Chess Series: Book Four
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Chapter 1
The morning after my wedding I was woken by the sound of my son’s screams.
I quickly looked at the other side of the bed and saw that my new husband, Anders, wasn’t there. What the fuck was going on? I threw back the covers and picked up the first piece of clothing that would cover me, which turned out to be the fancy shirt from Anders’s wedding suit.
Ronan continued to scream and I hurried from my room to the nursery, hastily tying enough of the ties on the shirt to keep it from falling off. When I got to the open door to the nursery I stopped short, my eyes wide.
A woman I’d never seen before was holding a pistol on Anders, who was standing in front of Ronan’s crib, hands up. If not for the pistol, I might have admired my husband wearing nothing but a pair of leather pants, but the pistol made no sense. Ronan was sitting up and screaming. Probably because he was hungry, but I’m sure he also didn’t like the fact that his father was standing right there and not picking him up.
I slowly walked in to the nursery, also holding up my hands. I said evenly, “What’s going on here?”
The woman nodded at me. “Your Majesty. This man was attempting to kidnap the king.”
He was doing what now? I blinked then said, “I’m sorry, I thought you said he was attempting to kidnap Ronan.”
“Yes. I stepped out for just a minute to get some clean towels and I came back to find a half naked stranger leaning over the king’s crib.”
I stepped closer and said, “First, I have no idea who you are, so you’re the stranger. Second, where did that pistol come from? And third, he’s my husband. So, let’s start by you lowering the pistol, and telling me who the fuck you are.”
She lowered it and hung her head. “I’m so sorry, Your Majesty. My name is Agnes Meylor. I’m filling in for Eve while she’s away.”
Oh, right. I had forgotten I’d given Eve a few days off. But I’d presumed she’d get someone I knew to fill her place. Guess not. “Okay, that’s at least something.”
Anders had lowered his hands and as he leaned over to pick up Ronan, he said, “I can answer the pistol question. I…borrowed…it from the garrison and left it here. Unloaded, though.”
Anders tried to sooth Ronan; however, the baby was wound up and a little bit of cuddling wasn’t going to do it. I walked over and took Ronan from Anders, then sat in the rocking chair and opened a couple of ties on the shirt so I could feed him. That was enough to finally stop the screaming.
I looked up at Agnes. “While I appreciate the quick defense of my son, I wonder why it didn’t occur to you that a half naked man probably belonged here? I mean, wouldn’t an actual kidnapper be fully dressed?”
Anders snorted, but didn’t say anything. Agnes had no answer. I said, “And clearly you didn’t attend the wedding. So, how long have you been here?”
“Since early this morning, when Eve left around dawn.”
“I see. I guess I’ll have to let her know that next time she gets someone to fill in for her, we should be introduced first.”
Agnes said, “Again, I deeply apologize, Your Majesty.…May I ask why there is an unloaded pistol in the nursery? Having one loaded makes a lot more sense.”
Anders answered. “Because Ronan laughs at the sound when you cock it. At least sometimes he does. And I left it unloaded because I didn’t want any accidents around m — the baby.”
He looked at me and I shrugged. I’d caught that he’d almost said ‘my,’ but I didn’t think Agnes did.
The door to the nursery opened and my best friend, Celeste, came in carrying her daughter, Anastasia. “Good morning newlyweds!” Celeste said it way too cheerfully.
I switched Ronan to the other side then said, “So how come Ronan’s screaming woke me up, but not you?”
She shrugged. “I heard him, but I’d seen Anders go in the room, so I figured he had it covered.”
I smiled and shook my head at her as she took a seat in the other rocking chair in the room to feed Ana. Ana had her own nursery, but Celeste preferred company.
Anders sat on the floor and leaned back against the side of Ronan’s crib. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back. Agnes quietly took a seat on the side of the room. I guess she didn’t want to draw attention to herself.
After a moment, Anders opened his eyes and said, “Celeste, what are you doing?”
I gave her a confused look and she blushed. “Nothing.”
He looked at me and then at her. “Muttering under you breath isn’t nothing.”
Celeste wouldn’t look at him, but she glanced at me. She said quietly, “Counting.”
I snorted. “His scars?”
“Kinda.”
Ronan was finished, so I put him on the floor and retied my shirt. Then, I said to Anders, “Wanna give her the full view so she can get an accurate count?”
He rolled his eyes, but obligingly stood up. He held his hands away from his body slightly, palms open. I said, “I’ll give you a head start — four are below the waist.”
Celeste nodded and stood, still holding Ana. She said, “So, that makes thirteen above.”
He nodded. She looked him over, pointing as she counted, then walked around to continue to count on his back. Then, she frowned and started over. He looked at me and I had to bite my lip to hold back a laugh.
This time when she came back around his front she said, “Either I’m missing some, or you don’t know how to count. I get eleven.”
Anders grinned. “Then you’re missing two.” She narrowed her eyes at him and he said, “Alright, I’ll give you one.” He held up his right hand and showed her the scar across his palm.
A third time she walked around him and I heard her counting out loud this time. She came back around and stood in front of us. “And the palm makes twelve.”
I cleared my throat, desperately trying to hold back the laugh. “Seriously?”
She stomped her foot. “You saw me point to each one and heard me count.”
“Right. Every one below the neck.” I burst out laughing.
She closed her eyes, then opened them and sat back down, her cheeks once more turning red. “Shut up, shut up, shut up.”
Anders said, “Aw, Celeste. It’s sweet that you don’t see it any more. I know you’re looking beyond the flaws to see the real me underneath.” He put his hand over his heart.
She grabbed a blanket on the table next to her and threw it at him. “Why don’t you just take yourself and your seventeen scars and go put some clothes on. If I wanted to see a half naked man, I’d go look at my husband.”
He laughed and I said, “Hey, maybe I want to enjoy the view.”
She said, “Well, you can enjoy the view on your time. This is baby time.”
Anders shook his head, then said, “Speaking of which…” He got back down on the floor and crawled after Ronan. I’d been watching the baby and he’d crawled around a bit, but had mostly been sitting in one spot playing with a toy. Well, more like chewing on it, but it was fabric, so I just kept an eye on him instead of taking the toy away.
Anders made a growling noise as he approached Ronan and Ronan laughed. So, Anders did it again, then wiggled his fingers like he was going to tickle Ronan. He didn’t have to though, because Ronan was laughing like crazy just at the noises his father was making and the wiggling fingers. Then, Ronan crawled over to Anders and reached out and touched his nose.
Anders wrinkled his nose and Ronan laughed at that too. Celeste leaned over to me and said quietly, “Now that is adorable.”
I smiled. “I agree. And it won’t be too long before your little one is crawling too. And you’ll see her father on the floor with her and have your own adorable set.”
Anders looked over at me. “Are you women talking about me?”
I said, “We were simply commenting that men and babies are an irresistible combination.” I paused then added, “And my father asked me yesterday when he’d get more grandchildren.”
Anders turned to Ronan and said, “RJ, tell Mama that she better be joking or…”
“Or what, Lieutenant?”
“Nothing, Your Majesty. But, now that the marriage has been consummated, I don’t have to touch you again.”
I snorted. “Right. That’ll last, what, an hour? But, seriously, he was joking and I told him he was just going to have to wait a bit.”
He smiled at me. “Good, then we’re in agreement on that.”
I stood, then knelt down and kissed Ronan on top of his head, and Anders on the lips. “Well, I’m going to get washed and put on some real clothes. I’ll see you in a bit.”
Anders nodded and I waved to Celeste and left.
∼∗∼∗∼∗∼
Later that day, I was in the War Room, going through the stacks of correspondence that never stopped, even for the queen to be married.
From over by the map table, Anders said, “You know, we’re going to have to rename this room. Given the war is over, seems it should be known as the Strategy Room or something.”
“Sounds good to me.” I stood and went to stand next to him and look over the table. The model soldiers had been removed, as well as the model boats representing the Navy. I sighed. “I suppose as the first order of strategy, I should reach out to the head of each province and maybe the generals as well? I believe we need to centralize the military instead of each province having it’s own militia.”
“Not a bad idea, but I don’t know how they’ll react to that. The war was really hard on Sabladar, and even Fontidar to the west. They may see you as stealing what little resources they have left.”
“Who’s paying those men, currently?”
“Not sure, but Simon would know.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not sure that marrying me extends the first name privileges. But, it makes sense he’d know.” I looked at the map again and sighed. “Of course, don’t we have a problem here?” I tapped on Petidar on the map.
“Not that I know of. With George and Dorian dead, Talbot should inherit the title.”
“Okay…I guess I’ll send a letter to whatever the official address is for the…position.” I put my arm around his waist and leaned on his shoulder. “I don’t know anything about putting a war ravaged country back together.”
He kissed me on the forehead and said, “You don’t have to know. You just have to know who can help you.”
“So, I need the addresses for all the dukes, as well as a list of all generals. Oh, and I’ll need to speak to Simon.”
He went over to the bookshelves to look for the lists I needed and I stayed looking at the map. Jador wasn’t that big of a country, although it was bigger than Frapane. It would probably take about a week to cross from one side to the other on horseback. Maybe a little longer, depending on the route you took. I traced my finger over the Sacred Mountains and sighed again. I’d been married for less than twenty-four hours and already I was jumping into the next task. Maybe I should give myself a few days off and take a honeymoon?
I looked up to ask Anders what he thought, when there was a knock on the door. Couldn’t I get a least a little bit of peace? “Come in,” I called out.
Private Railan opened the door and said, “Your Majesty, the Duke of Uesdar to see you.”
I quickly glanced at the map. Uesdar, in the north, by the Duskscar Mountains. Got it. “Please send him in.”
Railan opened the door and an interesting man walked through. He was a little over six feet tall, with greenish-brown skin. And his pointed ears and two long teeth on his bottom jaw identified him as Chakrir. Immediately, I wondered how he became the Duke of a providence of Jador — a country of humans, with human nobility. Not that it mattered, but it was interesting.
He bowed and said, “Your Majesty, my name is Gavin.”
Okay, that wasn’t a Chakrir name. “Pleased to meet you. I hope you can stay for awhile. I would like to call together the heads of the provinces and the military generals to discuss next steps now that the war is over.”
“Yes, of course I can stay. I’m glad I’m getting the opportunity to introduce myself before the others do. I’m sure it won’t surprise you to learn I’m not exactly a favorite.”
I tilted my head. “I gather they don’t approve of your background?” It was the most diplomatic way I could think to phrase it.
He laughed. “Oh, they liked my father well enough — until he decided he was going to marry for love instead of status. He was human and of course…she wasn’t. But, I’m the oldest son and he passed a few years ago, so they have to accept it.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ve heard that Jador has an alliance with the Chakrir. And even before then, we weren’t enemies. Now, I’ll stop being rude and introduce you to Lt. Anders, my husband.”
Anders and Gavin shook hands. It occurred to me that there was probably an official title that Anders had now, but as far as I was concerned, he was still a Lieutenant. He was once more dressed in his Shield Guard uniform, complete with sword and pistols.
Gavin said, “Then you’ve decided to remain a lieutenant for the Shield Guard?”
Anders nodded. “At least for now.” I gave him a puzzled expression and he said, “Unless you decide I could be of better use to you doing something else.”
Then, I frowned. “You are not a pawn.”
He walked over to me and tilted up my chin with one finger, and met my eyes. “Of course not. But even as a lieutenant in the Shield Guard, you have the authority to give me different assignments. That hasn’t changed.”
I nodded, and he dropped his hand. I turned to Gavin and said, “I apologize. But, since you’re here, let me ask you something.”
Gavin nodded and I motioned him over to look at the map with me. I pointed to Uesdar Province and said, “I don’t want to presume that Uesdar fared well in the war just because your province is some distance from where the fighting occurred. So, how did you fare?”
“As you said, the fighting didn’t happen in our territory, so we don’t have any issues with villages or cities to rebuild. However, all the province militias were on the front line. So, as far as people go, Uesdar is hurting as much as say Petidar or Surmdar.”
I held back a smile. “Well, Surmdar must be faring better that Petidar given that they haven’t lost two dukes in the past six months.”
He laughed again. “Ah, yes. But, not a great loss, as I’m sure you know.”
I nodded. “I had the…displeasure…of knowing George personally, although I only spoke with Dorian a couple of times. And…the world probably is a better place without them.”
We chatted for a few more minutes before Gavin took his leave. I took a seat at my desk and drummed my fingers. Anders walked over and leaned against the desk. “Drumming fingers…that probably doesn’t bode well.”
I shrugged. “I’m just thinking about what you said. How you’ll go wherever I send you. And of course that’s true of Piers, Alecks, and Dart as well, but I’m not sure I’ve ever really done so. I mean, I’ve sent guardsmen on different assignments, but not you guys.”
“Well, part of that is we’re lieutenants, and Dart is the captain, so we get to delegate that kind of thing.”
“True, but I also don’t send you because you’re mine, you know? You’re not just guards. You’re my friends. And of course you, specifically, are a lot more than that.”
He smiled. “From the minute I met you, standing there on the dock, and you refused to look away from me, I’ve known you’re different. You don’t do things because it’s expected of you. In fact, you’re much more likely to do something that’s not expected. And that makes you a great queen.”
“Thank you. But, surely I’m doing the duties anyone would do in my position.”
He reached over and cupped my cheek then said, “Actually, no. Do you think Lucian did all this paperwork? Do you really think he paid attention to details on requisition requests? Or kept in close contact with the Minister of Finance?”
I frowned. “He didn’t?”
Anders leaned over and kissed me, then leaned back and dropped his hand. “No. He made someone else do it for him. I seriously doubt he got first name privileges from Simon — if Lucian talked to Simon at all, he probably just assumed he could call him by his first name.”
“But…that’s just rude.”
He chuckled. “No, that’s royal. He was the king — the ultimate authority. Everyone literally bowed to him and did what he asked without question.…Did I ever tell you how hard it was for me to talk to him about how he’d treated you?”
I shook my head. “No, I didn’t think about it other than to think that you didn’t have to do it.”
He smiled, “I’d known you for only a few days, but I think I was maybe already a little in love with you. Certainly in love with your attitude towards life. And I debated whether I should say something for hours — most of the night actually. Then, I decided I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t call him out on it. But, when I went to see him, I knew there was a fifty-fifty chance he’d take some kind of retaliation against me.”
“Which, thankfully, he didn’t.” He nodded agreement. I stood up and walked over to the map. “Okay, so I declare that we need to officially rename this northern province and get a whole new group of nobles to run it. Ooo, I got it — now that you’re married to me, maybe that gives you like nobility adjacent and you can become the head of…Northdar.”
He burst out laughing. “There were so many ideas in what you just said that don’t work that way or that I’m not interested in.”
“So, you don’t think Northdar is a good name?”
He walked over to me and put his arms around me from behind to pull me against his chest. “I don’t think the people of Petidar Province would appreciate the queen unilaterally changing where they live. And did you really say nobility adjacent?”
I leaned back against him. “But — but I’m the queen. Can’t I do that whole royal thing too? Just send out decrees with my name in big, swirly letters and everyone has to do it because I say so?”
He leaned down and kissed my neck. “First, what is it with you and your name in swirly letters? And second, no you can’t do that, because it’s not who you are.”
“Okay, I accept that I won’t do that because it’s not good ruling practice. However, I do not accept that I can’t have my name in swirly letters if I want to.” I turned my head and looked at him. “I mean, doesn’t Henrietta Lynn just cry out for swirls?”
Abruptly, he turned me around and cupped my face with both hands, then leaned down and kissed me, deepening the kiss almost immediately. I tangled my tongue with his and reached out to grab his waist. After a moment he pulled back and dropped his hands to my shoulders.
I asked, “Not that I’m complaining, at all, but what was that for?”
“Because I love you so much, I just had to.”
“Oh, well, that’s okay then. Because you know, I love you too.”
"Rook Excerpt," Copyright © September 7, 2022 by Cathy Draig.