Rule of a ruthless King

“Where is she?” King Edric bellowed at his first guard as he stood proud in front of his throne.

“She’s on her way, my king, she was in the gardens when we sent word for her” Matthias answered as he bowed respectfully, trying to stop the king from growing impatient.

The king kissed his teeth in annoyance that she wasn’t here the moment he demanded her presence. At that the soft clacking of shoes began to echo through the hall as I finally entered the room. Hurriedly I came up before him and knelt on one knee with my head bowed to the floor.

“You asked to see me, my King?”

“Yes! Next time don’t take so long!”

“Forgive me” I pleaded timidly “It won’t happen again” I knew better than to make excuses for myself and to test his patience ever more, even if I hadn’t arrived late on purpose. After all I practically ran here the moment I heard he wanted to speak with me.

“It better not” he scolded as he stepped closer to me. “It seems after all these years, I finally have some use for you Aurelia, I thought I had been forsaken, being burdened with only a daughter and no male heir, but alas you can be of some useful benefit to me”

I kept my head down, not daring to face him as my knee dug into the cold, hard stone floor.

“You see Aurelia, I have a certain wish, I wish to unite our kingdom with King Aldrich of Ailingdale, his land may be smaller than mine” he boasted “but, he does have a bigger army, and I plan to make him our next ally and eventually he and his men will fight for me and be at my disposal just like the rest of the kings I have in my pocket” he chuckled menacingly

“Yes, my King” I spoke quietly, but I failed to see how this had anything to do with me, it’s not like he ever involved me when he tricked the other Kingdoms into his greedy palms.

“Now, King Aldrich has three sons, the lucky bastard, he was blessed unlike me! He has his eldest, that of course will take over as king. Then he has his second born who would be next in line and then lastly… his third born! So, unless both of his brothers die while they’re all still young, he will remain just a prince of Ailingdale. So, I have devised a plan! To join our kingdoms, I will tempt the King by offering you in marriage to his youngest, so when I die, he can take over as king and rule as I will teach him to rule, my legacy will live on!”

I gasped “But fath…. My king, I can’t be wedded to someone I’ve never met”

“YOU WHAT?” he shouted over my head as he stepped closer, towering over my curled body. “YOU WILL DO WHAT I TELL YOU! ITS ABOUT TIME YOU MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL…. UNDERSTAND?”

“Yes, my king” I cowered under his hard stare, I could feel his eyes burning on the back of my head.

“So, I thought!” he amused “I will ensure the king takes interest in betrothing his son to you… oh yes! He will agree indeed” he marvelled cockily at his own plan. “Now, get out!” he commanded

I quickly lifted off my knee that was now stiff, kept my head down as I backed away and headed toward the wooden door. I shut it behind me and walked with haste through the cold hallway to my room, not allowing myself to falter until I was alone.

As soon as I reached my room, I hastily shut the door behind me, leaving me in peace to groan and shriek in anger. Just when I think there’s nothing more that man can do to anger me, somehow, he still always manages to surprise me. I paced back and forth as I shook my head in disbelief and mumbled angrily to myself.

Suddenly my door creaked open and in walked Maude, my lifelong bedchamber maid. She had been here since I was born and was incredibly close to my mother. When my mother passed away, Maude had been all I had left, the only one who raised and cared for me. I half expected the King to fire her from the Castle after my mother’s death, but fortunately she was a hard worker, knew the castle like nobody else and always kept her head down and her mouth shut whenever the king was present.

“Oh, my lady, whatever is the matter, you look absolutely furious… what’s happened?” she asked concerned as she set my fresh linen down on the bed.

“That King of ours has decided to marry me to the Prince of Ailingdale, to unite our kingdoms”

“Oh, no, my poor dear, when did you hear of this?”

“Just! I’ve just come back from speaking with him… or more like him commanding me as always while I just sat like a mouse… I hate him Maude, I hate him!”

“Well now my dear” she approached me calmly as she nudged for me to sit in my wooden rocking chair “for all we know, the prince may be a very kind man!”

I looked at her in cynicism “Really Maude? No doubt he’s just as greedy and selfish as my father!”

“Oh, my lady”

“Why? Why do I have to be wedded?... I thought if I just got through these years until that bastard finally met his death, I would finally be queen in my own right and free of him! And now I have to spend the rest of my life at the bottom of the chain again, cowering to some conniving, vicious man, who will just command and order me around, and what’s worse I’ll be expected to sleep with him and produce offspring!”

Maude knelt beside me and cupped my hand in hers as she looked at me through her dull brown eyes with sympathy

“What am I going to do Maude…. What am I going to do?” I asked feeling so wretched and disheartened for what my future would bring, hoping by some miracle she’d have an answer, but she just squeezed my hand, trying to bring me some form of comfort before she had to leave to dress the rest of the rooms.

I stayed alone in my room for the rest of the day in my own self pity and frustration, until I was called to dine for the evening. I dressed into a tidier gown and made my way to the hall, I could already hear the loud deep laughter of my father and his minions, and the smell of ale and wine wafted through the doors. I entered quietly, hoping I could sit, eat and disappear without any attention being bought to me, the less I have to deal with him the better!

Half of the food had already been torn into as the king and his guards sat around devouring the roasted pig and potatoes. I snagged a few bits for my plate and sat on the far end on the long rectangular table as they took large gulps of their wine and chomped on their food, laughing and chatting away, amongst themselves.

The king suddenly banged his Goblet on the table as he stood to attention, nearly falling as he drunkenly shuffled from foot to foot. “Soon, I will have another kingdom in my grips, his army will be my army and we will invade all the other lands that refused to be my ally! They will regret ever saying no to me! No one says no to King Edric! He roared and his guards cheered in agreement as they all clanged and bashed their goblets repeatedly on the table.

I quickly shoved forkfuls of pig into my mouth and hid a potato in my hand as I discreetly rose from the table and headed for the main doors out of the hall, the last thing I wanted, was to be around the King whilst he become even more intoxicated with his drink and took out his frustrations on me.

Luckily, I got away without being noticed and headed straight for my room as I ate the potato. I dressed into my gown, put out my candle and sighed heavily as I got into bed, dreading tomorrow, and the day after that, and my entire foreseeable future.

I woke up the following morning, got dressed and had breakfast alone in my room, something I frequently did. I much preferred to eat in peace than feeling on edge right under the king’s nose.

After combing my long blonde silky hair, I left the castle and made my way through the village, greeting our people as they hobbled about with their busy lives, trying to make ends meet with the very little that they had. I felt guilty every time I saw their ragged clothes and worn shoes, most of them were skinny and malnourished and would spend everyday trading and begging for little food. Only a few people here knew of my place in the castle, they knew that although I was princess of Northlaye, I had no voice when it came to the way our kingdom survived.

heck I didn’t have a say when it came to my life let alone the lives of others!

I was just passing through until I reached my favourite villager, Nora. She was big built and brash, but she had to be, she fixed leathers and shoes for her living and hunted her own food in the woods. “Hey Nora” I called as I entered her leathers hut “How is business today?”

“Well, hello there your majesty, today is rather slow unfortunately. But what do I owe for this pleasure?”

“Ohh, Nora! You know I can’t go too long being stuck in those walls, I wanted to see you”

She chuckled as she sunk her hot metal poker in a stone basin of cold water. The steam hissed as she clapped her hand down on a unit for me to sit on. “How is the mighty King?” She asked sarcastically

“Oh, as generous as ever… to his own cause” I smirked and Nora’s grin widened as we always liked to joke about him.

“What’s he up to this time? Raising tax’s again? or is he just planning on executing an innocent bystander for his own amusement?” She scoffed

“No, nothing like that… at least not today, he’s a little preoccupied with another one of his plans”

“hmm” she murmured as she folded her arms in front of her broadly breasted chest “what’s his plan?”

I sighed as I sipped on some hot water “Oh, he wants to unite us with Ailingdale and in order to do that I have to marry the third born prince, so when father dies, he can take over the throne”

“Wow, I’m surprised he’d even have the idea of someone else ruling Northlaye unless it was his own heir”

“Well, he has an heir, but to his disappointment it’s a female heir, but us females have no place on the throne, or of ruling over other men, at least that’s how he views it. Another man ruling is better than his own female daughter”

“You know, I’ve got a good idea of where I’d like to shove that red hot poker”

I giggled “Nora!... we’d at least have to sneak up on him while he was alone, so he wouldn’t know it was us”

We both laughed in amusement at the idea of getting a little revenge on Edric!

I helped Nora making leathers and fixing tired and holed shoes and just as always when I was here, amongst our people, I felt sane, appreciated and useful. Even though they lived hard lives and I didn’t know the hunger they felt every day, I still wished I could be here living with them instead of wandering around the drab and depressing castle every day, feeling like a prisoner to the king. I wished I could escape with Maude and build a life for ourselves, but as much as the king despised me, if I even dared to escape his clutches, he’d surely have my head, without hesitation.

When the sun was starting to glow its evening pink, I knew it was time to head back, before I got into trouble for being gone for so long.

I entered the castle doors when Matthias approached me almost breathlessly “Princess, where have you been? The king has been asking for you, you need to hurry, he’s in the dining hall”

“Do you know what he wants?”

He lowered his eyes in sympathy as he motioned for us to hurry “I believe he’s put his plan in motion, he sent two of his councilmen and several guards to Ailingdale to speak with King Aldrich”

I nodded as I felt a wave of angst rush over me “Ok, thank you Matthias”

As soon as I stepped foot into the hall, there he was, sat at the table, scoffing his face with the tastiest of foods and wine as his people were most likely to go hungry tonight.

“My king, you wished to speak with me?”

“Yes! Sit… eat!”

I did as he commanded and started to eat as I waited for him to spill his news.

“I have councilmen already on their way to speak with King Aldrich, they will put in a good word for you and convince the prince to accept your hand in marriage, I want to make it perfectly clear… YOU WILL be dutiful and submit to him the moment he arrives, he must know that HE will be king one day and you will rule under him as queen, not the other way round.. do you understand?”

“Yes, my king” I agreed like the timid little mouse I always was when I was around him.

“I will succeed in bringing his army under my command. I will be the king that brought all our lands together. Eventually they ALL will bow to me, whether they want to or not! And you will not ruin it, you will do what your meant to do and that is to keep your foolish mouth shut and let him lead”

I nodded again as I continued to eat as tidily and poised as I could, hoping not to vex him in any way “Yes, My king”

Matthias soon approached him and whispered in his ear, notifying him of something… only then I saw a scantily dressed woman whose face was painted in heavy powder and rouge, with long dark hair and her piercings showing on her navel. The king looked to her in eagerness as he abruptly left the table and escorted her to his bed chambers.

Once he was out of sight, I rolled my eyes at his constant ‘lady lovers’ the ones that would entertain him all through the night. I wasn’t sure if they ever actually wanted to sleep with the king, but either way I felt sorry for them, I could only assume him to be a selfish and cruel lover.

The following morning once I was dressed for the day, I headed to the hall, but through the crack of the door, I could see my father sat there groggily, trying to eat the food laid around him as he swayed in his seat. I quietly stepped back and left before he could notice me, instead I hunted for Maude, knowing that this time in the morning, there was only one place she’d likely be… and that was his chambers.

I walked in to see her mopping the stone floor, the bed sheets were strewn all over the bed barely hanging on and long pieces of rope laid sloppily tied to the wooden bed frames, no doubt part of his dirty sexual acts.

I began to help her clean as we hummed music together, I didn’t ever exactly like being in here, but I did like being with Maude and it wasn’t as if I had anything better to do with all the time I had to myself… alone.

I helped her dress the bed with fresh linen and readied a hot bath for his majesty. I looked around in dismay at all the fine jewels and ornaments he had placed all around his large room. Everything looked so fancy and expensive, his bed sheets alone were thicker and softer than anything I had ever felt before. He had tapestry on every wall, and rugs covering the once bare floors.

I tested the heat of his bath with my hand and marvelled at how dreamily hot it was. He was the only one in the castle that was allowed his water so hot, he wouldn’t allow the servants to heat up water for that long, if it was meant for anyone else, he would consider it a complete waste of their time, which was then an inconvenience to him.

Once we finished in his room I left in haste, not wanting to get in his way once he returned. He knew I sometimes helped clean around the castle, and he never objected to it, as it is, he thought of me as nothing anyway, just the same way he viewed our servants, but I can’t imagine he’d be too happy if he caught my hand running through his precious hot bath!

I helped Maude with other cleaning, and assisted the cooks, with the evening meal, then I assured her I’d take care of my own linen and mend my own dresses that were starting to thread at the hem.

I was late arriving to the hall, but as I reached the open doors, I could see the king and his guards practically falling from their seats, some already sprawled on the floor as they drank and spilled their ale all over themselves. Barely dressed women were dancing on the table, whilst others were sat on the guards and the kings’ laps, with their bosoms out, pressing against their faces, as they all sang and laughed in drunken joy. One woman suddenly approached the king, sat on his lap, with her legs either side of his hips and began to thrust against him, attempting to arouse him. He grinned lustfully and didn’t even attempt to stop her as he loosened her dress and fondled her breasts as he eyed her lustfully.

My stomach churned at the sight, and I turned and ran to the solace of my quiet room, I was hungry… but not hungry enough to eat with all of that going on in there… I’d rather miss any food on offer!