Anders
It was the second day the cadets were officially at the garrison. Roberts was waiting in Dart’s office for his room assignment. I went in to drop off some paperwork and Dart looked at me and asked, “Do you think Her Majesty will ever make up her mind about whether we’re going to get cross bows? I asked her weeks ago.”
I shrugged and replied, “Ask her again. She probably forgot about it. Either that or she put in the when I get around to it pile. You know her.”
I turned to leave and Roberts was red. He said, “I apologize if I’m out of line, Lieutenant, but that’s a very disrespectful way to speak of the queen. I doubt she’d appreciate you making fun of her.”
I frowned. “I wasn’t making fun of her. She really does have a when I get around to it pile. Back center of her desk. Besides, if she doesn’t like me making fun of her she’ll just roll her eyes and claim she won’t talk to me.”
Roberts’s mouth dropped open and he said, “You really make light of official royal discipline?”
I blinked. “Official royal discipline? Cadet, have you met the queen?”
He nodded. “Last week at the welcome reception.”
A formal affair that Retta had grumbled about having to wear a fancy dress for. “Alright. So, I’m confused. If I recall, she was formal, but not in full on royal mode. Did she seem like someone who would be a disciplinarian?”
He frowned. “I don’t know, sir. She was friendly, but I would say quite formal.”
Oh. Which means she would have called everyone by their title and not been overly personal with anyone. Definitely not a Retta privileges situation. It was becoming apparent that somehow, Cadet Roberts was not aware of exactly who I was. I held back my smile and Dart looked like he wanted to laugh, but didn’t want to be rude. I said, “I apologize, I didn’t remember that she called me Lieutenant. And of course I would have called her Your Majesty in that situation.”
“Why would you call her anything else?”
I bit my tongue to hold back my laugh and said gently, “Well, maybe because I’m the father of her children?”
Roberts’s looked confused for a moment, then his face went beet red. Dart said, “That was mean, Anders. You could have just said because she’s your wife.”
I clapped Roberts on the shoulder and smiled. “I’m sorry. That was a bit mean. But, yes. She’s my wife and fortunately, I’ve never received the true royal and fierce treatment or discipline. As for the crossbows? I’m sure she forgot about them, honestly.”
"Cadet Roberts – Deleted scene from Discovered Attack," Copyright © March 26, 2022 by Cathy Draig.