THE QUEEN’S QUEST FOR AN HEIR (FICTION): A SHORT STORY

THE QUEEN’S QUEST FOR AN HEIR (FICTION): A SHORT STORY

Hae lovers of good writing, let's enjoy this piece I put together 😘

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Whispers of the Queen’s barrenness lingered in the cracks of the palace walls as gossips by stewards and guards traversed bricks to the Queen’s chambers. The loud whispers were tales of the Queen’s desperation to bare an heir for the kingdom. The maidens wished a brief with his majesty as a test of fertility perhaps to royalty!

The Kingdom itched in careful murmurs yet feared the King’s wrath. The King’s feigned indifference was a pretext boldly scribbled on his face. The Queen’s gait though elegant felt betrayed by unspoken gossips. She walked past the hallway leading to the King’s chamber. The scent emanating from the lily of the valley flowers beautifully arranged along the walkway offered soothing solace to the ceaseless solitude and emptiness she battled with at every hatch of dawn. Her black jade scent filled the air, a little too much with intent, perhaps seductive. The Queen had craved for the King’s company and spent too many nights to count in her chamber alone but alas, the hand of the clock had halted and seemed willing to retrograde.

Her maid dragged behind her with quiet and careful steps. She knew better than to be a nuisance to her Majesty. The Queen’s presence at the chamber of His Majesty was announced by guards that looked as mean as they were intimidating in body and height. A favourite of Her Majesty was Sir Walter whose built could seduce any woman be she unmarried or married. Sir Walter’s blue eyes were rare and his lips were well carved seductively. He was indeed a temptation the Queen would gladly oblige to fall into if wishes were horses. Her lust once again gripped the thought of her imagination; perhaps a night alone with him would satiate her loneliness and starvation. Despite the order for her to enter the King’s chamber, she stood fixated for a period longer than necessary. A thousand thoughts flooded and scrambled through her mind with the pain of barrenness being its epicenter.

She turned the knob and gently pushed the door open with the hinge giving a squeak sound. There sat with his back turned against her, the man who stole and owned her heart. She wondered why the beats in her heart sounded like the gush of many waters every moment she laid eyes on His Majesty these past few weeks. This was beyond the longing she had for his grip, perhaps the fear that his countenance betrayed his words of less concern about an heir. With the door quietly shut behind her, the memories of their early days of love came in fresh with a weak smile on her face though unacknowledged. She had come alone to the market to purchase fabric for her mother on a day the sun whipped her face sunburn. This particular spot was her mother’s favourite fabric store and she had come to pick up the items her mother had before-hand selected. A young man had approached her to stand almost with his side touching hers which caused a jerk in protest. She had instinctively stepped away giving a distance between them as she lashed a startled expression of shock and anger. She stared at the young man who had a smirk on his face as she waited for an explanation for his intentional act. He walked closer to her, closing the distance and whispered in a tone audible enough for her to hear without him standing too close to her, “My apologies Milady, let me buy the world with its entire splendor for you”. Her eyes flickered and looked intently at him for a moment; he was as charming as he looked royal. His height was a bit above hers and his skin bloomed of freshness that further confirmed he had to be of royal origin or perhaps, from a wealthy class. Still lost in the blissful memory of when their love sparked envy by the gods, she was hardly aware as the King approached her with a beam of smile giving her an envelope of hug.

“My Queen”, his majesty addressed her with a soft and brief kiss on her lips which sent a wave of pleasure and deeper desire down the Queen’s spine. He disengaged his hug and held her both arms soothingly, “come, sit beside me”; he said as he led her to his bed and like a puppet, she followed him.
”What troubles you My Queen”, the king asked with a look of concern in his eyes. He however had the nudge that the cause of the Queen’s looks bothered on her inability to conceive an heir. He felt sorry for her as he knew he was responsible for her misery of barrenness. With their union almost two years, he knew Her Majesty had sought desperate measures to aid her conception and at times offered him potions from the palace physician believed to increase the chances of conception. He looked intently into her eyes with both of them reminiscing in the solitude of hurts and desires.

Her Majesty stretched her right arm to the King with a subtle caress to the King’s face as many thoughts ran through her mind. She wondered why the King showed less concern about what was eating her deep into the marrows. Perhaps he is being strong as regards this childlessness or it could be that he has a story he is not disclosing to her? She looked into his face hoping to see answers written therein. As she caressed his face with a smile, she blurted out almost not believing the words were hers, “give me a child”, she could sense desperation in her tone though sounded calm.

The palace physician’s hasty summon made his walk brisk as he would have flown if he had wings. The guard announced his presence as the door was flung open with the King stepping aside to make way for the physician. As the physician examined the Queen, the King paced the room with worry written over his face. The physician stood up with a bow to the King, “may your reign be forever my King, her Majesty the Queen is with child”, he said with a broad smile audible enough for the Queen’s ears. The King’s eyebrow raised in shock and disbelief as he felt light as though the ground below him would open up to swallow him. He feigned ecstasy as the physician withdrew from the room and closed the door behind him. The King moved towards her Majesty and held her hand in his with a stare that felt a mixture of hurt and betrayal for he knew that whatever grew in Her Majesty was not his.

The Queen immediately became elated and the symptoms that seemed to weigh her down vanished. She placed her hand on her abdomen as though could feel her unborn child make a kick. She wondered if the King’s expression was a true reflection of the news of her conception or perhaps, a hidden truth lay behind his smile. She managed to sit up with the King supporting her as her heart began to race with flashes of her infidelity played loudly in her memory. She had lured Sir Walter to her chamber with a pretext to need him to evacuate a table she wanted to dispose. She had walked up to him from behind and grabbed his rump sending a shock, fear and startle to Sir Walter. She moved closer to him and whispered as he stood there transfixed “lay with me tonight”, she said with firmness in her tone and lust in her eyes as Sir Walter withdrew from her. She knew her body longed for Sir Walter’s touch and her encounter with His Majesty earlier tonight did not satiate her lustful desires. She reached out to Sir Walter and grabbed him one more time wrapping her arms round his neck giving him a hug that was both passionate and seductive. Her body flamed up with a minimal resistance from Sir Walter as he seemed to want her as she also did.
“That bastard you are carrying will never be mine” the King whispered into her ears causing her to freeze in shock, interrupting the sweet memory of her infidelity with Sir Walter. She looked intently at His Majesty unsure whether to deny his allegation or concur to what seemed obvious to the both of them. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing audible was heard. Tears welled up in her eyes as she withdrew her hand from the King’s hold. The King knew the child she carried was not his.

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