A Thief and a Queen

To Be With You

A/N: This is my fourth entry for Inspired by OQ Week. It's inspired by two manips by CarolinaMR.

A quartet of musicians sat in a corner, their soft music floating throughout the Great Hall as servants cleared the fine gold plates away from long table still laden with rich foods and drinks. The king, though, was finished eating and so that meant everyone had to stop—no matter how little they had eaten and how hungry they still were.

Beside King Leopold, Queen Regina pressed her hand to her stomach to keep it from growling. While she had been the second served after her husband, she had been served considerably less as it was not ladylike for a queen to have a mound of food on her plate like the king. It would've gone to waste anyway as her corset was cinched so tight, she could barely breath or swallow. She doubted she was supposed to do either. After almost five years of marriage to Leopold, Regina had come to realize she was just meant to sit there and be beautiful, a piece of living art Leopold could parade around along with many of his other treasures. She was not a person—not to him and not to his court.

Leopold leaned back in his chair, patting his stomach. "My queen and I thank you for your company at supper tonight. Isn't that right, Regina?"

"Yes," she said, knowing the script well by now. "We are very delighted that each and every one of you came to share this meal with us. Thank you."

Pleased by her pretty speech, Leopold took her hand. "I believe, my dear, it is time for you and the other women to take your leave so us men can talk about important things beyond your understanding. I bid you good night."

"Good night, dear husband," she said, forcing herself to smile as he kissed her hand. She resisted the urge to wipe it once he released it. Instead, she rose from her chair and led the other women out of the Great Hall.

As had become customary, Regina invited the women back to a parlor. They shared drinks while practicing more "gentlewomanly" pursuits such as needlepoint, calligraphy or playing music. Regina did none of those, usually preferring horses and swords to the consternation of her mother first and her husband second. She usually sat in a grand chair, listening to the women gossip and trying to gather up information Leopold could use—just as he had ordered her to do shortly after their wedding.

She hated it all.

Regina managed to bear it for an hour before standing. She took her leave from the other women and hastily retreated to her rooms, her sanctuary. There, she leaned against the chair in her room and tried to breathe a sigh of relief, but she still wore her too restrictive corset.

"You look like you need some help," a smooth male voice said as fingers gently gripped her hip. A comforting warmth and a familiar woodsy scent enveloped her.

Straightening up, Regina smiled at the reflection in the mirror before turning to face her companion. He was taller than her and she looked up into his warm blue eyes, shining with adoration. He grinned at her, revealing the dimples that made her weak at the knees. "Milady," he greeted.

"Thief," she replied fondly, tugging on the fine black doublet he wore. "Where did you find this?"

"I found it in the trunk I relieved a nobleman's carriage of," he replied. "It appears he and I were of similar height and build."

She nodded, smoothing the velvet material down again. "I do believe it probably looks better on you than him."

He laughed before looking her over. "You look beautiful tonight."