Getting married

Lucretia looked like she was about to scream, but then she returned to her food quietly, muttering inaudibly to herself. Lucien looked at his father gratitude swelling in his chest. Another shot to redeem himself, he thought.

"So Lucien, you remember Juvia Hargreaves?" Magnus said changing the topic.

Everybody at the table stared at the King quizzically.

"Yes?" Lucien put his fork down to listen to his father.

"I received a letter from her father this morning, she will be coming to Arvenia by next month to visit us," Magnus took a bite of his roast lamb.

Lucretia arched her eyebrow questioningly, "Why's that?"

"To meet Lucien of course," he took another bite.

"Why?" It was Zarek's turn to ask the question. It better not be what he was thinking.

"To consider an alliance with this family. Lucien will be marrying Juvia."

"What?" Lucien's eyes bulged out in shock.

Magnus put his fork down and wiped his lip with a napkin, "You will be getting married to Juvia," he repeated.

....

Lucretia barged out of the dining area, muttering curses under her breath. Why was Magnus making things difficult for her?

"Bring Reggie to the garden for me," she threw at one of the guards without bothering to look their way or acknowledge their greetings.

She hurried down the hallway, lifting her ankle-length lacy red dress with her hands. When she got to the garden, she dismissed the maids and guards standing there and began pacing back and forth, fiddling with the ring on her finger. Reggie joined her moments later before she got the chance to burst from the anger welling up inside of her.

"What took you so long Reggie?" she chided the moment she saw him.

Reggie bowed his head, "My queen, I was handling a personal problem." The calmness in his voice made her huff in annoyance.

"Forget that," she began pacing again.

"If you would just calm down let's…."

"Calm down? How can you tell me to calm down right about now? When the King is hell-bent on taking my son's birthright and tossing it on the laps of his illegitimate son!" she shrieked.

Reggie looked around alarmed, "Someone might hear you my queen." There was urgency in his voice. "Just take a deep breath and try to relax."

"If Lucien gets married now, it will secure his place on the throne permanently. And his wife gets pregnant…" she trailed off.

Lucretia stopped pacing, but continued fiddling with her ring, "We have to do something Reggie, or all this," she waved her arms, "The planning and plotting, will all be for nothing."

"Start from the beginning and explain what happened." Reggie moved closer to her side.

She placed one hand on her waist and the other hand held her forehead, "Magnus is planning to get a wife for Lucien." She took calculated breaths to keep the wave of anger from rising again.

Reggie stared quietly into space, his hands folded behind his back.

"That is unexpected," he said quietly.

"Unexpected!" Lucretia flipped her lid when she saw how unbothered he sounded. Why would he be bothered, it wasn't his son's throne that was about to be snatched away from him, she thought spitefully.

"Unexpected, yes. We just need to fast-forward our plans that's all. I wanted the dust to settle on the Ansell issue, but this is a good time to strike."

Lucretia stared at him, wondering what was going on in that bald head of his. But it didn't matter how long and hard she stared at him, she could never really read him.

"What do you have in mind?" she asked after she cooled down.

"Leave it to me," he smiled wickedly.

Lucretia wanted to argue, but knowing Reggie, she wouldn't be getting anything out of him. And she wasn't sure she wanted to know, the less she knew the better.

...

Lucien was staring out the window, lost in thought when Levina came. She had knocked a few times and when she did not get any response she proceeded to enter the room.

"My lord!"

Lucien jerked when Levina tapped his shoulder.

"Sorry, I did not mean to startle you," she apologized.

"It's alright. It is always a delight to see you my pretty lady," his face lit up in a smile.

Levina turned away, stifling a smile.

"Sit!" she tapped the side of the bed. He did as he was told.

"I noticed your limp is gone," she said eyeing him with the corner of her eyes.

"Umm, yes…yes, I didn't even realize that." he stuttered.

She straightened after examining his knee; she folded her hands over her breast. "How's the arm?"

"It still hurts… a little…it hurts a little bit."

"This is already the fourth day, I thought you would be healed completely by now, you know being a dragon and all," she arched her eyebrow questioningly.

"Why are you looking at me like that," he chuckled. "I don't know, I just know my arms hurt," he crunched his face, pretending to be in severe pain.

Levina shook her head and smiled, she knew he was intentionally making her come to see him, but she didn't know why she wasn't angry by it.

Levina placed a stool in front of Lucien and sat down. She took his hand and unwrapped the bandage. He flinched as she massaged his hand with an oil-like ointment.

Levina looked up at him occasionally as she wrapped his hand with a clean bandage. Something was bothering him, she could see it on his face. His signature smile was gone, and he had a slight frown etched on his face, as he stared into space.

Mind your business, she repeated to herself mentally. Whatever was eating him up is none of her business and so there was no need to show concern. Her job is to nurse him back to health as quickly as possible, so she can put miles between herself and the royal family. For her sake and her father's.