Conquering the Queen

by Ava Sinclair

  Chapter Nineteen

  “It’s done.”

  Avin turned from the window at the sound of Xander’s voice.

  “My father is in the dungeon where he sought to put you, along with Lady Fleur and their conspirators.” He walked over and took her face between his hands. “They’ll never hurt you again.”

  “There will be consequences,” she said. “Your father has powerful allies… and there’s the Bretons to consider.”

  He shook his head and sighed. “These are the consequences of leadership. You do what you must do and bear them with grace.” He put a finger to her collar. “You taught me that.”

  A tear slipped from her eye. “I believed the worst,” she said. “I am sorry. I did to you what I could not forgive you for doing to me.”

  “It’s all in the past now,” he said. “The future is before us.”

  “Oh, Xander.” Avin put her hand over his. “Nothing has changed. The people of Windbourne still hate me as the bringer of winter. The nobles of Ravenscroft loyal to your father will surely be in turmoil.”

  “And as king I will deal with it,” he said.

  She looked into his eyes. There was a new strength there, a steel as hard as the blade he’d carried into battle.

  “They will still expect me to be led out tomorrow at the coronation; they come to see the slave as much as they come to see the king.”

  “Yes,” he agreed. “We both know they cannot be disappointed in that regard.”

  She fell quiet for a moment, then finally spoke. “There was a time when I was captured that I lived ever moment in dread of your coronation day, that I lay awake planning revenge on everyone who had a hand in making me a slave, from the lowly villager to the king who collared me. Who could have imagined that my capture would put me on the road to true happiness? King Xander of the northern and southern kingdoms, even if you free me, I will remain bound to you. I will forever be your slave.”

  He swept her up in his arms, carried her to the bed. Sitting down, he stood her in front of him, watching as she leaned over to free his cock. She hiked up her gown and straddled him, and he groaned as her pussy slid over his cock like a hot silken glove. Avin wordlessly wound her arms around his neck, staring into his eyes as she began to move up and down.

  “I brought something for you,” he said as she moved up and down on his cock. Reaching down, he pulled forth the necklace from the pouch.

  “I already have your necklace,” she said, touching her collar. “And I am honored to wear it.”

  Xander put the necklace aside, groaning as she squeezed his cock.

  “I have another gift.”

  “Oh?” she moaned the word, looking at him through eyes glazed with pleasure.

  He reached into his pouch again, this time pulling out a polished wooden plug. Avin’s eyes widened. She’d seen the likes of it before.

  His hand moved beneath her. She could feel him sliding the plug beside the filled slit of her pussy, lubricating it. He moved his hand again. Now she could feel the head of the plug nudging against her bottom. She wriggled and moaned, maddened by the sensation of being doubly filled. The plug was tapered, widening at the base and then narrowing at the neck just below a flange that would hold it in place. As his huge cock filled her to overflowing, the plug added to the pressure and the ecstasy. As it slid in, she cried out her passion and felt his cock pulse as he spent into her. A moment later, when he withdrew, the plug remained.

  “Tomorrow, at the coronation, it will remind you of who owns you.”

  “I need no reminder,” she said. “I am yours forever.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Spring was in full bloom. Trees lining the road to the castle were bursting with blossoms that showered down on travelers drawn to the coronation from all directions. Vendors hawked goods and entertainers performed for coins for crowds lining the streets of Windbourne.

  As the hour of the coronation approached, all eyes were on the balcony festooned with flags bearing the Gawen crest. Below, tongues wagged over news that the king would be crowned amid turmoil wrought from within. There was an air of unease in the crowd, and questions about the stability of House Gawen to lead. Even imprisoned, Lord Reginald still had his allies, and they were busily circulating rumors to raise doubts among Xander’s subjects.

  He was in the anteroom off the balcony, and turned to now to Avin, who was sitting in a high-backed chair. Beside her, Cynric, walking with a cane as he continued to recover, had just finished apprising Xander of the discord being sown by those working against him.

  “You’ll find it’s hard to lead,” Avin said, her words reminding her lover that only one of them had experience as a ruler. “You’ll find it even harder when there are forces working within to turn your own people against you.”

  “I understand now how you must have felt,” Xander said. It was not mere flattery. The weight of his office had never felt heavier, and he’d never had more respect for the woman who’d held it before him.

  Avin stood. “You will get through this,” she said. “You are better and stronger than your father ever was.” She paused, a sad look crossing her face. “I believe I was better than my father, in the end. But winter’s grip choked my chance to lead. You have that chance to lead my people, and yours.” She nodded to the balcony. “Go now, my love, assume your role. I will be there at your feet.”

  “It doesn’t seem right.” Xander turned away. “You should be by my side.”

  “I can’t be.” She circled around. “You know that. If ever your father was right about anything it was about the need of the people to see me do penance. They never understood what happened, but in their mind I was at fault because I was the queen.”

  A roar came from outside and Avin nodded. Xander looked toward the balcony, and reached down to pick up a gold chain from the table. He affixed it to Avin’s collar and walked out, leading her, to the roar of the crowd.

  Several dignitaries and a number of knights shared the stage, along with the old priest who would preside over a congregation blending the old and new religions. He would crown Xander, but not before the new head of House Gawen turned to address his people.

  “People of Windbourne and Ravenscroft,” he called. “Today, we join, united, as one land under one king…”

  Xander’s voice fell quiet. He looked down at Avin. From below, all looked up at their new ruler, eyes filled with expectation for what he would say next. The king looked back at them and continued.

  “When I arrived, you had a different ruler, and winter gripped the land.”

  “Damn the false queen!” someone called, and a cheer went up. Xander glanced down. Avin was on her knees, staring straight ahead, her blond hair around her beautiful face rising and falling in the breeze.

  “When I rode through the gates, you all were told that with me came the spring.”

  Another cheer, but it fell silent with the king’s next words.

  “That was a lie.”

  The cheering crowd fell silent.

  “What I arrived with was a false messenger who deceived you without my knowledge.” he continued. “My father, Lord Reginald, spread word that I alone could break winter’s grip when, in truth, spring was already chasing us from the south. He knew it was coming, and had I known the people of Windbourne were being asked to overthrow their queen based on this lie, I would not be here today.”

  The faces looked up at him were shocked as he continued.

  “I did not bring the spring. I cannot stop the winter. I am a mortal man, an imperfect man; so imperfect, in fact, that I did not see treachery in my own house until my father and his guest tried to poison my advisor.” He paused. “I cannot promise you perfect rule. I can only promise you honesty. And justice.” He stood back, motioning to Avin. “Behold, your former queen—the queen who was paraded naked through the streets, the queen who herself was betrayed by her father, King Leon.”

  Now the crowd did begin to murmur.

&nb
sp; “She and I were to marry, but in his desire for power, King Leon used the eve of our wedding to launch an attack on Ravenscroft. For months, I was told that Avin was part of this plot. She was not.”

  Now he reached down and lifted Avin to her feet.

  “No ruler can be true to his people if he is false to his family. Today, I offer my rule to you, but will only do so as a just king. And a just king corrects his mistakes.” He reached up, sliding his hand under Avin’s hair to unclasp the collar around her neck.

  “Even though she did nothing wrong, your queen willfully did her penance. She did so to heal the land. A just king honors that, and realizes that, to lead, he must utilize all his strengths. I will lead you, but only with the rightful queen of Windbourne at my side, only with our houses united at last, as they should have been.”

  The crowd remained hushed as Xander snapped the collar shut, placed it on Avin’s head, and took her hand. The king held his breath and looked over at Avin, whose expression was both filled with wonder and apprehension.

  Somewhere in the back, a voice yelled. Xander could not make out what was said, but the phrase was repeated, first by small groups and then by the crowd, the message rising in a wave.

  “Long live the queen! Long live the king!”

  Avin was looking at him, tears of gratitude streaming down her face as he placed the crown back on her head. Then Xander turned and lowered his head before the two turned to face their people, the sun warm on their faces.

  Epilogue

  “What’s that, Mama?” A chubby pink finger pointed to the window, and the cherubic little boy with golden curls turned his bright eyes toward Avin.

  “That, my little prince, is called snow. It falls each year about this time, and covers the ground in a fluffy coat of white. You can play in it, but not very long, for it is very cold.”

  “How long will it last?”

  King Xander, who had been watching from nearby, walked over and took his son from Queen Avin’s arms.

  “Last year, the winter was short and spring came early. But there was a time when winter lasted a very, very long time. We are prepared for that now. The harvest was good, and even if there’s snow to play in for months, all will be warm in the castle and beyond.”

  “I like snow.”

  Avin laughed. “Now, Prince Peter,” she said. “How can you know?”

  “I just do.” The child wriggled until his father put him down.

  “Look, it’s Cynric come to take you to play.” Avin smiled as the advisor entered.

  “I did promise,” said the advisor. “And the queen looks as if she could use some rest.”

  Avin smiled and placed a hand on the belly swelling with a second child who would be born in the spring, unless winter’s grip held. Then it would be the second of her sons born in the snow. But all would be well no matter what.

  Xander had offered to fuse the seam that opened her crown, but she kept it as it was. By day, she wore the circlet on her head, and the necklace he’d given her around her neck. But at night, in their bedchamber, she removed the necklace and replaced it with her collar. And there, from dusk till dawn, she was naked and at His Majesty’s pleasure. Nothing else made her happier.

  Xander’s arms went around her as she stood.

  The first few years of their reign had passed quickly and peacefully. They’d never spoken of Lord Reginald, who’d died in exile a month before their son was born. Avin, ever benevolent, urged her husband to bring his father’s body home and give him a burial that was more dignified than the man deserved. But Xander drew the line at entombing his father in the family crypt. Lord Reginald’s final resting place was on a hilltop, overlooking the kingdom he’d hoped to rule by proxy.

  Avin also appealed for Xander to spare Lady Fleur. She was sent home in disgrace. As the king had predicted, Lady Fleur Breton would never marry; the loneliness her lover had wished on Avin was instead visited on the young woman he’d sought to use.

  In the end, the two tragic players had ended up living lives of misery, while Avin and Xander would go onto enjoy long and fulfilling lives ruling over a prosperous kingdom that stretched from north to south.

  “You seem lost in your thoughts, my love,” Xander said. “Do not hide them from me. What is on your mind?”

  “Just how happy I am,” she said. “How happy I am to be your queen.”

  The End

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