The Warrior King

Two

The thought of the Warrior King stopped me dead in my tracks. He ruled the kingdom from his castle deep inside the Iron District, which was several days, if not weeks, away from here by horse. He had not visited the Wheat District since he became king but considering our kingdom had been at war since before his coronation, it made sense. It's hard to carve out time to visit one’s subjects when one is doing everything he can to keep them alive. 

Now that the two hundred fifty-year-old war with neighboring Fasesia had come to an end, due largely in part to the ruthless nature of our King, the kingdom of Miel was celebrating. No longer was it necessary to send food, supplies, and more importantly, our people to the front lines. 

Fasesia has been captured by a warlord named Jal who seemed to have unlimited magical ability. While all rulers in the lands possessed a certain amount, Jal's was unmatched. It seemed to grow with every land he conquered and with that power came what appeared to be immortality. Until the new Warrior King came to power. 

Miel's rulers have always been a Warriors but when it was time for the new king to accept the mantle, it was different. From the powers he demonstrated at his coronation to the way he seemed to know what Jal would do before he did it, it was clear this King was more powerful than any before him.

Exactly one year to the day since he became king, the Warrior King lifted Jal's head for Fasesia's people to see standing on the castle wall. Word spread quickly and once he had reinstated a governing body for the broken kingdom, he turned his army home. A proclamation went out that the king and his army would be stopping in each of the six districts and holding a feast. It was for this feast that Brielle had dragged me into the house. 

"Can you believe we are actually going to see him?!" Brielle squealed, oblivious to the fact that I had tripped over no less than three steps, a stool, and her father's best mousing cat. "I wonder if he looks like they say he does. Do you think he has all of his teeth? I wonder if he bathes." She continued this stream of consciousness while we made our way to the bathing room. 

"I wonder if he has a name," I said, not realizing I said it out loud. Brielle let out a short bark of laughter. 

"I hadn't thought of that. I suppose his mother called him something other than Warrior King," she said, moving to heat the water in the large metal container. The thought of our notoriously lethal king as a baby made me smile. I loved children and at one time, hoped to have as many as the provincial fortunes would allow. Unfortunately, for a girl in my position, with no family wealth or anything else to offer a future husband, my chances of even having the opportunity for marriage were nil. 

"What are you smiling about?" Brielle asked me, a wicked grin on her face. I blushed and mumbled, "nothing" as I stripped out of my work clothes. 

"Tell me!" she prodded, poking my soft belly. I swatted her hand away; the contrast between my brown hand against her white skin was stark. "Fine don't tell me. I will just mention to mother about who really ate the last piece of pie yesterday," she said, a smirk on her face. I frowned at her. 

"I was just thinking about who would be there tonight," I lied. This made her perk up and she came over and helped undo my hair. 

"I hope the other districts' girls left some of the good looking soldiers for us," she said, starting the stream from the upper valve of the water tank and shoving me under the tap. I braved myself for the first spurt of cold water that would need to flush itself out and then relaxed as the warm water flowed through my hair and down my shoulders. Brielle left to fetch a towel for me while I scrubbed my hair with the lavender-scented cleansing bar Bertha made just for us girls. Bri and I had been attached at the hip since childhood, as close as blood sisters, so we were at ease with each other. It was hard not to compare her beautiful feminine figure, though, with my more plush self. My solid shoulders and wide birthing hips, as well as my heavy muscular thighs, gave me more of a matronly look. My arms were toned from all the lifting I did and often my dress sleeves were tight and cut off my circulation. I didn't see myself as unattractive but I also wasn't going to kid myself when it came to what men preferred. Which is why I wasn't looking forward to tonight at all.