Chapter 12

Salena and Sir Dorec waited in silence until the delicacies from the kitchen were brought to them and the servants have left the room again, pulling the doors shut behind them. Salena bent down and began to pour the tea

"Do you take sugar and milk?" she asked her counterpart politely.

"No, nothing thank you Your Highness." he denied her request, sitting stiffly on the leather sofa. He seemed to be waiting to receive instructions or orders from the young woman, as he had become accustomed to follow the orders given to him over the past decades. The young queen leaned back slightly as she looked him straight in the face

"Are you an upright man?" she asked quiet

"Would you tell me the truth if I wanted to know the answers?" questioning the old soldier.

Sir Dorec straightened his back imperceptibly "My loyalty has always been to this country and the people in it." he spoke more formally than before.

"That was not my question, Sir Dorec. I need answers...answers to questions I should have asked long ago." Her voice grew quieter and her gaze dropped to her own hands holding the teacup.

He sighed and relaxed his shoulders slightly as he reached for the cup,

"Your Highness, I will give you the answers that I believe are the truth." his voice was soft and calmer than before.

"Was my father a good king?" she looked at him and her eyes glazed over. Silence followed her question before the former soldier searched for a phrase.

"King Magnus was a good king in his younger years. He brought much peace to the kingdom of Namtik through his warlike victories and alliances. But..." the veteran guard tried to determine whether he could speak freely.

Salena remained silent and listened to what he had to say without interrupting, as she did not seem to stop him, he continued,

"As you know, your parents wished for a son. Unfortunately, they were denied one, and after each loss the royal couple became more and more estranged. Your mother sought access to her family once again and ...." he fell silent again.

"What? Sir Dorec please continue. I promise you it will not be held against you, please," Salena pleaded to the man. He nodded briefly "Of course your highness ... the queen was beginning to make friends with sorcery and witchcraft.... and, your father, the king started to appreciated the company of many women...." he faltered and cleared his throat briefly.

"My father's mistresses are known to us all. You need not spare me." Salena reassured the old acquaintance. He nodded and cleared his throat again before continuing, "Well, the ladies who accompanied your father had expensive tastes... and the people paid the price with the years that passed," he stopped his speech and looked away. His gaze remained lowered, "Forgive me, your highness. I did not mean to speak such words," he said hastily.

As a soldier he was uncomfortable speaking words of rebuke or worse words of criticism of the crown.

He quickly straightened up as Salena reached out a hand to stop him from leaving. However, as the table was further away than Salena estimated, she stumbled forward over the table and pulled on the trouser band of the former captain, who reflexively tried to prevent the young lady from falling with a wave of his hand.

At the same moment, the double doors to the room swung open and King Alec and Maren stood before the awkward image of a young woman with her hand on another man's waistband. People who had not witnessed the previous situation could quickly get the wrong picture, with the young queen coming off badly.

Sir Dorec broke free of his momentary stupor first, pushing the princess back and releasing her hold-seeking grip from his waistband.

"Sir Dorec of Hirsk, it seems I was too lenient on you. After all, I spared your life and sent you into retirement and now I find you here in the quiet room with my queen." the king's deep voice was heard sharply across the room. Maren reacted with presence of mind and closed the doors to prevent the possible bystanders from seeing the play unfolding before them.

Almost all the onlookers, after all, Maren was always delighted by any drama and liked to be involved in all sorts of frivolous things. Salena opened her eyes and looked down when she realised what she had just been found in.

"Well, have you lost your tongue? Or did my visit come at an inconvenient time and I should have entered after my wife had taken off your waistband? "

Sir Dorec was visibly struggling to keep his form " Your Highness, it is not as it appeared. It was merely an unfortunate fall." he tried to explain the situation.

"Ah I see, an unfortunate fall." Alec stepped closer, stopping a few paces from his wife "And I thought my wife felt neglected and was looking for comfort in a soldier old enough to replace her father." he said almost amused. Salena looked up at him and her eyes flashed with anger at the sneer he brought down on her.

"As Sir Dorec has just said, I stumbled clumsily, and..."

"and tried to take off the man's trousers. If you are so bent on seeing a man naked, you should have just said so." he interrupted the explanation with a dark mock.

"I was looking for you Sir Dorec, it seemed most unfair to retire a long serving soldier who had shown so much loyalty to the country of Namtik. What do you think?" asked Alec in a tone that desired no further explanation.

"Your Majesty, I am at your disposal," the soldier bowed slightly, knowing full well that this was a trap. He had already met too many kings and knew that this incident would not grant him a quiet retirement. He closed his eyes and waited for the king's verdict.

"Hmm, I have a troop to take provisions to the provinces of Navaligk and Derung, to be distributed among the neediest. I still lack a troop commander who will supervise this and also stay there and promote the construction and stabilization of the villages. You immediately came to my mind. What do you think, would you still be able to dedicate yourselves to this task for the next few years? You have nine good men at your disposal."

Alec spoke dismissively and sat down effortlessly on the couch. He took his wife's overturned cup and poured himself some of the tea that had gone cold.

"Once you could complete the task, the retirement would still be possible. Maren will explain the plan to you." He waved the still bowed soldier out. Someone who had been at court long enough knew this was an order that exiled Sir Dorec and his family to the remotest regions.

"Ah before I forget to mention it, your family may of course continue to enjoy hospitality here in the capital city of Parau." the king told the passing warrior. Sir Dorec paused in his steps, he bowed to the king and left the room. Knowing he would have to say goodbye to his family, as he could only ensure their safety if he followed orders.

Salena still stood motionless in front of the sofa, not daring to look at the poor veteran or say goodbye. She knew she had put him in this position and was deeply ashamed of her clumsy manner. The two servants left the room to go over the schedule and the departure. Alec feasted on the light delicacies and leaned back playfully to get a better look at his wife who was still staring at him as if she wanted to scratch his throat.

"It seems I have given you too little of my time," he said mockingly.

"You have paid more than enough attention to me. As I said it was a clumsy fall" she tried to explain herself angrily. A dark smile played around his lips "You both have already assured me of that. Of course I trust your words and knowing him he was the victim of my impetuous bride." he leaned forward to put the cup down.

"Aahh..!"

Unexpectedly, he pulled Salena towards him by the arm, she lost her grip and, as provoked by his movement, she fell in his direction. She caught her footing with the help of the back of the sofa and found her balance with her legs slightly bent over him.

"And yet, you don't seem to grab my waistband when you fall down. Or am I not your type? Must I first turn grey by the hair before you lust after me?" he asked her jokingly close to her ear. A small laugh from him brought Salena out of her stiffness.

"You are crazy !! What...what are you thinking?" She tried to free herself from the king's grip and stand up. He would not let her go, indeed he enjoyed being pinned by her on the sofa just now.

His free hand stroked along her thigh to her buttocks, since Salena was leaning on the edge of the sofa to avoid falling with all her weight on Alec, she hadn't noticed how her dress had slid up.

"Stop...stop it !... take your hand away!" she hissed and tried to straighten up. Alec didn't listen to her, he still felt that rage inside him, he needed all the self-control he could muster not to split the old man in two, so now he wanted to feast on the object of his greed.

His hand patted her butt, "If you keep moving like that you will only stir me up more." with a laugh he released her hand, but deftly pressed the princess's buttocks to his lap.

Frozen, Salena stopped her moving, something hard pressed against her inner thighs between her legs. She was now sitting on the king's lap with her legs spread, both hands resting on his chest, she felt him suppress a laugh and find her embarrassment extremely amusing.

Her eyes sparkled with anger, "You are disgusting and repulsive..." he slapped her on her thight

"Aahh!"

"My queen does not seem to realise the position she is in."

"And you seem boorish and rude! ... Leave me!" her voice snarled angrily at him. Alec grinned at her and opened his arms for her to rise and sit away.

Quickly she pulled her legs to the side and sat down on the opposite couch. Embarrassed, she tried to regain her natural posture, she had behaved improperly in his presence too many times. She cleared her throat as she adjusted her dress and checked her hairstyle. Alec watched her every move like a predator, trying not to hide his ulterior motive.

"As explained earlier, it was an unfortunate case. Sir Dorec only saved me from a more severe fall and .... And my hand had not been intentional on his breeches. You should not have exiled him - "

He laughed as if she had told a joke instead of an explanation. She looked at him puzzled, did he find her efforts amusing?

"My dearest little princess, I believe you and yet I don't like it" he leaned dangerously across the table towards her

"You were too close to another man. .. not me... and too easily another man's name rolls across your lips. I don't like it." he looked dangerously into her eyes with a smile before slowly sliding his gaze over her body. He took in her countenance with amusement, noticing how her breathing quickened and her eyes moved back and forth like those of a captive animal.

"I think it needs a more detailed instruction for you what kind of man you married." he stood up with a grin and leaned over his wife until his lips were close to her ear. Salena felt his warm breath and took in the warm earthy scent he gave off

"My jealousy knows no bounds. No man will be able to save you from me, no man may look at you, speak to you, or even be noticed by you without setting me on the fumes." Her heart pounded and she felt herself holding her breath too long.

Without warning, he rose and took her hand in his. "My dearest Queen, now that we are gathered for a pleasurable tea, I leave you to your work." he kissed her hand squeeze and walked towards the double doors as he turned around abruptly "By the way, I appreciate your not wearing undergarments. It saves me the trouble of unpacking you."

Her eyes widening, she grabbed the teapot and threw it in his direction. In vain, as he had already slipped out through the door laughing. Angry and ashamed, she sat in the room, her heart pounding as if it would leap out of her chest at any moment. A brief moment passed before she stood up to go out and allow the servants to clean up the mess. She sighed as she looked around and left the room shaking her head.