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Chapter Eleven
The intensity of every day weighed on me, and sometimes, I didn’t know up from down. I’d been getting up early to accomplish everything in my normal schedule and then training in the arts of war. It was all necessary, and I hoped I’d improved in some of my skills. I’d certainly gotten to know the young people who were prepared to put their lives on the line for the kingdom, and respected each and every one of them.
I hoped that when this current crisis ended, I’d be able to help them make their dreams come true, whatever they might be.
I only hoped they weren’t as tired as I was.
On this particular morning, I dragged down to breakfast and sat slumped over the cup of caffeinated goodness I hoped would get me through a morning meeting scheduled to last three hours. How would I even keep my eyes open for that long?
I took a big gulp and burned my tongue, cursing softly. Even my coffee had turned on me. I waved away a maid who offered me juice. The rest of breakfast was always buffet style, and I wanted no part of it. Most mornings I ate a slice of toast, maybe some fruit, but I was too tired and wrung out for anything to sound good.
This queen job was not for wimps.
“Here you are.” Arne strode into the dining room. “You’re up early.”
“Blame my schedule,” I grumbled. “I have a whole group of angry farm wives waiting to meet with me regarding the price of eggs in the local market.”
He stared at me then burst into laughter.
“It’s not funny. I have half a mind to order you into the session, if you like torture so much.” I tried another sip of coffee, this time able to swallow it without steam pouring out my ears.
“I’m not laughing at the eggs. Or the farm wives. I’m laughing at what Leif chose to write on your schedule when I asked him to tie up your morning for me.” He moved to the sideboard and filled a plate with eggs and sausage, added a bagel to the side, and returned to me. “Here, you eat this, and I’ll get something for me. You’re going to need a hearty breakfast for the morning I have planned.”
I stared at the food, still not very hungry, but definitely confused. “What about the eggs?”
“There are no eggs. And no upset wives. Only me.” He settled at my side and picked up his fork then pointed it at me. “Eat and I’ll explain.”
I obediently scooped up a bit of egg and held it to my lips. “Start.”
He waited until I was chewing before he said, “We had a little meeting and decided you were working way too hard.”
I swallowed the egg. “But I—”
Arne held his hand up. “No buts, keep eating. As I was saying, we had a meeting, and at this meeting, we determined that someone had to take on the very difficult job of spending a few leisure hours with you, our mate.” His grin lit up his face and made my heart beat a little faster despite my determination not to ever let anyone make decisions for me again. “So, I drew the short straw. And we’re going to saddle up and just go for a ride. We’re not riding to solar fields or wind turbines. We’re not visiting subjects or inspecting a forge or a farm.”
The sausage was particularly good today. I didn’t know why I didn’t eat it more often. Yum!
“Want some fruit?” He stood and moved to the buffet then faced me. “I think I’d like melon.”
“Strawberries and maybe grapes if there are any.”
Arne returned with a plate piled with a half dozen kinds of fruits and placed it between us. Everything tasted great, and my refilled coffee didn’t burn my mouth. Overall, the day was looking up big time.
And I wasn’t sorry Arne got the short straw. My morning with him was amazing. Not that we did anything more than ride and talk. We really couldn’t avoid all the things he listed because our little kingdom didn’t have wide-open plains or anything like that. We couldn’t go too far without passing a farm or a village or something, not without sticking to the woods. And that didn’t make for very great horse riding countryside. So, we had to do a little waving, and once or twice even stopped for a word with someone who really seemed to want to talk to us. But for most of the morning, we were alone enough to count.
I would have been happy with any of the guys, no matter who got the short straw, and I hoped that they’d do this again soon because I hadn’t felt this good in a very long time. When things lightened up a little, maybe there would be a lot of days like this.
It was something to shoot for, at least.
When we got back, we slipped inside through the kitchen door and dashed up the servant’s stairs to my suite, avoiding everyone but a cook and one chambermaid who was coming downstairs with a tray and had to plaster herself against the wall so we could pass. My afternoon had real appointments, but I had a little time to spend all alone with my mate, and we did just that—in bed, naked, and laughing for the pure joy of being together.
