forum Royal Dilemma (o/o Closed)

Started March 04, 2022 by @emilyevewrites group

tune

“Of course, Your Majesty.” Thomas nodded, standing like a guard again though perhaps just a little less stiff. He gave her a small kind smile to show that he hadn't been offended before moving towards the door.

Eleanor returned his smile with a shy one of her own. She hadn't been offended in any way either. She moved over to sit by her window as she waited for Thomas to open her door.

Thomas bowed his head respectfully and opened the door for the Queen's handmaiden to come in and walked out himself, taking up a post in the hall.

The girl, not much younger than the Queen herself, hurried in, eyeing Thomas with interest as she passed by him. "Hello," she greeted, but she didn't stop walking until she was at Eleanor's side. She sunk into a curtsy before her queen and grinned at her. "Who was that, Your Majesty?"

"My new guard," Eleanor answered with quiet amusement. "What is it, Lucy?"

Lucy straightened and held a now visible piece of paper in her hands. "Ah, yes! Right! The King has a message for you." She handed the paper over, glancing over at the door for a moment before looking back at Eleanor.

Eleanor took the paper quickly, glad Lucy wasn't looking as she did. The trembling of her fingers had worsened. "Thank you, Lucy. You're dismissed."

Thomas waited outside patiently since he didn't know why the handmaiden had come. But he noticed that the young woman seemed like a nice person so he wasn't worried. He let out a soft huff at the thought. Typically, there wasn't much to worry about in a castle except during special occasions.

Once he heard the door open, he waited for the handmaiden to walk away before reentering.

Eleanor's delicate fingers unfolded the paper. On it was a message, as promised, scrawled in her husband's distinctively scratchy handwriting.

Meet me in my room after dinner.

The queen looked up as Thomas entered, and she waved him over. She was already blushing with embarrassment. "Could, ah… Could you read this for me, please?" she asked quietly, extending the note to him.

“Are you alright, Your Majesty? You look pale. More than usual, I mean.” Thomas asked in concern as he slowly approached her. He blushed a little at her request but nodded as he took the note from her. It took him a moment before he read it out loud for her, his ears burning at the implication of the message.

"Yes, I'm fine…" Eleanor looked away. "I'm sorry to have to ask you," she whispered. Her cheeks were hot with embarrassment. "I can't read. Or write, for that matter. I tried." She closed her eyes as she heard what he said, and she sniffed quietly. "Alright, um… thank you."

Thomas stared for a moment before carefully sitting next to her, but making sure that Eleanor had enough room. “I’m not very good at it either. I read slow but it's enough for me to read my orders and I’m teaching myself how to write by copying the shape of letters. Though it's not very neat yet.” he smiled softly, trying to be reassuring. “If you’d like… maybe I can help you?” he offered shyly.

Eleanor's heart beat a bit faster as he sat beside her. Her green eyes widened and searched his with a bit of hope at his suggestion. "You would do that?" she asked, looking only slightly skeptical. "I've never had any proper lessons… I'm not very good."

His kind blue eyes sparkled as she looked at him. “If you would like me to.” Thomas nodded. “Honestly, the only lessons I had were during my training. I doubt they were “proper” either.” he chuckled softly. “It’ll take time but I'm certain that you can learn to read and write.”

Eleanor's expression broke out into a smile. "Really? Oh, Thomas!" Without thinking, she leaned closer and lightly kissed his cheek. Her green eyes were soft as she looked at him. "Thank you," she whispered, blushing furiously at her actions.

Eleanor's expression broke out into a smile. "Really? Oh, Thomas!" Without thinking, she leaned closer and lightly kissed his cheek. Her green eyes were soft as she looked at him. "Thank you," she whispered, blushing furiously at her actions.

Thomas froze at the unexpected touch, turning bright red as his eyes widened. Of all the ways he thought this day would go… A kiss from the Queen had never crossed his mind. “I… It would be my pleasure to teach you, my Queen.” he responded softly as he looked anywhere but at her.

Eleanor looked away quickly. Now you've done it, Eleanor, she thought, blushing just as much as Thomas was. "I'm terribly sorry," she whispered, toying with a piece of her hair. "I don't know what got into me… but I would appreciate it very much if you taught me reading and writing."

“No.” he shook his head. “I mean, yes, I’ll happily teach you but you didn't do anything wrong.” Thomas quickly clarified. “I just wasn't expecting it. I give you my word that I won't mention this to anyone.” he assured.

Eleanor nodded quickly. "Thank you. Life here isn't the same as it is out there," she sighed and gazed back out her window. "In my village, there were these two women – Wendy and Helena. Every time I'd see them, they would kiss me on the cheek in greeting and give me sweets." She smiled fondly at the memory. "I suppose I got that reaction from them when I was younger."

“No. Life in here is not the same as in a village.” Thomas agreed with a soft chuckle. “They sound like very lovely women. I wish I could have met them.” he smiled.

Eleanor sighed. "I wish I could see them again." She blinked and sat upright. "I'm the queen," she said quietly as if realizing it for the first time. "I could collect a carriage and go back. You could come with me!" Her eyes began to light up again with excitement at the idea.

“You certainly can.” Thomas smiled, glad to see more of a spark in her. “That would be… That would be very nice. I would like to see your village.”

Eleanor grinned. "I'd love for you to see it with me. He hasn't even seen it." Her smile faded a bit at the indirect but obvious mention of her husband, but she was still excited for the first time in a while.

Thomas’s smile softened a little but he nodded. “I… I’m sure he's seen your village before. It's probably just been a while but that's not an excuse for him not to see your previous home with you.”

Eleanor shook her head. "If he did see it, I don't think he remembers that it was my home. He remembers my name. That's all I can ask for, I suppose. And he has other engagements to take part in rather than visiting my village."

“That’s a possibility.” Thomas agreed. After all, the King had a lot of villages in his kingdom. It wouldn't be a surprise if he didn't keep track of them all. “But I’m sure he wouldn't mind if you went to visit.” he said, trying to cheer her up.

"I'll ask him at dinner," she said decidedly.

Thomas smiled and gave a nod. “Very good, my Queen.” he chuckled. “Is it silly of me to say that I’m already looking forward to seeing your village with you?”

Eleanor's eyes met his again, looking more alive than they'd been since he had first seen her. "No, not at all," she murmured. "I'm looking forward to sharing my village with you!"

Thomas blushed again as his eyes met hers, but his smile stayed sincere. He would never say it out loud but he liked seeing her this happy. “Thank you… Eleanor.”

After weeks of being called nothing but "Your Majesty" and "My Queen" by the other servants and soldiers in the castle, Eleanor melted as he called her by her name. "Thank you," she whispered softly.

Thomas smiled again and nodded. It would take some time for him to be comfortable with addressing the Queen so informally… But her reaction would certainly make it easier.