Claire and Song stood before the King and Queen. They had been called earlier that day and had made the long walk to their castle. Night had already fallen and it made Claire feel nervous. They wouldn't make it back to town until early the next morning.
Her eyes also kept darting to her aunt, the Queen Mother. Her husband had died some time ago, not long after Abner had become the King. Her eyes fell back onto King Abner, her cousin. There was no way to tell...She looked just like her father.
"Thank you for coming" The King greeted. As if they had a choice. "We have heard a great many things about you and the music you play. You've given the people something to look forward to and we have even heard you when we have gone about town. You have talent"
"You are too kind, your Majesty" Song replied, calm as always.
"And that is why we offer you a position here, in the castle"
"We have need of servants who prove themselves useful in more ways than one" The Queen spoke, her blue eyes gazing over them. "This is why we have reached out to you."
"We would be honored" Song replied again and Claire felt a little sick. She was related to the King and from the few stories she could remember from her childhood...Well she didn't want him to know she was his cousin.
"Then it is settled. You will find the servants quarters down the stairs from the kitchen" The King said as he stood. The young Princess Ilysa looked at her father and then bowed her head, contritely."You are both dimissed."
"It's not so bad" Song commented. "A little dirty, but I'm sure we can change that"
Claire thought it was filled with junk, unwanted things and besides that the floor was a little cold. She could feel it through her sandals.
"Don't look like that" Song grabbed her hands, swinging them back and forth. She felt a smile touch her face despite herself. "It's not so bad"
"I suppose not. We won't have to pay the inn every night anymore"
He spun her around, dipping her down. "We won't. We have a safe place to stay, a job, a life to live"
"We were saving up for our own farm" She reminded him.
"We could still do that" He gave her a warm smile. She felt her heart melt a little bit at his loving look. Her husband, always positive.
Then he leaned down and gave her a kiss. She giggled as he pulled away. He always knew how to cheer her up. He was a good man. She loved him so.
When the morning came, Claire began her day by making breakfast for Royal Family. She had not cooked much since she had mainly lived in the Inn. But here she was. In the dresser in her room, she had found a simple dress that she had slipped on.
Song also found some new clothes to wear. He dressed in them mainly so he didn't get his nice clothes dirty with all the work he would be doing.
Claire and Song took their own meals downstairs after they had made sure the family was fed. Downstairs wasn't so bad, even though it was only their first day. It was their own space and that was actually an amazing feeling.
Despite all their hard work, they still found time for a little romance though. They weren't newlyweds anymore, but they were still very deeply in love even after all this time. It was hard to believe they had been married for so long.
That night, Claire began to work in the garden. Some things were still a little frozen over from the winter. The trees were still okay though. There were only fruit plants in the garden however, as King Abner did not like his vegetables and forbid anyone to farm them.
Song worked on mixing drinks. Parties were something the King and Queen both loved and mixed drinks were popular among the nobles, They knew that the King would be happy if he made the effort anyway.
And they knew that parties would be coming soon, because the Queen found out that she was expecting a child. The entire Kingdom rejoiced and they hoped for a young prince to rule in good time.
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