A Crown For The Taking

Her Majesty

The two bodies moved together under the thin sheet of blue silk. The Prince let out quick breaths as he held onto her body. She wasn't the woman he was scheduled to marry in a year, Princess Alene. She wasn't any noble lady staying in the castle that followed him through the echoing halls. She wasn't any Servant girl who'd been wooed by his effortless flirting.
Her hands darting behind her and held onto the Iron headboard, the Lion embossed on the front was a symbol of the Prince and his family. A family she wasn't a part of.
They fell together and the Prince watched her close her eyes and reluctantly roll off the bed.
"Leaving so soon?" He asked, sitting up against the cool metal.
"I have things to do besides sleep with the Prince of Rhawon," she sighed. He watched her dress and then approach his side, he admired the way the dress hugged her waist.
"You could always skip a day," He said, reaching to hold her waist. She stepped out of his arms and laughed at him. She wished to stay and run her hands through the Prince's golden hair and stare into his Sapphire eyes til it was too dark to see them.
"If I did that then Erin would have my head," she pulled on her head piece and walked to the chamber doors. He let her leave without an argument, it was his pleasure to watch the deadly woman saunter out of his room.
The sun was still tucked behind the clock tower that faced his balcony, letting only strips of light through the glass doors. Prince Nikolai wanted to turn back into the rumpled sheets and sleep for another night, but alas his Guard had other plans.
Ulric, the Royal Guard walked in after the Prince's company left.
"You should know better than to allow her to stay this late, if the King saw her here..." Ulric stopped lecturing when he noticed the Prince giving the usual look of 'I'm not listening'.
"Oh, Ulric, you've known me my entire life, To still think I care if my father knows who I bed is considerably childish," His highness got out of bed, unashamed of his nearly nude state. The Prince knew that Ulric would look away if he felt awkward.
"Nik, one day she's going to stop returning to the Castle, servants are already whispering about her odd timing," Ulric warned. Nik  wasn't having it, the servants knew better than to gossip about his night life, seeing as more than one of them had been part of it.
"If I had more friends that cared like you do, I'd have none at all," He teased. Ulric and the Prince had known each other since they were five. They even trained together as boys and eventually Ulric made it up the ranks.
"You're entertaining a very dangerous woman," he pressed the Prince. Ulric hated when Nik got too involved, but none of the women had ever been such a threat.
"I don't plan on just moving on one day without her, things will be fine. She understands my position," Nik finished dressing in the Crested outfit he was to wear in Court.
"Do you understand hers?" Ulric asked, He  laughed at this. He pushed past the guard and opened the door,
"Of course, I wouldn't invite Rhawons most wanted into the castle without understanding the danger," Nik turned to face his friend, "that's the best part."
-
She pulled her black cloak around her head, the Servants only daring to glance at her sideways as she snuck out through the stables. Getting in and out of the castle was easy for her, it was getting out of the Prince's bed that became harder and harder. She knew nothing more could come of it, he was arranged to marry. A Princess from an allied Nation, she had no right to wish anything else.
Her horse was waiting at the castle gate and she quickly mounted and left the grounds as fast as she could, getting away from the people who hunted for her daily.
The familiar smells of wet Pine and the Metal Mills filled her nose, this was Rhawon. A nation of laborers and nobility, with the occasional criminal. The land was always producing metal, precious and otherwise, for the King to manipulate anyway he pleased. The entire Castle gleamed on top of the hill, shining even in moonlight as it was an exterior of all metal and glass.
The familiar stone building came into sight and she saw men training outside, even though it smelt like it was about to rain. Through the trees she could see women pulling down laundry, knowing of the storm as well.
"Maël, you're back, thought maybe the Prince turned you in," Akin shouted as he flipped a smaller trainee over his shoulder. Akin was large, broad shoulders that rippled with every movement and a torso made from the steel protecting the castle.
"If you mean inside out then maybe," she winked and got off the horse, letting a stable boy lead it away.
"Learn anything new?" He asked, dismissing the younger boy. Maël shook her head and let him place his hand on the small of her back. He pulled her into his chest and she did what he wanted her to. She wrapped her arms around his neck, admiring the scar across his jaw.
"He doesn't like to talk before, and I didn't have much time after," she offers. He roams under her tunic, feeling her bare back with his calloused hands.
He raises his eyebrows, "So the Prince has some impressive stamina," he teased. She smacked his shoulder before he leaned into her hair, Akin gripped her waist and pulled her hips against him.
She could try and hide her attraction for the Prince, but she could never hide her reaction to Akin. Her face ran hot and she knew he could feel her heart pounding.
"It wasn't that impressive." A lie, but he never questioned her. Anymore.
"Erin is waiting for you, he's got an assignment," Akin breathed against her neck. She wished he didn't have this effect on her after so many years, but as his lips hovered over her neck she couldn't bring herself to pull away.
"I just did one, let him wait," she whispered against his rough skin.
Akin pulled away and looked around, other men training but no one was watching them as they stood so close together.
"Just see what it is, maybe it's worth while," he said. She smirked and he bent in and took her bottom lip in his teeth. She whimpered as he walked away and into the building.
She entered behind him and walked to Erin's Chambers, he was sitting in a chair that was too small for his large frame. He sorted through a lot of what seemed to be stolen goods. Jewelry mostly, but she saw the occasional glint of real metal and coins.
"Ah, the lovely Maël. Sit," he pointed to the stool across from the pile of things. She pulled herself onto the stool and even reached to pull out a copper ring from the pile.
"Who got this?" She asked. He only shrugged,
"A bunch of the Trainees brought it in, they said as payment," he shrugged.
"I heard I have an assignment," she tested. He nodded, then handed her an overly jeweled neckpiece.
"You're going to impersonate a princess and kill the Queen." The stool tipped beneath her and she spilled into the endless mess on the floor. She quickly gathered her dress and looked up at him,
"You can't be serious! Theres no way they'll believe I'm a Princess!" She stood up and pulled her hair away from her face.
"Of course they will, I've hired royal servants and guards and everything, only two people will know you're true identity. Akin and the Prince." Her jaw clenched as he said Akin's name.
"Akin?" She asked, she looked down at her hands, bringing him into the castle would surely cause a lot of tension. He was his own force, just being in the same room as him could make men weak in the knees and women light headed.
"He'll be your Royal Guard of course, he's your escort and Captain of Yulins' Army," he said. Yulin, the nation she was supposed to pretend to rule. She felt the oxygen in her body lower and the room spin around her. Kill the Queen. Her body almost collapsed at the pressure of the situation.
"What do the Servants and guards think then?" She asked, trying hard not to think about murdering the Queen.
"That you're a Princess who's interested in strengthening bonds with Rhawon and you couldn't bring your servants from such a far place," he seemed like he was pleased with himself. Of course he would be, he's never killed anyone, just orchestrated thousands of murders.
"When do I start?"