Ryenne's Visit

Nicholas awoke to find someone standing at the foot of his bed.

After using so much of his magic the previous day while being unaware of how to truly tap into his power, he was exhausted.

"You usually wake up much earlier than this." Ryenne chuckled as Nicholas rubbed his eyes to find the beautiful woman with her arms crossed on her chest, looking at him.

Nicholas couldn't help but wonder if he was still dreaming. A beautiful woman didn't just show up in your room, smiling, wearing suggestive clothing.

He couldn't help but marvel at how revealing female attire was in Merlen compared to the other realm.

The most conservative dresser he had already seen was his own sister, and that didn't bother him, she was his sister after all.

"Why are you here?" Nicholas grumbled as he swung his feet over the side of his bed, taking a deep breath as he woke himself up, pretending not to care about Ryenne.

"I have a message for you, your highness." Ryenne took a deep bow giving Nicholas ample view of her cleavage.

Nicholas took a deep breath and cleared his throat as he recovered from the lust that now coursed through his body.

"Who let you in?" Nicholas asked as he got up and walked behind the screen to change from his sleeping garments. He couldn't deny that he missed the garments coming from the other realm, they were much more comfortable.

Nicholas looked around the room in an attempt to find out where Ryenne had broken in from. To his disappointment, everything seemed to be in order with no damage to his chambers.

"Jorin let me in." Ryenne said casually as she came up to help Nicholas adjust his clothes.

She stood a head shorter than Nicholas and smiled brightly as she looked up after helping him button his coat.

"Jorin knows about you?" Nicholas asked as he observed Ryenne, shocked that his servant would allow Ryenne into his chambers.

"Of course Jorin knows about me. Anyway, do you want to hear the message or not?" Ryenne asked as she placed her hands on her hips clearly unamused by the fact that Nicholas was asking so many questions.

"Right, yes. What's the message?" Nicholas said as he gathered himself, keeping the conversation on track.

"My lady, the young princess Brie wishes to speak to you in private." Ryenne informed Nicholas who shook his head and sighed.

"Why can't Brie just come here?" Nicholas questioned, unable to understand why he had to go to his sister when she was capable of coming to him.

"It's unbecoming of a princess to spend so much time in the servants' tunnels." Ryenne explained to Nicholas who combed his fingers through his hair in frustration.

Picking up on the signals that Nicholas was starting to get impatient, Ryenne decided to explain further.

"People are starting to whisper about her." Ryenne told Nicholas. "They say she has a lover among the servants, she is fourteen, how can she have a lover?"

"Very well, I will go to her." Nicholas agreed upon hearing Ryenne and Brie's concern about his sister's visits.

"Thank you, your highness." Ryenne bowed to Nicholas respectfully. "She will meet you in the Stella Gardens."

"Ryenne, how can you stand working for my sister?" Nicholas suddenly asked the woman. "You are at least five years older than her and yet you follow her every command. You are a powerful mage in your own right."

Taken aback by the prince's words, Ryenne stood frozen, unable to answer his question.

"Come on Ryenne, you can find better employers than my sister. So why stick with a fourteen year old girl that speaks like she's in her twenties?" Nicholas walked to the table where Jorin had set his breakfast.

"Because you're sister and I are not that different." Ryenne kept her eyes on the ground as she spoke.

"She is a fourteen year old princess that has been pampered all her life. While you are the last of your clan, I don't see how similar you two could be." Nicholas poked at his food as he waited for Ryenne to speak.

"We both live in fear of our heritage." Ryenne bravely said to Nicholas. "People see both of us as mere bargaining chips, tools, means to an end, we are not our own people. We also had to grow up at a young age, because of who we are."

Nicholas nodded as he listened to Ryenne's explanation.

Now it made sense to him why such a woman stuck with his younger sister.

"You may go, I'll meet my sister in an hour." Nicholas informed Ryenne as he waved her off.

He needed people to see him around the palace first before visiting Brie. They needed to see that he wasn't as sickly as they thought.

He might not have his full powers back or remember everything, but he wanted those in the palace to think of him as a contender rather than some weakly prince.