yes, of course but…”

  “But you’re afraid of getting caught?”

  “Yes!”

  “I know of a way to do it without getting caught. Can you come back tonight?”

  Could I sneak out of the castle without being detected? I would have to try.

  ***

  Night was falling. I had barely touched the dinner that the servants had sent up for me to eat. I had made Alvar eat some of it so that it would be less suspicious.

  Alvar had been able to switch to being my guard for the night by telling Sir Sigibert that he wanted to go on a date with a scullery maid the following night. Sir Sigibert was one of the other young knights from Havermark, and he and Alvar were quite good friends, so he accepted the switch.

  “He told me he was quite happy to hear it, since I never meet with any girls,” he gave me a cheeky grin.

  Once Alvar had handed the food back to the maid we were almost ready to go. Alvar had found a rge brown cloak for me and I had put on my most unassuming dress from Havermark. It was dark blue and unadorned, and only when you got very close to it could you distinguish the richness of the blue colour and the fineness of the wool, which set it aside from peasants garb. Usually I wore it with a belt of silver, but this night I had only tied a rope around it. My hair was in a simple braid, which was a welcome change from the heavy and eborate hairstyles I wore when at court.

  “Do you think someone will walk past the room ter and notice that I am not here?” he asked, peeking his head in the door.

  “No, I’m at the end of this hallway, and anyway no-one has come to see me since the prince stopped trying a couple of days ago. Anyway it will be the middle of the night when we leave.”

  “Right but what if…”

  “Excuse me,” a third voice spoke in the High Tongue.

  It was Prince Virtus. I came to the door to meet him.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt you. What were you speaking about?” he asked.

  “I’m sorry, Your Higness,” Alvar replied.

  He had learned a little of the High Tongue when I was away on my honeymoon, but still he was not very good.

  “My love, can I come in?” he said looking at me.

  I nodded. If I turned him away now he might come back ter, and I didn’t want that. Alvar was stone faced as he let Virtus walk past him into my room.

  “You were speaking Haverish with him?” Virtus asked.

  “Yes, of course.”

  “I should learn it, since it is your nguage.”

  “If you want.”

  He looked me up and down.

  “You’re fully dressed. Are you going out?”

  “No… I just haven’t gotten undressed yet.”

  “You were wearing a different gown this morning when you went to the dressmaker.”

  “This one is more comfortable. What is this? An interrogation?”

  He sighed.

  “No, I’m sorry.”

  “Why are you here Virtus?”

  “You know why, you’re my wife! I wanted to see if there is anything I can do to make you stop being angry at me!”

  “Denounce your father, overthrow him.”

  “Talia, do you realize what that would mean? It would mean civil war in Medora! It could even spread out, like the war that just ended a year ago! Do you know what that would mean for our people? They’ve just started rebuilding their lives.”

  “Your father is a tyrant! He doesn’t care about his people!”

  “But I do! Do you know who manages most of the lives of the common people? I do! Taxes, farming management, hospitals, almshouses. I’ve been in charge of those things since I was twenty, because my father doesn’t care. And I’ve made them a lot better! As long as the wine keeps flowing and the military stays funded he doesn’t look into those matters at all. Sure, my father is a tyrant, but standing up to him could only mean possible improvements for the members at court, but tumult and danger for everyone else.”

  He was making a good point, though I would not have admitted it aloud.

  “Please, Talia, just come to dinner tomorrow night.”

  His logic may have been good, but that sentence made me sick. It reminded me that all these evenings he had been dining with the man that had killed our friend. The time was passing by, and I needed to leave soon to Adora’s shop. I knew that if fought with him now, Virtus might stay longer to argue, or come back ter.

  “All right,” I muttered.

  His face lit up.

  “I’m so happy to hear it.”

  He leaned in for a kiss, and I accepted it.

  The kiss was so soft, so delicate. His lips slid against mine like butter, warm and inviting. I felt myself lean into the kiss without intending to. I was so angry at him but I still loved him. I was probably so angry at him because I loved him.

  Then I broke it off.

  “That’s all I can do tonight. Please go to bed, I will see you tomorrow evening at dinner.”

  He nodded, his hand sliding down from my hair to my arm.

  “See you then, my love.”

  Virtus walked out.

  After a while Alvar opened the door.

  “Will he come back, Your Higness?”

  “No, I think not.”

  “Then let us go.”

  “Yes.”

  Before we could go I would have to help Alvar take off his armour. As a Royal Guard he would be far too recognizable, so he would wear his civilian clothes.

  He slipped into my room, and with familiarity I started to help him unfasten the armour. First I loosened the breastpte, and then with a joined effort we pulled it off. Then he took off his leather jacket. Underneath he wore his white linen shirt. His powerful muscles outlined by the soft fabric. I tried not to think about it as he straightened his shirt.

  He took off the faulds and the leather pants, wearing only his white linen on his lower half as well. I tried not to look, but everything was perfectly framed under the soft, light material.

  I put on the big brown cloak as he put on his off-duty clothes, which he had stashed in my room. Before opening the door to leave he stopped in the doorway.

  “Just one kiss before we go,” he grinned.

  I wanted to go, but again I surmised that the easiest way to get my way was to just go along with it.

  Alvar grabbed me tight, his hot lips pushed against mine with an eagerness. He was fully clothed, but still I could feel the heat and power radiating from his muscles. His hands grabbed my waist, pulling me closer to him. Then he let go.

  “Ok, let’s go!”

  He led me into the stables, where his beautiful chestnut brown stallion was standing. Alvar saddled him up as quickly as he could, while I stood watch in the doorway. After what felt like an eternity, but realistically was about 10 minutes he waved me over.

  He lifted me onto the horse first with exceptional ease, grabbing my waist and swinging me so that I sat astride the horse. I had only ever ridden astride a horse in my parents personal fields, when racing against my siblings. Because I was the youngest I usually lost. But common women often rode astride their horses, if they even had them, and tonight I was pretending to be common.

  Alvar led the horse out of the stable door, closed it, and then jumped on behind me. He shifted in the saddle. He had picked the longest and softest one he had, so we could sit together on it. Still he had to shift all the way forward, his crotch pressed tightly against my butt. I had to shift forward too, opening my legs even wider, pressing against the front of the saddle.

  He took the reins and led the horse through the streets. His muscles flexed around me as I sat in between his arms and legs. The big chestnut horse carried us with ease, it was one of the rgest and strongest horses I had seen.

  “What is his name?” I whispered.

  “What?”

  “Your horse, his name.”

  “Strawberry.”

  “That’s cute.”

  “I’m gd you think so,” he muttered in my ear.

  We rode slowly so as to draw as little attention as possible. My whole body was enveloped by Alvar’s. His strong thighs pushed against mine from behind. His arms reached in front of mine to hold the reins. His eyes peered over my head to look at the way in front of us. The hood of my cloak was drawn so far in front of my eyes that I could only see the front of the saddle, and the ground beneath us.

  I could feel him growing hard against the back of my dress. With every step of the horse he rubbed against me.

  “I’m sorry, Your Highness. It’s just being this close to you…”

  “It’s all right.”

  I was getting very wet, but luckily Alvar couldn't feel that.

  We were stopped at the castle gates.

  “Halt!” one of the young guards called in Medoran.

  “It’s me Hallio. It’s Alvar.”

  His Medoran was better than his High Tongue. It was better than my Medoran. No doubt he spoke it more.

  “Alvar, what are you doing out so te?”

  He nudged me.

  “Taking this one out on the town!”

  “Alvar you devil! Which one is it?”

  “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

  Alvar sounded so jovial. I don’t know how he kept up the facade so easily.

  “You know as well as I do that you are no gentleman! The scullery maids have all been chasing you since you got here. Now which one actually caught you?”

  “It’s a secret,” Alvar replied ughing.

  “Oh I’m sure she’ll brag about it to her friends all morning tomorrow. I’ll find out then,” Sir Hallio ughed as he opened the gate.

  Then we were out in the city. In a way it was thrilling. As a princess I had never been allowed out in a city at night. Not unless there was an event where I was followed by a whole royal retinue. Now it was just me and Alvar, out in the big city Medolina.

  Riding through the main streets we rode past full taverns, where many drunk men and a few drunk women milled about. The music streamed out into the streets from those pces, lutes, flutes and lyres, alongside some singers with differing amounts of talent. The patrons of these establishments ughed, sang and fought. Sometimes they would go into the alleyway to have intimate encounters. As I understood it, most of the women that did this were getting paid for it.

  The moans of the people in the night brought my attention back to Alvar’s erection pressing against me. A wicked part of me wanted to take Alvar into an alleyway too. No-one would know, and we could still go to Adora’s after.

  The night was dark, and I could only see as much as the light coming out of the windows on the taverns. At least Medoran windows were a lot rger than the ones in Havermark. Of course there were no cities like Medolina in Havermark.

  Finally we at Adora’s storefront. Alvar stepped off the horse first, and then helped me get down. He rearranged the front of his pants so the erection was no longer visible and knocked on the door.

  The little servant girl ushered us in, past the area where customers usually saw, and into the windowless back room where fabrics were kept. There stood Adora, her face lit from below by a few stray candles.

  “Welcome. Are you ready to take up my offer to kill the king?” Adora asked with a heavy tone.

  “I guess… But you would need to tell us how to do it without being noticed.”

  “What do you know about magic?”