Queen's Rule ( Closed for Nouh_Bdee )

[Ravishing]

Juliet sat on the larger ornate throne of the Kingdom of Thaines. Her vivid green eyes looked out at those gathered. Closest to the thrones on those benches were her advisors. Every single one of them was male and of the six there were. Two didn't mind the young Queen Thaines sitting there. The other four kept trying to undermine her with politeness.

She sat there wearing a white silk and lace gown, yet with the reworked mithral chainmail shirt over it, around her waist a burnished red leather double belt held not only the crystal dagger of the King. But the adamantine long sword; both to the one hip in a dual sheath made from red dragon hide leather. It matched the red leather boots she wore under that white silk and lace gown.

A top of her head was the crystal-forged Crown of Thaines. Her pale blue hair wound about it elegantly in a circular braid which was secured with bobby pins.

In all the History of the Kingdom of Thaines, there had never been a woman ruler. She knew because her Father had looked before he'd eyed his daughter of eleven summers old at the time and told her, she'd be Queen. His legal heir.

Right now she was listening to the Court Seneschal speak about the grievances of the man to the left side at the table. Had against the one on the right. A matter of stolen livestock that had been rebranded. The two bickering were worse than Children in her eyes. Finally, she cleared her throat. "Hargraves." The one with the stolen animals looked up to the Queen biting his lower lip.

"Return all but three of the livestock. The last three shall be slaughtered by you, and Mister Mercy there." She held a finger to say she wasn't quite done yet. "After they've been slaughtered, your two families are going to throw a banquet feast in Market Square and get past this issue you two have with each other."

Both men opened their mouths, and Juliet narrowed her eyes. "Your Queen has spoken. My word is the royal law. A decree. Much like it was when my Father August Thaines spoke. If you two end up here again. I'm going to decree that one child from each of your houses of marrying age, will thereby be considered engaged, and I'll marry them on the spot. Then you'll be Family."

Both men shut their mouths slowly, giving startled looks at each other. "I could have made it worse. Much worse. Instead, have a feast, a party, rejoice, be merry and be past this old issue and move on."

The two men rose and moved off quietly speaking to each other, and deciding their Queen, their brand new had only two weeks on the Throne Queen, could have done much much worse. She could have proclaimed the livestock her's and simply squashed them under her heel.

As the Royal Announcer said Court was over. People began to filter out slowly, moving at a snail's pace. At least the more common people.

Her advisors all stood and then began quietly talking amongst themselves trying to work out WHO was going to bother her next.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

The clattering of a side door pierced the low din of whispers, and a page walked in, a tabard in the Thaines colors over his tunic and breeches. The Seneschal’s eyes widened at his whispers, and he cleared his throat.

“Your Majesty,” he interrupted. “The Wizard Tomano has returned. He w–”

At that moment, the larger doors to the Great Hall parted, and in walked the wizard himself. It would be reasonable of Juliet not to remember him. It had been but a few months before that fateful conversation with her father when he’d been sent to the kingdom’s allies, the elf-lords of the Evershade, to aid them in their defense against the rival kingdom of Billeten.

For the better part of a decade Tomano had advised the elves on their defenses against the arcane magics of Billeten and its Dread Sisters, and even fought under the Emerald Boughs alongside the elves at times. It wasn’t until King Rhoarim Billeten finally sued for peace that Tomano began his long march home; a long march that left him footsore and weary enough to barge into Court.

So, whether Juliet remembered his dark, wavy hair, cut to just above the ears, or his bright, golden eyes, or his lean, graceful build, or not, her attention would be drawn to them now. He was no frail wizard grown plump and soft in towertops. He returned the battlemage of Thaines, wrought and honed in years of battle. He lacked the look of a warrior, bulging biceps well-suited to hefting warhammers and slashing with spear and longsword. Instead, he had the wiry muscles and quick eyes that had darted under root and over branch, cleaving hearts with cracking ice and burying flame in flesh.

If Tomano’s general disregard for authority and ceremony, which had likely played some part in his long foreign assignment in the first place, had been forgotten by Juliet, she would be reminded now. He wore leather armor, dyed dark green, a gift from the elves, under a heathered gray cloak. His enchanted boots, a prize he’d won from one of the elf-lords in a game of skill, made no sound on the hard stone floor. His eyes were down, and he sighed heavily as he sank into one of the low benches against the side wall of the chamber.

He kept his eyes down, but he noticed the silence that fell as eyes turned to him and raised a hand. “Apologies, Your Majesty,” he called out in a deep, clear voice as he unlaced his boots, hair falling forward over his eyes. “I don’t,” he grunted as he loosened one of them with a sigh of relief. “er, mean to interrupt. Just resting my feet, and I’ll be available at your pleasure.” He breathed deeply as he loosened the other. He had not noticed that it wasn’t August Thaines who sat upon the throne. He was looking forward to giving his report to the man, since it had been more than a year since their last correspondence. He was more than happy to wait, though; he just didn’t want to do it standing up.

 

[Ravishing]

As the Paige entered she looked at him, then noting him whispering to the Seneschal. It made her slightly straighten up. Really. Court finished and someone just happened to arrive? Those vivid green eyes looking out along and from her spot there up on that dias with the two Thrones. The one she had on taller, grander, and built for a more muscled, manly figure than Juliet cut sitting there in her Queenly dress and mithral chain shirt.

The Wizard? Oh! Her mind recalled then. That Wizard her Father had sent letters to, once a year asking for a report while he was off helping the elves. Her Father had often told her about the fellow he'd sent off to help Evershade. That the Billeten and their Dread Sisters were terrible people.

Very slowly she stood moving soundlessly down those steps one by one, till she was walking among her advisors. Through that throng of men. her red dragon scale boots softened her steps to silence as she moved. As Tomano's voice rang out telling her he didn't mean to interrupt. That he needed to rest his feet and he be available at her pleasure.

She stood there, and after a moment those vivid green eyes looked to everyone else and she simply signalled them out. One by one everyone else cleared and left that room, until as the Senschal shut the doors behind himself Juliet Thaines and Tomano were the only two left.

After a moment she moved to sit on one of those wooden benches. Not even a rustle heard from her dress as she did. It was enchanted to be quiet. Her hands settled to her knees. "He passed two months ago. Him and my Mother both. The same day. Tragedy hit the Kingdom hard. They'd been off riding along the greens of the Southern estate. The nearest Knight or Guardsman was too far away because they'd wanted privacy."

Juliet's blue hair came from her Fae Mother. Leandra had been swept up by August while he was still a Prince. The two married well before his own Father died and they'd been a beloved match from the start.

Juliet looked over Tomano then, judging the man with those eyes and pursing lips. Although Juliet wasn't one to be vain. The queen was quite beautiful. A beguiling mix due to her Mother and Father both. One could certainly see the Fae influence within her delicate beauty, and petite of frame like her Mother too. Yet with a clear strength and authority that had long since been hers due to her Father's training of the girl from a young age. About the time Tomano had left. 11 years had well prepared her for her role whenever it might have come.

It was her Knights these days she trained with. Just as it was only Court Day she wore the dress. Looking on that appointed day more the regal way her Advisors thought a Queen should. Yet, Juliet's own influence was why she wore the chainmail over it and the weapons. Because she'd learned well from her Father, a King is never unarmed, and neither should she be such as Queen.

"I am sorry it fell to me to bring you word of it. It was an ambush. They passed swiftly. Both were found dead by the Knights who detained the bandits responsible." She purses her lips a moment, considering her next words. They weren't words she knew men enjoyed hearing from her lips.

"They were executed by my hand a week ago." A soft exhale as she rose to stand quietly. "Their heads have been displayed in the Southern Estate ever since. Closer to where my Father and Mother were killed. Because it's what I know he'd have done. He has done."

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Tomano stopped and sat up, eyes wide, when he heard Juliet’s voice. “Princ–” He almost chuckled to himself. She wasn’t the princess any more. “Queen Juliet. Your Majesty.” Two months. That explains the missing letter. “I…” He let out a heavy sigh. “I’ve missed so much. Clearly.”

He listened quietly for a while, taking in the rest of Juliet’s words, the scene she sets of the kingdom’s recent history. He’s silent the whole time, until nearly a minute after she finishes, when he gives her a conclusive nod.

He looks her in the eye, perhaps longer eye contact than a Queen or Princess would be used to. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he says sincerely. His relationship with the late king was formal and brief, but he respected the man, and seeing the way Juliet carried herself only stoked that respect. Displaying the murderers was grisly, but effective, and they hadn’t earned more consideration for their dignity by killing innocents. Tomano didn’t even feel the need to comment on the act. It was her prerogative as queen, and as the daughter of the victims, and his approval wasn’t necessary.

Another deep breath, then Tomano took a small pouch out of his pocket. “I have gifts, from the elf-lords.” He dumped the contents out into his hand: four small seeds, light brown with a curious four-point shape and a darker stripe down the center, and a small crystal brooch, the gem pink and roughly hexagonal. “A Scapestone Brooch, originally intended for your mother. An attack that would otherwise pierce your skin will instead shatter the crystal.” He held it out to her, and then lifted the seeds. “Órima seeds. The leaves of these plants will keep rations from spoiling for years if wrapped tightly.”

He sits back again, and breathes deeply. His manner of speech has changed over the years, adopting a bit of elven mannerisms. He pauses often, and speaks slowly, seeming to consider each word carefully. His eye contact is intense, and deliberate, but not confrontational. He simply sees her, the way the elves see all that’s in front of them.

“How else can I help?”

 

[Ravishing]

While standing there she met and held those eyes of his in much the manner her Father would have held his gaze. He'd certainly taught her more about being a leader than any woman could have prepared for alone. When he drew breath and his hands moved those vivid green eyes watching them, even as he spoke she didn't look back up to his eyes. Until he dumped the contents into his hand.

Only then did her gaze lift, watch his face a moment then lower to the hand as he explained about it. She took the brooch when offered and as he spoke about the seeds she pinned the brooch onto herself. Then looked back to him while the seeds still lay in his hand. An interesting plant, she inwardly mused.

As he sat back breathed deeply and seemed to be just watching her. After his offer of how might he help. She found herself lifting her gaze from him for a moment. "While you were gone you spent a lot of time advising others, and in battle to aid." She spoke that truth more to give herself time to think.

"I don't know you." She finally found herself saying. "I don't know you enough to trust you. You've been gone a long time. Yes, ten years is both a lot, and a drop if water into a lake in the amount of time those you've been with can live." Ten years was a drop in the water of how long she'd live. There'd never been a half Fae-human Queen or King. She'd live an ungodly amount of time compared to the ones around her. She knew that also played a part in why the others did not like her being there.

"I'm going to be Queen for a long time, and this, now and here is the start of it." Her gaze moved then back to him. "I want to trust you. I need that. I need someone who I can absolutely trust. That is what I need." She was being openly honest. More honest than she'd been with any of those advisors who'd been with her Father and some of His father before him.

"....and I need you to trust me too." She finally added. Knowing for it to come about they'd need to trust each other. "My Advisors. Men you knew before you left and returned. A few of them do not mind in some way that I am Queen. The others, do not like it. They, keep trying to treat me as if I'm not the Ruler. Not the Queen. Because they want a male arse on this Throne." She did not apologise for using the word arse, a Queen normally might have avoided it, at all costs. But Juliet was a Ruling Queen doing it on her own, and she was made of sterner stuff than that.

"I believe I need to find out if their minds will not be swayed in time, and if they won't be. Who would be best to replace them? I need advisors who won't look at me as if I'm a child playing dress up." Then she fell silent. For now, she knew she'd said enough. No more should be said until he had time to consider and speak his reply.

It wasn't the most usual request. She knew her Father had not expected her to need to do this. Of course, he'd expected to have had so much more time to teach her.


--------

Far, far away from the Kingdom of Thaines. There was a little far-flung Village. So small it almost didn't have a name. No more than a collection of five farms and their farmhands. Five families. That was its unsanctioned name, a name those who lived there used. The central township had sprung up big enough for a five-bed Tavern/Pub, the occasional whore, traders mostly, some drifting through thieves.

One of those families had a son Miles Whitmore. The Whitmore farm had a mix, of wheat, barley and sheep. Seven pastures which they had two fallow at any given season, rotating them through. Miles was a good son, he worked hard at the land and helped his Father and Mother both. Them and the hands. Course he also had aspirations for more.

For as long as he could remember he'd wanted to be more than just his Father's Son. The one who'd inherit the Farm, and find a wife. Bandits came through sometimes and normally they could handle it. Miles knew a few things. He'd gotten books from the traders who came through with his Mother's blessing.

He dabbled and when Bandits came normally it was daytime, and he had always managed to rally the lost ones to help them. Lost animals, lost pets, and ancestors. Bodies which he'd made rise and defend the home. His Mother considered him a good boy for learning something else that made it easier for them to survive those attacks. The Farm hands, all knew what Miles could do and not a one complained. His gift saved their lives too. That the dead things fought and won those battles, then went back to whence they came.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Tomano maintained eye contact as Juliet explained what she wanted from him. It was a problem every leader faced. As much as they liked to pretend their power came from who they were, or from the crown they wore, the truth was it came from others. Their word was law because people made it law. Specifically, the people with swords. And the people who gave the gold to the people with swords. Knowing who a royal could trust was probably the most important part of the job, in practical terms.

When she was finished, he nodded gravely. “You learned your father’s lessons well.” He was going to need to learn a lot, about who was in what position, who sympathized with whom, and what people wanted. He knew it wouldn’t be long before he missed the days when his enemies wore uniforms.

He was impressed again with her. She was clearly no child playing dress up, even if that’s exactly what she’d been last time he saw her. He also liked to think he had learned quite a bit in his time away. Coupled with the magical talent he’d always had, he believed he would be a valuable ally for Her Majesty.

Tomano stood, to meet the Queen’s eyes. He was taller than her by several inches, but not enough that either of them would have to strain to meet the other’s eyes, even as he stepped close, closer than most would consider proper, especially with a queen. Again, a pause. He tried to take the measure of her. She’d been through so much trauma, and had so much responsibility forced upon her, but clearly she was capable. What kind of queen was she, though? And what kind of woman? There were many questions left unanswered.

Still, for now, he wanted to support her. He’d respected her father, even if he knew the man hadn’t liked him all that much. He remembered her being a pleasant child, too. Curious and sweet. He wanted to help preserve that part of her, to keep it safe from the machinations of hangers-on. For now, he would retire to his tower, and begin meeting with these advisors, forming opinions about them, and letting them form opinions about him. When she needed him, he’d be ready.

“Agreed,” he said with a nod, and sat down to start putting his shoes back on.

 

[Ravishing]

As he'd stood there closer than most might have let him get. Juliet watched him with a gaze that wasn't judging but was curious. She didn't seem closed off or as if she'd let her Father's opinions of Tomano colour her mind on the man himself. After his final word to her, as she watched him sit down and begin putting those shoes on again.

"I'll send the maids to refresh your suite of rooms." A pause then as she considered something. "I know you'll need time to do all that, but would you consider each morning you and I, meeting for breakfast? A trust-building exercise between us? Perhaps mid-morning. So I've time to run through things with the Seneschal and The Financial Advisor for the day. Before breakfast."

Those vivid green eyes watching him. "There will also need to be a small dinner tomorrow night. A welcome back to the Kingdom thing for you. It's already started being prepared. It was my second act as Queen. Organising it in advance for when you'd return, so it'd be handled whenever you arrived and I wouldn't be caught out."

That perhaps spoke a lot about her. The first order had been executing people who'd killed her parents, the second being organising a small welcome-back dinner thing for him. "It'll be the advisors, the notable Nobles who are always at those things. And I." Of course she'd be there. "I believe music would be by the Harpist."

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Tomano nods to the queen respectfully. “I’ll be there,” he says, referring to her breakfast invitation. He hadn’t expected such a regular appointment so soon, and a bit of apprehension might be visible on his face, but on the whole he’s looking forward to it. So far he’s very impressed with Juliet’s direct nature, and it will be much more pleasant to dine with her than with any of the advisors.

He’s still buckling his boots, preparing to leave, but he listens thoughtfully to her description of the dinner and waits, running over the expectations that the nobility will have for him at such an event. “It will be nice to hear some strings,” he admits, finally. “The elves were over-fond of wind instruments.”

The fact that organizing the dinner was her second act as queen did in fact reveal a lot to him, though not so much about her. He took a small amount of pride in the fact that there was apparently so little going on in the kingdom that the Queen could afford to spend her time on something so frivolous. But, then, he remembered the other nobles he’d known before he left, and realized it wasn’t frivolous at all. They were going to see all kinds of meaning in it, and he was out of practice at knowing what those meanings would be.

“It sounds like I have preparations to make,” Tomano said, standing at attention in front of the queen, waiting to be dismissed.

 

[Ravishing]

For Juliet, it hadn't been a frivolous event. Nothing of the sort. For her, it was a way for her people to come back together. To celebrate the return of one of their own. But also to simply get out from under the malaise she felt, so she was sure others felt it too. From the death of the King and his Queen. They needed a reason to celebrate something and the return of Tomano was perfect. As an excuse for the Kingdom of Thaines to heal some.

All that spilled through her mind in the space of a second, she didn't know his thoughts but she was more reassuring herself that the Kingdom would be better for a party, a celebration. Then the heavy air it had now coloured the actions of all. "You may go. Thank you." Juliet said to him, before she turned and with a quicker step which carried her off and out through a smaller side door. A door that led the way back to her private chambers. Bypassing the main walkways proper in the castle.

When she finally breezed into her room she stood there, even as the painting of the grounds swung shut behind her. Aware underfoot there was the royal green and gold woven carpeting which was layered about the Queen's Room.

She got perhaps five minutes to herself and an ability to drift and sit on a loveseat that was scattered in the middle of nowhere. Before Betsy stepped into the room, her Lady-in-waiting. Betsy offered her a brisk smile. "Up you get my Queen, time to get you out of that dress."

On her feet and a whirlwind of activity later as she felt better. Now clad in a white silk shirt with light armoured silver and white corset, and sleek black trousers with thick-soled boots. She lifted the heavier crown off and Betsy put it in the small safe. removing from there the lighter tiara which wove into the hairstyle she wore already. The chainmail was put on again, and then her belt and sword were put back about her waist.

Now she left her room via the usual doors and went through and down and around into the kitchens, double-checking that the preparations were underway. She left and would be eventually seen stepping out into the gardens. Moving with her two of her Knights. Brax and Jack knew well that Juliet their Queen preferred on the day she held Court to let off steam after it with some sword practice.

Thus all too soon the sounds of clanging swords and shields began ringing out. Juliet held the kite shield firm and met Brax's charge at her with a brace of her shorter form. The impact was decent enough to drive her back half a step, yet she rallied by shoving with strength and sending the man stumbling back, she gave him half a second to collect himself before she swung with the longsword, a CLANG as it impacted his shield rattling him, while Jack attempted to get closer. He found himself meeting her eyes for a half second before she shoved Brax, and spun about swinging the sword in reverse hold as she did. Jack found himself needing to throw himself away from the sword swing rolling up onto his feet and finding Juliet pressing her advantage, as she swung the blade upwards, Jack parried it feeling the much longer sword slide along the edge of his short sword that he'd crossed.

And so practice would go on for at least an hour, of clanging, and cursing men with clattering shields. Finally, "I yield!" Was sung out by Jack. Juliet flicked her eyes to Brax, who lifted his hand's palm outwards showing. "I too. You've improved much, my Queen." Juliet gave merely a demure smile then. "Good, because I need to be better than I am."

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Tomano left with a polite nod, within a few minutes striding through the door of his tower. Staff had kept it clean and in order throughout the years, with a bit of replaced upholstery and drapes the only clue that any time had passed. He didn’t have ten years of grime and stubble to remove, but a few days on the road had left his appearance a bit rough around the edges. A shave and a bath did wonders, and soon he was plotting how to spend his evening.

A more socially conformist version of him would have sent someone ahead to announce his intent to visit, but that was not the version that existed. Instead, the wizard simply showed up at General Ryten’s door: the door to his home, not the Red Hall where his office was located. A houseman opened the door, and waved Tomano into a small sitting area. Nearly a quarter hour later, the man himself walked under the arch.

“Honestly, I should have expected this.” General Ryten grumbled, taking a seat across from the wizard. He was still dressed for the day, but he’d lost the tabard and loosened the neck of his tunic. Ryten had been one of the few men on the council that Tomano had gotten along well enough with, but he knew the man to be old-fashioned in many ways, so he knew there was a better than average chance he wasn’t entirely comfortable with a queen.

Receiving only a nod in return, Ryten leaned back with a smirk. “Enjoyed your time with the elves?” His thick-fingered hands stroked the stubble on his chin, a sprinkling of grey and white peppering what once once been entirely a ruddy brown. The decade had taken its full price from his body, leaving lines all over his face, but his eyes looked bright as ever.

Tomano returned a small smile. “We got on well.”

The General rolled his eyes. “I’d wager you did.” A pause, thick but not unpleasant, settled over the room. Finally, Ryten broke the silence. “I’d love to sit here, lance in hand with you, but some of us don’t have the time for that, wizard. What brings you here where the only ears are mine?”

He thought about asking for tea, but he didn’t actually want any. “Her Majesty.”

A brow was raised.

Tomano narrowed his eyes. “I’d like your impressions.”

The General pursed his lips. “Thought for thought?”

Tomano frowned. “Fresh out.”

Ryten barked a throaty sputter. “Course.” He shook his head. “You understand the weight?”

Tomano smiled. “Clearly.”

Ryten shrugged. “My shoulders are steadier than most.”

“Clearly.”

Another laugh. So the General at least wasn’t openly opposing the queen. Tomano wondered if he should be straight or put a minnow on the line. He wasn’t the best man for it, but it might need doing.

He frowned again. “Hm.”

“I’m surprised, you know,” the General began. “You were never one for convention. I would’ve assumed the novelty would keep you charmed, if nothing else.”

Apparently he’d been read more thoroughly in the past than he’d realized. He shrugged. “Perhaps I’m still road-weary.”

Ryten’s expression suggested he didn’t believe that. “Perhaps.”

Tomano nodded and stood up. “Let’s keep in touch.”

Ryten laughed again. “Is that what you call this?”

The wizard held out his hand for a shake, and Ryten laughed before accepting. “Get out of my house before my stew gets cold,” he barked, but his expression was mirthful, not actually frustrated. With a nod, the wizard walked out the door.

He barely noticed the chill in the air as the sun set during his walk back. He and the General were both men of few unnecessary words, and perhaps he’d gotten worse in that respect over his long absence, but he’d gotten a start. There were some of the queen’s advisors who thought her rule too much to bear, but Ryten was at least claiming not to be one of them. He’d discuss her impressions of the man in the morning.

 

[Ravishing]

Supper this night was lamb stew done in a thicker sauce, brimming with fresh herbs and veggies that suited it. It was also served with garlic bread. After her sparring, she'd gone on to handle the paperwork of the Kingdom.

Thus hours spent in her office just off her actual room, writing, thinking, pausing, and at times reading things out loud to herself while she then sat and scribbled detailed notes. Before refining her notes into a true essay-long reply.

In these dual chambers, the chainmail was forgone and hung on its mannequin. But the belt and sword with dagger remained at her side. The tiara was set aside and on her dressing table.

Finally, she did get around to eating her stew savouring it, since tomorrow it would be the banquet from lunchtime through to suppertime. The only chance for quiet before then was breakfast.

Breakfast. Right, she had changed how that would be going for her. Wonderful. A rub of a hand against her brow and when she was finally finished, she had her Lady-in-waiting Betsy take it away. "Actually, Betsy, I'm just going to retire now. I won't need you for the rest of the night."

Betsy offered her a smile curtsey and left. Ensuring that the guards up this end of the Castle knew their Queen was retiring. It changed the way they patrolled and who watched where to make sure her rooms were covered in that pattern.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Tomano’s supper was eaten in no greater company, but rather alone at a small wooden table, as he had no permanent staff, an empty tower requiring little in maintenance over the decades. He hadn’t had time to hire a cook, even on rotation, so he picked up a pair of meat pies on his walk home and warmed them by his fire. A night of comfortable solitude led to an industrious morning, preparing himself for the day in the home he hadn’t seen since he left for the Evershade.

The wizard would look different when he arrived at the palace dining room than he had the day before. The dust of the road was washed off his body, his face was clean shaven, and his armor was replaced with soft, clean robes. But, those bright eyes and knowing smiles remained. He was ready for a different kind of battle.

Out of practice he might’ve been with social niceties, his tone was warm and friendly when he finally greeted Juliet.

“A good morning to you, Your Majesty. I hope you slept well?” It would be the first bit of small talk she would have heard from his lips, and it didn’t come entirely naturally. He needed to be less off-putting if he was going to work with all the other advisors to the queen, and he may as well start trying now.

He quickly dipped down to one knee and bowed his head forward, holding out a hand for hers to kiss.

 

[Ravishing]

He found the table set for two placings. Juliet seated away from the place settings a few rolled up scrolls there, a couple of books, a number of loose parchment sheets both black and written on.

As he entered she seemed to rise after a moment. His Queen in a long flowing dress a belt with dagger at her waist. As he dipped to one knee. He felt her hand, a hand which held callouses on it, catch his and seek to tug him to his feet. There was strength to that pull.

Her blue hair loose flows atleast to waist length and seems fine spun not thick. She was missing the Tiara or the crown.

"Arise. I don't need you to stand on ceremony with me, not over breakfast." He wouldn't be mistaken to think her lips twitched a little as she said it.

"First order. Convince them we can instead have it on a balcony not the dinning room, in future. Atleast if the weather is nice." She seemed quite serious about it.

"Since its privacy I wanted not a room other could easily come in and out of." Finally she then smiled. "I slept fine enough Tomano. Did you?"

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Tomano noted the strength in her arm and the callouses on her hand, but he didn’t react outwardly. He also saw the dagger she was wearing. The picture of her in his mind cleared a bit further. He stoodm, and relaxed just a touch when she told him she didn’t expect him to follow royal etiquette to a T. That was a relief, although he was still going to need to refresh his memory on that later. It would be important in the company of other members of the noble class.

“I slept like the dead,” he said with a smile. “And fortunately, I woke quite unlike those poor souls.”

He nodded at her commission, and stepped around her to hold his hand toward one of the blank pieces of parchment. “May I?”

 

[Ravishing]

A curiousness to her features, those eyes locked to his face. Before finally she nodded, slowly, the motion had her blue hair flicker about her shoulders. Those half-fey ears poking through it, twitched.

"Certainly." As he might move for where she had been sitting, she moves to settle at her place setting. Hand smoothing the dress against her thighs.

One of the kitchen staff slipped in. "My Queen, what might you and Ser wish for breakfast?"

"Tomano?" He voice softly said his name.