The Good King

[Pix]

The Good King (closed for HottieKatie)

The young man adjusted his crown as he surveyed his court. The judgements he had passed over the last two hours weighed heavily on him. He had consulted his advisors but no one acted less than the yes man type that he had hated. King Dochmar di Rioga stood in the hallway as he shed his fur robe and held his crown in his hand. His advisors stormed into the hall to find him.

"Sir, the Queen Mother has returned," a herald proclaimed as he stormed into the the court. The kid shy and nervous but tried to portray the most confidence he could muster.

Doch surveyed his herald among the rest of the court and the court after. He saw nothing amiss, just a general nervousness among them. He unlinked the royal cape he was wearing. It was compiled of the finest furs with the most illustrious dyes the Kingdom could see. Doch left it on his throne as he approached his herald.

"Has the Mother returned from the foreign Orsident with a company?" King Doch asked the herald as he stood in the middle of the court.

"Yes, your grace," the herald answered earnestly. "A beautiful princess from the ancient Orsident. As a commoner, she seems worthy."

"Worthy? Commoner?" King Doch asked incredulously. "I hold no class above said people, especially you, Herald. Tell the Princess, her entourage and my mother to head to the royal salon. I think drinks and a warm atmosphere would be the most appropriate way to get to know our neighbors rather than plant them at the great hall dinner."

The herald nodded and pulled two guards to accompany her to find the Princess who was chatting with the King's mother. They told the mother that the Kings wanted drinks before dinner and told the women they were to be escorted to the event.

 

[HottieKatie]

Elinor felt lost at King Dochmar castle. It was such a magnificent building, full of corridors and doors. Even though she was a princess herself, her fathers castle was nothing compared to the huge building she was now in. The magnificence of the di Rogia castle was beyond anything she had imagined. Now, she was surprised but also afraid about what destiny had planned for her.

When the Queen Mother asked her father for her girl to visit her kingdom, King Robert had been distrustful at first, her being from a rival kingdom. Even though they were not at war, the two families were not on friendly terms. So the Queen's offer was at first taken as a taunt. However, after Elinor interceded, her father accepted to let her go just for a week. If she hadn't returned in the seventh day, he would send his army to get her back.

During the whole journey, all Elinor could think about was King Dochmar's castle, as she had never seen any other castle but her father's. Would it had lots of rooms? Would it have a big garden?

And now that her questions were satisfied, she started wondering about King Dochmar himself. Would he be as handsome as people said? As tall and lean? All her father's friends were as old and fat as her father was, Elinor had never met a young King.

 

[Pix]

Dochmar stood in front of his mirror studying himself. All around the royal bedchambers were symbols of pomp and circumstance that just shouted "ROYALTY" in an extremely overbearing manner. Magnificent tapestry chronicling the di Riogas rise to power in the East. Great scenes of battle were depicted within the wall hangings, true artisans had stitched the family's regal history into them. Dochmar appreciated his family's sacrifice and grit throughout time, but knew how far they had fallen over the last few generations. Dochmar's grandfather had been his predecessor and forged his own bloody legacy. He was a tyrant hell bent on avenging anyone who had wronged the family. Dochmar had painfully ended his grandfather's reign by killing him. Most would have looked upon him as usurper, but ending tyranny and standing for those wronged, the people bent the knee willingly and with admiration.

This is why Dochmar had allowed his mother to reach out to his kingdom's biggest threat. He didn't want to spread influence through fear and violence, but rather through diplomacy and a promise of peace. As for Princess Elinor, his mother had promised him that she was the most beautiful of all the princesses on the continent, and Doch thought meeting her wouldn't hurt.

The young king knew his handlers would want him to look his most majestic, but he cared for comfort and had begun to forego the traditional hoopla that accompanied the king's attire. He was in a tunic and pants. The tunic was held in place by a belt. Doch put a black leather vest over his tunic and surveyed all the gaudy royal garments he would be expected to wear. He shook his head at some of the garb and decided on a simple cloack of the deep, brilliant blue that was the traditional di Rioga color and clasped it with a not a silver or gold chain, but simply steel.

Doch made his way to the salon, before his mother or their guests. His advisers had expressed concern that he should be the last to enter, as per tradition, but like always Doch bucked the tradition to sit in the salon before anyone else. His crown was resting atop his head as the royal herald announced the entrants.

"Please rise for Illana di Rioga, Queen Mother of the Kingdom of Braile," Doch stood along with the other members of the court. Queen Illana stood next to her son and she grasped his hand to find it a bit sweaty.

"Also stay risen and please welcome our honored guests," the herald continued, "Princess Elinor of the Kingdom of Orsident and her royal escort."

Doch removed his crown as he watched the beautiful princess and her entourage walk in. The king stepped forward and greeted the princess face to face. He grasped her hand gently and brought it to his lips and kissed it.

"Your highness," Doch said firmly, "it is a pleasure to finally meet. I've heard great stories of your beauty and grace, but they did no justice."

 

[HottieKatie]

Elinor couldn't be any more surprised by the King's reception. He was so kind, so welcoming... She couldn't understand why her father was an enemy of this man. But then she remembered she had just become a king. Surely the former king was not this nice. Maybe even King Dochmar was not really this nice, and it was all a trap. But if it was a trap, she was inadvertently falling for it.

The way he held her hand and kissed it, made all her walls fall apart. And his words? He was such a poet, "beauty and grace".

"Thanks, your majesty", she replied with a quick bow. "The pleasure is mine, my Lord. You've welcomed my party in such a good manner, I'm so thankful."

She stared at his eyes for a moment, trying to find out his real motives for all of that. It was all real or was it a farse? But all she could find in his beautiful and deep eyes was humbleness, Kindness and a bit of nervouness. So far, nothing to worry about. So she decided to call down her fears for a little while and enjoy the rest of the evening.

 

[Pix]

"Your grace? A moment, please," Dochmar recognized the familiar lilt of the Queen Mother. She was standing with the emissaries who had accompanied the Princess from her kingdom.

"The burdens of royalty," Doch sighed and looked the Princess in the eyes and narrowed his own, "I shall find you once the glad handing is completed."

The King smiled and walked over to his mother standing with the emissaries, his cloak clasped at his neck gracefully swept over the luxurious rug covering the stone floor. The salon was the warmest room of the palace. When Doch's grandfather was still ruling, the palace was a very cold place. No wall hangings or rugs, just cold stone. Fires were only allowed to be lit in bed chambers. It was all to try and instill intimidation. Once Dochmar took the throne he allowed his mother to create a warmer ambiance in the palace and the first place to be overhauled was the salon.

Dochmar listened to the emissaries drone on with stories and idle gossip of the nobility of Orsident. The young ruler humored the emissaries and paid them the appropriate lip service but gracefully moved on before the tedium killed him. He saw the princess standing alone and walked over to her.

"Your majesty," he said while he hooked his arm with hers, "may I take you on a stroll through the gardens before the feast in the great hall?"

 

[HottieKatie]

Elinor was again left alone by Braile's rulers. She thought for a second about joining her escort, but the people her father had sent with her were nothing of her interest. Her father had sent mostly guardians and officers. Non of her chamber girls were allowed to travel with her. Elinor thought her father wanted her to feel lonely and isolated so she would want to return to her own kingdom sooner. By the look of it, he wasn't wrong.

She looked at the king and his little huddle, and wondered what they would be talking about. Probably plans for her she could have no opinions about. She decided to move away and focused on admiring the decoration of the salon. At least that would take her mind away of her concerns and ramblings about what she was exactly doing at a castle so far away from home.

Luckily, the king came to her rescue quite soon.

"Your majesty," he said while he hooked his arm with hers, "may I take you on a stroll through the gardens before the feast in the great hall?"

"Oh, yes your grace," her face lit up at the mention of the gardens. She was so fond of vegetation and landscape. Back at home she spent most of the time at the gardens, either talking to her lady servants or listening to the birds and winds.

"Nothing would please me more than visiting your royal gardens, my liege." she added as she grabbed his arm closer and speeded up her pace to show her eagerness.