Nanny For The Alien General by Athena Storm
Keilon
“Just tell me what the priorities are and I’ll tackle those first,” I say, trying to keep my frustration under wraps. My office, though large, is stifling, filled as it is with the bodies of my advisors and servants.
It seems that everyone wants something from me and that they are all, supposedly, pressing and time sensitive. How I wish someone could just wait until I’ve been able to unbury myself from all the actual, pressing matters first.
Staja, ever attentive to my needs, steps forward with his hands raised.
“I think we owe the King some space. He has had a trying few weeks. Let us leave him now. Come see me outside and I will hear your concerns.” Turning to me he says, “I will compile a list, Your Majesty, and then bring it to you with the most immediate concerns at the top.”
A small part of the weight on my shoulders shifts with this proposal.
“Excellent suggestion, Staja. Make it happen.”
At this, Staja begins to usher everyone out of my office. With some badly disguised grumbling, the room starts to clear. Just then, however, a voice rings out.
“Your Highness, I just wanted to say, in front of everyone, how fortunate we all are for your safe return. We felt your absence keenly.”
“Thank you, Teraed. I am grateful to all that kept this kingdom running. I am sorry to bring such worry to you all,” I say, as diplomatically as I can muster. What is he trying to achieve here?
“And, let it be known, Your Majesty, that the election has been officially cancelled, as per your express orders,” he replies, his voice dripping with humility.
“Indeed,” is my curt reply. If he expected an overblown show of thanks for cancelling something that never should have happened, he’s out of his mind.
Staja clears his throat once more. At the signal, the room once again begins to empty. Teraed shoots me one more sycophantic glance before sweeping from the room. It’s only then I can really breathe again.
“Staja? Remain behind for a few moments, would you?” I ask, pretending to be nonchalant.
“Certainly, Your Majesty.” Staja murmurs some instructions for the advisors waiting outside to wait a few moments longer and then closes the door, leaving us, finally and blissfully, alone.
Though I can’t prove it just yet, it’s obvious to me that Teraed has something up his sleeve and that I should not trust him. Frankly, though, I don’t have a lick of evidence to prove his sabotage, but my gut feels certain that I have not completely de-escalated this situation.
In the quiet of my office, Staja simply waits for me to get my thoughts in order. I swear you can’t buy this kind of intuition in a loyal servant at any cost. I am ever so grateful for him.
“Staja, I need you to look closer into Teraed’s whereabouts. Who is he talking to? Where has he been? Anything that sticks out to you, make a note of it. Leave nothing unexamined.”
The slightest smile creases Staja’s mouth. Though he would never admit it, Staja enjoys such missions. His moral compass is such that if someone breaks the rules, he feels it's imperative to do something about it. No shame in also enjoying the pursuit.
“Of course, Your Majesty. Will there be anything else?”
I think for another moment.
“Yes. One more thing. Can you summon a Divine Priestess for me?”
The question hangs in the air. I have never made such a request before and I know, in Staja’s baser mind, he is dying to know the reason for this request. But, being as beholden to propriety as he is, he would never dare ask me why.
So he simply replies, “Yes, Your Majesty. Right away.”
“Thank you, Staja. I appreciate all you do for me.”
“The pleasure is mine, sir. Will that be all?”
“For now, yes. Thank you.”
“Very good, sir. I will bring your priority list in shortly.”
“Mmm.”
Swiftly, Staja opens my office door, exits and closes it softly behind him.
Finally, I’m alone with just my thoughts. And they are whirling.
I need the priestess to confirm what I already know: that Serafina is my fated mate. It seems silly, but I need it confirmed without a shadow of a doubt.
Somehow, that will give me the armor I need to prove it to my own subjects.
A small sense of calm enters my thoughts at putting this plan into motion. So much so that I turn to some of the items on my desk, determined to make a dent in them. Being away this long from the kingdom has left so many things to pile up.
Visit Serafina and the children at dinner. That will make this work fly by.
This new thought comforts me and motivates me to work faster. Dinner will be here before I know it.
A half hour flies by, after which Staja returns to my office with a list a mile long of outstanding tasks and requests. Fortunately, he has prioritized the most important first.
I only wish, however, they were simple matters. But, like almost everything connected to running a kingdom, they are nothing short of messy, complicated, and time consuming.
Sighing, I set about crossing items off the list.
Just think of dinner with Serafina. Just think of that….
Hours trickle by. Finally, with a crick in my neck and my backside sore from sitting so long, I look up. To my shock and dismay, the dinner hour has come and gone and I have missed any chance to visit them.
There is no option to visit them now. To do so would be to invite rumor and scandal. I can’t visit the nursery at this time of night. It would only project to my servants that Serafina is my mistress.
And while they wouldn’t be wrong, our relationship is more than that; I want the reveal to be water-tight. There can’t be any room for mistakes.
If Serafina is to be in my life, it has to be right. It has to be fated.
Standing, I give myself the luxury of stretching out my tired back and cracking my sore fingers.
Visit her tomorrow.
This idea brings me a modicum of comfort. I want the world to know of my connection to Serafina but not yet. Tomorrow will come soon enough.
