The Queen's Knight(ch5)

Less than a week later, the Queen and her company returned to Oaksbury castle, where Dahlia spent the next few days delving into the paperwork and laws she had missed while she was away. Since they couldn’t spend as much time together as usual, Taryn spent those days training in the field with Silas.

After the fourth day of meeting with nobles and singing papers, Dahlia stood on the balcony on the second floor, watching the stars. She couldn’t bring herself to go back in just yet. The air was cold, certainly, but the sky was quiet, and humble. It asked nothing of her. She could finally be still.

“My lady?”

She turned around. Taryn’s silhouette stood in the doorway, with the warm light of the room beaming behind her. She had just taken a step over the threshold, and was now squinting into the darkness, a hand resting on the door frame.

Dahlia almost laughed. She’d never seen Taryn in such a casual stance, looking so human. “I’m here, Taryn,” she stepped under the lamp light so the knight could see her.

“Oh.” Taryn blinked, and smiled. “I thought you might be here. It’s a bit chilly though, won’t you come in?” She glanced inside, where the servants busied themselves with lighting candles before they left for the night.

She looked at Taryn. It had been so long since they could be alone. She nodded, and let the knight lead her inside.

Queen Dahlia opened the doors to her chambers and sighed as she entered.

“Help me undress, won’t you?”

Taryn’s breath caught in her throat. “I, um- shouldn’t your lady in waiting-”

“She worked so hard today, I’d rather not wake her.”

“... Right,” Taryn cautiously stepped into the Queen’s quarters, heat already rushing to her face. Surely, Onra would have her eyes relieved of her skull if she knew this.

The room was large, naturally, but not nearly as grand as Taryn had expected. The carpeting, drapes, and furniture were mostly a deep forest green, with accents of creme. A faint, wine-like scent filled the room. For a moment, Taryn wondered why it was familiar. Then realized it was the Queen’s scent.

The queen in question had already taken off the first skirt layer and now sat at her vanity, removing her earrings in the mirror. “Don’t worry,” she said, “I can handle most of it. I only need help with undoing the back.”

Taryn closed the door behind her and moved to join Dahlia at the mirror. She was now removing the pearls from her hair one by one and placing them on the desk. With only a moment of hesitation, Taryn began taking them out with her.

“Montes has been increasing their military budget, as I’m sure you know,” she said, “Onra thinks I should do the same, and put money into developing new weapons.” she sighed again, and removed a tie that released her hair into an unruly mane. Taryn took the brush from the table and began running it through. God, her hair was soft.

“I try to be the perfect Queen, I do, but-”

“But you’re not.”

Dahlia turned around, frowning.

“Because you’re human,” Taryn set the brush down and began unbuttoning the back of Dahlia’s dress. “You hold yourself up to such high standards, and it’s tearing you apart.” she paused, suddenly aware of what she was saying. “Apologies, your highness, I was too bold.”

Dahlia shook her head. “You’re being honest. Please, continue.”

Taryn removed the first layer on the queen’s torso, revealing the corset beneath. Dahlia’s shoulders were now bare, as well as most of her chest. Taryn began unlacing the back. “The truth is, you’re a great queen. But you’re not a goddess, or a machine, you’re a woman. You have needs and desires, and you make mistakes. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

A silence passed as Taryn undid the rest of the lace. When she glanced in the mirror, she saw Dahlia wipe something from her eye. “If only that were true.” she whispered.

Taryn grabbed the chair by the arms and turned it around to face her. She leaned over so that her and the queen’s noses were barely an inch apart.

“Dahlia, listen to me. I -” she faltered. Those beautiful, canon eyes were red and filled with tears. What could she say? She took her hands in hers, and felt her own eyes water. Her voice faltered, “It must be so hard, being a wild animal in the shape of a queen.”

Dahlia smiled through her tears. “You called me by my first name.”

Taryn’s eyes widened. “I did, didn’t I? Sincerest apologies, your majesty, it just slipped out-”

Before she could finish, Dahlia leaned forward and kissed her. “Say it again,” she whispered.

“Dahlia,” the name felt sacred on Taryn’s lips. She almost giggled at the absurdity. She knew, then, that this was probably a good time to leave. The Queen’s corset had slipped off her shoulders, and now she wore nothing on top aside from her silk chemise. What happened next shocked Taryn more than anyone else. After all, she knew better. She was a knight of Shale, with the discipline of a soldier, and trained to favor logic above emotion.

But it killed her to see her Queen in tears. And even if she wasn’t a goddess, she deserved to feel like one.

Barely thinking, Taryn wrapped a hand around Dahlia’s waist and pulled her in for another kiss. This one was deeper than before, and fuelled with passion.

Dahlia was so tired of being in charge, of responsibility, of making the decisions. It was a relief, not just to be close to Taryn, but to be held by her. To be wanted. To follow someone else. All rational thought flew from her mind at Taryn’s touch.

Taryn had made love before, but never like this. The Queen was a poem, her voice a symphony, her skin an ocean of fire. She didn’t love her, she worshiped her. She wanted to kiss every inch of her, and share her heartbeat.

Dahlia had never known hunger like this before, and now simply could not get enough. If she stopped, she would think of the consequences, and the magic would crumble. So she didn’t stop.

It was well past midnight when exhaustion took them both, and they lay beside each other, staring at the ceiling of the Queen’s bedchamber.

“How did you become a knight?” Dahlia asked. Taryn chuckled.

“There’s that question again. I suppose you won’t leave me alone until I tell you.”

“No.”

She sighed. “My parents didn’t make much money growing up. I wanted to help out, but wasn’t really talented enough at anything to make a living. So when a group of Knights in training came into town, I snuck in.”

Dahlia gasped. “You snuck- what do you mean?”

“Only nobles are allowed to become knights. One of their boys never showed up, so I cut my hair and took his place. It was almost a year in when they found out I was a girl.”

“And they didn’t punish you, or send you away?”

She shrugged, “I was like a son to them. And I was better than half the boys there.”

Dahlia turned back to stare at the ceiling. “You got here using lies and deceit.”

“I’m afraid so. The only reason I got dubbed was because my trainer was willing to keep my secret. But if anyone in the council were to find out, they’d have to execute me. That’s the law.”

Queen Dahlia frowned. “I hate politics,” she said. She snuggled in closer to Taryn, and this time, she couldn’t contain the tears. “I hate them.”