Chapter 37

Mavis and I prepared to go into town that next day.

"Fill your pockets with sweets. The children love them." Mavis informed me. She was preparing small gifts for the villagers of Belmonte.

"Daniel will take us. I think the less guards there are, the less intimidating it will be."

"We will be more vulnerable as well."

"I need to connect with my people. Sir Barke was right." She said.

I turned to her.

"No. He wasn't. He shouldn't have talked to you like that. He's an asshole and I don't care if he helps us."

"What happened between him and Charles that made him so bitter? It seems like you know something I don't." She put a hand on her hip.

"His father is terrible. Let's leave it at that."

"Since when do you and Charles keep secrets from me?" She said.

"It's not my secret to tell. I'm sorry, Mavis. Just trust me. Charles will tell you when he's ready."

I laid my hand over hers.

"Alright. I trust you." She grabbed her cloak and put it on.

"We should go soon. Daniel probably has the carriage ready by now." She said, finishing grabbing her gifts.

Daniel waited with a horse drawn carriage outside. The palace horses were cream colored and attached to the white carriage.

Daniel opened the door and bowed to us.

"Your majesties."

Mavis smiled at him and we entered. We rode down the smooth road entering Belmonte. The castle gates closed behind us.

"Pull into the middle of the town square." Mavis instructed Daniel. He did as his queen requested. The center of town was beautiful. It was marked by a decorative water fountain. Although, no water was flowing through it. It was marble, like much of the architecture in Belmonte.

Daniel stopped the carriage and opened the door. The villagers nearby quickly came out to see what was going on. We stepped out of the carriage. Mavis first, then I followed. Mavis pulled down the hood of her cloak.

"Oh my!"

"It's the princess!"

"It's princess Mavis!"

"Bow to the princess, kids!"

The group of townsfolk whispered and dropped to bows.

"Thank you, but you all may rise."

They lifted their bodies but the whispering didn't stop.

Mavis began greeting the villagers. She asked them about the recent town incidents, and asking them about their fears.

"Please, be honest with me. What has been going on in my time away?" She asked.

Villagers talked about how they felt like nobody knew what was truly going on. The king and queen originally deemed themselves Vendov allies, which created a lot of anxiety among the citizens. Fear has broken out and has caused acts of stress and violence.

I dropped to my knees and spoke to the small children that were eager to greet me. I handed out little candies from my pocket. Mavis was right, they did love their sweets.

"Who are you?" One of the little girls with a braid asked.

"I'm the queen's husband." I told her.

"Wow! So you are a king?" Her mouth widened.

"Yes. Yes I am." I told her.

"Wow. I can't wait to tell my brother that I met a KING and QUEEN!" She said before stuffing a sweet into her mouth.

Children were so innocent. I thought of the children who were parentless in Lafayette and the horrible fate they met. I hoped the Belmonte children wouldn't end up the same.

"May I have everyone's attention." Mavis spoke up. She stood on the step of the carriage to make herself more visible. The villagers that were there turned their heads.

"I am truly sorry for all of the confusion that has been caused within Belmonte. The most important part of Belmonte is the hard working people who live here and allow us to exist. You are the most important part of our kingdom. And I want to be truthful with you."

Mavis took a breath and told them about her parents fleeing. She explained to them how she is the queen now due to their absence. She told them how we were no longer a Vendov ally like their parents agreed to.

"I want my people to stand with me as we fight against an evil tyrant. I do not want to shut my people out, I want you to join me."

"What about us? Forgive me your majesty, but we have been through a lot with the recent violence."

"Belmonte is known to have kind people. I don't want us to lose sight of that. We are kind and peaceful people. But if we ally with Vendov, he will take over. If that happened, I fear Belmonte would never see peace again."

"I can declare us as an ally to Lafayette, but I cannot defend us without the help of my people."

"Can only men join?" A woman asked.

"No. Our army is not made up of only men. Plenty of women from Lafayette has joined us." Mavis said.

"Count me in, then." The woman replied.

Several agreements followed.

"You can support the war without fighting as well. We need individuals to travel to other towns in Belmonte and recruit individuals. If anyone is interested in joining, please come to the palace gate tomorrow at sunrise. I hope to see you there." She said.

The villagers ended with a bow to us, and began to talk. From what I could pick up on, Mavis's speech seemed positively received.

"Are you ready to return, your majesties?" Daniel asked us.

We approached the doors of the carriage. Sir Barke popped up.

"I heard you were speaking, your majesty. I guess I just missed it." He snickered.

"Unfortunately so." She said.

"I'm surprised you received the support of the people."

"I have. Will I receive the support of my noblemen as well?" She asked him.

He was quiet for a moment. Then, he took in a breath.

"I suppose the nobleman will support the cause of the crown. Even if the crown is jumping into a war."

Mavis pushed her lower lip up, resisting to snap on him.

"Thank you, Sir Barke. I look forward to seeing you and the rest of the nobleman at the palace. Good day."

She crawled into the carriage. I followed her. Sir Barke peered down at us with his little, dark eyes.

"He is very intense." Mavis said.

"No kidding. But you did it. The people seem in support of you."

"We will see. I hope we see a lot of friendly faces on the other side of the castle gate tomorrow morning." She said.

We returned to the palace. Johnny had been training some of the loyalists on the front court. Seeing Johnny reminded me of Galen.

"Oh, Mavis. I've been meaning to ask you. Johnny has brought a witch who may be able to help me control the dragon. Is there anywhere large and secretive we can practice?"

"Well I would say the dungeon but that needs a bit of a remodel. I would say head north to the mountains. There are likely caves out there. Just be careful, the mountains are close to Salkon. Vendov's closest ally."

I remembered Salkon and the tortuous mountains within their kingdom. The mountains where we listened to a helpless woman die, and we did nothing to save her. I remember Samuel holding me all night to comfort me.

"We will be careful. Thank you."

Daniel escorted us back inside. In public, he remained stiff. He stood tall and acted as a proper head guard. He hadn't even looked at Mavis incorrectly in public. I imaged that would be very difficult to maintain. They had no alone time, even if they did, it was very brief. They had to maintain their love a secret in case anybody was watching.

Mavis had paced the floor of our chambers that evening.

"You're going to wear out the marble." I told her.

"I'm just worried that my people won't show up tomorrow. I don't know what we will do if they don't."

"They will. I'm sure of it." I did my best to comfort her.

"Thank you." She said, but her pacing didn't stop. I could not ease her anxieties as well as I wish I could have. She needed her beloved.

"I have to tend to something. I'll back soon." Is all I said before I left the room.

I searched for Daniel. He was guarding the royal nursery where his daughter was staying. One of the servants was feeding her.

"Your majesty, have you come to see your daughter?" He asked. I could not imagine those words were easy for him to say.

"No, not now." I said.

"I would like to speak with you privately, sir. It'll be brief." I said.

He looked at his daughter before nodding his head and following me. I led him to the top of an empty tower.

"Why the secrecy, your majesty? What's going on?" He said.

"Trade clothes with me." I said to him.

"I beg your pardon, your majesty?"

"I think Mavis would really appreciate your company right now." I told him.

"We can't. It's safer to keep our relationship a secret for Opal, as well as us."

"I know. It's just for tonight. Trade clothes with me. You take my place and I'll take yours."

"I am not the king. Surely someone will notice."

"It's getting late. Most people are off to bed soon. We have similar hair and build. A quick glance in the hallway should not trigger and suspicion. Especially if I'm in full knight uniform ahead of you."

"I don't know. It seems like a bad idea."

"I think Mavis would really like to see you. I can imagine that you miss her just as much."

"Of course I do. I'm the luckiest man alive. A queen like her noticing a man like me? I've been blessed."

He inhaled.

"Alright. I'm just on patrol tonight. Keep the helmet on." He handed me the helmet he was carrying.

We began to strip and exchange clothes. The metal was hard to slide on myself. The joint areas jabbed at my skin. I slipped on his helmet. They were typically used in battle, but Daniel carried his around just in case.

Daniel looked handsome in my clothes. The gold crown on top of his head tilted a little to the left. I adjusted it.

"That is much heavier than I expected. Not as heavy as a helmet, but still heavy."

"You get used to it." I told him. My voice was muffled through the dense helmet.

We left the tower and went down the spiral stairs. We walked down the hall towards mine and Mavis's chambers. I walked in front of Daniel. He kept his head down low. With a brief glance, he did pass for a king. As I suspected, we barely saw anyone. Only a couple servants that briefly passed by.

Once we arrived at the door, I stood outside of it. The armor creaked as I came to a stand still. Daniel entered. Mavis was still pacing the floor.

"Zander, what did you have to-." Her words stopped at the sight of her lover

"Oh!" She said, startled. Her pacing came to an end. She went into Daniel's arms and embraced him.

"Good night, your majesties." I said, bowing to them.

"Goodnight, Daniel." Daniel said back at me before I closed the door.