Sigrid contained her excitent. She recalled when she thought of leaving the Shadowre’s to their fate. Saving them had been the right move, it seed. They were officially aligning themselves with her by sending their daughter her way.
"What kind of freedom are you looking to pursue?" Sigrid asked her.
Christie shook her head. "I don’t know, I always thought that freedom for ant being the captain of a ship and sailing all over the world. My family however would rather marry off than see that happening. My grandfather does not agree and neither does my mother who cried herself into a faint the last ti I suggested it. But, I figured so things out when I saw that footage of Mauve flying over the boarder on the back of her butterfly."
"Its a moth." Mauve corrected.
"That." Christie nodded, her eyes did not stray from Sigrid. "She followed you to war and when ti cos and the opportunity is presented to go to doris, Solandor and other empires far away, she will follow you. I realized that maybe I do not need a ship to see the world, I just need you."
"Stand up and sit down." Sigrid told her.
Mauve scooted closer to Sigrid, moving herself along with her chair and she whispered, "Are we taking her in? She is here for benefits, can we trust her?"
"I will sleep on it and send word when I decide what to do. Should I say yes, you should know before hand that loyalty is the number one expectation I have of those who serve ." Sigrid inford Christie.
"And obedience." Mauve pitched in.
She gestured at Brolin to escort Christie away. After that eting, she reviewed so docunts for Roland until the clock struck one, informing her that it was ti for lunch.
Lunch ant eting her husband and she joined him in his private study. Maids were already putting food on the table when she arrived. Roland was already there, picking at the fruits with toothpicks.
Upon setting his eyes on her, he abandoned the fruit platter for her, rushing over to embrace her. "There she is, the only thing keeping sane in the middle of this madness."
He gestured for the maids to hurry out and they retreated rapidly, giving the royal couple privacy.
"It doesn’t end, every small decision must be made by . I thought we had offices and departnts to deal with the minor issues. Lord Culvert is the head of the health office of Eldoria and yet he asked for guidelines on first aid." he groaned, complaining into the back of her neck.
"I wrote a manual on that before winter, he should have it. Have you considered the fact that all these noble lords are simply hoping for an opportunity to get up close with you." She questioned their motives.
"I would rather get up and close with you." He replied.
She wiggled out of his arms, laughing softly because he was being ridiculous. "I thought you would be in a dark mood considering the current condition of the king."
He took a few steps and sat at the table holding the food, gesturing that she do the sa. "The Lord mage has assured that my father would open his eyes in three weeks to a month. His body is on the nd right now which is why he is in a state of sleep."
She could see why he was in a better mood. He reached out and poured lemonade into two crystal glasses, handing one to her and taking a sip from another.
"I hear that a Shadowre paid you a visit." he said.
Sigrid told him the entire story, and she even threw in the conversation with Lord Benwick. Wonder never ceased to sweep over him when it concerned Sigrid. She had a way of bringing him the most wonderful surprises. The Shadowre’s had always a kept a distance from royal affairs. Thanks to Sigrid, that was no longer the case.
He gathered up the flowers on the table and handed them to her. "These are for you."
"Thank you." She accepted them gracefully.
He dragged her chair closer with ease, lifted her and put her on his lap. She did not fight him, rather, she picked up a fork, stabbed a potato slice softly and put it to his mouth. "What do we intend to do about Thalassa’s wedding?"
After swallowing, he replied to her question. "Thalassa and Prince Firron actually ca to see . They want their wedding to go ahead as planned in a week’s ti whether the king is awake or not. I told them that I would consult my advisors and get back to them later. I haven’t consulted them yet because it sounds absurd. The king is down, we are treading in uncertain territory. Now is not the ti for a grand celebration."
Sigrid was of the opposite opinion from him. "Maybe not so grand, sothing small but elegant could do the trick."
She was raising another fork of potatoes to his lips but he paused her hand. "You disagree with ." he seed stunned.
Sigrid nodded. "Establishing ties with Solandor is very important, it is what the king would want."
"You sound like Thalassa." he said. He did not sound too happy to hear her contradicting him.
"Have I upset you?" she queried curiously.
He smiled, despite it all, "No, you are right, it is what the king would want. He will be likely to behead were he to open his eyes and find out that I ruined his union. However, isn’t anyone else bothered by it? It does not seem appropriate to laugh, toast and make rry only a week...days...within the king collapsing."
She put a hand on his neck, rubbing it to help him relax. Roland briefly closed his eyes and leaned into the caress. Little things that she did like this made him look forward to spending ti with her after a long stressful day.
"I understand the moral dilemma you find yourself in."
He opened his eyes. "Do you?" He was going to be thought of as a heartless or cruel son whose ambitions were greater than his love for his father.
"You are worried about what people will say but whatever you decide Roland, know that I will stand with you. People will not always understand the decisions that you make and that is okay because you are the emperor, your job is not to explain yourself, it is to decide.
Every decision you make will be criticized because it is good for so and bad for others but as long as it is good for the empire just go ahead and make it. You cannot please everyone my love and that is okay. You don’t have to because you are Roland Maximus, the fucking emperor!!" She assured him zealously.
He loved what she said, so much so that he pulled her head down and rewarded her with a kiss. A passionate one, like he wanted to devour her entirely.
"I am not the emperor, my love." he whispered as he pulled away.
She tickled the lobe of his ear with her tongue, laughing as she replied. "Yet."
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