Kessie's Short Stories

Umbra Humanis

Originally written 3/1/2022

The queen had five concubines; one female and four male. They all sat with her at the throne. Not in their own chairs, mind you, no- Queen Regina had her throne made just so it had the accommodation for all her lovers. These were the people that she refused to let go of, after all. They meant more to her than any gold in the castle's treasury.

Ebba was the one that she had known the longest. The unassuming young woman was the bastard child of castle staff. She had gotten quite good at being invisible to avoid uncomfortable situations. Ebba came to the queen's attention during an assassination attempt. Using her knowledge of the castle, Ebba guided Regina out safely and to a place where not even security could find them for several days. When Regina took the throne, she demanded to have Ebba by her side.

Next came Lucas and Armin. They were twins that ended up becoming victims in an illegal slave trading operation. Their fates crossed Regina's -then still a princess- when she caught wind of said operation. Young and filled with hotter blood than she did now, the future queen shut down the slave trade with her own bare hands. Unsure of where to go, Lucas and Armin requested for Regina to take them in. She did, and soon rumors started to abound of Armin becoming the future king-consort while Lucas educated himself with the country's defenses.

Hadrien did not waste his time making himself known to Regina. He came into court one afternoon and declared himself the queen's best suitor. No one will forget that day. Not only did court witness the queen laugh in this man's face, she also publicly humiliated him before declaring him as the next concubine. Rumors surfaced that she had done it to stop others from doing the same. Others believed she had an alternate agenda in mind for Hadrien. One that could never be proven nor denied in any capacity.

And finally, there was Soner. Soner was born with the ocean in his blood. He and Regina had met on the sea. At the time, it had seemed like a good idea to steal from a noble ship. It wouldn't have been his first time doing so, after all. But Regina was far more prepared than any noble he'd ever seen before. He had to concede to her terms in order to preserve his crew. Of the others, Soner was still able to travel without the queen by his side. She said it was to help boost their trade, but Soner knew better. They both understood he could never be from the sea for long. It was his very livelihood, after all.

When the queen addressed her court, they were always at her side. They took to the same positions beside her as well- a fact that only the lovers had established among themselves. Armin and Lucas took either side directly next to her. Occasionally they sat on the armrest, establishing that anyone's first line of opposition to get to the queen was each other. Ebba usually sat on her knees to Regina's left. Sometimes she would lay across the queen's lap, and found it rather embarrassing to know that she liked when Regina stroked her hair during long meetings. Soner would take his place on the right by Regina's legs. When he got bored, he would lay his cheek against her knee without a second thought. Hadrien regulated himself to sitting by Regina's feet. It was a dangerous position (one that was often taken advantage of), and he was well aware of it. But it was also a position of action should anyone raise a dagger toward the queen.

"I'll take the next guest." Regina told her herald. He gave her a bow and word of affirmation before going to retrieve the next delegate. It was a mild surprise when the footman entered the meeting chamber instead.

"My queen." the footman said with a bow. "We have recovered one of the Umbra Humanis creatures from the grounds. Would you like to meet them? I must warn you- it is still quite feral."

The news sent a spark of excitement to the queen's hindbrain. For weeks -months, even- news of the illusive shadow creatures had caused many a whisper in court. The Umbra Humanis prevailed from a realm unknown, and were very excellent hunters to those with pure hearts. When news started to come in that at least one was spotted on castle grounds, Queen Regina knew she had to capture it. If nothing else more than to tell it to get lost.