11 Dimatri

Amiri had gotten the Princess to start talking about herself. All of us stood around the room listening.

'I found out that the common people marry not for a person's pedigree or wealth. Most of our people married for love and how well a male could please them during mating. So when my Debut into Noble society came I wanted to try it. I had been looking at the males my brothers trained with for years. I had found I was attracted to some male builds more than others so why not give it a chance. No one saw me as a Princess anyway so it would be fine,' her voice sounded sad.

'What happened?' I asked.

'I was a stupid child who understood nothing. I had been approached by a male. He was nice enough to look at. As the night continued I found he seemed to be a nice enough person. So when he invited me for a walk in the gardens I agreed. The Ballrooms tend to be very warm and noisy so walking outs or stepping out onto a balcony was common enough none of us think much of it.

I got me first kiss that night. I got a lot more than I bargained for. He had tried to undress me out there. He informed me a Royal bastard was always that a bastard. He was gonna force me to fall pregnant and then use the child to marry into the Royal family. It was that night I realized nothing of mine was safe. If I took a lover it was more likely they only wanted me because I was a Princess. If I married my mate would hate me for our entire marriage. So I got my title Rose of the Palace. So pretty to look at but untouchable.

My brothers tried to find me a match for years. I should have married years ago. Every single male wanted me only because I got them closer to a throne. If I liked a common man he wanted nothing to do with me. They feared I would beat them if they displeased me. Or thought I would force them to be chained in some room for me to enjoy as I wished. Earth has a saying <Heavy is the head that wears the crown.> It normally refers to how many Royals have lost their heads over the years. For me it came to mean I would never trust those closest to me.

When I was nineteen I slept over with some of the girls from the kitchen. We had spent hours baking desserts and I was tired. As was traditional I had received a set of silver spoons for my birthday. Silver is a gleaming metal that royals use to eat with. It will transish when it comes in contact with poison. Seeing me as a useless member of the Royal Families someone had poisoned my drink. None of the girls came clean and no one would tell me if they had saw who had done it. I had to report it of course. I could not leave a would be assassin wondering the halls.

I had to kill them. The only people who I had thought my friends. After the event my title become even harder to shake. A rose is a beautiful flower that grows on Earth. It come in a variety of colors but red, the color I so often wore, is the most common. Unlike many flowers the rose has thorns all along its stem. Any unsuspecting creatures that try to touch it often walk away bleeding.

Two years ago the last marriage purposal came. Keegan was a strong male. He courted me for almost a year before I agreed to try a relationship with him. For the year following that he continued to be a nice caring male. He let me cook for him and walked the gardens with me even though I insisted on bringing a guard with me. Finally I trusted him enough to tell him the truth of my birth. That was the last Royal of the Bast kingdom. He changed after that night. Telling him brought a whole new set of chains to watch out for.

Any child I give birth to will be the only heir of the Bast Kingdom. My mate could kill me and Royal that Kingdom until my child was of age. They could then rule from the shadows even after the child took the throne because every child learns to listen to their parents. I had overheard him speaking with his parents one night. His parents had been overjoyed hearing their son would become King. That the years of courting the Defective Royal had not been wasted. I killed him the next day. I cried as I did so. My first love and he had cared only for the power of my position. I have been alone ever since.'

Royals of most races earned their titles. They were chosen. There were some that were born but that was because they were stronger. Humans seemed to follow bloodlines. Maybe there was something about these four bloodlines that made them better leaders. That she had been called Defective meant that her people assumed she was missing something important. It was odd to me considering everything she had said and done was expected of anyone in her position.

'What do Royals do?'

'Royals are in charge of over seeing a number of things. We have to approve what is being taught in schools, such as reading, writing, and basic math. Most of our time is spent over seeing that treaties are not being breached. Humans, our males especially, are prone to violence which often leads to wars. We have to settle land disputes and oversee marriages.

It's honestly a wonder how we can even sleep. Check on the progress of the newest guards. Ensure that our military has what it needs. The military is always in need of something. Talk to the council. Look over numbers for food supplies to make sure our people don't starve come winter. Check that everyone has paid their land takes. Use that tax money to pay the guards and military. Tax money also pays for my storage building to be built and more land to be farmed.

Take a month to travel the lands we over see and make sure everything is in order ourselves. Go on diplomatic talks that may get us killed. Negotiate the release of our people in times of war. Look over the production numbers of our Kingdom. Excess can be trade with other Kingdoms.

Then of course there is preparing for the debut season. Young females just entering courting age and eligible males looking for a wife with flock to the capital. The palace ballrooms must be done up in full finery. Chefs will have to be invited and menus made up to cater to all manner of tastes. Musicians will have to be booked. Flowers have to be arranged and made into delicate center pieces. Teas will be ordered along with wines and beer. Gowns will have to be commissioned. Dessert orders will have to be made to whatever shop is representing the kingdom as the best for that year.'

She released a long breath. Clearly human Royalty had many things in which they were to maintain. 'As a Queen to be, I am expected to do all that and more while also producing enough heirs to make me fat and miserable. Assuming of course the first few do not kill me in the process.'

She looked miserable at the thought. It occurred to me that in late stages of pregnancy our own females spent all their time preparing to nest. I had heard from more than a few females at the station that giving birth was far from a pleasant experience. That a human female as small as she was would have to be worried about anything else but her pregnancy angered me. I couldn't imagine it was an easy process considering her own mother had died from bringing her into the universe. That it was apparently common enough for females to die as they had their children. If any other race knew pregnancy might kill their females the second the males around her knew of her condition she would be watched.

I could imagine the Princess with a round belly. Males from a multitude of races around her. Waiting on her. Giving in to her every desire. I realized with a start that may well be her future. She was a Princess.

'How do Royals pick their mates?' I heard myself ask before the thought had finished processing.

'A King or Prince either has a Kingdom secured enough to marry who they wish or they will pick from a noble house that can further improve the Royal line. Princesses are rare but if two Kingdom wished to ally themselves together through marriage a King or Prince would marry the Princess.'

'What about you?' Around the room I saw the others stiffen. They had finally realized what I had. It was common in many races for a female to take any number of males. More males meant more protection and security for a female's cubs as well as genetic diversity to increase their survival.

'I have long realized I will not find a suitable match among my own people. I will have to make a diplomatic match. It is my best hope at a understanding mate if a loveless one. I will have to offer myself and my Kingdom to a male who already has a Kingdom. With any hope I will have two children before I die and each of them will inherit a Kingdom. Tying both Kingdoms together by blood for generations.'