HoD2: CH1

Phillip smiled and let Sadie drag him away.

There really wasn’t much he could do given the situation. She’d already stated aloud that she’d purchased the gifts for him and wanted him to see them.

Declining, fighting her on them, or being anything other than accepting, would just make it harder for him. Trying to push back at her kindness as a hostage, her prisoner in truth, was just infantile.

It’s my duty to uphold my honor and that means being kind to the queen.

She’ll have authority over my mother and my family.

Both the Curis members as well as the Rias members.

I’d just put them in an awkward spot.

“Given that we’ll be on the move relatively soon you definitely needed more clothing,” continued Sadie, guiding him out of her throne room. The way her hand was on her back left him with little private space.

It felt like an intimate way to touch him that he didn’t know how to feel about. One part thrilling, another part unsure.

She hadn’t made any advances on him and had been entirely respectful of him, if a little aggressively kind. Her care for his situation and opinion had demonstrably shown.

Glancing to the side Phillip gave her a quick once over.

She was of course in the military outfit he expected her to be in. Along with belted long-sword and paired short-sword.

Somewhere since getting up from her throne she’d ditched the golden coronet that’d rested upon her brow. It made her look far more normal and approachable without it.

Or at least, more approachable to Phillip. Soldiers didn’t concern him in the least.

Nor did the guards surrounding them right now bother him as they also reminded him quite a bit of a soldier.

Unfortunately that comfort of being around a soldier made it harder for Phillip when he was around Sadie.

Because even in that surreptitious stolen look at her he couldn’t deny Sadie was incredibly attractive to him.

She had that soldier flare that had clearly been made a part of his preferences at a young age. Something that he’d blame on his mother and sisters if he was honest about it.

Broad shouldered, short military styled blonde-hair, and bright green eyes that were like emeralds. Her figure was athletic and lithe and her tanned complexion made her hair and eyes all the brighter.

Damn me if she really isn’t exactly like a Curis woman in stature and demeanor. I spent far too much time idolizing my family I think.

“What, is there a problem?” Sadie asked, catching him looking at her when his gaze had drifted back to her. She gave him a warm and inviting smile. The same one she often used on him to coax an opinion out of him. “Am I mussed?”

“No. Nothing like that. Just… admiring you. You’re quite beautiful looking, Sadie. Especially today and how you’re dressed.

“You know what they say, a lady in uniform can be quite striking,” Phillip replied, making sure to use her first name. It was a sure fire way to make her light up like a candle-wick struck by a match. He didn’t feel bad for flattering her either. Whenever he paid her positive attention or compliments, she tended to overlook her dislike of Phillip’s sister, Jamie. Sadie could even be quite kind to her if he pushed hard. “I like the uniform by the way. It seems different than what I’ve seen you in previously, however. Is it a new type of parade uniform? Or are you just wearing it differently?”

Sadie was now blushing quite openly, the smile on her face had an almost goofy quality to it. Her eyes were cast to the expensively tiled floor as they walked across it.

“Its… one of my normal uniforms. I just had it cut a bit different and dyed in different areas. You mentioned your mothers old uniforms and how sharp they were to you,” murmured Sadie in an almost embarrassed way. “This is much closer to the uniforms our mothers used to wear once upon a time. I raided mother’s old wardrobe just to get some ideas and have an example on hand.”

Oh.

Now that she mentions it, it really does look like mother’s older uniforms. It really does suit her.

Unconsciously Phillip let his eyes roam over the queen and inspect her from head to boot and back again. She had done exactly what she’d stated and it was clearly done expertly.

“You wear it splendidly, Sadie,” remarked Phillip as he realized he’d been openly eying the queen. He forcefully turned his eyes forward and kept them there.

The last thing he needed to do was give the Queen the wrong impression.

Sadie said nothing more, her lips pressed together and unwavering. She escorted him all the way back to his rooms, her hand never leaving his back either.

A guard opened the door for Sadie who gave Phillip a gentle pat on the back.

“After you, Phil,” murmured the Queen.

Entering his own room Phillip could feel a tension rising in him. An anxiety of being alone with the queen. It’d happened often to him over the last five days or so and it made him wary every time it did.

He was a married man and she was unwedded. She didn’t even have an engagement to speak of to fall back on.

On top of that, she always made sure her guards remained outside of the room whenever she cornered him like this. Leaving her completely alone with him.

There would be no one to speak on his behalf should rumors surface.

Nor could he expect someone to intercede if Sadie did something even if the guards came with them.

Entering the room, or more accurately his study, Phillip saw that there was a number of boxes laid out. They were spread across the table, desk, and some of the floor in-between.

“Lovely, lovely,” Sadie said, coming in behind him. She promptly closed the door without a word to her guards. “Please, start going through them. You don’t have to try them on or anything, but I’d really love to see you open them.

“While you’re doing that, would you mind if I just… talked through some things with you? How we got to this point and where I’m going? I’d love to get your thoughts as I mentioned.”

“Of course, Sadie,” Phillip replied without a thought. There really wasn’t any other choice. Moving over to the closest parcel he lifted the top of it off and peered inside.

There was a very expensive looking tunic inside. It’d been cut from high quality fabric, dyed richly in green, and looked to be made by an expert tailor.

The seems and stitching looked perfect.

Phillip could only wonder how much was spent on this.

“Your mother was called to action at the start of this war,” Sadie murmured walking to the other side of the study. “In fact, your mother mentioned that it was exactly at the same time your marriage to the Rias household occurred.”

“That’s accurate,” Phillip confirmed, pulling the tunic out of the box and holding it up in front of himself. Looking to a mirror not far off he regarded himself in it.

There was no denying it suited him quite well.

“You married into the Rias family and started your days as a wedded man. To a woman who… treated you poorly,” stated Sadie with an odd hitch to her voice.

Phillip was surprised at her words.

He didn’t think Sadie was this well informed as to his private life.

“She scorned you, turned you away, and more or less rebuked you for your efforts. To the point that she fled across the country to beg your mother for forgiveness,” continued Sadie after a paused to see if he’d respond. “Then you got involved in a number of lucrative business deals that put you into a delicate position with some rather unsavory characters.”

Phillip had put the tunic down back into the box it’d come out of.

Standing there, looking at the ground, he really didn’t know what to say. Or if he should say anything at all.

The fact that Sadie knew all of this was extremely worrying to him.

She investigated it, someone told her everything, or… or I don’t know. She knows too much though for just a casual passing interest.

Why look into me so deeply?

Are… these gifts more than just gifts?

Do I need to return them immediately or decline them?

“-imprisoned you unjustly. I hear that the countess took insult to them having injured you during your captivity and hung the sheriff,” reported Sadie. She walked over to a smaller box on the table and popped the lid off it.

Walking it over to him she stood before him and held it open to him.

Inside was a golden ring. It was a very simple and plain ring.

That was if it didn’t look to be made of what was quite possibly pure gold.

“I went for something very simple and could be worn with anything,” Sadie explained. “I had your current ring measured for the sizing. This should fit perfectly for you.”

Forcing a smile on his face even as his heart slammed around inside his chest, Phillip reached out and took the ring from it’s box. Picking it up he rolled the bright ring around between his fingers and inspected it.

Or at least he tried to look like he was inspecting it.

Right now his mind was racing around in a panicked worry of flustered thoughts and concerns. Up to this point he’d been able to delude himself to what Sadie wanted from him. That her interest in him was merely to do with his mother and who she was.

At this moment in time he couldn’t help but believe she was pursuing him for something altogether different. That she was after him as a woman courts a man, rather than a friend or confidant.

“After that it seems your entire life was focused around your poor mother and the Queen’s dishonoring of her,” hissed Sadie. “Your mother is a hero regardless of the side she served. A woman of so much worth that it cannot be understated at any level.

“There is no one with so storied a career with so many overwhelming victories. No one can compare to her, not even my own mother.”

Doing what would be expected of someone receiving a ring in this situation, Phillip slipped it onto the ring finger of his right hand. It was a place that a ring could easily go and signify very little.

“My mother is a genius on the field. A woman who could take down most anyone with little to no effort. Anyone except your mother,” confessed Sadie. “And the Tralin threw her away as one might a bone that’d been stripped of meat. Foolishly and stupidly thinking that her royal guard was worth your mother.

“I’ll not make that mistake, Phil. Forgive me for having pushed at you so determinedly, a married man, no less. But I must link myself to your family to give myself credibility. That’s done in the most simplest of ways by treating you as I’ve been doing.

“You being a married man makes it easier for me as well since the rumors when they show up will be limited in scope and concern.

“It’s also why I made sure that everything I purchased you is acceptable given the situations. Especially with you having so few possessions here and us heading into the field.”

I… oh.

Oh, yes, I see. That’s definitely a better reason than what I was thinking.

I’m just a silly man from a military family.

I would never have any titles myself and my noble blood is awfully thin given I’m not considered part of the family anymore as a Rias.

Yet as the only son of my mother, someone who put together the ransom to free her than took her place as a prisoner, it could easily be seen as she’s suggesting. To form a relationship with the Curis through the dutiful son.

I wonder if she tried something similar with Jamie when my mother was still here. Maybe that’s what set them up as disliking one another.

Phillip nodded his head as he considered everything. Agreeing with his own thoughts even as he had them.

He also felt relieved that Sadie had said it the way she had. It seemed like he was overthinking the situation given how she’d been acting.

Yes. That’d be Jamie alright. Rejecting someone crassly and causing a problem and a fuss without ever realizing she’s done it. She lacks mother’s awareness of decorum and society.

It’s no wonder Sadie doesn’t like her.

“I understand completely, Sadie,” Phillip answered to the unasked question. Without asking him directly she wanted to know if she could count on his support. “I have no problem with you pushing that viewpoint to others. I can certainly see how you and your mother could hold respect for my mother, even friendship in fact, as the Tralin’s look the worse for having scorned the Curis family.

“I ask only for one thing to all of this though and I ask your forgiveness for even asking it. I know for many it would be insulting to even hear it.”

Sadie tilted her head fractionally to one side, her eyebrows coming down over her eyes. She was the picture of a curious soldier who didn’t really understand the orders they were just given.

“Speak it, Phil. I’ll make it happen for you,” she promised.

“Try to have a chaperon for us in the future. I can appreciate all that you’ve said and it even makes sense,” Phillip requested. “I trust you to not take an aggressive course with me as well. It just… it would do us well to have a chaperon just to limit the rumors.

“I do have a wife to return to at the end of this and her honor as well of mine could be impugned. It would never reflect on you as you’re the Queen after all. But it could easily tarnish my own or Alice’s.”

Sadie’s face cleared up quickly and she gifted him with a dazzling smile. One that took away the hard military look that often settled on her.

“Oh Phil, that’s not an issue at all. I can certainly have that addressed for you,” murmured Sadie. “In fact, I was already working on it. It just took more time than I wished it to so I could be certain of a few things.

“This actually would be a perfect time for it, in fact. I can show you my earnest wishes and my intentions perfectly in this. I mean, there’s no way I could do this without having prepared it, after all.”

“I… prepared what, Sadie?” Phillip questioned. He was feeling better about everything but Sadie was sounding somewhat cryptic at the moment.

“A chaperon. I wanted to make sure I could protect your honor. I gave your mother a request just as she was leaving and I got her response back this morning. I also have a letter for you from her,” noted Sadie and then walked over to his writing desk. Opening it she opened one of the small drawers and pulled out a letter that was there. “I put it here when I have the presents delivered. Here you are.

“You go ahead and read that while I go get your chaperon. I’m sure you’ll be rather pleased with it. Do forgive me for reading it before delivering it but… given what happened to my mother, I must be dutiful and careful.”

Phillip looked to the letter in his hand then flipped it over to check the back.

The seal of the Curis family was there though it’d been broken. Just as one would expect given Sadie had stated she’d read it first.

Flicking paper open he found his mothers script waiting for him.

Dear son,

I cannot even begin to thank you for my freedom, though I wish it wasn’t done at the cost of your own. I can’t fault Sadie for caution and prudence either.

While I haven’t yet returned home and this is being penned to you while on the road, I’ve already heard from your grandmother that Tralin has already made mention of trying to call me to service.

It would seem that I gave Tralin far too much credit and the Karens were correct. It’ll be a pain to admit it to Lor later, but I’m sure it’ll give her a laugh.

Try to get her humor up or at least smiling. Laughter has always been the best cure for her, no matter what it is. While it may sound odd, especially given her title and position, make the effort.

In fact, you’re welcome to read her this letter. She might enjoy that.

Please do encourage her to get up and do more. She might actually listen to you given she’s always had a soft spot for you and Jamie. You probably don’t remember since it was so long ago but she held you often when you and the others visited me at the camps.

Now, on to what is likely the real reason you’re reading this.

Queen Karen has requested that you be given a chaperon appropriate to your station as my son, and the husband of Alice Rias.

The recommendation you made to her was as obvious as it is approved.

I whole-heartedly support your choice and suggestion without any concern whatsoever. I know for a fact that your honor as well as that of Sadie’s will be absolutely protected.

Do write me back and let me know how things are going, my son. While we might be separated by this war, it’ll eventually end as all wars do.

All we can do is wait and then pick up all the pieces once it’s done.

Best wishes and love, my son,

Clarissa Curis

Frowning, Phillip flipped the letter over and looked to the back of it. When he found nothing at all there he looked to the bottom edge of it only discover it was blank as well.

He had never made a suggestion as to who should be his chaperon. Nor did Sadie bring it up to him before this moment.

His awareness of this was entirely in this moment alone.

Looking up he found Sadie standing at the door. She’d opened it at some point and had been talking with someone just outside of it.

Glancing back at him, she gave him a grin, then walked back into his study.

“Your chaperon has just arrived,” Sadie murmured, taking up the corner of the room.

A second after she’d stopped moving she looked to the door again and gestured to whoever was out there.

“Mildred Aims, formally in your employ, now acting as your chaperon,” concluded the queen. “She’ll be acting as your personal attendant, last line of defense should my guards fail, your chaperon, and servant. Given her reputation, it felt like the best possible choice.”

In the next moment, Mildred walked into his study.

She was dressed in a simple Rias family house uniform. He’d seen a number of servants wearing it around the household.

It didn’t look quite right on her given her size, broad shoulders, and athletic figure. Mildred had and always would be a tall and strong looking soldier.

Having her dressed in a house uniform made her look more akin to a tiger wearing a bonnet.

Her cool-green eyes sought him out instantly and locked to his face. She gave him a broad and warm smile as their eyes met. Her short dark-brown hair had been trimmed and styled in a very similar way to Sadie’s.

It was a predominant style that ran through the ranks of soldiers and never seemed to fall out of fashion. Surprisingly it suited her quite well.

Mildred looked quite pretty as she stood there despite being out of place in her clothes. She remained next to Sadie with her hands behind her back.

“So, did I do good?” asked Sadie, grinning ear to ear.

Phillip wanted to run to Mildred and hug her. To hold onto her as if she were a flickering light in an utter darkness that surrounded him.

“Yes, Sadie,” confirmed Phillip, turning to look at Sadie lest his gaze betray him. “I’m in your debt and I thank you. Mildred is… Mildred is exactly who I was hopping for without knowing it. You’ve answered my request perfectly.”

“Wonderful,” Sadie replied with a very self satisfied look on her face. She nodded her head to Phillip then Mildred. “I’ll leave you two to catch up. I have some work I wanted to do and I’m afraid I’ve run out of time.

“I still want to pick over your thoughts about my next steps, Phil. Can we have dinner together and discuss it afterward?”

“Of course, Sadie. I’d be most pleased to dine with you,” promised Phillip. Right now he’d be more than happy to agree to anything Sadie said.

In one fell swoop she’d squashed all his fears and concerns. She’d even provided him a life-line he hadn’t realized he needed.

“Wonderful. I’ll pick you up just before we dine. Remember the security protocol we discussed Mildred and have the door locked,” Sadie commanded as she left the room.

“Of course, your highness,” drawled Mildred, her eyes still locked to Phillip’s.

Then the door shut as Sadie left, having pulled it closed behind her.

Mildred took a single step over and then locked the door as Sadie had commanded.

A second after that and Phillip had slammed into Mildred at full force. Burrowing into her with his arms wrapped about her middle.