The Spare (18+ Only) - Noblesse Oblige #1

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

The persistent chime of a cell phone woke Leo from his sleep the following morning. Groaning, he reached out and grabbed the rectangular device without looking at it, sliding a finger across its screen and putting it to his ear.

"What do you want?" he grumbled crossly.

"Not you, stranger", replied an unfamiliar, cheerful feminine voice. "Not a morning person, are we?"

He frowned, struggling to place the voice with a face and name and failing.

"Who is this?" he asked grumpily.

"I take it you didn't check the caller ID before answering? Oh well, it can't be helped now can it?" The woman cleared her throat audibly. "It's Behati – I called to talk to Isis. Is she around?"

"Behati?" Who the hell was Behati again?

"Yes, Behati Kalenius – King Ardyn's wife. Am I speaking to Leo, her new husband?"

"Yes, it's Leo, and Isis is still asleep right now", he answered, wishing he could hang up but awake enough to know it would be an insult to hang up on the woman who was Isis' mother and the Queen of Cyanis.

"Oh! This is wonderful! I didn't get a chance to meet you before you left. How are you both doing?" Behati asked, still too cheerfully for his taste. He rolled off the large mint green couch he and Isis had fallen asleep on the night before, careful not to disturb Isis, who was still fast asleep on the other end of the couch. Padding on bare feet into the kitchen, he opened the fridge and took stock of what was inside.

"We're fine."

"Getting along nicely?"

"More or less."

"She's quite a handful, isn't she? Very stubborn, that girl."

"She is", he murmured in agreement. He rummaged in the fridge, pulling out ingredients absentmindedly.

"Listen, Leo, darling. Isis is a rarity – one of a kind in all ways. There are things I can tell you that will help make being married to her much easier."

"I'm listening", he said, stifling a yawn as he opened cabinets and pulled out utensils.

"Why?" She sounded genuinely puzzled.

"You said there were things you could tell me about Isis?"

"I didn't say I was going to tell you, though", she pointed out smugly.

"Is there anything else you wanted? Should I tell her you called?" he asked, his patience starting to wear thin.

"I'm just joking, dear boy", she replied with an airy laugh. "I'll tell you some little things about her. You'll have to figure the rest out on your own, and what you do with this knowledge is entirely up to you."

Isis woke up to the aroma of hot chocolate and bacon. Stumbling off the couch, she stretched thoroughly before making her way around the dining area and to the kitchen island. She was surprised to find Leo at the stove, wearing only dark red silk pajama pants with a cellphone at his ear. He was talking in low tones, so she could not discern what he was saying, but upon closer inspection she realized the dark blue smart phone he was using was the one given to her recently by Rashida to use in Synlasia.

"Why are you using my phone?" she asked from where she stood by the kitchen island. He started, glancing back at her and smiling warmly. It was a megawatt smile that she hadn't seen from him before; one that did strange things to her heart.