29 Royal Decree

Cecil sputtered. "Uh—well—no. That is, they are my legal wives."

Talia opened her mouth, nodding with understanding.

"Oh I see. So they're your Queens."

"No. I have a Queen. She holds the only Queen position. The Consorts are legal wives but they are not Queens."

Talia's brow furrowed.

"I'm confused. If you already have a Queen, why do you need six Consorts? And what could a seventh Consort provide you that your Queen and six other legal wives are unable to provide?"

"They are each different, and treasured. You will also be treasured in your own way." Cecil announced.

"I'm sorry, King Cecil. I have a boyfriend already and—"

"Don't even go there. I know that you are single." Cecil raised his eyebrows.

"Pardon?"

"I had your background checked. You have absolutely nobody."

"You—you checked me out???"

"There is no man after you at this point ever since you drop-kicked the last man who tried to ask you out."

Cecil's eyes crinkled with merriment. "All the men are scared of you."

Talia fumed silently. How dare he do checks on her background!

She took a deep breath.

"Thank you for your offer of being a glorified kept woman, but I will have to decline your offer of the position of Seventh Consort."

Cecil nodded. He knew it.

She was not happy with being at the bottom of the pack.

To be drop-kicking a man just because she did not like the way he asked her out meant that this girl was most definitely an alpha female.

It was too bad the position of Alpha Queen had been taken, but there was nothing he could do about it.

The next best thing he could offer her would be the beta position which was essentially the First Consort…if she could keep it.

"What if I advance you to First Consort position?"

"And what do I have to do to get First Consort?" Talia gave him a questioning look.

"Just say the word and I will place you there. You would take over the First mansion and be the beta female. You would only be under the Queen, who is my Alpha, and myself."

Talia pretended to consider the offer, but then waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.

"You know what. Being the top dog sounds cool and all, but I'll have to be fighting the other bitches every day just to stay in that First house. That sounds too exhausting for me."

"Are you saying that you would be happy to remain as my Seventh Consort?" Cecil asked.

In truth, it was actually the best position for her. No one would bother her, and she could live comfortably. Since he treated all the Consorts equally anyway, there really was no advantage to the ranks at all.

"No. I'm saying I don't want to be your Consort at all." Talia threw out with finality.

"You have no idea what you are rejecting, Talia."

Talia blinked. "Yes I do. I'm rejecting your offer of being a glorified sex toy."

"Why do you say that? You would be a legal wife. Your children would not be bastards. They would be Princes and Princesses."

"Well good for them, but that doesn't make me into a Princess. I will still be nothing more than a breeding cow."

"Talia," he sighed. "Your title is not Princess because at least one of your parents must be a King or a Prince or Princess for you to receive that title."

"Oh? But what if my husband is a Prince?"

"Then you will be Princess."

Talia gave him a 'told you so' look.

"But I am not a Prince," his eyes gleamed with pride. "I am a King."

"Well that doesn't do me much good now does it, since you can't make me Queen."

"Are you aware that being a King's Consort is far better than being married to a lesser Prince with a Princess title? Your children stand a chance to become King, whereas they will never get that chance if your husband is a Prince."

"Don't you already have a Crown Prince?"

"Yes. My First Consort and I have a ten-year-old son."

"I see, so any of my children would not have a chance anyway."

He shook his head. Why was she thinking this far down the line? Just to be his Consort was something that was so coveted that he was stunned to his core that he had to explain all this to her.

"Well tempting as your offer sounds," she looked completely uninspired. "I'm gonna have to say no. I'm not interested in being your breeding cow."

Cecil narrowed his gaze. "You are talking to the King of Faria."

"I am aware of that. Isn't this supposed to be an informal chat with refreshments? Or am I supposed to just bow my head and say nothing?"

"You may speak, but I am still the King of Faria. Keep that in mind while you speak with me."

"Understood, Your Majesty." She nodded.

When in Rome…

"Donut." Devin pointed to a pile of small donuts at the center of the table.

"You get only one." She murmured to him, grabbing one closest to her.

"One donut." He repeated.

"Yes."

"Talia, I am still waiting for you answer." Cecil prodded.

"The answer is still 'no', Your Majesty." She didn't even bother to look at him. This caused her to miss the sudden rage that flared from his eyes.

"Boris." Cecil snapped a finger.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The attendant responded.

"Read the second decree." He sat back against the chair back, his arms crossed over his chest.

Boris cleared his throat. "Ahem."

He looked at Talia who was still feeding Devin some pieces of soft cheese.

"Milady." He prompted.

Talia looked up at him.

"This is an actual decree from the King."

"Hmmm. I'm listening."

"Milady, normally you need to be kneeling on the floor to receive the King's decree."

Talia looked up, even as Cecil waved his hand.

"No need to kneel. Just listen with intent."

Talia nodded and stared at the attendant, hoping that her stare would count as 'listening with intent'.

Boris cleared his throat yet again and began reading his decree.

"This is an official decree to inform you that the King of Faria, Cecil Blaxtone has officially declared the Countess of Cerulea, Talia Fabian, to be his Seventh Consort, effective immediately."

Talia almost laughed out loud. How else was she supposed to react to something so preposterous?

She looked at Boris, who handed her the decree.

He seemed deadly serious. This was not a joke to them.

Talia looked down upon the piece of parchment that she had been given.

This blond haired man actually thought he could write up something on a scrap of paper, read it out loud, and it would turn into a legal document!

Was she still living in the good ole USA?

It all seemed so surreal, but Talia knew one thing, at least.

This country was still a country of laws. Just because some dictator from some small hole-in-the-ground nation decides he was going to write a decree didn't mean it would be effective in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Nope. Nope. Nope.

She turned to Cecil who looked as if he'd just swallowed a canary.

"Does Cedric know about this?"

Cecil smiled. "It has nothing to do with him so I did not feel the need to inform him."

"He's still my employer. Shouldn't you at least tell him what your plans are so he can try to figure out what to do next?"

"I will inform him, but in truth, he needs to do nothing. We will return to Faria tomorrow. I will take Devin with me and you will also be coming along."

Talia raised an eyebrow. Not if she could help it.