Queen

III.

The invite to Prince Kiken's coronation came the next day. Arne and I were the only ones in the dining room that morning, aside from a butler sweeping in a corner. All the court was still dealing with my prank from last night. I was surprised to be invited. I had never met this Prince Kiken and I wasn't even close to his father. I was also surprised to learn that his coronation wasn't the only thing that Prince Kiken invited me to.

"He's getting married?" I asked aloud wondering if I had read the wedding invitation.

"Who's getting married?" Arne asked, having no idea which letter I was reading.

"That prince you told me about," I explained, "Prince Kiken, he's getting married." I read on. "To the woman who saved his life."

"I don't find that part hard to believe," Arne said, "You saved my life and look at where we are now." He shifted on the wide seat we shared, head on my lap, the silver necklace I put on him clinking against his amulet.

"He put in the invitation that she's the daughter of a kitchen maid," I said, showing him the letter for some reason, "Nothing wrong with that," I put the letter down, "But why say it like that? He doesn't say who his parents were."

"Don't you already know who his parents are?" Arne asked.

"That's true," I admitted. I picked up my tea cup. "Something just isn't right. I can feel it." I tapped a finger on his chest and Arne shivered. I chuckled at him. "You are so well behaved," I told him, "I have you trained perfectly."

"You do indeed Mistress," Arne smiled up at me.

I grabbed a boiled egg, already shelled, and held it over his nose. "Then eat," I ordered, "It's an egg. Eat it all and there some cheese for you." Arne ate the egg. How he could fit a whole egg in his mouth was beyond me, but he did eat it. I cut a large slice of goat cheese from the slab that Cook gave us. That was gone within seconds.

"You'll be coming with me to both events," I told him, helping him to sit up.

"What?" Arne asked.

"Prince Kiken's wedding and coronation," I clarified, pouring him a cup of broth, "The invitation is for me, any staff I wish to bring, and a guest of my choice. I chose you." I slid the cup into his hand.

Arne only blinked his clouded eyes at me. "You," he stuttered, "You want me in, in a room full of royalty?" he asked, "But Mistress, I will embarrass you and this, this is your first time being invited."

True, I hadn't been invited to anything like this by the kings of the surrounding nations. Not a feast or a birthday party even. The kings refused to see me as their equal. But Arne was foolish if he thought I wasn't taking him with me. War was one thing, I couldn't take a blind man into war. It was dangerous and he'd had his fill of it already. This was a party, two parties, and no matter what I felt about it, I couldn't turn it down. I had to keep good relations with the kingdoms around me because I like my empire not torn up by war after war after war again.

"And how would you embarrass me?" I asked Arne.

"I'm a commoner Mistress," he answered. True, but I didn't see anything wrong with that. It didn't matter to me, why should anyone else care? "I don't know how to act around royalty," he added.

"We've entertained before," I reminded him as I tucked the invitation under a stack of papers, "This whole hall has been filled with royalty on many occasions." I had to keep up good relations after all. "You've always done good with them here." He was shy when I had dinner parties or balls, but he was polite and well behaved, better than a few of the princes who came with their fathers.

"This is your palace Mistress," Arne said, "What you say goes." That was an unspoken rule, the master or mistress of a house was the boss, no matter if the house was a palace or a hole in the ground. "You were able to protect me," Arne went on, "No one would dare touch me in your palace."