Heima: Challenge to the Crown

by S. W. Gunn

  Daell nodded because it sounded like a great idea to him. They walked Daell back to the same room that he awoke in the morning. He removed the robe he was wearing and slowly laid down on the massive bed. Almost as soon as his head hit one of the pillows he had quickly drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 4

  Astir sat down on the throne that was once her mother's. It was unusual to find herself as the Queen, even though she had always known this time would come, it was still unusual to her. Ofriki had once again taken charge of her councellors. Since Astir’s council was set, her mother had left and she would live in Prudir with her father as a member of the Grand Council. Astir was sad to see them leave but she was even sadder to see her grandmother leave. It was always a cherished time when her grandmother would pay a visit. Usually every few cycles she would come to the palace for a visit. Her grandmother had always spoiled Astir as a child with sweet bil candies and plenty of toys, Astir loved her grandmother dearly.

  As she shifted her weight, she was impressed with how comfortable the throne was. It was heavily padded with a soft red material. She had never sat in it before and when she returned to Bygod it was not exactly high on her list of things to do. She finally tried it after several turns since their return from the Kostir and she immediately realized why her mother sat there so often, it had to be the most comfortable chair in all of Heima. She did have to have it lowered because her mother’s legs were so much longer than hers. The first time she sat on the throne, her feet had dangled just above the ground. It was then that she discovered that the bottom of each leg had some sort of screwing device that would lower and raise the height of the throne. She mused on the forethought of whoever built it. After all, not all daughters are as tall as their mothers.

  Astir found her mind had been wandering. At this point of her rule there was plenty to do in the area of organization, most of which would be handled by Ofriki. Heima had stood for over three hundred harvests, by now it had figured out what to do on each turn. Astir's mind wandered to her husband. She could tell that he was nervous of his new roles, both as King and as husband. It was very clear to her that he had as little experience in a relationship with a woman as she had with a man. One advantage of being the Queen was that she was taught to project a level of confidence in everything that she did but she had to admit that she was as nervous in her new role as wife as she could tell that he was in his as her husband. Her life before the Kostir was one of seclusion. She rarely left the palace grounds for much of her life. In fact when she was young she had snuck out so many times that the palace guard had been tripled. During the last five harvests she had not ever once been able to sneak through the net of guards. She had tried several times, each time a hard withering stare from an Aldarnari guard stopped her. She finally gave up two harvests ago.

  Just thinking about the many times she caused trouble for people within the palace caused her to chuckle to herself. She had been a headstrong child and it was no wonder she had recieved so many whacks from that stick. Glancing over at her friend Ofriki she reflected just how much of a perfect match they were. They had caused plenty of trouble for not only her mother, but their keepers, their instructor, and pretty much every Aldarnari guard that was posted at Bygod. She wondered what everyone around them had all thought of it. Her father and brother were the only Aldarnari men that she had ever really seen show regular amounts of emotion outside of a stern glare. The guards were like rocks in her eyes, especially when she was young. As time flew by, Astir realized that she had been thinking of her childhood throughout the meeting. It was probably a very good thing at this point that her friend was running the meeting.

  Ofriki’s voice startled Astir out of her reverie as she said loudly, “I believe we have completed enough planning for now, tomorrow we shall meet again. We have several issues dealing with the Hyggja that need to be discussed.”

  Astir took that as her cue so she stood before stating, “I thank each of you for your efforts, please enjoy the evening.”

  She knew that Daell was soundly sleeping in their quarters. Viga told her that he brought Daell upstairs and he fell fast asleep almost immediately. Astir decided that she would have the evening meal with him in their quarters so she signaled to one of the nearby Jordling servants.

  The woman approached her and said with a deep curtsy, “Yes your Majesty?”

  “Please have the evening meal for myself and the King brought to the royal quarters. Along with a table, chairs, and everything we shall need to eat the meal.”

  “Yes your Majesty.” The servant replied.

  Astir continued, “And ensure it is all set up in the quarters as to not awake the King from his slumber.”

  “Yes your Majesty.” The woman replied and left hurriedly.

  Once the Jordling servant had left Astir slowly walked down the seven steps of the pedastal that her throne sat on.

  She then approached Ofriki and announced, “Lady Ofriki I will be taking the evening meal in my quarters. Please issue orders that under no circumstances am I to be disturbed.”

  Astir should see the evil gleam in her friend's eyes as she curtsied to Astir and said,”As you wish your Majesty.”

  Astir flushed a little, but then confidently began walking. Nerves slowly began to creep through her, which only slowed the pace at which she walked. Tonight would be the first real night with her husband. She continued through the palace and up the stairs. As she approached the doors of the royal quarters she stopped and took a deep breath. Her nerves had built up to such a high point that she actually felt her hands shaking slightly. She had not realized how nervous she would be when the time finally had arrived. Softly and evenly she smoothed a few wrinkles from the dress that she was wearing. After she finished smoothing out her dress she turned to a nearby mirror and examined herself. Giving her hair a slight adjustment she then pulled on her dress to try and straighten it. While she had no doubt that he would not care if she wore a bag instead of the dress she was now wearing, she wanted to ensure that she looked her best for him. First taking in a deep breath to calm herself, she then slowly exhaled before turning to one of the Jordling handmaidens by the door of her room and finally nodding. The doors of her quarters were opened.

  As soon as she entered she could see that Daell was still sound asleep. She was impressed with the speed of her servants because a small table with two chairs had been placed in the center of the normally open space within the room before she arrived. It had two placemats, each with a large covered plate and two filled glasses that stood next to them. There would be no disturbances tonight. Astir could hear his deep breathing as she slowly approached him. Once he fully came into view she could see the heavy bruises on his bare chest. She reached her trembling hand out and gently touched his bare chest on the spot of one of the bruises, his skin was warm and soft. He stirred and his eyes opened.

  “That’s always a nice way to be awaken.”

  “What is my love?” She asked him.

  “To such a beautiful face.” He replied.

  She smiled at his kind words.

  “Are you mine for the evenin’?” He asked her.

  With a nod she answered, “My work is done for the turn. I had the evening meal brought to our room, please come and eat.”

  He reached out and gently placed his left hand on the base of the back of her neck. Slowly he pulled her close to him and began to kiss her passionately, which she responded to eagerly. After he released her, he sat up.

  “I’m actually quite faminished your Majesty.”

  “Daell please just call me Astir when we are alone. Titles and such are meant for the public.”

  He grinned widely and nodded at her before saying, “Let’s eat then Astir.”

  As he stood up, he grabbed the nearby red robe and wrapped it around himself. Reaching out for his hand, she slowly tugged him towards the small table.

  “Take a seat.” She instructed him.

  He sat in one of the chairs. S
he then lifted the cover from his plate. It was kyr steak and some tubers. She knew that he loved the dish and made sure it was what was served to him on this night.

  “Oh wow, I love kyr steak!” He said with a smile, “How’d you know Astir?”

  “I know secrets about you that your own family probably does not know.”

  He chuckled at her and asked, “Oh really?”

  “Care for me to prove it?” She answered with an evil smile on her face.

  Daell nodded at her. She could see that he was not fully convinced by her threat. She had spent almost half a turn with Viga, Hollurn, and Skemmra conjoling information about her husband. It was only when she got Hollurn alone and gave him her best stern stare that he caved. In a later meeting she made sure to thank her mother for the stare. It was when she convinced Hollurn to talk that she learned many things about her husband. She found out that he was as much of a free spirit as she was, maybe even more so. He had gotten lost at least five times in the mines near his home. His father had to chain him to his bed in his room at night for some time to keep him from sneaking about. One time he shaved all of the mountain hafr that one of the neighbors owned. Just thinking of his exploits made her laugh. Even though it was one that his family knew about, she decided to go with the big one.

  “When you were just past your thirteenth harvest you were infactuated with the innkeeper's daughter. You stole supplies from your father's forge to make a silfur goblet. You used all of your mother’s silfur chains for the lining. The goblet was of such a fine quality that when the girl declined your advances, your mother took it. She still has it to this turn.”

  Daell looked utterly shocked as his face pitched a slight red before he said, “It appears you have me at a disadvantage.”

  She giggled. Gently she picked up one of the glasses and brought it to his lips for him to drink. He drank from the glass she provided.

  Astir then stated factually, “I am the Queen of Heima. There is nothing that I cannot find out.”

  As she placed the glass down he said firmly, “Hollurn.”

  “It only took one of my stares to convince him to pour his soul out, he even told me secrets about himself. He is a sweet man, but he has no will against a woman of power.”

  Daell chuckled as he commented, “More like any woman. He was always so bad at keepin’ secrets.”

  “I know your favorite color is blue.You love to sit and watch birds as they fly. You have a brother named Bjard and a sister named Kelda. You indeed are a blacksmith and you love nothing more than to wander in places that you should not go.”

  As she sat in her chair she gave him a small frown and then said, “There was only one thing Hollurn would not budge on telling me.”

  “What’s that?”

  “He insisted that he did not know why your mother did not arrange a marriage for you.”

  Daell nodded solemnly before responding, “It’s because no other mother was willin’ to have her daughter marry such a small man.”

  It was the most rediculous thing that she had ever heard in her life so she laughed loudly.

  He then stated as a matter of fact, “In Anddyri, a Jordlin’ needs to be stout and I’m not very stout.”

  “For a man who is not very stout, you sure can take a beating husband.”

  Daell grinned as he replied, “I never said that my heart was not stout.”

  Astir realized that she really loved his wit as he almost always was ready with a quick comment. They began to eat their meal. Her steak was tender and juicy.

  After they finished eating she rose from her chair and then said, “Let me show you something.”

  “Alright.”

  She felt a bit of nerves enter in her stomach again but she ignored them and reached for his hand as he stood up. Giving his hand a tug she slowly guided him to the Queen’s private bathing room. As she opened the door she led him in. His response to seeing the bathing tub was exactly what she hoped for.

  He said quite loudly, “Whoa! What in Heima kind of bathin’ tub is that?”

  She laughed. Her grandmother had it made. It was about the size of three normal bathing tubs combined and stood about waist high for her. Made of reinforced steel, coated with a white ceramic and decorated with a marglod royal emblem on the front, this bathing tub was probably one of the most expensive and advanced items in the palace. It actually had piped water that was placed under pressure so it would actually fill just by turning a knob. It was one of maybe a dozen such bathing tubs in all of Heima. Near the side of the bathing tub was a small set of steps for entry into the tub.

  He proclaimed loudly, “This thing’s big enough to bathe a whole family!”

  Astir had never thought of it like that, but he was right. She reached over and turned the knob so that it would allow warm water to fill the bathing tub. Grabbing a vase filled with bubbling soap, she slowly poured a good amount into the bathing tub.

  “What’s that you’re pourin’ into it?” He asked.

  She could hear his voice cracking as he spoke, which only confirmed everything that she knew about his relationships with women.

  “It is bubbling soap, it cleans and makes bubbles.”

  He watched intently as the bubbles quickly sprout from the churning of the water. She set the vase of bubbling soap back on the nearby shelf. Her stomach turned violently as she now knew it was time to fulfill her early morning promise.

  Turning her back to him she asked, “Could you help me remove this?”

  She waited for a moment for his response.

  After a bit of a pause he finally replied with a voice that seemed peppered with stress, “Yes.”

  It took all of her effort to keep herself from laughing. She could only imagine how nervous he was, she was extremely nervous. Unlike Daell, she had the advantage of receiving training on how to keep oneself from showing that nervousness. After all, a Queen must appear confident in everything she does. Astir stood waiting for some time and she beginning to worry.

  “Ummm... How do I remove this thing? It seems quite complex.” He asked.

  This time she could not hold herself from laughing and once she finished with her brief laugh she instructed him, “I believe you need to loosen the bindings on my sides and then slowly work them free through the middle. After that it should come right off.”

  His hands reached out and touched the bindings on her left side. She could feel his fingers shaking as he fumbled with them which caused her to smile widely.

  Chapter 5

  Daell was completely embarassed as he struggled mightly with a few bindings on the bodice of her dress. Eventually he was able to finally remove it and he had to admit that her naked form was as beautiful as he had imagined.

  She stepped into the large bathing tub and stopped the water before turning to him and asking, “Are you coming?”

  Daell raced to remove his robe and sleeping trousers. He climbed into the bathing tub with her. The water almost hot. As he sat down, she slowly moved towards him. He was sitting with his back against the side of the bathing tub. Once she was next to him she slid herself close and then climbed on his lap. She then rested her back against his chest and softly leaned her head into his left shoulder. Daell gently wrapped his arms around her chest. Once his arms were around her she clasped her hands on his right forearm that was resting on her chest. Daell was convinced that he must have died and Modira had called him from Heima.

  Suddenly she asked, “Is it not funny how fate works?”

  “How so?”

  She answered, “Well if you had told me a cycle ago that I was meant to marry a Jordling, I would have not believed you. And yet here I am married to a Jordling and I would not trade him for any other man.”

  He grinned and then stated, “It’s indeed funny, but you won’t hear this Jordling complainin’.”

  Astir chuckled before commenting, “I bet. Do you want to know something else that proves fate works as it should?”

  He was curi
ous so he answered, “Yes I do.”

  “As you probably know, the Queens of Heima have the ability to manipulate all of the elements.”

  “Yes.”

  “Well we have varying levels of strength in each element and each Queen after the next has had less and less power over earthcrafting. I strain with difficulty to perform the easiest of earthcrafting tasks.”

  Daell was fascinated by this because he had no idea how it all worked with the Queens. He had heard people say that the original Queen was a gift from Modira herself. He nodded at her to let her know that he understood.

  “I guess this means that the gods sent you to fix that issue for my line?”

  He thought to himself that it was an interesting way to look at it, either way he was not going to complain that the gods placed her into his heart and into his life.

  With a chuckle he said, “You won’t hear me complainin’ about that either.”

  She laughed at his comment.

  Daell realized that there was something that he needed to discuss with her so he said, “I know this might not be the right time, but I was wonderin’ somethin’.”

  “What is that my love?”

  “I was wonderin’ if I’d ever see my family again. I think it’d be horrible to leave them wonderin’ if I were even still livin’.”

  Astir rose from her resting position and turned to face him. He released her as she moved. She shifted herself on his lap so that she was facing towards him. His heart began beating faster as she drew closer to him. The soft smell of her perfume and the bubbling soap threatened to overwhelm his senses with pleasure.

  After a brief pause she stated, “Once you regain your strength I would not see a problem with you going to see them.”

  “What about you?”

  “What do you mean?” She asked with a slightly confused look on her face.