Chapter 5: Sometimes, they do come true

* * *

"Please say something." Shara said to her husband.

He was silent for several seconds before speaking. "Are you serious? This isn't a jest?"

She nodded.

He looked at her for several long seconds, mouth slightly open, head cocked to one side, and eyes looking... hurt? No, that wasn't it? Distrustful? No, not quite that either. Mad? No; no he wasn't mad exactly. Unsure? Yes, he certainly seemed to be that.

Lyra gaped with her eyes wide. Her mouth was hanging open and then she gave a sharp intake of breath. "Oh Illuminar, I kissed the princess." She covered her mouth with her hand and Shara saw a grimace before she did.

"No-- well, yes." She conceded. "But I'm still me."

"Yes, but you're the princess Uh, my lady." The ash blonde replied formally and even a bit reverently. Her attempt at formal and respectful had lasted all of about five seconds before her spirited nature reasserted itself and she said with confused wonder. "How... how the fuck are you a princess?"

Shara gave her an apologetic half-smile, then turned to Kalus. "Please say something."

He didn't speak for several long seconds.

"The day we met, you said you were 'not so different' from the princess." Kalus finally said. "You were telling the truth; well, you were then." Neither his eyes nor his tone bore any trace of accusation, yet she couldn't help feeling accused.

Convicted.

Guilty.

She averted her eyes, not wanting to see the non-accusing look in her husband's eyes. She expected an accusing look and she felt like she deserved it, yet she wasn't getting it. That almost hurt worse. For a moment, she considered it strange that she felt this way when she'd outright told him that she wished him dead not many days ago.

But things had changed since then.

They had changed so much, and partially because of that she felt like the contents of a chamber pot. Worse than that.

Kalus scrutinized her for nearly a whole minute before speaking again. "Your father is King Bracken, your mother is Queen Hylea, and that's why you are so loyal to your country."

It wasn't a question.

Shara nodded, never taking her eyes off the floor.

Lyra didn't seem to know what to do with herself. She seemed completely at a loss as to how to behave with the revelation that her fellow wife was also the princess of the realm. Well, a conquered realm, but a princess nonetheless. Meanwhile, Kalus started pacing slowly in the small room with his hands clasped behind his back. Every so often, he would look at Shara and either frown, shake his head, or make a thoughtful sound.

Shara herself didn't know what to do.

After a minute or two, Kalus finally stopped and looked at her. "You found yourself captured and so disguised yourself as a handmaiden so you wouldn't fall into Tyso's hands."

Again, it wasn't a question.

She nodded.

"You were afraid that if you revealed yourself, the consequences could be dire." He said again, and Shara noticed that his volume was low. Easily heard by those in the room but not by those outside it.

She nodded again.

He slowly nodded as he looked at her.

"Please say something." She whispered, almost pleading and hardly able to bear his silence any longer. Well, he hadn't been silent, but she needed to know what he was thinking; how he felt about her with this revelation.

He narrowed his eyes for a moment, then made a thoughtful sound before he spoke. "I have said many times that I wished I had the opportunity to court you properly. I believe that's no longer the case."

Shara swallowed hard as she felt her heart sink to some below the floorboards underneath her.

"It's no longer the case..." Kalus continued. "...because King Bracken would've never let a common soldier such as myself court you, and thus the way we married was probably the only way we could have married."

The princess's breath caught in her throat.

Did he mean...?

She chanced a glance up at him. He still looked stern and imposing as always and his expression displayed both worry and concern. However, it seemed like that worry and concern was directed at her and for her.

"I would never have imagined that Illuminar -- blessed be He -- would bless me of all men with a princess as a wife." He continued. "But princess, handmaiden, or scullery maid -- whatever you are -- I'm glad to call you my wife."

"You... you're not angry with me?" She managed to squeak out.

He replied with an even tone that somewhat contradicted his words. "Of course I am angry with you; what man wouldn't be to discover his wife had been lying to him since the very moment they met?" He exhaled, and his shoulders relaxed a bit. "Yet I realize I have no right to be angry. You were forced into this marriage by another, and for your own protection you concealed your identity from those who you considered enemies, of whom I am one."

"Were." Shara said as she gave him a half-smile. "You were someone I considered an enemy."

He smiled. "I'm glad to hear that."

Shara turned to Lyra. "Please don't change how you treat me; I liked how we were before and I wouldn't want that to change."

"Okay." The horsewoman nodded, then she got a sly grin and said in a teasing tone. "You're highness."

The princess rolled her eyes and then turned back towards their husband. "I'm sorry."

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I forgive you, though I am not sure..." He frowned. "I see why you did what you did, being the princess of Timarou. I'm not sure an apology is required, but thank you for offering it and I will of course forgive you."

"You... You're really not mad?" She asked.

"It will pass." He replied heavily and then sat down on the bed next to her. "What will not pass is your condition." He glanced at her womb. "Unless I'm mistaken, the future rightful ruler of Timarou is growing inside of you, assuming the baby is a boy."

Shara nodded.

Lyra gasped. "That's... that's actually kind of hot."

They both looked at her.

"What?" She said defensively. "It's an age-old story; the noble knight and the princess falling in love."

"You forgot the spirited horsewoman who makes their family complete." Shara said.

"Thank you Katia--" Lyra stopped. "I suppose I should stop calling you that."

"No, keep calling her that." Kalus said. "No one else can know."

"Besides, I kind of like it." Shara said. "It's grown on me rather a lot."

"Really?" The ash blonde raised her eyebrow. "It's a common name and I'm not sure it's suited to a princess."

"Maybe not, but I like it." She replied.

"Regardless, we must keep using it." Kalus said. "King Tyso mustn't find out who you are."

"What would happen if he did?" Lyra asked with a grimace.

"He would have me executed, probably for treason saying that I knew and kept it from him." He replied. "When he found out that Shar-- that Katia is pregnant he would make her take the herbs until she miscarried."

Shara put her hands protectively over her womb.

"Then, once he has complete control of Timarou, he would almost certainly force Katia to marry him so their son would be considered the rightful heir."

The princess shuddered.

Lyra made a face that wouldn't have been out of place if someone had just put a load of manure under her nose.

"He can't know." The amber-haired girl said while clutching her womb. "He can't."

"And he won't." Kalus said, then scrutinized her. "The meeting yesterday with General Ardroben; did he recognize you?"

"I think so." She nodded. "I also touched my womb and said that the princess's health had changed for the better, so I hope he knows about our baby."

"Let us hope so." He frowned. "How many at the castle know your face?"

"Some, but certainly not all." She replied. "I spent most of my teen years in the castle where you found me for my schooling."

"Thank Illuminar for that." He pursed his lips. "Still, I will have my men sweep the areas in front of us to ensure that as few as possible will see you." He cocked his head to one side. "I will also have you closely guarded by Octavian's men, so much so that they will block you from being seen as much as possible."

Shara looked at him, a smile coming unbidden to her face and her throat got slightly tight. "You really care, don't you?"

He nodded. "And even if I didn't, I would still take care of you because you are my wife."

She smiled at him, though she couldn't hold his gaze for long and averted her eyes.

Several moments later, Lyra chuckled to herself.

"What?" Shara asked.

"I kissed a princess and I liked it." She smiled, then went slightly red.

Shara looked at Kalus with a grimace. "Was that okay? I mean, that Lyra and I... that we..."

He nodded. "Illuminar does not forbid it, and I must confess that I have seen few fairer sights in my life."

"Really?" The princess asked.

He nodded. "But perhaps now is not the time to discuss that. We will have a trying day tomorrow and should get some sleep." Lyra opened her mouth, but he continued before she spoke. "All of us, even if you would prefer a different activity in the bed."

The horsewoman nodded, though she looked disappointed too.

"Come, we should go to bed." He said, then probably for Lyra's benefit added. "To sleep."

The bed was only slightly wider than the bedroll they had been sleeping in. As usual, Lyra pulled her dress off and snuggled up to him naked. Shara herself felt conflicted. She almost wanted to do the same, but something about that felt so... exposed. What if something happened and she needed to get up?

She laid down in the bed on Kalus's left side as usual, not quite touching him but also not far away either. As usual, Lyra fell asleep pretty quickly. Shara didn't however. She and her husband lay awake looking up at the ceiling for some time. She bit her lip and started to turn away as usual, but stopped herself.

"Lucien?" She whispered, still trying to get used to the idea that her husband's first name wasn't Kalus.

"Yes?" He whispered back.

"I truly am sorry."

He turned his head to look at her, though she couldn't make out his expression clearly in the semi-darkness. "I already forgave you. I would likely have done the same if I was you."

"But?" She said, feeling like there was a 'but' coming.

"I..." Uncharacteristically for him, he trailed off without finishing his sentence.

"You?" She asked with bated breath.

"You have lied to me since the moment we met." He whispered. "I don't blame you and I understand, but that is hard to come to terms with."

"Oh." She said, then fell silent.

What could she say?

It was true.

She had lied to him from literally the moment that they had met. That hadn't bothered her at the time considering the circumstances. But now... Now she wished that she hadn't. Although King Tyso might've forced her to wed him if she hadn't and then...

She shuddered.

Okay, she was glad she had lied. Kalus had protected her from a worse forced marriage, from the king, and from so many other things. That first night he had taken care of her too. He'd done so much for her.

"Lucien." She whispered several minutes later.

"Hmm." He grunted, still very much awake.

"May..." She hesitated. "May I sleep closer? Um, closer to you I mean?"

He turned to look at her again and she thought she saw a smile on his face. It was hard to be sure in the darkness though.

"I would like that." He replied.

His tone was happy.

She scooted closer so her right shoulder was up against his left arm. It felt awkward, but she liked it. He put his arm around her and pulled her a bit closer so she was leaning up against his torso.

She smiled.

"May..." She whispered hoarsely. "May I lean on you?"

In response, he pulled her to him so she was laying on her side with her front up against his side and her head naturally ended up using his chest for a pillow. There was something slightly possessive about the motion too, like he wanted her to know that he wanted her there.

She liked that.

"Will... will we be okay?" She whispered several moments later.

"I don't know how we will avoid Tyso's wrath, but--" He stopped as she put her hand on his chest.

"No, I meant will we be okay."

He didn't answer for several seconds, and when he finally spoke his tone was... soft. That was the only word she could think of for it. It was gentle, kind, and had a softness to it that made her smile.

"Katia..." He paused. "Shara, will you swear to Illuminar that you will never lie to me again?"

"Lucien... husband; I swear on Illuminar Himself that I will never lie to you ever again." She said, and she meant it with all her heart.

He took a deep breath, which raised her head slightly since she was using it for a pillow, and then slowly let it out. When he spoke, there was a smile in his tone. "I think we will be okay... Shara."

"You..." She hesitated. "You can call me 'Katia', I like how it sounds on your lips."

"Then sweet dreams Katia." She felt him move and then felt his lips press gently against the top of her head.

She sighed softly, then snuggled closer to him.

"Sweet dreams." She replied, feeling the tiredness from the day wash over her. Now that she knew things were okay between herself and her husband, her mind finally let her rest. She relaxed completely into him, grateful that the revelation of her secret had gone as well as it had.

He was holding her, he cared about her, and he would take care of her no matter what. Those were the last thoughts on her mind before she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Kalus lay awake longer than he would've preferred. His two wives were snuggled as a mirror image of each other on either side of him, and he thought that fitting considering their personalities. Katia-- no, Shara sighed softly in her sleep and then snuggled her head slightly closer.

He shook his head in disbelief.

A princess.

Who would've ever thought he would have a princess snuggled up to him like this? Especially one who was carrying his child. They had been legally married, so she was his wife according to all the laws of the Ten Kingdoms. He had no idea how her father would react to that if King Tyso gave him a chance.

He didn't know how to react.

He had always planned to return home, find a nice girl, court her properly, ask her father for her hand, and then raise a family in quiet peace. With a princess as a wife, a quiet life didn't seem possible anymore. Well, unless her identity remained concealed. That seemed unlikely, given that they were about to enter her father's castle.

He lay there, trying to figure out a way that he, his wives, and his unborn child could survive the coming days. He couldn't think of a plan, so he did the only thing he could do; he prayed to Illuminar for the safety of his family until he fell asleep.

* * *

Lyra woke before the sun and before her husband and fellow wife... who was the princess of Timarou. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, still entirely unsure what to make of that information. Katia-- no, Shara was an actual princess.

A princess!

The ash blonde had no idea how to be a co-wife with a princess. Didn't that mean that Shara had all the refinements of the court? All the education? Lyra's own father had taught her to read, write, and basic maths, and she knew some of her country's history of course, but that was it. How many languages did Ka-- Shara speak? How many things could she do that the horsewoman herself couldn't?

It was times like this that the blonde desperately missed her mother. She would know what to do and help her with how to feel about this. She would be able to help with perspective on such things and help her figure out how to cope with having a princess as a co-wife.

On the other hand, Shara had been nice to her the entire time and she was sweet, if a bit reserved. Still, Lyra was having trouble figuring out how she -- a lowly rancher's daughter -- could ever possibly measure up to a real princess. She couldn't even control her desire to bed her husband for Illuminar's sake! Unbidden, the idea of her bedding her fellow wife came to mind and she had to try to push the idea out of her head.

It wasn't easy.

Shara's lips were so soft and kissing her had been wonderful. She wanted to try a lot more than kissing, and also kissing in other places if Kalus would allow it. She thought he might, but was pretty sure that someone as refined as a princess would have no interest in such things.

"Lyra."

She looked up to see her husband looking at her.

"You seem rather tense." He whispered, probably because Katia-- no, Shara was still asleep.

"She's a princess!" She whispered. "How do I compete with a princess?!"

"Why do you have to compete?"

She blinked.

"The infantry and cavalry are very different than each other." He continued. "Some might even say one is more powerful than the other. Yet neither can do everything by itself and they work best when they cooperate."

She stared at him for a long moment. "But, won't you compare us? Even if you don't mean to?"

"Of course." He whispered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I compare infantry and cavalry too, but I also recognize that both have their strengths and weaknesses and neither is better than the other. Each has an edge in one role or another, but neither is better or worse at everything; they are just different."

She nodded slowly, then bit her lip.

"What?" He asked.

"I..." She hesitated, then spoke quietly. "I'm glad to hear that."

"But?" He prompted.

"But she's a princess and I'm just--" She began, but he interrupted.

"A thoroughly delightful woman and a wonderful wife." He said, and judging by his eyes he looked sincere. "In a comparison with Kat-- with Shara, you wouldn't suffer."

"Really?" She asked.

"Really." He nodded. "Neither would she; I can appreciate each of you for who you are, and you are different from each other. Could you not appreciate two horses for their own strengths, different though they may be?"

"I could." She nodded, then snuggled closer to him. "I'm glad you see it that way."

He kissed the top of her head, which made her heart melt and her loins itch. She wiggled her hips against him, making sure her nether lips were pressed against his thigh.

"Shara is still sleeping." He whispered, but didn't stop her.

"Mmm." She rubbed a little harder, and could already feel herself getting wet. "Mmm hmm."

"Mmm?" Shara stirred, then lifted her head and blinked.

"Eww." Lyra screwed up her face as her fellow wife's morning breath hit her.

Kalus chuckled.

"What?" Shara asked, then yawned.

"Your breath." The ash blonde replied, her rubbing nearly forgotten as she turned her face away.

"It can't be that ba--" Shara stopped after she had exhaled into her hand and sniffed. "Oh, sorry. Perhaps it was that rock candy? My breath suffers when I eat too much sugar."

Kalus chuckled again. "I've smelled worse. Come, we should get ready for the day."

Shara nodded, then asked. "Does anyone know where I could get some mint leaves?"

For some reason, the fact that Shara had morning breath even though she was a princess put Lyra's heart at ease. It was a small thing, but it helped. Maybe she was a normal girl after all. A very nice, and kind normal girl who happened to be a princess, but a normal girl.

* * *

Kalus rode Tornado towards the king's entourage, arriving just as the first rays of light fell upon the conquered city. Behind him, Katia-- no, Shara and Lyra, were both riding their own horses. His wives were guarded by Octavian and a half dozen of his best men, and he was grateful for that; for Shara's sake if nothing else. He was having trouble thinking of his first wife as anything other than 'Katia', and he supposed that was a good thing for now.

"Kalus, you made it." King Tyso said as he glanced at the sunrise. "And on time too."

He sounded disappointed.

"And you brought the wenches that I set you up with." The king continued looking past him. He then 'lowered' his voice and 'whispered'. "I hope they are at least decent lays."

"I have no complaints about either of them your majesty." He gave the king a head bow, then glanced towards to gate in front of them.

King Tyso had assembled all of his commanders at the gatehouse that led to the field which separated King Bracken's castle from the inner wall of Laerten. Behind him was the entirety of the king's guard -- all two dozen of them -- plus nearly a thousand soldiers. None looked like they were from his own legion.

"Is there a plan sire?" Kalus asked.

"There would be if you'd captured that bitch of a princess Shara as I asked." He scowled in return. "I'm pretty sure threatening to take her virgin cunt in front of his castle would've done the trick."

The commander restrained himself from reacting with difficulty. "And now?"

"Well since you failed me in such an easy task, I'll have to think of something else." The king regarded Kalus with disdain. "Come, grab the white flag and we shall dictate terms."

"Aye sire." Kalus took the white flag, not minding the slight as much as he perhaps should have.

The king turned his horse, then glanced back. "Oh, and have your wives accompany us; their guards will not be necessary."

Kalus resisted the urge to disagree and turned towards Octavian. "You are released."

Octavian had his fist clenched and his jaw looked capable of crushing steel if one could fit some through his clenched teeth. Kalus gave him his 'stern commander' look and the man bristled, but nodded.

"Ladies." Octavian gave them a respectful head bow, then led his men a short distance away.

With that, King Tyso started trotting his horse down the cobblestone road that led towards the castle. Kalus chanced a glance at his wives, and unsurprisingly saw flickers of fear in their eyes. He wished he could comfort them, but they were right to fear.

He didn't like that.

The ride to the castle gates took barely a minute. The wall was at least twenty feet high and crenellations lined the top. He could see archers on top of the wall, but they respected the white flag and didn't fire.

"Let me speak to your king." Tyso barked without preamble when they'd closed to within a dozen yards.

"Who requests the honor of his conversation?" Someone he couldn't see replied from the wall.

"The man who's conquered the entire fucking country." Tyso growled in return.

"I shall inform him." The voice replied.

Tyso pointed his hand towards the sun. "And tell him that every finger he makes me wait will cost a dozen townsmen their lives."

Kalus bristled.

It was an old method of telling time near dawn and sunset. If a man fully extended his arm towards the sun, the sun would move about a finger's distance in fifteen minutes. It became less accurate further from sunrise and sunset, but it was enough to get his point across.

Kalus checked his own hand against the horizon and then waited.

The sun had nearly traversed almost an entire finger when an older man appeared at the wall's crenulations wearing a thin golden crown. He looked to be at least fifty, and sixty was probably closer to the mark. He also looked tired. Kalus had known that King Bracken was getting up in years and that the queen was significantly younger, but he hadn't realized how old he was.

"You called, Tyso." King Bracken's voice was strong and confident, but it had a slight waver to it too.

That didn't bode well.

"Open the doors old man."

"Your soldiers have a certain reputation, and the women who live here would prefer to--"

"I don't give a shit what they would prefer." Tyso replied. "You can either open the doors now, or I'll start beheading townsfolk; a dozen every hour until the doors open. While we do that my men will build a battering ram to breach the door ourselves. And should you wait, there will be a lot of... 'breaching' when my men come in."

King Bracken paled.

"Open it up old man." Tyso barked.

"Will... will you promise safety for those of my castle if we surrender?"

"No." Tyso shook his head. "But I will promise no mercy if you make me wait any longer."

Even from as far away as he was, Kalus could see King Bracken swallow hard and take a half step back.

"I will give you ten seconds." Tyso said.

"But the rules of war are--" King Bracken began, but Tyso interrupted him.

"Eight seconds."

King Bracken put a hand on the crenellations, probably to steady himself.

"Five seconds." Tyso continued.

"Four."

"Three."

"Two."

"Open the gate!" King Bracken said, then closed his eyes and slowly shook his head.

"Wonderful." King Tyso said. "Prepare a reception in your throne room for... let's say noon. You will surrender your crown personally." He turned to leave but stopped and looked back. "Oh, and tell your men not to interfere with mine; the consequences would be..." He paused, probably for effect. "Unpleasant."

If possible, the king turned even paler.

"Come Kalus." Tyso said much as you might address a servant. "We'll let the men do the brunt of the work and return at our leisure." The king waved towards the thousand or so men that had been waiting at the gate, and they started marching forward.

Kalus prevented himself from curling his lip in distaste at how they marched forward. His own legion wouldn't be caught dead being that sloppy while in formation.

"What of the people sire?" Kalus asked King Tyso

"I've told them to hold their appetites until this evening's celebration." He shrugged. "Can't interfere with the palace guards surrendering, which could delay my fun." His eye glimmered, and not in a good way. Kalus had never met a dragon before, but he imagined that the look in Tyso's eye would be similar to a dragon who had caught the scent of some gold.

That didn't bode well.

* * *

"Are you okay?"

Shara slowly shook her head at her fellow wife's question. She wanted to shout 'I'm not okay!' at the top of her lungs, but resisted. Instead, she glanced into the ash blonde's eyes and let the hurt she was feeling show.

Lyra's face fell. "I'm sorry."

They were some distance away from everyone else, with only Octavian's guards around them since they were no longer with the king. They were currently sitting in an abandoned and ransacked restaurant that looked like it had once been incredibly nice. In fact, she vaguely remembered seeing it as her carriage had driven past before, and it had been fine enough for lords and ladies to dine there.

Now...

Now it was ransacked and in shambles; a perfect example of what King Tyso did to everything.

"King Bracken looked... not well." Lyra whispered delicately.

"He's..." Shara swallowed hard. "The king um... he was already middle-aged when he married my... the current queen."

"After the first queen died." The ash blonde nodded. "They said pretty awful things about her not being able to give him children."

"They said those same things about my-- about King Bracken after he remarried." Shara hung her head. "Queen Hylea comes from a family famous for bearing large numbers of children. When she only had me, and only after several years..."

"I'm sorry." The horsewoman sat next to her on one of the few intact pieces of furniture that was left in the restaurant.

"He looked so tired." Shara hung her head. "I know he's not the greatest king ever, but he really is a good man."

"I can believe that."

"And I know that he and the queen had an arranged marriage because of her family's fertility, but they really do love each other, despite..."

"Despite..." Lyra prompted.

"He was around forty when they married and she was my age." The princess did manage a small smile. "She's not yet forty, but you'd think she wasn't yet thirty if you saw her." She grimaced. "You know what Tyso is like, what if he... She's really beautiful and... and..."

Shara swallowed hard.

"And what of King Bracken? King Tyso might... might actually..." She couldn't bring herself to say it. Tyso wasn't known for mercy and her father had made his life difficult during the long war. What if... if...

"Hey, it'll be okay." Lyra put her arms around the princess as the latter tried not to start crying. For the first time, Shara realized what terrible danger her parents were in. In the back of her mind, she knew that she would be too if Tyso discovered her, but she couldn't get her father's ashen face out of her mind.

She wanted Kalus.

Not the way Lyra constantly did, but she wanted him close right now. She wanted him to hold her. He was so strong and good, and she needed that right now; she needed someone strong to lean on. Sadly, the King had taken him away for various menial duties almost the entire morning. It would've been humiliating for any other commander, but he bore it well.

She needed that stability right now.

"My ladies." Octavian broke into her thoughts. "King Tyso 'requests' that you join him and the commander at the castle."

The two women looked at each other, fear in both their eyes.

"I can't accompany you past the castle gates." Octavian continued. "But I have instructed the rest of my century to spread the word; nearly our entire legion will pray for Illuminar's intervention."

"Blessed be He." Shara and Lyra said.

If the princess was honest with herself, that helped very little with her state of mind. The two women followed Octavian as his men formed a protective guard around them. They walked instead of riding to the castle and the sun was nearly overhead. King Tyso had specified the meeting would be at noon; it was almost that time.

Thankfully, her husband was waiting for her just outside the castle.

Octavian saluted him, then turned to leave after a brief glare in the direction of King Tyso's approaching entourage.

"Octavian." Kalus called after him.

"Yes sir." He turned around smartly.

"I shall not forget your kindness and loyalty." Her husband said. "And if I cannot repay it personally, then I ask Illuminar to bless you mightily for your faithfulness."

The centurion smiled. "Thank you sir."

"Dismissed." Kalus said with a respectful nod of the head.

"Lucien." Shara addressed her husband as she tried not to shiver, and not from the cold. "I... I'm..." She couldn't finish.

He swallowed. "Me too." He reached down and gave her hand a comforting squeeze, then did the same for Lyra. "I know not what this day will hold, but I have been blessed to know you both."

One of the tears that had been threatening to fall all morning finally managed to slip out of the corner of Shara's eye. It traced a slow path down her cheek as she took a slightly shuddering breath. She sniffled slightly and reached up to wipe the tear away, but he beat her to it.

Kalus gently rested the palm of his right hand on the line of her jaw and softly wiped the tear away with his thumb. "Someone so lovely should not be made to cry."

Her breath caught.

He leaned in and tenderly kissed her forehead. She made a sound halfway between a whimper and a sigh.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"Whenever you desire, merely ask and you shall have it again." He replied.

She nodded.

He turned to Lyra and smiled, though it was a slightly pained one. "My beautiful, spirited bride; I wish that had time to 'run' with you to your heart's content."

The ash blonde blushed at the reference to what she'd said on their wedding night.

He continued. "But since we don't, know that I wouldn't trade my time with you for anything."

She nodded, looking somewhat happy.

Shara wasn't.

Not at all.

She knew what was going on, why Kalus was saying these things, and why he was being more vulnerable and open now than usual. He didn't think he was going to survive the day and was preparing for that. She felt her throat get tight all over again as she realized what he was doing.

He was saying goodbye.

* * *

Kalus couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding as he walked into the castle with his wives behind him. The portcullis was raised and for some reason felt ready to crash down on him as he passed under it. It was silly of course, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something momentous was about to happen; something not good.

He was also keenly aware of his wives following him and the tiny life growing inside of Shara. He wanted to make sure they were safe more than anything, but he had no idea how to accomplish such a difficult task. He was especially unsure of how to keep them safe in the situation they were now walking into.

As they walked down the gray stone corridors of the castle, he was struck by how bleak everything looked. King Tyso's soldiers looked to have pulled most of the gold and silver ornamentation from the walls, otherwise he very much doubted they would look this bare.

He stopped outside the large double doors to the throne room.

There were a half dozen Har'peton guards outside, all standing at attention. Kalus couldn't help but notice that their uniforms and equipment were barely within regulation and not nearly squared-away enough. If he would've seen one of his own men so attired, that man would've had latrine duty for a week.

His wives flanked him; Shara on the right, Lyra on the left. Curiously, the opposite of the sides they usually slept on. Both glanced at him and both had their 'brave face' on, but both also held fear in their eyes.

He didn't blame them.

King Tyso arrived a few minutes later followed by all two dozen members of the king's guard. The swagger in his step and the Cheshire grin on his face did nothing to relieve Kalus's sense of foreboding. The king was up to something. He didn't know what, but he was up to something.

"Kalus my boy, I'm glad you're here." He sounded cheerful, which was almost disturbing. "And you brought those two little wenches I got for you; good."

He leered at them and they both responded with a polite curtsy. Shara was the picture of refined elegance, and even Lyra only had a small scowl on her face as she looked at him.

"They still draining your balls on the regular?" The king asked, nudging Kalus with his elbow.

"I have no complaints." Kalus replied evenly.

"I'm glad to hear that." Tyso said almost jovially, which was unsettling because it wasn't his 'I'm happy' version of jovial; it was his 'I'm about to do something devious' version of jovial.

That didn't bode well.

"Come on, let's get this party started." King Tyso said walking forward and pushing both of the double doors to the throne room open.

The inside of the throne room was as one might expect. It was a large rectangular stone room covered in tapestries with many windows to let in light. Some of the windows were stained glass and all were beautifully done. This room appeared to have been spared the looting that had taken place elsewhere, as evidenced by the golden candlesticks around the room.

The entire room had been very tastefully decorated. The tapestries, stained glass, and decorations were obviously of extremely high quality, but they weren't ostentatious. The whole room had a refined elegance about it that reminded him of his first wife; it was refined and understated, but wonderful if you took a moment to look.

Anyone with good taste would appreciate it.

"Man, this place is a dump; it looks like a poor house." King Tyso said, not even bothering to keep his voice down. "I think some redecorating is in order."

There was a collective gasp of breath from the people in the room, which Kalus assumed was the King's court. There were perhaps three dozen men lulling about near the throne. The room's design aesthetic seemed to extend to the people as well.

At the far end of the room, King Bracken sat on his throne. The throne was like the room itself: refined and understated. It looked like it was carved out of some dark wood and had gold inlay in places but wasn't covered in gold. It was firmly attached to a stone pedestal that raised it about a foot above the rest of the floor.

Shara's father looked old.

Not just in age -- he was about sixty -- but also in temperament; King Bracken looked world-weary. He was wearing the same robes as earlier, which were nice but a bit rumpled. His face had a day or two's worth of graying stubble and his heavily-salted salt-and-pepper hair was completely out of place.

"Ah, Bracken." Tyso said, walking up to the throne and leaning into the king's face. "I think you're in my seat."

King Bracken closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded and pulled himself to his feet. He wasn't overweight like Tyso was -- though Tyso wasn't terribly overweight -- but it looked like it took some effort.

"Did you forget something?" Tyso asked as Bracken started to step down off the raised platform, then glanced at the older king's crown.

King Bracken hesitated a moment, then slowly and haltingly, he reached up and took his crown off. Without a word, he slowly extended it to Tyso, who took it before it had even been fully extended.

"Well now, isn't that better?" He grinned around the room.

No one smiled back.

"I said, isn't that better?" He repeated more firmly as he looked around the room.

A smattering of polite applause broke out, but nothing more. King Tyso flopped down on the throne, then lifted one of his legs and draped it over one of the armrests. There was a collective gasp from nearly everyone in the room, including one or two of Tyso's king's guards. Such disrespect was simply unheard of.

Kalus found himself chafing in his position nearer to the door.

"Now, let's have some entertainment, shall we?" King Tyso said, then looked around. "Where's the queen?"

Nearly everyone in the room sucked in their breath.

"Sorry, I meant the former queen." Tyso chuckled mirthlessly. "Where is she?"

"King Tyso, you have already--" King Bracken began, but Tyso cut him off.

"Where is your wife Bracken? I've heard tales of her beauty and would look upon her myself."

Next to him, Kalus heard Shara suck in her breath. His hand found hers and she gripped it tightly. He also thought he heard Lyra move closer to her fellow wife, but didn't chance a look.

King Bracken looked at Tyso for a long moment.

"Now Bracken, or you both will regret it." The usurper threatened.

King Bracken hesitated, then nodded and said in loud voice. "Hylea, come."

Several members of the court parted to reveal Queen Hylea in all her beauty, and she definitely was beautiful. She had clearly dressed down, wearing a simple dress will full coverage and no makeup, but she was beautiful nonetheless. Her amber hair was the exact same shade as her daughter's hair and their features were much the same. Hylea Bracken was incredibly beautiful, just like her daughter.

King Tyso glanced towards Kalus and got a wicked grin on his face.

Then his gaze shifted.

He was looking at Shara.

The tyrant looked back and forth between Hylea and Shara several times and then frowned.

He wasn't stupid.

Evil yes, but not stupid.

"Clear the room." King Tyso ordered, standing up and scrutinizing Kalus. "Not you Bracken." He said without looking at the deposed king. "You and your wife will stay, and Kalus and his wives will stay. Everyone else, out. Now."

The king's guard didn't move of course, since they were always the exception to such commands unless the king told them specifically to leave. Everyone else looked at each other for several seconds before they all began to leave, one by one. Eventually, it was only King Tyso, King Bracken, Queen Hylea, Kalus, Shara, Lyra, and the king's guard.

Tyso looked at the queen, then Shara. "You two, come here." He pointed to the floor about a dozen feet in front of him.

Shara hesitated.

She was still holding Kalus's hand.

He made to move forward with her, but Tyso spoke before he'd taken two steps. "Not you Kalus; I'll deal with you in a minute." He looked at Shara. "Get over here bitch."

The princess whimpered slightly, but started forward with her shoulders back and eyes straight ahead. She might be scared, but she wasn't cowed. The queen and Shara stood next to each other, and even from behind you could see the resemblance. Tyso looked between them for several seconds.

"Handmaiden my ass." He shook his head, then looked at Kalus. "How long have you known?"

"I only learned last night, when Shara confessed."

"And you didn't think to tell me?" Tyso snapped.

"Sire, I had--"

"Shut it Kalus; save your excuses." Tyso spat as he looked at the mother and daughter. He stepped up and roughly grabbed Shara's chin.

Kalus immediately started forward, but he was still a dozen steps from the king when three of the king's guards stepped between him and his wife with swords drawn. He recognized all three; they had once fought in his legion before being promoted to the king's guard. In fact, nearly three-quarters of the king's guard had once fought for him.

"She is my wife! Unhand her" Kalus demanded.

Tyso scoffed as Shara wriggled away from his hand. He backhanded Shara, one of his rings drawing a bit of blood from her fair cheeks. Kalus took a step forward, but stopped as three arming swords touched his chest. He clenched his hand until it hurt, but he could go no farther without being run through.

"Shara!" Queen Hylea called and rushed over to her daughter.

The three members of the King's Guard in front of him held their swords firm, but their expressionsweren't firm. Two of them flicked their eyes to Tyso and the last had drawn his lips into a thin line. All three had their jaws clenched, and Kalus was sure that they weren't doing it because of him.

"She's your wife only for now Kalus, until you divorce her publicly tonight." Tyso said. "This bitch is mine since I need to breed her to secure my heir on the throne."

Kalus took a deep breath before answering. Passion would do no good here; cooler minds produced better outcomes and he needed that more than ever.

"I will not divorce her." He said calmly. "I cannot divorce her, for she has committed no sin or crime that would merit a divorce according to the Book of Light."

Tyso rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll strip her naked right here; a woman who exposes herself to other men can be divorced according to the Book of Light."

"I will not divorce her, even if you do that." Kalus replied calmly, not mentioning that a woman being forcibly exposed was dubious grounds at best which virtually no one would accept.

He also realized that for the first time, he had something the king needed; he had an advantage. The king needed to marry Shara to cement his claim on the throne, he needed her to bear him a son as an heir. But unless he had a legal marriage before Illuminar and witnesses, the child would be an illegitimate heir. He needed to marry Shara, but Kalus had already done so.

"Fine; then I'll give her to the men; adultery is certainly cause." Tyso said, his volume rising.

"If a woman is forced by a man to lie with him, she shall be held guiltless; there is no sin in the woman who was forced, she is blameless." He looked at Tyso. "Thus says the Book of Light."

A vein in Tyso's head was beginning to throb.

The petulant king clenched his fist as his face took on a slightly red tinge. "You'll do as I say Kalus; you are a commander in my army."

"I cannot disobey the Great God of Light Illuminar, even for you my king." Kalus responded calmly. "She has committed no sin worthy of divorce, so I cannot divorce her even if I wanted to." He looked at her and added. "And I don't want to."

Shara gave him a weak smile.

The three men in front of him seemed to relax slightly, as if pleased with his response. Kalus chanced a glance around at the rest of the king's guard, and roughly half of them were looking at him with respect in their eyes. He knew that some of them had daughters of marriageable age at home; hopefully they understood.

"You're playing a dangerous game Kalus." Tyso said, his tone low and deadly.

"As are you my king." Kalus said with a respectful head bow.

If looks could kill, Kalus would've been dead.

Still, he continued. "My king, you have threatened to force a married woman to lie with men who aren't her husband. Such a sin carries the death penalty in the Book of Light. You do not answer to me, but one day all men will answer for their actions before the judgment seat of Illuminar."

"Are you threatening me Kalus?" Tyso spat.

"Of course not. None but Illuminar Himself can sit in judgment on this matter."

The king glared at Kalus for several seconds, then his gaze shifted to somewhere behind his shoulder. Kalus chanced a glance backwards, and then realized what the king was looking at.

He was looking at Lyra.

"Grab the blonde bitch." Tyso said.

Before his second wife could move, one of the king's guard -- notably a man who'd never served in Kalus's legion -- grabbed her. She started struggling, so he smacked her across the face. Without missing a beat or hesitating, she responded by kneeing him in the crotch.

Hard.

He started to crumple, but two more of the king's guard -- also not ones who had served under Kalus -- drew their swords and pointed them at her. She stopped fighting immediately.

"Leave her alone." Kalus growled, taking a step toward her, but he was stopped by two more of the king's guard; both men who had served under him. They raised their swords to contain him, but didn't look happy about what was going on.

"Bring her to the throne." Tyso ordered, rubbing his hands together with a smile on his face.

Kalus watched helplessly as the two soldiers half dragged Lyra towards the throne and the wicked king. Kalus still had his sword at his side, but drawing against the king's guard would be a death sentence not only for him, but Lyra as well. He was willing to risk his life, but not hers.

Not yet.

Still, he grabbed the hilt of his sword with his non-sword hand and gripped it so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"I wouldn't commander." One of the men guarding him said, though it came off as less of a warning and more of a plea.

"Tie her hands to the throne." Tyso said when Lyra had been dragged up near him.

"Unhand my wife!" Kalus said, not even trying to conceal his anger.

Tyso glanced at Shara, then sneered. "Then divorce mine."

"Shara is not your wife." Kalus growled.

Tyso chuckled. "Well then, I'll have to find new ways to motivate you." He glanced at Lyra, whose wrists had now been tied around the arm of the throne, making her butt face the room. "I was right before Kalus; she has such a nice 'seat'. Have you tried her backdoor yet Kalus? I'm sure it's very tight."

"If you lay a single finger on her..." Kalus could feel his entire body shaking with rage.

"Oh, unless you divorce my next wife, I'm going to lay a lot more than just a finger on her." He spat in return.

Kalus drew his sword.

This wasn't an impulse nor was he reacting on emotion. This was a calculated move. His choice was to either do nothing and let Lyra be raped -- which he wouldn't even consider -- or else draw. He knew it was death to draw on the king's guard, but he also knew the members of the king's guard around him would hesitate because they had served under him. He hoped that would buy him enough time to reason with them.

Tyso grinned. "A widow will work; kill him."

The five men around Kalus all hesitated, as he knew they would.

"You know what Tyso will do." He said to them, leaving his sword in a purely defensive stance to be non-threatening. "And you all know you'll stand before Illuminar one day to give an account for your actions here today."

They shifted uncomfortably.

"What are you waiting for? He drew on the king's guard; kill him." Tyso ordered.

"What will you tell Illuminar on that day?" Kalus asked, ignoring Tyso and turning his gaze on the rest of the king's guard. "Knowing what you allowed to happen here today, how will you face the God of Light? How will you look your wives and children in the eye?"

Several of them glanced at each other, grimaces on their faces.

"What the fuck are you waiting for?!" Tyso thundered.

"What if it was your wife, or your daughter, up there now?" Kalus asked. "Kill me if you wish, but do the right thing; save her."

The five members of the King's guard who were guarding Kalus hesitated another moment. Several of them glanced at each other, as if unsure what to do. Then, it finally happened.

One of them lowered his sword.

The rest followed suit.

"Traitors!" Tyso yelled, the shock evident in his voice. "King's guard to me, kill the traitors!"

Only a half-dozen of them moved. Notably, none of them had ever served under Kalus. The rest turned to face Tyso.

Kalus almost ordered Tyso to let Lyra go, but he seemed to have forgotten her for the moment. Reminding him would make him aware of a very helpless hostage without a shred of protection. No, this needed to be handled delicately.

"King's guard, stand down." Kalus barked.

Even the six men who had looked ready to follow Tyso wavered slightly.

"It's time to choose." Kalus said calmly. "You can choose to follow a king who cowardly left your brothers-in-arms to die in those woods and follow him into wickedness for which you must answer to Illuminar, or you can choose to fight such evil. Make your choice now."

And with that, Kalus strode forward towards the king, raising his sword.

No one stopped him.

No one defended the king.

The king backpedaled, drawing his own sword as he did so. He had only taken a single step before he whipped his sword out, pointing it directly at Lyra, mere inches from her unprotected body.

Kalus stopped.

King Tyso was standing on the platform on which the throne rested and Lyra was still tied by her hands to the throne. There was only a foot or two between the king and Lyra's butt, which thanks to how she'd been tied was still in the air as the ash blonde looked over her shoulder, glaring murder at the king. He was mostly facing her, but his attention was entirely on Kalus. Kalus himself had stopped just slightly out of measure; too far to hit the king where he was. He'd need to take a full step to reach him, and the king could run Lyra through before Kalus could get close enough to defend her.

"Don't take a single step or I'll gut her like a pig." Tyso said, real fear in his eyes for the first time in a long time. Kalus had to admit that it was satisfying to see.

"Do that, and you'll wish you had used the blade on yourself." Kalus said, subtly shifting his posture so he could leap forward at a moment's notice. He doubted that Tyso noticed; he rarely used his sword anymore and had never been particularly proficient in the first place.

King Tyso sneered and opened his mouth to speak, but never got a chance.

Lyra acted.

Apparently, concealed by her dress, she had picked up her one foot completely and she chose that moment to 'horse kick' King Tyso right in the crotch.

He doubled over, stumbling backwards momentarily as he screamed at her. "You fucking bitch!" He drew his sword back for a thrust that would run her through, but her kick had pushed him far enough away that Kalus now had his chance.

He moved.

He wasn't even aware of deciding to move, he just moved faster than he ever had in his life. He leapt forward that last little bit to bring his own sword into range, swinging it down as he did towards the king's bent-over form.

Slice.

He felt only a slight shock in his hand as his blade passed through King Tyso's neck. Still, he didn't let up on the force, powering through the neck to also cut off the king's sword arm.

"Oww!" Lyra hissed in pain as the tip of the sword pierced through her dress and into her side, but thankfully barely an inch of the sword penetrated before it ran out of momentum and clattered to the floor. The wound would be painful, but not life-threatening.

Lyra was safe.

Shara was safe.

Kalus breathed a sigh of relief and said a silent word of thanks to Illuminar. He hurried over to his second wife, set his sword on the ground, drew a small utility knife from his belt, and used it to cut the bonds which held her to the chair. She flung her arms around his neck the moment she was free, thankfully avoiding the utility knife.

"You love me just as much as you love Shara." She whispered.

"Aye." He replied, holding her with one hand and applying pressure to her wound with the other.

She winced.

"I love you enough to ensure that this gets attended to before infection sets in." He said.

"Let me help." Queen Hylea said from where she was, holding her daughter. "I have some small skill with healing magic, enough for such a shallow wound at least. Let me heal her."

"Here, pour this over the wound first." Another voice said. It was King Bracken, and he was looking nearly a decade younger with relief on his face. He was holding what looked to be a bottle of very expensive Elven fire whiskey.

"Thank you." Kalus said to the king as he took the bottle, then he turned to Lyra. "Lay on your side over there with the wound up. I'm sorry, but this will hurt."

He had indicated a spot far enough away that the blood draining from Tyso's dead body wouldn't be in the way. The ash blonde did as instructed, then clenched her teeth. Kalus used his utility knife to slice her dress slightly further to get better access.

"I'll hold the wound open while you pour." The queen volunteered, doing just that.

Lyra sucked in her breath sharply in response, but didn't try to stop her. Kalus poured a little of the alcohol into the wound. Lyra's entire body tensed up and she let out a strangled groan, but she didn't move. He almost smiled; that girl was tough.

"I'll take it from here." The queen said when he was done pouring. She put her hands over the wound, closed her eyes, and began to work.

Knowing that Lyra was in good hands, Kalus stood to find Shara. The princess was standing just behind him watching the ash blonde intently. There was still a bit of blood on her cheek, though it was smeared and it looked like the queen had healed that scrape as well.

It took a moment for Shara to look away from Lyra, but her eyes found his when she did. She looked at him for a moment, then rushed forward and threw her arms around his chest, grasping him more tightly than she had ever done before.

"You're okay." She breathed.

"We're okay." He said as he wrapped his arms around her small, trembling frame. She relaxed into him, almost seeming to melt as she held to him fiercely.

King Bracken cleared his throat.

Shara gave Kalus an extra tight squeeze, then let go and rushed to her father.

"Oof." He grunted as she held onto him, his affection for his daughter plain to see.

"I was so worried father."

"I'm alright child." He said with a smile as he hugged her back.

He was old enough to be her grandfather, owing to the fact that he'd already been middle-aged when he'd married her mother. There was no denying the affection between them though. Kalus would've liked to participate further in the happy reunions, but there was business that needed tending to.

He turned to the captain of the king's guard. "Captain."

"Commander." The other man said with a frown. "You seem to have put the king's guard in a rather precarious position."

"Aye Aurelius, I'm afraid I have." Kalus nodded to the man. "Much depends on what you do next."

Aurelius took a deep breath. "Aye, you're not wrong. There are still twelve thousand soldiers out there. Your legion will have no problem with what happened here, but that still leaves seven thousand soldiers without a king."

"The chain of command would fall to Marcellus next." Kalus grimaced. "He's the most senior commander."

"He's no better than Tyso was, and arguably worse." The guard captain said. "I've not sworn allegiance to him and I would not."

King Bracken cleared his throat. However, it wasn't a confident sound to announce his presence. For lack of a better term, it seemed 'mousey'. He was asking to be noticed, not making his presence known. The difference between the two was subtle, but profound.

When King Bracken spoke, his tone also lacked confidence. "If you are looking for a king, given your actions here today I would more than happily accept you into my service."

Aurelius turned his head -- not his whole body, but just his head -- to look at King Bracken. "No offense intended, but I would not want to be in your service."

"Why?"

"You are -- for lack of a better term -- a weak king." Aurelius replied, stating it as a fact without malice. "It's much of the reason your army failed so miserably in this campaign. I don't doubt your honor, nor that you're a good man. However, that doesn't make you a good king."

King Bracken looked down and didn't disagree.

Kalus felt bad for him; sometimes the truth hurt.

"Have you considered vying for a crown commander?" The captain of the king's guard asked. "Most of the men would support you and I might count myself among them."

Kalus shook his head. "No, I would not seek a crown."

"Then what would you seek?" King Bracken asked. "You have done an invaluable service to me, my family, and my country even, preventing atrocities too horrible to consider. The cities you were left in charge of sing your praises, and word of your protection of the people here in the capital has already reached my ears. What would you seek? If it's within my power, I will grant it."

Kalus looked at the old king, then at his very patriotic first wife before scrutinizing King Bracken. "If you would have me, I would ask that -- once this situation with Tyso's army has been solved -- I would ask that you accept me as a citizen of Timarou."

Shara's mouth fell open.

Lyra's followed suit.

King Bracken and Queen Hylea stared at him, as did Aurelius.

"Why?" Shara finally managed to get out.

"Two reasons." Kalus said. "First, though less importantly, I swore loyalty to a man who's now dead, and thus find myself without sworn loyalty to any country." He then glanced at Lyra, but fixed his gaze on Shara. "More importantly, both of my wives have felt conflicted being married to a man of one country while being patriots of another. I seek to remove that impediment." He smiled at them both.

"You..." Shara's mouth was still open. "You'd do that for me? For us?"

"I would." He replied, then turned to King Bracken. "If you would allow it."

"You have captured the heart of my only daughter while fighting for another country, a feat I would never have believed possible had I not seen it with my own eyes." The king replied. "None but the best of men could accomplish this. I will make it official the moment you believe it prudent."

"Thank you." Kalus nodded respectfully to the man, then turned back to the guard captain. "There's still the matter of how to deal with Tyso's army."

"The Milarians are the key." Aurelius replied.

"Agreed." Kalus nodded

"I'm sorry, Millarians?" Shara asked. "Who are they?"

"One of the higher ranks of leaders in the army." Kalus explained. "Ten men is a squad, ten squads is a century, which is commanded by a centurion. Ten centuries is a mille, or a thousand men, and is commanded by a Millarian. There are six Millarians in a Legion, so a legion is six thousand men. A commander like myself commands a legion."

"We started with five legions, so there were originally thirty Millarians." Aurelius added. "Though a few have died on the campaign."

"Titus is a Millarian, as are the rest of my inner circle except Kyselius." Kalus said, then he smiled. "The other Millarians along with the other commanders are the key, and I have a plan."

"My castle is still occupied." King Bracken pointed out.

Kalus tapped his finger on his belt as he considered this. "We'll rotate the guard." He looked at Aurelius. "If you would allow it, would some of your men be willing to act as messengers for this? No one would question orders delivered by a king's guard, and the men in the castle might well believe that King Tyso allowed them to serve only half shift if the idea is presented correctly. That would allow men from my legion to take positions in the castle. Once it is ours, we can release and rearm the Timarian soldiers who Tyso imprisoned."

"Aye, I'll allow it." Aurelius gave him a nod of respect and smiled. "Leave it to Commander Kalus to come up with a plan to take a castle without bloodshed. There are only three centuries in the castle at present; the remainder left once it was secured."

Kalus smiled. "If one of the king's guard will alert my herald, he'll ensure that my centurions Octavian, Pernilus, and Asikan are at the castle within the hour. They are the best of men."

"It will be done, but what about afterwards?" The guard captain asked.

Kalus grinned. "As I said, I have a plan."

* * *

Shara couldn't help but smile as she watched her husband. He had taken command of the situation immediately without being overbearing. Now King Bracken and Aurelius were looking to him for guidance and taking orders from him, despite him technically having no standing to give those orders. It was a testament to his leadership and strength of characte, and she found herself captivated by it. By him.

She didn't feel any guilt about that now.

He had said he would become a citizen of Timarou and he would keep his word. He wasn't the enemy anymore. In fact, he had saved Timarou by killing King Tyso, and good riddance to the dead king. She was wed to Commander Kalus, the savior of Timarou. For the first time since her castle's warning bells had sounded over a week ago, her heart felt at peace.

Truly at peace.

Lyra stood beside her and gave her a grin. "You know, it's kind of hot that we're married to a hero of Timarou."

Shara almost rolled her eyes, but resisted. Did the blonde ever find anything about Kalus not hot? Still, she had a point. Kalus was her husband, the father of her child, a good man, and judging by his treatment of Lyra, an incredible lover too. Moreover, Shara herself was his wife, meaning that she could have the same.

"Oh, I know that look." Her fellow wife grinned from ear to ear. She stepped in and whispered into the princess's ear. "Now that you're on board, how about we tag-team him tonight? You know, reward our hero properly? I bet we could rock his world together."

The amber-haired girl nodded mutely, not sure how to 'rock his world', but more than willing to try.

Shara felt a hand on her shoulder and looked to see her mother standing there, her eyes shining with happiness. "Shara my dear girl, are you truly that happily wed?"

She nodded. "I hated him at first, but now..." She looked at her husband explaining his plan to the men and felt a smile creep unbidden onto her face.

She sighed.

"Oh my darling girl." Hylea said, wrapping her arms around her daughter. Moments later, the queen reached out and pulled Lyra into the hug as well. The horsewoman made a sound that could only indicate surprise and her cheeks went red, but she hugged both queen and princess back like she would anyone else.

"And you, co-wife to a princess?" The queen said when the hug broke. "You must be an uncommonly wonderful woman."

"She is." Shara volunteered as Lyra went an amusing shade of red, but she also beamed.

* * *

Kalus surveyed the scene in King Bracken's throne room some time later, making sure everything was ready. The dead king's body had been removed and the stone cleaned. His three most loyal centuries were firmly ensconced in the castle's defenses and the ladies were safely tucked away on a balcony that overlooked the throne room under the ever-watchful eye of Octavian and his finest men. King Bracken's own men had been released and rearmed, though they were out of sight for the moment.

They were ready.

He looked at Kyselius. "Bring them in."

His herald nodded, then strode out of the room. Kalus glanced up towards the balcony where his wives were speaking with Queen Hylea. They seemed to be getting on famously, with Shara beaming and Lyra looking no less happy, though a good deal more like a fish out of water. He caught the ash blonde's eye and she gave him a radiant smile before turning back to the queen.

He smiled in return, glad that the one person who might have felt out of place seemed to have found one. Unless he missed his guess, there was a maternal look in Queen Hylea's eye.

The double doors to the throne room opened and nearly thirty men walked in, Titus and the rest of his war council among them. His inner circle knew what was coming but the others didn't and the swagger in their step faltered when they saw that King Bracken was on the throne and Kalus was standing next to the throne. Tyso was nowhere to be seen of course. Kalus was glad to see that of the twenty-plus men, only a dozen were armed and half of those were his own war council.

"What the fuck is this!?" Marcellus growled. He was the most senior commander in the army and had been Tyso's right-hand man. His appetites were no less revolting than his king's, and were possibly worse. Frankly, he'd done enough to warrant the death penalty in Kalus's book, and according to Illuminar's Book of Light as well.

"This is an offer." Kalus replied, stepping down from near the throne and striding towards the man. "A way that you can avoid the fate of King Tyso."

That got everyone's attention.

Kalus raised his hand and gestured for Kyselius to come forward. He did, carrying a box. Only when he was close enough did he open the box's lid to reveal King Tyso's severed head. Kalus didn't like being this graphic, but sometimes a statement needed to be made.

Everyone stared.

Many jaws went slack.

Statement made.

Kalus pulled out a folded piece of paper and held it with his left hand. His right hand was on his belt, hear the hilt of a borrowed short sword that he had recently attached for this meeting instead of his usual longsword.

Marcellus glowered at him. "Traitor."

Kalus ignored the look and spoke. "Now, this is a writ of safe passage that I'm giving to you in advance. You will use it to bring your army back to Har'peton and tell them that the invasion wasn't successful. Timarou's army won't interfere while you leave, and you will explain to your men that this is what's best for everyone."

Marcellus spat on the ground at Kalus's feet and raised himself up to his full height, which was taller than Kalus. "Keep the writ, it'll be your funeral. It doesn't matter where you go, or how far you run. I will hunt you down, and the last thing you see will be my blade."

"That is unfortunate." Kalus nodded his head slowly for a moment, and then quick as a flash he whipped the short sword out. He drew it directly into a cut, slicing completely through Marcellus' neck before the man could react.

Kalus took a step back as the body crumpled to the floor.

He wiped the blade off on Marcellus' clothes then waved at the king's guard, who brought the next most senior man forward. The man stumbled, ending up on his knees.

Like before, Kalus raised the folded piece of paper and began to recite again. "Now, this is a writ of safe passage I'm giving to you in advance. You will use it to--"

"Oh I get it." The man interrupted, speaking very fast. "The army will leave Timarou. Best thing for everyone. I'm right there with you."

* * *

Lyra had watched the entire spectacle, slightly gruesome though it was. She was trying to decide if she should be horrified that her husband had so calmly killed a man or impressed that he had gotten the entire army to leave with only a single casualty, and a wicked one too according to Kalus. After the execution of Marcellus, not a single enemy soldier dared to question him.

"It's a different world." The queen said from behind the blonde girl, not long after Shara had excused herself to use the latrine.

"Hmm?" She turned to face her.

"The world of men, the military, and warfare." Hylea replied. "It's rough, course, and often brutal. It is well that we women aren't required to take part, for few would suffer it well."

"I know I wouldn't." Lyra nodded.

"That is part of what we women can offer our husbands." The Queen continued. "A reminder that the world needn't always be rough and brutal, that it can be soft, tender, and beautiful. We offer hearth and home; a place that a man can direct his energies towards building, creating, and nurturing, instead of conquering, ruining, and destroying."

"I like that." She smiled.

"Me too." Hylea smiled back, then fixed her gaze on the younger girl. "Make his home his sanctuary; a place where he need not fear conflict nor strife. Make it a place where he can relax and take refuge from the struggles of the world. And most especially make it a place where he might partake of beauty freely, fully, and to his heart's content."

Lyra felt her cheeks get warm as she realized what the queen meant by 'partake of beauty'.

Hylea gave her an understanding smile. "Do these things and he will endeavor to spend his energies on domestic concerns instead of on the field of battle. If more wives took this to heart, the world would be a better place." She looked at Lyra pointedly. "And from what I've seen, you will make the world a better place."

She finished with a smile that warmed the ash blonde's heart.

"Thank you." She replied, not quite knowing what to do with such a wonderful compliment.

"Lyra, I do enjoy the occasional ride about the countryside on my mare, Starling." The queen continued. "Would you by any chance wish to join me sometime? Just the two of us? I rather wish to know you better."

The horsewoman beamed, her eyes feeling a bit moist and her voice cracking slightly as she replied. "I would love that."

* * *

Kalus rode Tornado through the streets of Laerten with Titus in tow. Aurelius and half the king's guard were following behind them because they had insisted he might need the protection. He welcomed the protection, but he was rather uncomfortable about what that said about himself; the king's guard followed no one but the king.

Kyselius rode up to him as he reached the main thoroughfare.

"What's the news?" Kalus asked.

"The eastern and southern portions of the city have been emptied of Har'petonian troops, and the western and northern sections are moving out now. Slowly, but they are."

"Any problems?"

His herald shook his head. "No, though I might have insinuated that those who didn't leave of their own accord would be evicted by your legion. There were no problems after that."

Kalus felt his heart swell a bit at that; his men were the best in the army and worth two men from any other legion. Apparently the rest of the army knew that and didn't want to face them.

"Further, every man in our legion requested to remain in Timarou with you." Kyselius continued. "Though the men with families all stipulated that they needed to bring their families too."

"I'm sure King Bracken would agree; tell them they have permission." Kalus replied. "How is the morale among the other legions?"

"Not as bad as you might expect." The herald replied. "After the ambush in the forest, most are ready to go home and few -- if any -- will mourn Tyso. Several hundred have requested to remain in Timarou under your command, again stipulating that their families be allowed to join them here."

Kalus frowned, then tapped the hilt of his sword with his index finger for several seconds before he turned to Titus. "What say you?"

The grizzled war veteran made a thoughtful sound and stroked his beard for a moment. "They know your policies and restrictions and yet wish to be under your command anyway. If it's only several hundred, I would split them up, one to each of our squads that has taken casualties so our veterans can watch them. I expect they'll behave though, since they know what they're signing up for."

Kalus nodded, then looked at Kyselius. "Make it so."

"I shall assemble them just south of the city and brief them." Kyselius saluted, then rode away.

"There's still the matter of the families still in Har'peton." Titus said, and Kalus knew the man was thinking of his own wife and children.

"We will send a recovery force to retrieve all the families of those who wish to remain." Kalus replied. "They can ride ahead to Har'peton and retrieve the families before word spreads."

"Wise." Titus replied. "I would not want my family to be in Har'peton when word of this gets out."

"Then you will be the perfect man to lead the recovery force." Kalus replied. "Send it down the chain; any man with family in Har'peton should provide the number and location of his family. Then you can take volunteers to retrieve them and bring them safely back to Timarou."

The corners of Titus' mouth bent upwards. "If I might have leave to requisition whatever is necessary from our stores, I'll assemble them today and leave at first light."

"You have leave, and bring as many horses as possible." Kalus said.

"The womenfolk and children won't like leaving everything behind." Titus replied.

"It's better than leaving their lives behind when Har'peton hears of this." Kalus answered, then cocked his head to one side. "Allow them to bring what cannot be left, but make all haste to return."

"Aye." Titus saluted. "We'll leave at first light."

"Until then, I will ensure that few or no people leave to spread the word north or East towards Har'peton." Kalus said.

Titus put a hand on his shoulder. "My friend, you are a great man."

Kalus nodded in respect back. "No greater than those who taught me."

Titus laughed. "The pupil has surpassed the teacher. Adieu Commander; I shall have my wife on my arm when next we meet."

"And that is truly a wonderful thing." He replied, and from experience.

"Speaking of, don't neglect that blonde wife of yours for too long." Titus winked, then lowered his voice to a mock-conspiratorial whisper. "She's liable to teach that princess of yours that two women can enjoy each other and then you'll be completely put out."

Kalus laughed.

* * *

Shara stared at Lyra, not quite believing what she was hearing. "You want to... what?" Her mouth fell open and hung there.

This was a strange conversation to be having in the princess's bedroom of all places. She'd grown up here as a child. Her childhood dolls were in this room for Illuminar's sake. The enormous four-poster bed that she'd slept in when she was a toddler was in here too, and she couldn't reconcile that reminder of her innocent childhood with the idea Lyra was suggesting.

"I think he'll enjoy it." The blonde replied. "I mean, he said that he had seen 'few fairer sights' in his life, so he probably will."

"B-but... but you're a girl." The amber-haired girl looked at her. "Girls are supposed to kiss men, not other girls."

"Says who?" Lyra countered with a twinkle in her eye. "Come on, you can't tell me that you aren't a little curious."

"I'm not a little curious." Shara replied, though she looked around her childhood bedroom as she said it. Not so she wouldn't have to meet Lyra's eye though. No, it was for a different reason. She couldn't think of one, but it definitely was.

"Apparently I wasn't clear." Lyra crossed her arms over her chest with an accusing frown. "I meant that you can't honestly tell me that you aren't a little curious."

Shara bit her lip.

"I knew it!" The blonde pumped her fist and let out a squeal of delight. "I knew you were interested."

"I didn't say I was." Shara huffed, folding her arms over her chest.

"You didn't have to." Lyra grinned.

"Well, we were up here because you asked about proper dining anyway." The princess said, hoping that particular point of concern for the blonde might distract her.

"Nuh-uh." Lyra shook her head. "You're not getting out of it that easily."

"Are you sure?" The princess countered. "My father invited everyone in his court to dinner, plus our husband and Aurelius. You were so worried about doing dinner properly."

"I'm more worried about 'doing' our husband properly." She winked.

"Either we talk about dinner etiquette now or I'll let you figure it out yourself." Shara countered.

"Meany." Lyra stuck out her tongue, but that didn't conceal her smile.

Five minutes later, Shara had set up a proper place setting to teach the horsewoman proper table etiquette and started explaining what the different forks were for.

"This is stupid!" The ash blonde blurted out. "There's like, five forks here!"

"Well yes, dinner is served in multiple courses and--"

"But why in Saidow's lair are there five forks?"

Shara sighed. "Because you use a different fork for every course to make sure you don't get the flavors of the previous course on the next course."

Lyra raised her eyebrow. "I can clean my fork well enough for that in about three seconds, so no need."

"How?"

The blonde grabbed a fork at random, stuck it in her mouth, and slowly pulled it out while keeping her lips pressed tightly to the tines, then held it up. "See, clean enough to not transfer flavors, and it takes less washing. I hate washing dishes."

"The servants will do the washing and my father pays them very well to do it." The princess replied with a sigh.

"Okay, but five forks? Isn't that excessive?"

Shara sighed again; it was going to be a long afternoon before dinner that night.

* * *

Kalus did his best to keep a smile off of his face during dinner as he watched Lyra eat. She was stubbornly using the outermost fork at her place setting and had completely ignored the other ones. On his left side -- sitting next to her mother, who was sitting next to the king -- Shara occasionally gave the fork-refusing horsewoman a longsuffering look and sighed. Lyra was trying to do everything else correctly though and would occasionally whisper to her fellow wife to get something right.

His wives were now clad in dresses that might be worth more than his hazard pay for the entire campaign, but they looked marvelous. Lyra had a sunflower yellow dress that Shara had informed him was made from 'bias cut silk'. Whatever it was made of, it hugged her figure perfectly and was incredibly fetching. It was conservatively cut and didn't reveal much skin, but the way it draped made her look incredibly sexy anyway.

By contrast, Shara was wearing a more demure dress that was also made of silk, but it didn't hug her figure as Lyra's did. It was a delicate shade of pink that complimented her amber hair and was both beautiful and subtly understated; a perfect match for his more reserved wife. The dress was cut very well and managed to make the princess look like a full woman without doing anything to emphasize her womanly features. The tailor must be a genius.

The cook was no less so.

While Kalus wasn't an expert in eating properly for a royal court, he muddled through with some whispered help from Shara. It was obvious that the princess was in her element and despite that -- and aside from Lyra's refusal to use the proper fork -- she offered aid without the slightest hint of condescension.

The room was large and square, lit with hanging chandeliers and a few stained-glass windows. The guests were seated at three long tables arranged in a "U" shape. The king and queen sat in the center of the middle table and the nobles were seated in decreasing order of prominence as you went down and around. Aurelius -- the former head of Tyso's personal guard -- was seated at the high table, though nearer the end. Still, it was a position of high honor for him.

They had just finished the main dinner course when King Bracken stood up, ostensibly to speak.

"Honored guests--" He waved towards the lower tables. "--and new friends--" He waved towards Kalus, Lyra, and Aurelius. "Welcome to Laerten."

There was a smattering of polite applause before King Bracken continued. Kalus couldn't help but notice that right now at this moment, King Bracken seemed uncharacteristically confident and calm.

"I'm sure you already know of the service that Commander Kalus and his men have done for our nation. I shan't regale you with the tales of his heroism, which have not been exaggerated."

There was another smattering of polite applause.

King Bracken continued. "It should perhaps go without saying, but I shall make it official; I extend a full pardon to Commander Kalus and every man under his command for making war against this nation, and offer each and every one of them citizenship in Timarou, should they wish it, effective immediately."

The applause was more enthusiastic this time.

"Further, thanks to the good Captain Aurelius here, I have come to a realization." King Bracken said, indicating the guard captain.

"What's the conclusion?" Shara whispered to her mother, who was sitting next to both her and the king.

"Be patient." Queen Hylea whispered back in response, though Kalus thought she must know judging by the expression on her face.

King Bracken hung his head slightly, though his voice was still strong. "I am not a good king."

Silence.

You could hear a pin drop.

King Bracken looked up at the assembled people. "I could have made Timarou strong enough to fight off such invasions, but I listened to men who I thought were older and wiser, and now I realize they only had their own interest at heart and not the interests of Timarou. I weakened this country through my weak rule, and I cannot bear the thought of that happening again."

Shara was staring open-mouthed at her father. Kalus himself was a bit surprised as well. It took a man with great strength of character to publicly admit he had failed as King Bracken was doing now.

"Therefore." King Bracken continued. "I think that perhaps it is time for Timarou to have new leadership and a new king, one who--"

The room erupted in protests from nearly every noble there, cutting the king off. Suddenly, everyone was talking at once, half of them to their compatriots and half talking at the king. The sentiment wasn't positive. Kalus got the distinct impression that the general concern wasn't for the people, but rather that a new king wouldn't be as malleable as the old one.

Hmm.

King Bracken kept trying to make his voice heard, but almost everyone ignored him.

Kalus stood up and bellowed. "SILENCE!"

His voice cut through the din, which faded to mere whispers over the next few seconds, and then ceased altogether.

"Your king--" Kalus paused, then nodded respectfully at King Bracken. "I'm sorry, our king is speaking and you will remain silent and hear him out."

No one spoke.

"Sit down." He commanded, using the same stern tone he often took with rowdy soldiers. The nobles sat back down almost instantly.

Kalus turned to the king. "Please continue your majesty." Then he too sat down.

"Thank you Commander." King Bracken said, a smile on his lips. "It has become clear to me that I cannot control my own court, and what just happened makes me even more sure of the choice I discussed with my queen before dinner."

"What choice?" Shara whispered to the queen.

"Patience Shara." Hylea whispered back again.

"I am not fit to be king of Timarou." King Bracken said. "I love its people dearly, but I have not the strength of character nor force of will to guide my beloved country well. Therefore, effective immediately, I name Commander Lucien Kalus to be King Regent of Timarou until such time as he believes one of Shara's sons is ready to be king, and abdicate my crown."

Kalus stared.

What?

King Bracken then reached up and took his crown off of his head, setting it down on a velvet pillow in front of him that had been there all through dinner. The former king then turned to Kalus, Shara, and Lyra in turn. "I offer my congratulations, King Kalus, Queen Shara, and Queen Lyra."

Kalus kept staring.

He looked at his two wives, whose faces seemed to have frozen slightly. Lyra especially was so frozen that it looked like someone had hit her with a paralysis spell. After several seconds, she reached both of her hands up and put them on her cheeks on either side of her wide-open mouth.

"How the fuck am I a queen?" Lyra wondered aloud, and seemingly more to herself than anyone else.

Everyone stared at her.

Her eyes went wide and she covered her mouth as she whispered. "Did I just say that out loud?"

Everyone was still staring at her.

For several moments, Kalus tried to figure out what he could do to help his young wife. However, he was a military man and had essentially no experience with this kind of political maneuvering. He had no idea what to say to take the pressure off of her, and judging by the shocked look on Shara's face, she didn't either.

Fortunately, neither had to.

The former queen did.

"I think Lyra and Shara will be fucking amazing queens." Hylea said, instantly drawing the eyes of everyone in the room. Judging by the way that they were staring at the former queen, and especially the way her daughter was, Hylea had probably never sworn a day in her life. Even the former king looked somewhat shocked. However, her vulgarity had instantly taken the attention off of his blonde wife, which was likely the goal.

Lyra let out a breath that she probably hadn't realized she'd been holding and mouthed "thank you" to Hylea.

There was a moment of silence, then the former king addressed Kalus. "My king, the kingdom is in your hands, and the people will have been notified by the town crier about this time. Do you have any commands at this time?"

Kalus looked at him, somewhat wishing that the king had given him some notice. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he would have declined; he would've turned him down and possibly convinced him not to even make the offer. The king had probably guessed that, which is why he'd sprung it on him with no chance to decline.

Everyone's gaze shifted to Kalus.

He realized that his first act would be momentous and would probably set the stage for his entire reign. It was just like being introduced to a new company of soldiers; you never got a second chance at a first impression.

A thousand things ran through his mind, but the one thing that stuck was that he had no experience being a king. A leader yes, but not a king. More than that, he didn't know the king's court. He didn't know where the lines of power were drawn and where the invisible loyalties lay. He needed to know that, which meant he needed the advice of someone who did.

That made his choice obvious.

Kalus stood, then addressed everyone. "I wish to thank King Bracken for the great honor he has bestowed on me. I would not have sought it, nor accepted it if he would've asked. But since I find myself in this position, I offer my most solemn vow that I will do my very best as King Regent, until a son from Shara and I is ready to wear the crown."

The former king clapped, and the former queen joined him. Slowly a few others did too, though most seemed reluctant.

"As my first act as King Regent, I name the former King Bracken as special advisor to the King Regent." Kalus said. "I am new to politics, and will need the counsel of someone older, wiser, and more experienced in the art of ruling."

Hylea beamed, an expression that was mirrored on her daughter's face.

Half of the court looked relieved, the other half looked like Illuminar's Day had come early. They were probably thinking that it would be easy to manipulate the former king into giving him advice that would benefit them. He was almost looking forward to seeing the looks on their faces when discovered that he was an altogether different kind of leader.

* * *

"I can't believe I said that."

Shara looked at her fellow wife, feeling for her since this was probably the twentieth time the ash blonde had said that since they'd left dinner. They were walking toward the largest and nicest guest bedroom in her father's castle, Kalus having declined to room in the master bedroom; the king's bedroom. He had been gracious about it, but didn't say why.

"Lyra, it will be fine." Shara said as they turned a corner in the great stone building, the hallway being lit by torches set in wrought-iron sconces set into the wall.

"It is not fine!" The ash blonde groaned. "I just became a queen and the first word I said was 'fuck'! I'm a horrible queen."

Their husband had an amused grin. "Technically, the first word was 'how'."

Lyra shot him a look.

He chuckled. "Lyra, you will make mistakes your entire life. If you spend all your time berating yourself for past mistakes, how will you ever improve so you make fewer mistakes in the future?"

"I hate when you're right." The ash blonde replied shaking her head. "I just feel so stupid."

"Lyra, you're anything but stupid." The former princess replied, stopping outside the doors which lead to their room for the night.

"Agreed, I was rather impressed by how you handled yourself earlier with King Tyso." Kalus said, looking at the door.

"You were?" The ash blonde whipped her head around to look at him.

"I was." He nodded.

"You kneed one of the guards in the groin and kicked Tyos there as well." The former princess pointed out. "I'm soooo jealous."

"Oh." Lyra frowned slightly, but nodded. "Thank you."

"This is our room." Shara said, indicating the door.

Kalus took a deep breath and then pushed it open.

The room was lovely, as nice as you might expect for a room designed to house visiting dignitaries or kings. Everything was draped in the Royal blue colors of Timarou's flag except the bed, which had the whitest sheets she'd ever seen. Someone must've magically dyed them to get them that white and they were probably enchanted to be self-cleaning so they would stay that white.

There was a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling and its candles gave the room a soft, warm, and romantic glow. There were several ornate tables and chairs, as well as double glass doors that led out onto a balcony. Shara walked to them, opened them, and stepped out onto the balcony.

It was a beautiful night.

It was nearly cloudless and the stars were out in full force. Below her, the city was lit by firelight from lanterns and torches. Outside the city, she could also see the campfires of men who'd chosen to remain with Kalus from other legions.

"My king!"

Shara turned to see Kyselius had run up to the room before the doors had shut.

"Welcome my friend." Kalus said, ushering him in. "What news of the people?"

"Mostly good sire." The herald said with a bow. "The people seem largely content with the change in leadership. There's a faction that supports King Bracken, but even they aren't militant since you are the King Regent, not the King Proper. They seem content to wait until Shara bears a son since he will be of King Bracken's blood."

"And the general disposition towards the future?" Kalus asked.

"Mostly positive." Kyselius replied. "The people expect what they've heard of in the cities you've captured to become commonplace." He stopped, though Shara thought he might have more to say.

"Kyselius my friend, you are the herald to a king now but nothing has changed between us. I would still hear your mind when you have counsel to offer."

"I would meet with the city leaders tomorrow, and do so before meeting with the nobles." The herald replied. "That will send a strong message that you care about the people, especially if done before meeting with the lords."

"The lords won't like that." Shara pointed out.

"I know." Kyselius replied, and the corners of his mouth were pulled up slightly before he addressed the new king again. "I would also meet them in town, not summon them to the castle. It will be good for the people to see that you come to them about their concerns, rather than summoning them to you. I believe it would set a good tone for your reign."

"Wise words." The new king nodded. "See to it tomorrow, but not too early. Perhaps an early lunch; that will give everyone time to prepare."

"Aye sire." The herald bowed, then looked around. "I'll confess to wondering if my head would remain attached to my neck at this time yesterday. Illuminar has smiled upon you Commander--" He stopped, then corrected himself. "My king. And if I may say so sire, it's an honor to be in your service."

"Thank you, but I'm just as pleased to have an honorable man such as yourself in my service." Kalus replied.

"Thank you sire." The herald bowed again.

"Oh, one more thing." Kalus said. "Please find Octavian and tell him to enlist Pernilus and Asikan in creating a guard for my wives and myself. They were very loyal and honorable to insist on protecting my wives despite King Tyso and they should be rewarded for that. I will also need recommendations for replacements for centurions of their respective centuries."

"It shall be done; good night sire." Kyselius said with a bow.

"Good night my friend." Kalus shook the man's hand and then the herald departed, closing the door behind him.

"I can't believe I said that." Lyra shook her head again while looking towards the dinner hall.

Shara gave the horsewoman a hug. "Lyra, I promise it will be fine. With all the upheaval going on in the kingdom, most people won't even remember it a week from now."

"Okay." The ash blonde nodded.

Kalus took a deep breath. "I suppose Titus will be surprised when he returns to discover that not only am I the king regent, but he is commander of an entire country's army."

Shara smiled. "I like Titus; I think he'll be wonderful at that."

"Aye, he will be." Her husband agreed. "I would say I'm the better tactician, but he is a genius in military order, training, and organization. Timarou's army will rival Narlotten's military in a few years."

"So my king." Lyra said, her tone changing to convey an unmistakable intent. "Have you ever had two queens in your bed before? Two queens who are catering to their king's every whim?"

"Two?" He raised his eyebrow and looked at Shara.

The amber-haired girl felt her cheeks grow warm as she averted her eyes.

She nodded.

"Truly?" Her husband asked. "You wish to share my bed?"

Shara felt like you could probably cook an egg on her cheeks they were so hot, but nodded mutely anyway.

"Tyso is dead and you are with child, yet you still wish this?" He asked.

Shara swallowed, wishing she could hide under a rock until this conversation was over.

She nodded anyway.

Kalus smiled, and not just any smile. His smile was wide and reached deep into his eyes. "What makes me this happy is not that you would willingly share your body with me -- though I confess I very much look forward to that -- but rather that you no longer seem to dislike being my wife. Is this true?"

She looked up at him, a tiny but embarrassed smile on the edge of her lips as she spoke. "It is. I would not wish the circumstances of our wedding on anyone, but I count myself blessed by Illuminar to call you my husband."

He stared at her for a moment, his smile growing even wider. "I'll admit that at one time, I never thought to hear those words from you."

"At one time, I never thought I'd say them." She replied, feeling a slight flutter in her heart at the way he was looking at her. "Could... could we..." She bit her lip and glanced at the bed.

"We could." He smile at her, and it wasn't a lust-filled smile. There was definitely desire there, but it wasn't the crude, purely sexual look that she'd seen other men look at her with. It was something deeper. It was like he was looking not only at her body, but also at her.

She liked that.

* * *

Kalus looked at his first wife, not quite believing what she had said. He couldn't stop smiling. He gazed at her for several long seconds, then reached out and gently brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. Her eyes fluttered a bit as she leaned her cheek into his hand.

"You really do wish this, don't you." He stated more than asked.

She nodded, her eyes shining slightly as she looked at him. He turned his gaze to Lyra, who was smiling at them both.

"I hope you'll let me at least watch?" The ash blonde said, then looked at Shara. "I mean, you watched me once before so it wouldn't be weird, right?"

"Twice." The former princess gently corrected. "I can't believe you woke him up in the middle of the night for... for that."

"Oh, just you wait." She grinned slyly in reply. "You will too once you've tried it."

The blush that appeared on his first wife's cheeks was impressive in both size and color.

"And by the way, if our husband isn't around, I'd be happy to..." The ash blonde locked eyes with the amber-haired woman. "...help."

Kalus laughed out loud at the look on Shara's face. She seemed to have frozen with her mouth half open and her eyes wide as she stared at her fellow wife.

"But... but..." She stammered.

"Come on, you can't tell me that kiss wasn't incredible." Lyra pressed, both metaphorically and literally. She had sidled up to Shara and was circling her like a vulture or shark circles its prey with a hungry look in her eye.

"It was, but... but we can't... that's not..." She looked at Kalus. "Help."

"Lyra, perhaps slow to a gentle walk?" He suggested. "Shara seems frightened by the speed of your gallop."

"Sorry." Lyra stepped back, clearly still interested but also giving her fellow wife some space.

"I... I'm not sure I'm ready for... for that." Shara gulped.

"Not yet." Lyra grinned at her, but made no move to resume her aggressiveness.

"Shara." Kalus said softly.

The former princess took a moment to take her eyes from her fellow wife and looked at him. It was several seconds before she spoke, and when she did it was mostly without the panic of a few moments ago.

"Katia." She said softly.

He raised his eyebrow.

"I realize that our wedding night-- well, that afternoon in the clearing was..." She swallowed. "Princess Shara was robbed of the joys of her wedding night by King Tyso. But Katia..." She looked between Kalus and Lyra. "I know that 'Katia' doesn't exist and she never did, but in here with just the three of us could..." She bit her lip. "Could we pretend that she does?"

"What do you mean?" Kalus asked, having an idea but wanting to make sure.

"Oh." Lyra cocked her head to one side, then grinned. "My dear Katia, I'm so glad you were able to get away from your handmaiden duties for your wedding night."

Katia nodded as she smiled.

Kalus felt a small smile creep onto his face as his suspicion was confirmed, and he decided to join her in the fiction. "It's is a strange thing, that a handmaiden as beautiful as yourself would find herself wed to a common soldier."

"You are no common soldier." She replied, a smile playing around the edge of her mouth. "A woman dreams of her wedding day and her wedding night, wanting it to be perfect."

"I can't believe you got the princess to give us this room for your wedding night." Lyra giggled, looking around and clearly helping Katia to indulge her fantasy.

"And um." Katia glanced at Lyra. "I'm glad you don't mind. I haven't really... Um..." She looked down. "I might need a little help because I don't know how to... you know."

"I know exactly where to start." Kalus broke in.

"You do?" Katia asked.

He nodded. "I'm afraid in all the hustle and bustle of the wedding earlier, I didn't have as much time as I would've liked to savor our first kiss."

Katia started to smile, and it was one of those 'I'm-so-happy-I'm-smiling-and-crying-at-the-same-time' kinds of smiles. "I'd like that." Her voice cracked slightly as she spoke.

Kalus took a step closer to her, put his hand around her small waist, and gently pulled her closer. She didn't resist in the slightest. Her front was pressed up against him moments later. Her amber hair was currently framing her face in the most delightful way. Right now, he wasn't struck by her beauty, but by her loveliness. Yes she was beautiful, but the totality of her being was captivating him at the moment.

"Hi." He whispered.

"Hi." She smiled back. "Are you going to kiss me?"

He nodded.

"Soon?" She whispered, and he detected a note of hopefulness in her voice.

He nodded.

She smiled.

He reached up and gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. She sighed softly and leaned into his hand. She closed her eyes and leaned in. He leaned down and planted a firm but tender kiss on her lips. She sighed softly as she kissed him back. She moved her lips, inexperienced but eager and he could feel how much she wanted this. She wasn't the only one. He didn't use his tongue, but he did kiss with all his skill.

After several moments their kiss broke and Katia opened her eyes to look at him. He looked back into her eyes for several moments, then remembered that he had another wife here who shouldn't be neglected.

* * *

Lyra looked at her husband and fellow wife kissing and her nether regions were beginning to itch at the sight. Why did they always do that? It seemed like they awoke with almost no provocation multiple times every day.

"Lyra." Her husband said.

"Don't mind me." She replied, wishing she was in the other woman's shoes but recognizing that her fellow wife needed to have a proper wedding night.

"We want to mind you." Katia replied. "We couldn't have gotten here without you."

"And even if we could have, we wouldn't have wanted to." Kalus added.

Katia nodded in agreement. "It's true."

Lyra beamed. "I'm so glad you guys found me."

"We are too." Her husband nodded.

"Why are you talking to me?" She said, partially to change the topic. "Don't you both have something to do?"

"Not something, someone." Kalus said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"You have been different today." Katia observed to him. "Ever since the threat of King Tyso was removed, you've seemed..." She trailed off, probably searching for the right words.

"Lighter?" Lyra supplied. "More cheerful? More apt to smile?"

Her husband paused a moment, then nodded. "True, though it's not only his absence." He gave them both a significant look and Lyra felt her heart soar.

"Well my king, I'm pretty sure Katia could put an even wider smile on your face..."

The amber-haired woman smiled nervously. "I can try." She bit her lip and looked at Kalus's lips, clearly wanting to kiss him again but hesitating to do so.

"Oh honestly, it's not that hard." Lyra rolled her eyes, stepped forward, and laid a big one on their husband. "See, like that."

'Or perhaps she could do it her own way." Kalus said, a note of amusement in his voice.

The former princess nodded, then looked at their husband. She hesitated a moment, then slowly and haltingly leaned forward to kiss him. Lyra was struck by the difference in their approaches. While she tended to rush in and be wild, Katia was the opposite. She momentarily wondered which was better until she remembered what her husband had said, comparing different wives to different types of horses. Neither was better, they were just different.

And with that realization, she decided right then to let Katia be her reserved self while she was the opposite. And speaking of opposites, a sly grin formed on her face as an idea occurred to her.

* * *

Katia was lost in the feeling of kissing her husband when she felt a feminine hand on her hair, gently pulling it to one side. She liked that; liked how Lyra was being so nice and caring as she--

She froze.

Unless her ears and sense of touch were misleading her, Lyra had just kissed the nape of her neck. The alien sensation had sent a shudder down her spine, making the hairs of her arm stand on end as the sensation made its way south. When it reached her hips, she felt an involuntary shudder run through her body.

"Katia, what..." Her husband trailed off as he looked behind her.

"What?" The ash blonde whispered with a tone that spoke of declared innocence rather than actual innocence. "I was just trying to help."

Kiss.

Katia shuddered again at the lips on her neck, the sensation alien but also wonderful now that it wasn't so shocking.

Kalus looked at her, then Lyra, then back at her again. "It does indeed seem to be helping."

Kiss.

Katia sighed slightly, then nodded slowly.

Slightly lower, she felt the ash blonde's hand slide onto her sides. "I do so love being... helpful."

Katia wanted to say that she was learning to like it too when she felt another kiss on the nape of her neck, this one a bit higher. That same shudder ran through her and while she was distracted, the ash blonde's hands moved. One went a little south, the other went a little north. Both moved onto her front. Lyra had a hand just below her breasts and another on her lower stomach over the dress.

"Then should I keep helping?" Her fellow wife asked.

Katia had started to nod before she realized that she was doing it, then leaned forward to kiss her husband. In the middle of another wonderful kiss with him, Lyra kissed the nape of her neck again. Katia was so distracted by the two of them that she didn't realize where her fellow wife's hand had ended up...

...not until she wiggled a finger at the top of her slit.

She wiggled it just as her husband's tongue gently met her lips, Lyra kissed the nape of her neck again, and the ash blonde's other hand gently brushed up against her breast.

Her knees went weak.

Her husband caught her as she started toppling, her whole body shuddering again. She could feel that same fire that had been building in her when her husband had taken her before, but now she didn't need to resist it or pretend that someone else was enjoying it; she could enjoy it herself.

A small sigh escaped her lips as she let her head roll back onto her husband's arms.

Clunk!

"Ow." Katia and Lyra said at the same time as the amber-haired girl's head hit the ash blonde.

"Are you alright?" Their husband asked.

They looked at each other, smiled, and Katia nodded as she looked back and forth between them and then put her hand over her womb. "I'm better than alright."

Her husband put her hand there as well, and when Lyra hesitated Katia put the blonde's hand there as well.

"My family has grown quickly in the last few days." Kalus said.

"I'd like it to grow by one more soon." The ash blonde said, putting her hand over her own womb.

"Of course." Their husband smiled.

"I can't wait." Lyra grinned from ear to ear.

"Um, Lucien." Katia said gently.

"Yes?"

"Could... could we..." She bit her lip and glanced at the bed.

He looked her up and down. "You appear to be overdressed for that."

Katia felt her cheeks grow warm as she nodded.

"I can help with that." Lyra volunteered.

Katia glanced her way to see that the ash blonde had somehow already gotten her own dress off. She started undoing the laces at the back of Katia's dress while their husband -- their wonderful husband -- kissed the former princess again.

"I love when you do that." Katia whispered when the kiss broke, only vaguely aware that her fellow wife was undoing her dress faster than she unsaddled a horse, which was saying something.

He kissed her again.

"Arms." Lyra said as she started tugging on Katia's dress.

The amber-haired woman raised her arms almost automatically, only realizing that she would be naked in front of both her husband and fellow wife when it was half off. She would've put her arms back down, but the ash blonde already had the dress high enough that it wasn't possible to do so. Katia yelped and tried to cover her breasts and slit the moment the dress was off, but was only partially successful in doing so.

Behind her, she felt an enormous amount of Lyra's naked skin press against her back as the ash blonde spoke. "Go get him."

She felt a gentle push, but not enough to force her forward; it was an encouragement more than anything.

Katia took a tentative step forward, yearning to feel her husband's arms around her but also wanting to dive under the covers to hide herself. A part of her knew it was silly. He had already put a child in her womb and seen much of her. A lifetime of training on ladylike behavior didn't disappear overnight though.

He thankfully wrapped his arms around her so at least her front was covered.

He was holding her.

She was naked and he was holding her.

She liked that.

She liked it a lot.

He kissed the top of her head. "Take your time."

She relaxed into him. "You would've been like this in the meadow if I had let you, wouldn't you?"

"I would have."

The former princess looked up at him. "Could... could Katia feel what Shara missed?"

He nodded, and then he started tracing a finger lazily over her back. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation. It was wonderful. Shortly afterward he started tracing more than one finger, and then the fingers of both hands. Katia was wiggling under his hands, the sensation so wonderful and yet so foreign. It almost tickled, but laughter wasn't the sound she was tempted to make.

One of his hands stopped for a moment, and she looked up to see that Lyra was helping him take his shirt off. Not long after, the horsewoman helped pull it up over his head so that Katia could feel his bare chest against her front and her arms, which were still crossed over her breasts.

He held her, her naked and him shirtless, the sensation of his skin against her feeling more wonderful than she could describe; she simply didn't have the words. He rubbed her back with his whole hand. It didn't feel like he was trying to entice or arouse, but merely to be affectionate.

She liked that too.

After a minute, she looked up into his eyes for a moment before saying softly and quietly. "Lucien, could you take me to bed?"

"It would be my pleasure." He replied, then got a twinkle in his eye. "And hopefully yours too."

Katia's cheeks got warm, but she smiled.

"Finally." Lyra said in a mock-exasperated voice, then winked.

Katia chuckled, which turned into a yelp as he scooped her off her feet and cradled her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and just looked at him. He carried her over to the bed and set her gently down, but since she didn't release her arms around his neck, he went down with her and partially on top of her.

"I wanted to see your face." Katia whispered.

"I would prefer that as well." He smiled, then added. "Though I must admit the other side has its beauty as well."

She could feel her cheeks growing warm but kept looking at him. "Thank you."

He moved in an odd way, and she looked down to see that Lyra had managed to finish removing his clothing. Katia wasn't sure how the ash blonde had managed it, but she had. As Katia looked at their husband, she noticed that he had a lean, hard body with strong, wiry, muscles. Yet despite his obvious strength, he was being so tender and gentle with her; just as gentle and tender as he had been with Lyra.

She liked that.

Katia felt the bed shift slightly under her to see that Lyra had flopped down next to her, just a couple of feet away. She was laying on her side, one hand supporting her head and the other flopped on her hip. She was entirely naked and seemingly completely unconcerned that she was completely exposed.

"My work here is done." The ash blonde smiled. "I'd go, but I want to see what it looks like now that I've done it."

Katia reach out towards her with one hand. Lyra hesitated a moment, then took it with hers.

"I wouldn't want you to go." Katia gave the other woman's hand a gentle squeeze.

"Really?"

Katia shook her head. "Never."

"Aww." Lyra leaned forward and gave Katia a peck on the cheek. "Thank you."

Katia turned her attention back to her husband who was leaning over her, though she was still holding the blonde's hand. She leaned up and kissed him, which he returned. Just at the end of the kiss, she felt his tongue gently play at the entrance to her mouth and sighed.

Kalus moved a bit, getting himself fully onto the bed instead of standing on the floor and leaning over her. Once he was fully settled, she realized that her legs had ended up on either side of his hips in the course of their moving. She blushed, but didn't move them.

"Looks like someone is eager." Lyra said with a sly smile.

Katia blushed harder, but still didn't move.

"Perhaps you could check for me." Kalus said to the ash blonde.

Katia froze.

Lyra licked her lips and started to move down without letting go of the former princess's hand.

"With your hand." Kalus clarified.

Lyra got a slight pout on her lips, but then placed her hand on Katia's chest below her breasts and started slowly sliding her hand down. Katia felt an involuntary shiver run through her body at the soft feminine touch. Lyra took a moment to get to her destination and slid her hand all over Katia's stomach as her hand went lower.

"There are many things to enjoy in bed." Kalus said. "But I believe the basics will suffice for tonight."

"Many?" Katia whispered as Lyra's hand stopped just short of its destination.

"Many, and we will explore them all in time." He nodded. "But that's not what you want tonight, is it?"

Katia bit her lip and shook her head slightly.

"You wish to couple as man and wife as if it was the first time."

She nodded.

Lyra moved her hand lower, gently brushing over that incredible nub at the top and making her sigh as her body shuddered slightly in pleasure. Moments later, the ash blonde's finger brushed over her nether lips, and suddenly Katia was aware that it was quite moist down there.

"She's ready." Lyra said, as she withdrew her finger. She looked at it for a moment, then got a thoughtful expression for barely a second before popping it into her mouth and sucking on it for a moment. "Strange taste. Not bad, but strange." She got a sly grin on her face. "I'd need a larger sample to decide for sure though."

Katia stared at her, not quite sure what the horsewoman meant.

Kalus smiled. "I do believe that she would like to sample it from the source."

Katia's mouth fell open as she stared at her fellow wife.

"Don't worry, not tonight." Lyra winked, then licked her lips and added. "But maybe in the morning..."

While Katia was staring stunned at her fellow wife, Kalus reached down and planted a gentle kiss on her left breast.

She sighed.

"Oh, please do that again." She whispered.

He did.

He did several times and then switched to her right breast. Katia arched her back slightly, pushing her breast into him as she put the hand that wasn't holding Lyra's hand on the back of his neck to pull him into her breast tighter. Moments later, she felt another set of lips on her other breast, and had just the presence of mind to realize it was Lyra before the dual sensations almost overwhelmed her.

* * *

Kalus wasn't given to displays of emotion, but he felt a silent thrill as Katia shuddered underneath his lips. She wanted him there and that meant everything. There would be so much to do tomorrow as king, but tonight he was here with his wives and no one else could lay claim to his time. This was a chance to do right by his wife at long last, as he had wanted to before.

He gently sucked on her nipple, making her gasp for breath as she pulled his head tighter to her breast. Beside him, his other wife was working just as enthusiastically, if perhaps a bit less tenderly. Katia didn't seem to mind. He resumed his most pleasurable work, savoring the fact that his life had turned out this way.

He broadened his range, kissing around her breast and up onto her neck. After only a minute or two of this, Katia reached down, put a hand on his lower back, and gave a gentle pull. She seemed to want something and he had a guess what.

He readjusted, letting Lyra have free reign on the amber-haired woman's chest while he aligned himself lower down. Katia spread her legs slightly further and he didn't think she realized she was doing it. Lyra apparently sensed the moment and stopped her ministrations to lay on the bed next to Katia.

He just looked at them for a moment.

They were both laying on their backs, totally naked. Lyra was laying mostly next to Katia, but also in a position so her head could rest up against her fellow wife's head. They were both looking at him adoringly while they held hands and smiled at him.

He loved that.

"She's ready." Lyra whispered.

As if on cue, Katia wrapped her legs around his waist. Again, he wasn't entirely sure she was conscious of that; it seemed more like an automatic reflex than anything else.

"Lyra." Katia said softly. "Could you um... make sure that we're... that he and I are..." She bit her lip and looked down.

"Of course." The ash blonde replied. She leaned up enough that she could use her left hand to grip him and line him up. She even gave him a little squeeze and wink as she did so, then she flopped back into her previous position next to Katia. He smiled at her and then turned his attention to the woman under him.

He looked into her eyes.

She looked into his and nodded, pulling him slightly closer with her legs. He went forward and felt her lower lips part for him. She opened her mouth and tightened her legs around him as he did so, but made no move to stop him. In fact, she spread her legs a bit wider and used them to urge him deeper. He gladly followed that urging.

Katia let out a muted but very satisfied sigh when he was fully seated inside of her, then opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Hi." She said softly, looking deep into her his eyes.

"Hi." He replied just as softly.

He leaned down to kiss her deeply, and started slowly drawing his hips back as he did. She made a noise that sounded like a protest until he was almost out and started pushing back in. At that, she let out a moan that wasn't completely muffled by his kiss. He continued for a couple of minutes, drawing many soft moans and sighs from his young wife.

The whole time they were looking into each other's eyes.

She gave him a smile that reached deep into her eyes after several moments. "I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too." He replied.

Her smile grew wider, then her eyes grew wider still as her whole body seemed to tense up. She arched her back and clamped her legs around him as she closed her eyes and opened her mouth in a silent scream. She inhaled sharply and wrapped the one hand that wasn't still holding Lyra's hand around him as she clumsily pulled herself to him. She was clumsy because her whole body was shaking slightly. Her breaths came in slightly ragged gasps interspersed with a few moans that seemed to be the only sounds she was capable of making at the moment.

The sight and sensation pushed Kalus over the edge, and he began to release inside of his wife; his Katia.

She must've felt it because her shaking intensified for a moment, then started tapering off. Katia let go and flopped back onto the bed, eyes still closed as she lay there breathing heavily for several seconds.

"That... that was..." She breathed heavily and put a hand over her heart as she looked into his eyes again. "Wow."

"My thoughts exactly." He replied.

She gave a soft sigh, then turned to Lyra. "I might understand why you're so interested now."

"It's amazing, right!" The blonde beamed.

"A fair description." Kalus said, then slid himself out of Katia and flopped down on her other side to catch his breath.

"Please don't tell me you're tired." Lyra said to him.

He raised his eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because I'm still not carrying your baby..." She grinned at him slyly. "...yet."

* * *

~~ Epilogue

Shara stood in the most regal way that she knew how to as the priest formally placed the crown of Timarou on her husband's head. He'd obviously been king regent for a couple of weeks now, but this was one ceremony that tradition virtually demanded. The great hall in Laerten's castle had been decorated more richly than she had ever seen it, though the finery wasn't ostentatious.

Her father and mother -- the former king and queen -- were standing up on the balcony and he looked both younger and happier than she had ever seen him. According to Kalus, the role of advisor suited him much more than being king and it showed. Her mother looked even happier than usual, no doubt owing to her husband's much-improved state of mind.

Standing next to them and looking like he wasn't sure how he'd gotten there was Lyra's father, Julian. He'd hired a trusted friend to watch the horses for a few days to come to the coronation. Shara and Lyra had also scouted around the area near the capital and found a piece of land that was only a short carriage ride from the castle so he could come more often. He'd jumped at the chance to be closer, but had insisted on paying for the land himself.

Shara herself was standing along the side of the room near the nobles as her husband was crowned, with Lyra right next to her. The ash blonde kept resting one of her hands over her womb and smiling widely. She basically hadn't stopped ever since she'd found out.

The ash blonde gave her a grin, glanced around to make sure no one was looking at them, made the subtlest of kissing motions, and then glanced towards the former princess's hips.

Shara blushed scarlet.

She couldn't believe what the ash blonde had done to her the previous night while Kalus had been away from them for the first time, nor how much she had enjoyed it.

In the center of the room, Kalus stood up with the crown on his head and addressed the room. "I give my most solemn vow to the people of Timarou and to Illuminar Himself that I will not take this responsibility lightly. I swear to you that I will do my utmost to be a good king until my son from Shara is ready to bear the crown."

There was a smattering of polite applause from the nobles and a much louder burst of applause from the group of ordinary citizens who had been chosen by lottery to be in the throne room for the coronation. Such a thing had never been done in Timarou's history, but Kyselius said that the common folk loved King Kalus all the more for it.

By contrast, the lords had a slightly different reaction after Kalus had thrown one of them in the dungeon for a night after he had refused a direct summons. That had achieved the goal of bringing them in line, since no king in Timarou's history had ever thrown a senior lord in the dungeon before, even if it was only for a night.

Kalus finished his short speech, which was very good. Then they filed out of the great hall and into the grand dining room. There was a short break before dinner and Shara used it to go find Titus, who had recently returned from his retrieval mission to Har'peton. She found him talking with Kyselius and General Ardroben.

"General Titus." She said as she came up to them.

"My queen." He said with a respectful head bow.

"How did the mission to recover the families go?" She asked. "I heard it went well, but not the specifics."

"All who wanted to come are safe and sound in Timarou." Titus replied. "Tyso set up a very loyal but semi-incompetent fool to rule while he was on the campaign, or we wouldn't have been so successful. A few of the wives chose to abandon their husbands, but most of the abandoned husbands seemed relieved rather than upset."

General Ardroben chuckled. "I can assure you, they are war heroes and will find many a fine lass from Timarou who would beg her father for his permission to marry one of them."

"It seems that Timarou does indeed have many a fine lass." Titus replied, then nodded respectfully at Shara.

"Thank you." She smiled and curtsied.

"Oh not you, I meant Queen Lyra." Titus joked, and everyone laughed.

"Perhaps we should ask Kyselius." Shara said, giving the herald a knowing look. "I hear he is dangerous to the heart of certain handmaiden of mine and might steal her away from me..."

Kyselius smiled, and it was a slightly self-satisfied one. "Elthia is a wonderful girl."

Shara nodded. "She's a hopeless romantic, but she is indeed wonderful and I know her father would agree to the match."

The smile on Kyselius's face indicated that he knew this as well. She had half a mind to ask him about it, but was interrupted by Lyra coming up.

"Come on, Mom says we're needed at the high table." The ash blonde said.

"Mom?" Titus asked.

Lyra's smile became ear-to-ear and her eyes a bit watery as she explained. "Queen Hylea said that since I'm married to her daughter's husband, we're practically family and she wouldn't mind if I called her that."

"Go, the queen is waiting." General Ardroben said with a wide smile.

They did, and the rest of the night was a bit of blur. They ate good food, had good conversations, and she was tired from dancing by the time the festivities wore down. She retired to bed with her husband and fellow wife, the latter insisting on doing her favorite form of 'dancing' before they snuggled up together in bed. Lyra was on his right side, Shara on his left, and the two women's arms ended up touching on his chest.

As Shara lay there drifting off to sleep, she thanked Illuminar for how incredible her life had turned out so far. She knew that the life of a king was fraught with peril, and that eventually Har'peton would want to renew the war -- they always did -- but life was good for now. She and Lyra were both carrying children and she couldn't wait to be a mother. She also couldn't wait to see what their husband would be like as a father and to meet the children.

With that wonderful thought on her mind, she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.

The End...

...but only if you want it to be

Kalus, Shara, Lyra, and some of the children -- Shara's oldest in particular -- are also side-characters later on in my other story, "A Dragon's Tale." (I partially wrote this as backstory for ADT, which is my "main" story) ADT takes place 7-8 years after this one in the same world, so you'll get to see a glimpse of their lives if you're interested. I also promise that I won't spoil their happy ending; they will finish that story as happily as they did this one. (Perhaps more so.)

If you're interested in seeing our heroes again in "A Dragon's Tale", it'll be on my stories page. If not, then I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, and take care. :)

Cheers,

Antiproton

P.S. Kalus is referred to as "Lord Kalus" instead of "King Kalus" in ADT for reasons that will be explained in ADT eventually. The difference is almost entirely in name only, which again will be explained in ADT eventually.

STORY TAGS (For the whole series): blonde, teen, virgin, medieval, romantic, spanking, princess, threesome, impregnation, breeding