Mirror of Dreams - Chapter 15

15

That night, after Nathan and I had made such passionate love that we almost scorched the sheets – again – he fell into a sleep that resembled a coma. I also slept for a few hours, but inevitably woke back up. I decided to take a bath before deciding whose bed to slip into for a couple of hours.

The way Sir Barrett had looked at me after I refused to admit out loud that I love Nathan... Well, I just knew that he was hoping that he might have a chance with me after all. As I understood it, he actually didn't. He didn't belong to any of the Royal Houses, and therefore, I would not be allowed to marry him.

On the other hand, he could become my official lover, which would give him a more equal footing with the Royal Lords. If I had a more suspicious nature, I might think he was after that power, but I knew better. He was a trustworthy man loyal to the Crown.

Deep down, I think he really had fallen in love with me. If Nathan ever got sick of me and left, I think I might choose Sir Barrett. When we had sex, I felt like the only woman in the world as far as he was concerned. It was deeply moving!

In the bath, I was interrupted by Lady Sophia. She and I had bathed together many a night when I couldn't sleep because she had a hard time sleeping too. I purred when I remembered how excellent of a lover she really was.

“Oh my,” she drawled in delight. “Could Your Majesty possibly be having naughty thoughts about me?”

“You bet!” I confirmed with a lusty grin. “But actually, I wondered if you wanted to do something else with me.”

She looked intrigued. “Oh? What did you have in mind?”

I took her by the hand and dragged her out of the tub. We'd both washed up by this point and were clean. She giggled as she followed me over to the pile of towels.

“Wait here and dry off,” I ordered as I finished drying and wrapped a towel around my hair. A moment later, I ran off to get my shopping bag from back home and my laptop. A quick check assured me that it still had at least an hour of battery before I'd need to plug it in.

“Let's go to your room,” I suggested after returning to the large bathing room nestled between our bedrooms.

“As you wish,” she replied graciously, leading the way.

In her room, I showed her a video I'd downloaded and was delighted when she asked to try it before I even had the chance to suggest it. Morning and breakfast time arrived before we noticed it since we were having so much fun! In a way, I felt like I was back home with Ian!

***

“Has anyone seen Kaitlynn?” Nathan asked after entering the dining hall. “She hasn't left a note, so I am pretty sure that she didn't go to the other world, and the guards at our door swear that she never emerged.”

Lord Gregory and Lord Antony looked around at all the other Royal Lords before shrugging. The Royal Lords (and Ladies) didn't know whether or not to be concerned, and so looked to Lord Gregory for guidance.

“She didn't come to my bed,” Lord Gregory stated mildly, as if discussing the weather.

“She didn't come to my bed,” Lord Antony murmured, a wry smile suggesting that he wished she had.

“She didn't come to my lair,” Lady Leeza said, grinning evilly. “Not that I'd actually tell you if she had. She'd still be recovering, that's for sure.”

“Treason!” Lord Gregory muttered, but then dropped the issue.

“She didn't come to my room,” Sir Barrett said with a shrug. “Are you sure she didn't go to the other world? Perhaps she went for a jog or to town.”

A guard stepped forward and cleared his throat. “Begging your pardon, but I covered a shift for a friend last night, so I know that Her Majesty wasn't out jogging or wandering the town... Or with any of the guards...”

A maid stepped forward and curtseyed to Lord Nathan. “She wasn't in our room last night either.”

“Huh...” Nathan murmured, looking toward the ceiling. “Maybe she forgot to leave a note. But she promised me that she wouldn't go to the other world in the middle of the night without leaving a note!”

“I didn't!” I called out cheerfully as I entered the room. I walked arm in arm with Lady Sophia, both of us wearing plush bathrobes.

“Neither of us could sleep, so we decided to have fun with each other all night long,” Lady Sophia purred in a way that totally suggested we'd done more than we actually had.

I giggled and shook my head and muttered in her ear. “You just creeped your son out of a year of life.” She giggled in return.

“Mother!!!” Nathan roared. “How many times must I ask you not to say such things so shamelessly where I can hear them?!”

She pulled her arm free of mine and went to him. “Oh Natey! You shouldn't frown so much, it'll give you wrinkles!” She warned as she pinched his cheeks and wiggled them back and forth.

“Bah!” He sighed, rolling his eyes before brushing her hands aside. He pulled out a chair for her so that she would sit down already. Then he turned to pull a chair out for me. I let him just so that I could smile at him.

Lord Gregory cleared his throat. “Your Majesty... Please bring your attention to our guests. These are the Royal Lords, whom you met briefly at your coronation.”

“Hi,” I stated with a charming grin and a brief wave to the entire room. “I hear that you all might have questions for me later. Great! I look forward to answering them, but until then, I'm starving!”

Maids rushed forward to serve breakfast, which had been waiting for me. I kissed them each as I murmured my thanks. This was pretty standard for me actually and everyone was used to it... Except for the visiting Lords and Ladies. They all gaped in astonishment for a moment – also shocked by my informal and dismissive greeting – but quickly recovered their composure.

As hungry as I was, I only asked for a small portion of scrambled eggs and bacon. Lady Sophia asked for the same, and then cast me a secretive smile. I returned her smile, biting back the urge to giggle.

“Lord Antony?” I asked, interrupting my own naughty thoughts. “Did we ever decide to have a party?”

“Actually,” Lord Antony began, looking extraordinarily pleased with himself. “The matter was not decided officially, but I knew how much Your Majesty really wants this, so I went ahead and planned one anyway. With Lady Sophia's help, of course.”

Lady Sophia purred. “It's all set for tonight, to honor the Royal Lords. However, knowing that a good party has lots of guests, I also sent out invitations to the closest of the nobles. It may be last minute, but I am certain that we'll have a good turn out.”

“Awesome!” I exclaimed, leaning over to reward her with a kiss. I looked over to Lord Antony. “I am grateful for your insight and planning as well, but I'll wait to kiss you until after I'm done eating.”

“I look forward to it,” Lord Antony replied with a flirty wink.

Lady Leeza finished eating – never one to dally – and stood up. “If I may be excused, Your Majesty. I have an experiment running in my lair and I really should attend to it.”

“Will it blow up my palace,” I asked curiously.

“Er..... probably not...” Lady Leeza replied, and then forced herself to grin reassuringly.

I laughed. “In that case, I'll try to remember to stop by and have a look later on.”

Lady Leeza looked delighted to hear this. “I look forward to it! But be warned, I won't let you out of my lair so easily!”

“Treason!” Lords Gregory, Antony, Nathan, and Sir Barrett all called out. Lord Gregory was serious, but the others were all joking, sort of teasing Lord Gregory.

Lady Leeza sighed in aggravation. “How many times do I have to tell you?! It's not treason if she wants to be there!”

I laughed and held my hand out to her. She took my hand with a triumphant smirk. “I agree!” I said, and then kissed her hand. Throwing her long and glorious red hair over her shoulder, she stalked out of the room.

“Please, Your Majesty,” Lord Gregory begged with a disapproving frown. “Please try to refrain from encouraging her in her madness!”

I merely laughed, and then pointed to my empty plate. “It seems like I am done with my breakfast.”

He took his cue gladly, thumping the table with a large stack of reports. Nathan leapt to his feet. “I'm going to be late for drills!” He insisted and then rushed from the room. Considering that he was in charge and running early, I'm pretty sure that he simply hated the idea of listening to the reports.

Sir Barrett pushed his plate slightly away, even though he was clearly not yet finished eating. “Shall we spar, Majesty?”

Lady Sophia shook her head. “Nope! Queen Kaitlynn has promised me that I would get to exercise with her today!”

With a sigh of both disappointment and relief, Sir Barrett tucked into the rest of his food. Both Lady Sophia and I took sips of tea as I gestured for Lord Gregory to begin. He picked up the first report, cleared his throat, and started reading.

It was a long and unnecessarily detailed account from the merchants guild, letting me know that they were having success in some areas, and failures in others. Lady Sophia finished her tea and got to her feet. Silently, she held out her hand to me. A moment later, we were helping each other stretch.

“Does the merchant guild seriously expect me to pass a law granting them a monopoly on salt?!” I asked incredulously as we slipped out of our robes.

Underneath, we wore matching costumes that I had bought at the Naughty Shop I'd visited back home not too long ago. I actually had one for Lady Leeza too if she wanted. The costumes were basic white bras and thong panties that had been bedazzled with a copious amount of flashy fake jewels. There were also matching necklaces and ankle bracelets that accented the dangly embellishments at our hips. All in all, we wore shockingly little, but the residents of the palace were used to this.

Lord Gregory basically ignored our attire. “Yes, I do believe they are serious. However, I don't think it is a good idea to grant their request.”

“Me either!” I called out as I took Lady Sophia's hand. We had spent all night practicing a cute dance routine. It was a sort of simplistic 1920s style dance that looked and was so much fun to do.

“Rejected!” Lord Antony sang out, taking the report and tossing it where the rejects would go. He then picked up the next report and started to read it, sipping from his tea and also basically ignoring us.

The routine that we were copying was technically a burlesque act that played up to an audience, but since Lady Sophia and I were doing this solely to entertain ourselves, we faced each other most of the time, flirting with one another as we danced. We had no music but that in our head from the video we copied. Even so, we were perfectly in time, having practiced it many times during the night.

“I am surprised that we haven't gotten a request to fund an orphanage before,” I stated in response to the report. “Approved!”

Lord Antony nodded and set it aside for me to sign later as Lord Gregory picked up the next report and began reading it. As he did, Lady Sophia and I reached the part of the act where we slyly slipped our bras off and tossed them to the side. This revealed the sparkly pasties we had on. Normally, I would actually prefer to be topless, but the idea of bedazzled pasties was just too cute to pass up!

The dance was actually repetitious, so we were able to continue it through the next three reports before we got tired from all the activity. We hugged and kissed each other on the cheeks repeatedly before walking hand in hand back to the table to drink some water.

“Could there actually be a monster of some sort preying on a village?” I asked Lord Gregory with a frown after I'd sipped my water and taken my seat.

“Well, there hasn't been any confirmed sightings of monsters in the Kingdom in over 500 years, but I suppose it could have been in hibernation somewhere,” Lord Gregory informed me.

“Then send out a squad of soldiers to protect the village and investigate the rumors. And...” I added with an expectant smile. “Add that village to the tour I plan to take.”

Lord Gregory growled and rubbed his temples. “We've been over this, leaving the palace is not a good idea.”

“I disagree,” I stated patiently. “I need to see the Kingdom. How will I ever understand this world if I don't see it with my own eyes?”

“You will understand it by the reports we go through every day. You'll understand it by the way you guide us as our Queen,” Lord Gregory argued, basically saying the same thing he always did.

Lord Antony tried to come to his rescue. “Surely you didn't travel far from home in your other world. Traveling is rare during times of peace because we all need time to rebuild...”

I sighed and focused my attention on him. “But I keep telling you, there really hasn't been war in my world in a long time. I mean yes, it does exist, but it's practically on the other side of the world. I was quite safe growing up, and yes, my mother traveled with me to lots of places. When we weren't traveling, I went to school in another state, and we'd go on field trips such as skiing in the Alps – which is a snow-covered mountain range, before you ask.”

I took a breath and sipped more water. “I need to see my Kingdom. Meet people. See how they live. I need to know what it is I'm the Queen of!”

To my astonishment, Sir Barrett came to my defense. “I'll admit that I was initially against this idea, but now I agree with Her Majesty.”

“You do?!” Lord Gregory asked, sounding almost incredulous.

“Yes,” Sir Barrett confirmed. “When we walked around the town yesterday, Her Majesty was able to do something I haven't seen in a long time... She spread hope...”

At this point, one of the Royal Lords – who were basically watching us in eager silence as a way to scrutinize me and my actions – cleared his throat and spoke up. “Pardon my intrusion, but if I may ask, how exactly did she spread hope? Were the people so touched to see Her Majesty among them that they wept for joy?”

I snorted in amusement at this suggestion. Sir Barrett shook his head in answer to the question, and then cast me a look that I had the gall to laugh.

“No, the people didn't know who she was because we were incognito,” Sir Barrett explained. “However, after we got hungry and went in search of something to eat, Her Majesty – ”

I stood up with a growl of frustration and slammed my hand down on the table. “Her Majesty this and Her Majesty that! I have a name you know!”

Sir Barrett sighed reluctantly, and then nodded his head to me respectfully. “Queen Kaitlynn saw that the people were... how should I say this?”

“Bummed?” I supplied helpfully.

“Huh?” He asked, unfamiliar with the word.

“Not exactly depressed, but definitely not happy either!” I explained.

He nodded. “Exactly so. So she decided to try to cheer them up,” he finished his explanation as if this was the simplest thing in the world to understand.

Everyone looked curious, but it was Lady Sophia that blurted out the question first. “Well? How did she do it?”

“Easy!” I exclaimed with a grin. “I told them how much I loved them!”

The Lady looked utterly baffled. “Uh... huh?”

Sir Barrett chuckled. “She sang love songs.”

“Sang...?” Lord Gregory sounded as if he could not believe his ears. “You sang... to commoners?!”

I rolled my head around in frustration and growled. “Ahhh.... Hush, my Lord Fussy Pants! Stop trying to take the fun out of everything!”

Lord Gregory looked affronted, but remained quiet.

Lord Antony once again tried to come to his rescue. “Surely you must understand that it is a great honor for the common people to even catch a glimpse of our beloved Queen as she rides by in her open carriage. To do something so...”

I held up a hand to stop him and turned to Lady Sophia. “Tell me that when you were Queen, you didn't have advisers who insisted you never do anything!”

“Well...” she began, looking away from me. “I'd like to say I didn't, but I did. Or at least they tried their best to curb my natural exuberance. That's why I stepped down as soon as I could.”

“Well I'm not!” I burst out, pointing a finger to the ceiling righteously. “I was pulled into this world by your God because he wanted me to fix things, and that is what I am going to do, damn it! And to do that, I'll walk every square inch of this Kingdom on foot if I have to! I'll shake hands with, kiss, and even bed every person in the Kingdom if I have to in order to remind you all that there's more to life than war!”

I returned my attention to Lord Gregory, my blue fire crawling on my skin ever so slightly. “So I will be touring the Kingdom, and that's final!”

He took a deep breath in, held it to the count of three, and then responded with a small bow of his head. “Yes, my Queen.”

“Excellent!” I crowed in triumph, feeling my flame disappear. “Lord Antony, the next report please. Sir Barrett, my practice sword.”

Both did as asked. I took my sword from Sir Barrett and then smirked as I noticed him look over my outfit carefully. A soft smile on his lips let me know that he would have no problems keeping an eye on me today. As always, I had him attack me because I far preferred to defend myself rather than attack.

Our sparring was fairly epic. I imagine that we were really trying to kill each other! Upon reflection, I suppose that we were just a little. Just enough to make it fun and interesting, but not enough to be vicious about it.

“That's a war request!” I called out when Lord Gregory finished reading. I didn't even need to look to know that he nodded and set it in a pile for me to reread and think over later. The report was yet another frantic yet framed as politely concerned request to stock pile weapons. I still hadn't had a chance to truly figure out how I felt about these requests.

Lord Antony picked up the last report with a huzzah. “Last one!”

“Hooray!” I cheered. It was a simple status report that didn't require any decisions. “Understood!” I responded, happy to be done working for the day. Sir Barrett capably dodged an attack I tried to slip under his guard.

Lady Sophia sang out happily. “Queen Kaitlynn! If I may ask, who exactly were you singing those love songs to?”

“Lord Nathan!” Sir Barrett answered before I could say anything. He deflected my suddenly murderous strike, and stood off to the side as I nearly tripped and fell to the ground. “She was so adorable, sending him shy glances and blushing.”

“Aww,” Lady Sophia purred, holding her hands together over her heart. “I wish I could have seen that!”

I blushed and looked at the floor. “Technically, I wasn't singing the love songs to Nathan... He just happened to be there...”

“Riiight...” Sir Barrett drawled, copying an expression I'd used quite a bit. He grabbed my chin with one of his strong hands and forced me to look at him. “Why don't you just admit that you love him already?”

“Because he deserves better than a cheater like me,” I replied sadly.

“Oh my!” Lady Sophia exclaimed in dismay, her hands on her cheeks. “The passionate woman in me applauds the way you make love to anyone who catches your eye, but the mother in me wishes my son happiness. I don't quite know which of you to side with!”

I smirked at her. “Side with your son!”

“But then you and I wouldn't be able to play at night!” Lady Sophia pointed out in disappointment. “And that would be such a shame!”

“I agree!” I exclaimed, finally waving Sir Barrett's hand away from my face. “So stop trying to meddle, damn it!”

He sighed in aggravation and rolled his eyes.

“You up for a run?” I invited him.

“Of course!” He answered with a grin. I think he was picturing my shiny pasties swaying as I ran.

“Oh wait!” Lady Sophia cried. “Before you go running circles around the palace, will you please sing a love song to me?”

I pretended to think about this exaggeratedly for several seconds, and then chuckled and kissed her hand. A whole playlist scrolled through my head, but I settled on one that seemed made for her. “Girl Crush” by Little Big Town.

“I got a girl crush, hate to admit it, but... I got a heart rush, ain't slowin' down... I got it real bad, want everything she has... that smile and that midnight laugh, she's giving you now... I wanna taste her lips, yeah cuz they taste like you! I wanna drown myself in a bottle of her perfume! I want her long blonde hair, I want her magic touch, yeah cuz maybe then, you'd want me just as much! I got a girl crush...”

I kept going, really getting into it. Just for fun, I danced with Lady Sophia, holding her close and even spinning her once. We looked really damn good dancing together while wearing these costumes!

The song was so much better with music and back up singers, but I think I did a pretty good job all on my own. At the very end, I bent Lady Sophia back and stroked her face with a hand a couple of times before bestowing her with a sizzling kiss. I could hear my maids all purr and growl in the background as if they couldn't decide whether to be happy or jealous.

Steadying the Lady as she pretended to faint, I giggled and then set her back on her feet. Then I slapped her shapely rear as I walked away. She squeaked in pretend surprise and then giggled. I'm pretty sure I saw some of the men have to adjust their pants slightly, which made me smirk and purr happily.

Sir Barrett ran over to the patio door and opened it so that I could start on that jog. Lord Antony got to his feet to call out after me. “Have a good run, Your Majesty! Please try to be back in time for lunch and then your meeting with the Royal Lords!”

“Got it! I'll be there!” I promised with a cheeky two fingered salute to my temple before I took off running.

The dining hall fell silent for a moment as Lord Antony sat down and sipped on some tea. He smiled fondly and even gave a soft laugh. “Her Majesty was in an excellent mood today, don't you think?”

Lord Gregory looked to the ceiling as he thought this over. “I suppose she was. Even though she did call forth her ultimate power to bully me...”

Lord Antony snorted. “Ah, but you well know that you love it when they do things like that!”

Lord Gregory rolled his eyes but didn't reply.

“Is Her Majesty always like that?” One of the Royal Lords asked.

“So... so energetic and... uh, vibrant?” Another clarified.

“Pretty much,” Lord Antony responded with a nod that was matched by Lord Gregory, the maids, and the guards around the room.

“Ah... no wonder you all seemed utterly nonchalant...”

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