Zacchaeus relaxed. “I was referring to the fact that all we have to do is deliver a couple dozen squalling babies to the Thalassans and in return we get money… and a lot of it.”
“It isn’t truly a trade so much as it’s saving two trips,” Thomas replied. “That way a vessel would not have to deliver the orphans to the Thalassans and another vessel bring you to collect the taxes.”
“I understand that, Captain,” Zacchaeus stated curtly. “Though it does seem that it’s a trade at times.”
Thomas nodded gravely and guarded his thoughts from the prejudiced man beside him. “I’m glad I can provide both services for Gaia.”
“In truth it would probably be better to have two vessels do the service,” Zacchaeus stated. “Then I would not have to share the vessel with the smell of infant piss and shit on the first half of the trip.”
“Ideally that would be the case,” Thomas said with a forced smile. The diplomat clapped the young captain on the back and turned to leave. Thomas breathed a sigh of relief as his superior was out of his mind. In less than two days they would be out into the open sea and he would breathe that saltwater air. Thomas smiled at the thought and then let his mind drift to Sophia. Only four days, he told himself. He looked from the helm to the stairs leading down to the cargo hold where three-dozen sleeping newborns were awaiting their fates. He felt a twinge of pity on the motherless babes but brushed it off as he stared forth beyond the vessel’s bow towards the horizon ahead where Skamandros ran between two grey mountains. Such is the way of the world.
Part I
The Princess
Roselyn smiled slightly when she heard the familiar knock at her door that signaled Xander’s arrival. Most nights at this time he would wait for the scheduled shift change of the guards posted outside her wing of the castle and sneak up the spiral staircase to her rooms. She rose from her vanity and smoothed her hands down her bodice, breathing deeply. The door to her bedchamber stood ajar and she passed through it with a swish of her skirts into her richly decorated sitting room. She opened the ornate wooden door to reveal Xander leaning casually against the frame.
“Hello, my lady,” Xander greeted her, placing a kiss on her rouged cheek.
Roselyn rolled her eyes as she turned to shut the door behind him. She had always tried to make it clear that they were not involved for romantic reasons, she just enjoyed his companionship. He was a refreshing distraction from her mundane life as the princess of Thalassa. When he was affectionate towards her it only made her want to scold him again, for a lowly castle guard had no business being sentimental with a woman of her status. Whether he was physical with her or not.
“How were your rounds?” Roselyn asked casually as she escorted Xander into the fire-lit sitting room.
“They were very dull. It seems no one is trying to harm the princess and her royal family tonight. How was your afternoon?” Xander replied as he made room for her to sit on the red velvet cushion beside him.
The fire from the hearth before them cast a sensual glow on both of their faces. The beading on her intricate bodice sparkled in the light, and Roselyn could see this reflected in Xander’s amber eyes. She was reminded why her attraction for him was so intense, regardless of social status. His eyes were like the heart of a fire. It was apparent by his boyish charm that he had no idea how strong he appeared, physically and mentally. She was about to praise him on this trait, but remembered how delicate she had to be with him. It would be rather inconvenient if he started to take what little compliments she gave him to heart. “My day was fair… uninteresting as well.”
Xander smiled ruefully and leaned in for a kiss. “Care to make our night far more exciting?”
Roselyn enjoyed their little trysts. She was attracted to his dark features, and reveled in his soft touch. His skill in the bedroom was enough to make the danger and deceit worth the trouble. Or, she mused, perhaps the danger and deceit improve his skills…
Without warning, Xander yanked her to him, his amber gaze burning as hot as the fire. He restrained himself ever so slightly and his resulting kisses started out soft and slow, and then became as passionate as that initial grab. They moved together onto the expensive area rug in front of the fire and began the dance they were so accustomed to.
She could feel his breath quickening as she moved temptingly above him. She opened her eyes to find him looking back at her intensely. “What’s the matter?” She asked breathlessly, fearing the look in his eyes told her everything.
Xander sighed. “I want you to know how much I care for you, Roselyn.”
Roselyn sat upright and adjusted the disheveled condition of her bodice and skirt. Her corset was digging into her in all of the wrong places and she eagerly wished they hadn’t slowed down so he would be closer to removing it. She couldn’t help but feel angry at him for ruining the moment with his words of romance, though she always knew it would happen eventually. All she could do was hope to placate him enough to continue with what started out as a satisfying evening.
She looked at him; his shirt half-unbuttoned and his body sprawled out on the carpet before her. Xander’s dark hair was tousled and his breath was ragged. His olive-toned chest rose up and down with the rhythm of her heart. It was a very seductive image. She badly wanted to act on her feelings of lust, but sensed he was only going to become increasingly more difficult if she brushed off his feelings of love.
When she didn’t speak right away, Xander continued cautiously. “Roselyn, I know you don’t want me to speak of my love for you. I’m no fool. It’s obvious by your reaction to what I do and say. Just because you try to ignore them doesn’t mean these feelings don’t exist. I wish I was in a better position socially. Maybe then we could make our relationship public and official. I want to spend my life with you. Can you honestly tell me that you don’t feel the same?”
“Of course I don’t feel the same!” Roselyn cried. “I told you what I wanted from you! Nothing more than a wonderful time, in private! Why are you trying to make this something that it’s not? Do you honestly expect me, a princess, to love a guard?”
Roselyn could tell that her words stung him. He blinked several times before recovering some of his earlier spirit.
“Aye, my reach exceeds my grasp. Why can’t you consider that as being one of my better qualities? Would you rather I always fell in line with what was proper?”
Roselyn laughed wickedly. “I suppose not, my faithful guard. For if you did, I’m sure you wouldn’t have agreed to this affair from the start. I only wish you could put your infatuations with me aside to give me the clandestine relationship I’m asking for.”
Xander shook his head. “What if that’s not enough?”
“Once more, I’ll ask: how much do you hope to demand from a princess?”
She refused let herself feel guilty about the words she spoke. They were the truth. If she did not say it bluntly he would only continue to harass her with these bothersome feelings. Her intentions were made clear from the start and yet he still agreed to accommodate her. Everything she did as the princess of these islands was to please other people. Why did he aim to spoil her chance at pleasing herself?
“You wound me, Princess,” Xander said sarcastically. He got up from his place on the floor beside her and began to pace the elegant room. He truly was out of place amidst it all, Roselyn noticed. He only wore his undergarments, some cheap linen the crown had paid for. Behind him, two paintings of a lake scene and a starlit night were worth more than Xander could hope to save in a year. The rug under his feet was woven from expensive thread from the eastern lands, and even she had trouble pronouncing the intricate weaving techniques that were used.
Roselyn wished again for a quick reconciliation so they might get back to where they had previously been before this nonsense started. She moved slowly to him, pulling pins from their positions in the intricately designed bun atop her head. Her long blonde hair fell down her back in lustrous waves. As she came up behind Xande
r, she put her hand delicately on his shoulder. Mentally preparing herself for an act of contrition she wouldn’t mean, she spoke quietly. “Xander, I apologize if I’ve offended you. That was not my intention. I do hope you’ll forgive my insensitivity.”
“You forget how well I know you, Rose. You’re only trying to put me at ease so we can go to the bedroom and forget all of this.”
Roselyn smiled sheepishly at her lover, choosing her words with caution. She circled her arms about his neck. “You’re correct about the latter part of that statement, but I truly would hate to know that you were hurt by my actions. Regardless of whether I feel justified in what I said. I do care about you.”
“Run away with me,” Xander suggested with wide eyes and a serious tilt to his mouth. “We can figure out a way of life. It would be far from what you are accustomed to, I know, but with me you can have something you’ve never had.”
At this exclamation Roselyn coldly dropped her hands to her hips. “And what might that be?”
“Freedom.”
She sighed acceptingly, and bit her lower lip.
“I’m just saying it’s something to think about,” Xander said. “Not now but for the future.”
“Well,” she began, “You are much more infuriating than I gave you credit for.”
Xander cocked a brow. “In a good way?”
“Not in the slightest. I told you what I want from you. Not only are we still standing here fully clothed, but now you want me to leave the life that I love because you presume that I would prefer a life with you.”
He snorted. “Have you forgotten that I’ve been the one you lay your complaints on? How can you say that you love this life?”
She sighed. “I love my family. I mean this is the most sensitive way, but you’re an orphan. You were brought over on a ship a couple decades ago, and I feel for you for not knowing yours or understanding. I would never leave my family.”
“I know family, Rose. Daemyn and I are fast friends. He treats me like a brother.”
“But you are not brothers, Xander.”
Xander frowned deeply. “I am very aware of that. But what about the rest of it? We can start over without all of the things that you hate about being a princess.”
Roselyn crossed into her bedchamber and took a seat at her gleaming vanity and gestured around the room. “Look around you, soldier. You have this romantic notion that I am a princess from a fairytale just waiting to be rescued. Quite the contrary, I assure you. However boring it may be at times, my life here is much more preferable to spending the rest of my days as a fugitive with a castle guard. Just because you are an orphan, does not mean that I have any desire to join you in that status. Besides, I’m eighteen. My parents have already begun looking for suitable husbands for me. I just wanted to have some fun first, but clearly, that is over.”
Xander’s full lips parted slightly in shock before he shook his head and started toward her. “You can’t mean that.”
“I can. And I do. If you cannot accept it then we have no choice but to part ways. This conversation is tiring in more ways than you can imagine.” She waved a hand dismissively at him and turned to her reflection in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed, presumably from anger and the heat from the fire. Much to her dismay, it was not from arousal.
“No choice but to part ways? Is that really how you feel?”
“Must I repeat myself?” Roselyn shrugged her creamy white shoulders when he didn’t respond. She idly wished for her maid to come undo the damned corset Xander had left uncomfortably disheveled around her breasts.
Xander stood there for a moment, staring at Roselyn hard enough that she felt he could see straight into her soul. If he did, she mused, he would be crushed by the weight of two simple realities: they were not in an epic love poem from ages ago and she wasn’t saying one thing while feeling something different.
“I refuse to believe you’re this callous. We were friends before we were lovers,” Xander said. His voice was cool but he looked more defeated than he probably wanted to let on. It was an odd look for one as muscular as him. Her brother had once mused to her about Xander’s physique saying that no man was better built for war. She typically thought he was built for something else, but the carnal attraction that had once kept her awake long after he’d left her bed was now lost to the aggravation he’d brought with him this evening.
“You should take your leave, Xander. I think I’d like to sleep now.”
Xander pushed out his chest and lifted his chin with pride. “Thank you for a… memorable evening, Your Highness.” He pulled his tunic over his head, followed by his mail, and a grey cloak to give even more dismal color to his ensemble. He quickly yanked on his scuffed, black boots and bounded for the window.
Purely out of well-practiced etiquette, Roselyn attempted to walk her – now former – lover out. When he sensed her on his heels he stopped abruptly without turning more than his cheek in her direction. She came to a halt behind him and watched as he continued walking brusquely to the window. She remained in the center of the room as he shoved aside the heavy red drapes and swiftly dropped to hang by only his hands at the edge of the sill. He must have found his footing quickly, for in the blink of an eye his hands were gone. The drapes moved quietly back and forth, waves of scarlet edged in gold.
For a moment, Roselyn just stared at the empty window. He was right in saying they had once been friends. In fact, her brother Daemyn counted Xander as one of his truest friends, and that made them friends by association. The only problem was that Xander saw their familial connection as fate being in their favor, where Roselyn saw it as just another reason why she would never run away with him. Daemyn’s friendship with a guard may be tolerated by public opinion, but the embarrassment caused by the princess loving that guard would be too much. She had no choice but to end this bad decision before it got even worse.
Roselyn was about to ring for her lady when a knock sounded at her door. Figuring Xander was back armed with long speeches and grand gestures, her shoulders instantly slumped forward. Why was he insisting on all this bad energy from her as opposed to the more enjoyable kind she had prepared for him earlier?
Resigning herself to being even colder to the poor man, she opened the door with a sigh. Relief instantly overcame her, for it was her beloved brother Daemyn that came to call. Though why so late? she wondered. She attempted to shift the corset more appropriately on her body but it did little to that effect. Roselyn’s face began to flush instantly and she knew how disheveled and conspicuous she must look.
“Hello, dear sister,” Daemyn began with a tense smile. “May I intrude upon you for but a moment?”
“Yes, of course.” Roselyn stepped aside, knowing by the look in her older brother’s eyes that he had a matter of serious importance to discuss with her. The formality of his greeting was the first indication of that. The way he entered and stood in the center of the room without lounging on a chair only confirmed her suspicions.
“It’s quite late, so I shall get straight to the point. Don’t even try to be the calculating little cat that you are, pretty one. I know what you’ve been up to, and I want it to cease immediately.”
Roselyn’s breath was caught in her throat for what felt like an eternity. How did he find out? Will he tell? This will ruin me! Xander must have told him… or someone…
“I can see by the look on your face that I am not wrong in my accusations.” Daemyn said, not with venom but with deep disappointment.
Roselyn looked at the hem of her dress. She hoped beyond hope that perhaps it was something else he was simply teasing her about. There was no way she was going to just come out and say she’d been going to bed with Xander. “I’m dreadfully embarrassed, Highness. I would never have wanted you to become aware of this in any manner other than my telling you…”
“Well it’s a little late for that, I’m afraid. I know that Xander has been visiting you at night.”
So much for that vain hope,
Roselyn thought absently. “Did he tell you?”
Daemyn chuckled deeply. “Don’t be absurd. I’m quite sure he would be too afraid that I would defend your honor by kicking his roguish ass right out of Pontos!”
Roselyn frowned. “Did you see him leave?”
“No, but I have heard the stones of this tower are not so spaced apart that a climb would be fatal,” Daemyn said.
Roselyn looked down to assess her appearance. She folded her arms over the tops of her breasts and laughed in spite of herself. Her brother was the prince of Thalassa, and he traipsed around Pontos with the great ego that an attractive, young prince should have. She was reminded of just how great his ego was at that moment, especially when she imagined who would win in the fight between Xander and Daemyn.
“Seriously, brother, do tell me how you found out. I thought I was being very careful…”
“I had my suspicions for a while, but just now I was on my way to my tower when I saw him reenter the palace from the Western Wing. He appeared upset and obviously didn’t take the guards into account. His entrance was a little more conspicuous than he had hoped for I presume. I noticed the commotion from across the hallway.”
“He usually waits for a shift change, or climbs out the window. Tonight he left unexpectedly and I’m sure he didn’t plan on… anything but clearing his head.”
“Climbs out the window…” Daemyn repeated, striding to the window in question. He opened it and looked down. “The tower is not so treacherous as it would seem. Yet it is still a great height. This has been going on for some time I presume, with no spills.”
“He’s quite agile,” Roselyn explained, deftly looking in any direction but her brother’s gaze when she realized her play on words.
At this, Daemyn turned swiftly. “What of your maidenhead, Princess?”
“Oh please, Daemyn,” Roselyn said with a roll of her blue eyes. “Taken long ago, and not by him.”
Her brother’s own eyes widened, if only at her bold admission rather than the statement itself. There was little surprise in the revelation, evidently. Roselyn blushed. If there was no surprise in that, what could that mean for her future? Her family would be expecting her to marry at some point.
Severance (The Sovereign Book 1) Page 2