Of Hearts Bound Ch. 01

"What I would like to do," my queen," General Neral Jaye began as she pointed to various points north along the river, " is enhance protection of the villages by spreading troops more evenly along the border." Her finger danced across the map. "Smaller forts here, here, and here would be populated with rapid strike units. Coupled with the new observation towers, bandits should have a significantly more difficult time, shall we say, shopping. "

"Do you want to decommission the larger fort south?"

She shook her head. "No. My aides and I believe it's still relevant as a rally point and is useful to provision travelers."

Evaline's sapphire blue eyes examined the map, visualizing it all in her mind. Each was a piece in a game, the goal of which was to maintain the safety and security of the people of Erette. Even so, there were numerous considerations and it was a queen's place to balance them all as but pieces of the larger game that was Court politics. "How much will this impact your budget requirements?"

"A nine percent increase this year and next for road construction and construction of the forts themselves, then a standing four percent increase to maintain them using today's numbers."

"Significant."

Neral agreed. "True, Majesty, but I believe it necessary and with our tax base increasing due to the acquisition of formerly Draleth land the new budget still stays within our current share of expenditures."

The corners of the queen's mouth turned upward, "Then you should have little trouble selling it, though you may want to wait a few months until that revenue starts coming in consistently and they can see that your projections will hold."

Neral straightened and sighed, "I was actually hoping to start immediately."

Evaline leaned back in the ornate, plush, red and gold chair as she pondered it. "Roads almost always have a use regardless. Since you need them before a proper build anyway I'll discuss it with Ezra. I'm sure he would be willing to stretch his budget now in return for reimbursement from the military budget later."

Neral closed her eyes and dipped her head. "I thank you, Majesty."

She looked at the map and then around the table before looking to Neral. "If there is nothing else, I expect you have a little one to get home to."

"Actually, I do not," Neral said with a grin. "Khylen has been planning to sleepover at Annesta Dale's for better than a week now. I expect she is already there."

Evaline nodded. "The Dales are a fine family."

"They are. They are a bit," she searched for words that wouldn't bruise them because they were indeed good people, "more steeped in the traditions of class than I, but they are good people. They treat Deres respectfully and with what seems to be honest affection and treat Khylen as their own."

"I'm glad to know that." She paused. "So you could remain for a time to discuss personal matters?" The queen carefully placed the brooch with her royal seal on the darkly varnished long table to make it clear that she wanted to speak to her childhood friend without the barriers of class or rank.

The general tilted her head, studying her friend. "Sure, Evie. Something wrong?"

Evaline seemed then to notice her tone and how it could be taken, "Oh, no. We just haven't had a chance to do so in a while and I'd like to, unless you have other plans."

Neral was a little relieved before taking the chair to Evaline's right. "I'd like that, too."

Evaline smiled. "Wonderful. Tea?"

"Please."

Ringing a bell started the process and within minutes the ornate service was complete with an apple tea complimenting cinnamon puff pastries that Neral adored. After the last servant departed closing the double doors behind him leaving the two alone. Evaline sipped, "You have not asked how things have progressed with me and Danil."

"I have not," Neral agreed.

"You choose a man for me and now you have no curiosity?"

Neral toyed with a grin. After the recent attempt on her life Evaline surrendered to the long standing pressure of Court to find a mate to further the royal line. For her part however, the queen was quite well aware of her penchant for floating from one physical dalliance to another, never allowing herself to grow close to someone because she saw her parents live, at best, as cool towards one another and, at worst, slipping the knives between each other's ribs for personal amusement.

She looked upon Neral's relationship with Deres with curiosity and no small bit of envy. They loved one another and, more importantly, liked one another. They treated each other's feelings with care and, for someone who lived with parents who were simply together because their lineages were compatible that was something to behold and study. Evaline wanted more and she asked Neral, as the person she was closest to, to lead the search when it came to compatibility of the person.

So she and Bae, personal assistant to the queen, poured over the eligible names and looked at each man carefully. Neral, for her part, would rather have faced off with an army of raging beasts bent on the destruction of the world than to host the intimate gatherings at the Jaye estate that she did in order to get to know these people personally. Though gatherings of Court were a necessary part of her position, she loathed them even when they were only routine. When the future happiness of her queen and best friend was at stake, there was a level of trepidation involved that kept Neral in a constant state of unease throughout each one of them.

Such matchmaking gatherings weren't uncommon among all classes. Not only could the individual meet and get to know a prospective mate, the family could as well. Given the importance of family and keeping those bonds tightly knit, it was seen as nearly as important that the prospective mate mesh reasonably well with all. They weren't the final arbiters, but their opinions often carried great weight in the scheme of things.

The men weren't told that the parties were to find a mate for the queen because the posturing would likely have been worse than it already was. They knew it was important enough simply because House Jaye was holding it, so many assumed that the candidate was Neral's niece Nelina, now a bit more settled into her military career and perhaps seeking a mate. Indeed, Neral's mother and sisters were invaluable in sizing up all the potential suitors. They could be more circumspect when Neral feared she came off as though she were tactically appraising each one as a potential enemy.

There were several attempts at a match before Danil, but they had not worked out. What looked good in theory often did not work in practice and such was the case with the queen. One was somewhat abrasive even as he was respectful, while another, once he began to feel more comfortable with the queen began to slowly reveal not only his bigotries, but subtly implied that, as the man, he should functionally become king. At least that was the impression Evaline was left with, and that was enough for her to put him in his proper place in the grand scheme before dismissing him.

Neral had felt that failure particularly acutely and almost excused herself from the search because of it, and only Evaline's assurance that his public mask was impeccable and she could not have been expected to see it as well as her pleas that Neral continue convinced her to do so.

It was at the fifth such gathering that Neral's younger sister Nessein came to her and pointed out Danil who tried to disappear into the scenery between finding a way into the idle chatter of others now and then. As she observed him Neral got the sense that he was walking a fine line between trying to fit in and nervously marking time before decorum allowed him to excuse himself. " Danil Xen," she began, "I have been watching this one for some time, Sister. Ask him to tell you the carriage joke."

She watched him carefully and with both amusement and sympathy. "He so doesn't want to be here."

"Neither do you, Neral."

"True. Have you talked to him?"

"Only pleasantries, but I see a gentle nature in him and a very...improper sense of humor."

Neral looked to her, "He told you the carriage joke?"

"Goddess, no. I overheard him telling it when the men thought they were having some time mostly alone. I'm sure he would never let such a joke touch the ears of a noblewoman such as myself."

Neral smiled broadly at Nessein and offered an eye roll, "Oh, yes. Never mind that you know jokes that could make my soldiers blush."

She scoffed dramatically. "Really, sister, how you defame me."

Neral put an arm around her and leaned in so their cheeks touched before the two parted. Neral moved through the crowd, being stopped twice by guests before she reached him. She tried her best to look casual and friendly, but that was of limited success when a man like Danil was face to face with she who commanded the combined forces of Erette. "Danil, is it?"

His mouth opened and closed before he cleared his throat and tried again, "Yes, Ma'am...uh, General?"

She sought to put him at ease as best she could with a smile and a casual tone. "I'm trying desperately to be relaxed here, so Neral is fine. Please."

He was a decently built man, neither powerful nor frail. His hair a dusky brown with light blue eyes and a freckled face he looked as though he defied age. His relief was obvious even if the informality was still uncomfortable in its own way. "Thank you, Neral. The party is lovely, by the way."

Neral looked around, "Thank you." She appraised him carefully now that she was up close "Up for a test of bravery?"

He shifted weight from one foot to the next nervously awaiting the punchline, "I'm not much good with a sword I'm afraid."

"That's fine. We can skip that if you tell me the carriage joke."

He laughed reflexively at the punchline before color drained from his face when he realized she was serious. "I..."

"Think I already haven't seen or heard things that would shock you?"

He pondered. "Well, no."

He then proceeded to tell the joke, tell it well, and it was indeed funny. The tactician in her saw that he was respectful, had a gentle nature, and could match the sense of humor that so few knew Evaline had. When she had led him to the residential floors of the royal palace some days later, and the doors parted to see the queen awaiting them with a rather sumptuous lunch, Danil fought a wave of terror once he realized what it all meant. Indeed, he took a step in retreat to find Neral's hand on his back. He looked at her almost as though she betrayed him. "I thought..."

"Forgive me," she asked of him sincerely, "I allowed you to assume. Nelina will only be matched if she requests it. Her parents decided before she was born that their children could figure that out for themselves."

He bowed to the queen and she gave him a nod in response, but refrained from interrupting as Danil looked into Neral's dark eyes and she read the terror behind them. "If I had told you who this was all for, you would not have come."

He couldn't dispute it and Neral liked that he seemed to swallow his fear, straighten his back and went in with surety of purpose. That first lunch was difficult but it was Evaline rose to the challenge in the weeks that followed, drawing him out a bit at a time until he could forget, occasionally, that she was, in fact, queen.

Neral was content to let it proceed as it would, taking that she hadn't dismissed him as sign enough that things were going well. Neral sipped her tea. "You like him."

"I do," Evaline said with an honest smile. "He has a sharp wit and a keen mind. And, as time has gone on, as I see the man that lies beneath the formality, I see he is a good one. He is perhaps better than I am and I can appreciate that. I think I like occasionally having someone to look up to that way.

"That may well be his youth. He is slightly less jaded than Evie."

She shook her head as cup touched saucer. "That's not exactly difficult to accomplish. He is considerate and seems to know when it is time for me to be queen and when I can be Evaline. He can offer his opinion without demanding that I follow it."

Neral took that as commentary on the last suitor. "Again, I regret that."

"Again, you had no way to know." Her mind went back to the far more pleasant subject. "I find Danil..restful as much as anything else, if that makes sense."

Neral knew he feeling well. "I understand. He will be there, all will be well, and some of the burden can be shared for a while, even if he can truly do nothing but listen."

She nodded. "Too many men see it is a plea for you to fix things for them. It's an innate wisdom to know the difference. I am content in his company. And he is...quite affectionate," she said with wickedness in her eyes. "The first time was a bit awkward. He kept...asking permission for every step as though he were providing a service to his queen."

"He sort of was, was he not?"

Evaline laughed. "And scandalized throughout for engaging me that way before even talk of a formal union."

"Not sufficiently scandalized to fail to perform."

"Hah. You speak as though you don't know that scandalized is exciting. You and that...strapping Southie that climbs you."

Evaline had few she could go into such detail with so Neral never thought much of it. It wasn't that much more racy than she and her sisters got when the wine flowed and they tried to shock one another. "Deres has has my heart. Even the most raw moments have love."

She teased with a sour face. "The sweetness you pour over one another in my presence rots my teeth just watching it." Her eyes narrowed wryly. "But don't pretend that's all there is. Don't pretend that you ever entirely dispel the fact that you're rutting with one propriety tells you is forbidden to you."

Neral settled back in her chair, eyes twinkling, "No. That...does help me along even though he is very good at things in his own right."

She sat her tea to the table. "By the depths, I am going to finally ask, is he?"

"Is he what?"

"Neral Jaye, you know perfectly well what I'm asking you. Is he a true Southie bull or do the stories not hold?"

Neral was appalled as her station demanded. "Such a question to come from my queen's lips."

"Right now I'm not your queen and you know it. Tell your girlfriend."

Neral smirked. "Really, Evie, talk about scandalous."

The word had all the force of a queen's command. "Tell." The words that followed though were more a whine than demand. "Come on."

Neral weighed the request and made her choice by placing her hands a measured distance apart.

Evaline's cheeks reddened, not at the admission itself, but at the sudden rush of nasty thoughts that came with it "Goddess! You lie."

"I do not. I account for every exquisite inch."

She tittered like a schoolgirl speaking of taboo things in the dark of night with her girlfriends. "How is it you walk after?"

"I walk fine, Evie." Her own racy thoughts intruded with remembrances of passion, love, and animal abandon. "Though the feeling does linger wonderfully."

"Yes it does. Women in our position need a regular hollowing out, don't we?"

Neral raised an eyebrow. "It does wonders for my mood throughout the day."

Evaline's mind wandered for a time as they ate and emptied the teapot and cleared the plate of pastries one cup and sweet at a time. "I cannot forget seeing you in single combat with General D'ravek. As a practical matter I know what you do. I have watched you spar for Court festivals. I know that every time you go out and draw your sword it could be the last. But until that day, I did not know what you do on the field."

She spoke with quiet awe. "The way you moved and fought. You gave your all and more. I remember watching you and I can remember the exact moments where I feared you would not get up because I knew I would have nothing left. I remember the moments where I would have lay there and waited to die."

Neral shook her head. "You have always underestimated yourself, Evie. Always. You would have risen from that muddy ground because you knew when you led your people out on that field to buy at least time if not some sort of future for them, that there was no choice but to rise."

"You did more than that Neral." Evaline shook her head in awe. It was a sense she couldn't shake whenever she thought of it. Neral, of course, reported the events for Court, but it was Evaline who made the dry report live to them. "You fought. You danced. Goddess Neral, you flew. And when you two charged one another at the last and he swung and you..." That thought still made her tense "slid into the mud in a heap and didn't move at first I thought perhaps that you had died."

"Then I thought of things not said or done between us struck me at that moment. What would I say to my friend if I had a moment more? What would I want to do with one more day?"

Neral picked up the last of her tea, "And what did you decide that you wanted to do?"

Evaline had her own tea now and spoke before busying herself with a taste, "Do you find me attractive, Neral?"

Neral froze, looking at her as though she had spontaneously sprouted a second head. "I beg your pardon?"

The queen enjoyed taking the warrior and tactician off balance. "You heard me, dear"

Since, as Neral herself put it, she had 'evolved' on matters of attraction, they teased one another privately and sometimes mercilessly about it. Neral had considered it an exercise in good humor and a way to break the tension of the moment. When the Draleth found a weapon of the old world and attempted to use it to bring the current one to heel under its banner there was a fair amount of tension to be had. "If this is a joke, you've pushed it just a bit too far."

"It's not," she said plainly. "When I told you that there was one woman I would be willing to explore that with I meant it. There has always been idle curiosity on my part as to what it would be like to touch a woman in that way. I have not chosen to try because, while you know historically I have no problem with dalliances, I have had no...drive for it. I don't look at random women and have daydreams about them as I am sure you have."

"Perhaps for me and some other women, physical attraction comes with emotional ties, I don't know. Sexuality is a complex thing. What I know for certain is that when I saw you there, not moving. I desperately wanted to experience that with you. I wanted to be close to you that way. I wanted to know what your caress and your kiss felt like."

She saw the next words in Neral's eyes even before she spoke them, "I've said nothing until now because perhaps it was the heat of the moment and the shock of seeing you lifeless as far as I knew that made me play 'If only...' and it would fade in time. It has not. So, I could resign myself to always wondering. or I could simply ask and see if it were a possibility." She sat her tea to the table, rested her hands on her lap, and enjoyed one more tease. "Do you find me attractive or not?"

Neral tried one more tease herself, "Look in a mirror, Evie. You know you have always been attractive. Even without being queen you would find no shortage of people hoping for an invitation to warm your bed. It was so. From her straw blonde hair, to eyes a stunningly dark blue, kissable lips, and a body with just enough softness to be proportional given her substantial chest, she was indeed attractive.

"No more playing, Neral. Would you like to warm my bed?"

She looked at her friend and knew she would be lying to herself if she had tried to tell herself that the thought of Evaline never occurred to her. Indeed, Neral had played 'what if' now and again weighing out the negatives and positives, her career so ingraining it within her that she could not keep from doing so. But even that was slightly different than the reality. Neral had always considered her desirable as a practical matter, but, since her evolution, she felt it now and then. She could take the leap or not. Evaline would let rejection sting for a moment and move on because she was not prone to pettiness. Neral could indulge her own fantasy or not.