A New Threat

As The Night Draws To An End

A cloud of steam billowed around Queen Amaya as she stepped out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, her body wrapped in a soft white robe. She gently unpinned her hair as she moved, letting her loose, dark strands flow freely around her shoulders. The party had been a lot of fun, but she'd barely had a moment off her feet, and her heels had caused one hell of an ache to ripple through her poor soles. She'd spent the last thirty minutes in the bath, soaking her feet in hot, soapy water and they were certainly feeling better for it.

"I told you that everything would go fine..." the Queen smiled softly as her hazel eyes fell upon Magnifico's back. The King stared out of the window, still dressed in his party robes, watching as the last of the servants left the castle and began the walk back to their homes in the city or the hamlet. He'd helped them with some of the cleaning before heading to bed, dismissing them for the night as he left with promises of helping some more tomorrow. It wouldn't do the castle any harm to be a little messy for a few hours.

With a soft sigh, Magnifico turned to face his wife, his fingers moving to untie his robes.
"Yes, well, I'm sure my spell helped keep everything peaceful," he muttered, starting to shrug off his clothes, leaving them in a pile on the floor.
"I'm sure it did, darling, but I still wish you could have relaxed a little more.." Amaya tilted her head, smiling softly as she slipped out of her robe, pulling on her nightgown. As the soft, satin material trailed delicately down her form, Amaya fell gently onto the bed, a grin on her face despite the throbbing in her feet. The Queen's face was still flushed from hours of dancing with her husband, the hair at her neck damp from the steam of her bath, her skin glistening in a way that Magnifico found far more attractive than he would ever admit.

Amaya looked at the sorcerer as she leaned back against the pillows on the bed, letting out a contented sigh. Slowly, Magnifico moved to sit at the end of the bed where he gently picked up one of her feet and began to massage it.
"If I knew who, or what, I was dealing with, I might have been able to."
"We." Amaya corrected him, reminding him once again that he wasn't alone in this, before letting out a soft moan of pleasure at the feel of his fingers against her tired feet.

"Is that all that was on your mind?" the Queen asked, giving him a knowing look. She had seen Magnifico's attitude change slightly as soon as Eliana had introduced them to Benjamín. Her husband had remained as charming as he always was, but there had been an edge to every word he had spoken to the boy. It was something Amaya could read from halfway across the room, and so she'd felt obliged to interrupt.
"Well, no." He rolled his eyes, digging his thumbs into the soles of Amaya's feet in a way that he knew helped release the tension.
"Eliana seems very... smitten with that boy."
"Smitten is one word for it..." Amaya chuckled, the memory of walking into the gardens to find her daughter kissing Benjamín distracting her for a moment.
"You don't trust him?"
"It's not about that, though... no I don't." Magnifico scoffed. It wasn't anything personal. He was certain that he wouldn't trust any boy around his little girl.
"No, it's just... another reminder that she's growing up and that one day, she'll no longer want to be around us."
"Oh, I don't see that happening," Amaya sighed happily, slipping her foot out of her husband's grip and replacing it with the other, grinning at him cheekily. The King rolled his eyes, smiling fondly at his love before repeating his delicate massage on the other foot.

"No?"
"Of course not. I mean, yes, she's going to want her own life but... she loves us."
"I know she does, but I just get the feeling that she's not settled here."
"It's her home."
"I know, the only home she's ever known, but.." Magnifico paused, frowning
"She seems so... Reluctant."
"Reluctant?"
"Yeah, with her magic, with her titles... I can't explain it."

Amaya sighed, sitting herself up a little straighter, pulling her feet from Magnifico's grip so that she could take his hands in her own. She knew what her husband meant, because it had been something that she'd discussed with her daughter a few times.
"She doesn't feel like she deserves her title. That it's just something she inherited and didn't work for. But that doesn't mean that she's going to walk away from us."
"You're sure?"
"Of course."
"But what about her magic? She has a gift, Amaya, and I can't seem to get her to embrace it."
"Just give her time. Keep up your lessons and, she'll come through eventually."