The King’s Lover

Caius sat down at the dinner table, trying his hardest not to appear bored. Lord Edric was very chatty and was currently introducing his family to him. Caius didn't care for them, but the Marquis of Stonegate was a cornerstone of Velmount; he couldn't be rude. 

"This is my wife, Isabel. My eldest daughter, Helen, the second youngest, Beatrice, and the youngest, Linda." 

Caius smiled. "Lady Isabel is as beautiful as they say, and your daughters are even more so. It's a pleasure, ladies." 

Lady Helen turned her face to the side at Caius's comment, while Lady Beatrice smiled right at him. The youngest just looked happy to be there. 

"We are pleased to welcome you, Your Highness," Lady Isabel was saying. "I hope the meal is to your liking." 

"It's wonderful," Caius replied. "Don't you think so, Prince Rylen? I don't think I've ever had something more delicious." 

Rylen kept his expression neutral as he replied. "Yes, of course. I was wondering what the main ingredient was." 

"Oh, of course. Our chef would be more than willing to answer any of your questions." 

This was a usual pattern. Whenever Caius was disinterested in a conversation, he would often delegate it to Rylen, who took the reins. Caius hardly spoke for the rest of the dinner and when he was done eating, he stood up. 

"I will have to retire for the night. I am exhausted; the journey was quite hectic." 

Lord Edric looked up in disappointment. "Your Highness, I was hoping we would have tea and a word." 

Caius's eyes narrowed. "Prince Rylen can stand in for me. Whatever you'd like to tell me, you can refer to him. I have just as much of a hectic day tomorrow." 

"Yes, of course. I apologize for troubling His Highness." 

Caius smiled and then turned to the ladies. "It was a wonderful meal, Lady Isabel. Good night, ladies." 

"Good night, Your Highness." 

Caius walked out of the dining hall with a guard accompanying him and the steward leading the way. The door to his chamber opened, and Caius walked in. Servants were quick to get him out of his clothes and into nightwear, which for Caius was simply a pair of pants and a robe he always kept untied. 

Caius's forehead creased as he lay in bed. Right now, he should have had someone waiting in the room to receive him, and he would already have them on all fours. But right now, he didn't think a random wench would do the trick, and he didn't want Rose. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold back. 

He didn't care what happened to her, but he didn't want her to slow down his journey. They needed to be in the capital by sundown if he wanted to make it for the council meeting. He would have her in the castle, and he would be able to savor it for as long as he wanted. 

Unfortunately, without sex, he always found it much harder to fall asleep. After tossing and turning for almost one-third of the night, Crown Prince Caius Ravenor eventually fell asleep. 

---

"Wear this," a servant said to Rose, holding a light. 

Rose nodded and accepted the dress. "Thank ye," she mumbled, which was a bit ironic because before the servant gave her the dress, she had kicked her twice on her ribs to get her to wake up. 

After Caius had left, Rose had been left with the servants, not knowing where to go. A servant chased her from the entrance hall, and she followed some servants to their quarters. They didn't speak to her, but considering no one was chasing her away, Rose took it that she could stay. 

Unfortunately, she couldn't just go into any room, and she had to sleep in the hallway on the cold floor. It wasn't too bad, so she had been able to sleep peacefully until two kicks to her ribs woke her up. 

Rose's eyes had flown open immediately, and she realized the mansion was awake. Most of the servants were moving around in a hurry, preparing for the day. She couldn't believe she had slept through that. 

"Use the washroom. His Highness will be leaving soon. You came with him; don't be late." 

Rose nodded again. "Where is the bathroom?" 

The servant narrowed her eyes. "Can't you do anything right? At the end of the hall." 

Rose fled in the direction she was told. It was better than she had expected. At least she had gotten a change of clothes and a bath. A meal would have been nice too, but that was asking for too much. She knew how servants of lords treated commoners like herself—it wasn't very good—and she knew if it wasn't for the fact that she came with the crown prince, she would have been treated worse. 

Finding the washroom wasn't hard, but unfortunately, there was no water, and it smelled. It was also very dark. It wasn't light yet, but compared to the hallway, the washroom was darker. She knew dawn was close, but there was no sign of it yet. Rose couldn't just change into the clothes without washing up. She knew she needed to at least rinse off the dust from the day before, so she walked out of the washroom, hoping she would find something. 

A servant yelped as Rose almost bumped into her while stepping out. She was holding a bucket of water, and Rose was unsure if it was to wash the bathing areas or to bathe with it. "I need water," she heard herself say before she could think about it. 

"Here," the servant said and pulled away. "Don't make a mess." 

Rose happily nodded. She got into the washroom, using her hand to scoop the water in the dark as she tried to wash herself as best as she could. Rose came out of the bathroom with the empty bucket in one hand and her old clothes in the other. 

"You're still here!" The servant who had given her the clothes yelled out in horror. "Get out! Now! Ah, I'm going to be killed."