CHAPTER 95 Their Royal Highness of Peldeep

Henrietta

Magical whirls of red and gold flashed as a seemingly young squire turned into Their Royal Highness Rowen of Peldeep.

As they were of no particular gender, Rowen was neither a king nor a queen, enjoying instead the ambiguity of other titles such as Their Royal Highness, Their Majesty, or even Their Rulership.

When I'd visited Peldeep in the past, I'd been impressed by the festive culture they inspired. Their lands were full of brevity, with a light hint of cleverness. To be sly is to be wise, but to be true is to be happy, as the saying went. And that saying was the embodiment of Their Royal Highness of Peldeep.

"Oh, Monfort," the smiling royal laughed. They'd taken on a beastkin's form, with added fox ears and a bushy tail. Elaborate robes with beautiful peony prints fell softly about them, and their long straight hair was a mix of black and red. They leaned back in their seat. "You always see right through me. Care to tell this one how you do it?"

Keith shrugged, telling a half-truth. "I have Intelligence eighty-five and a head on my shoulders. Bastian brought along three members of the royal guard and a child to the Spring Ball? He's not a babysitter … and I can't see you missing the most interesting event of the year, what with all the hints from Madame Potts."

"That woman is a delight." Their Highness glanced down at the menu. I noticed they'd been given a jug full of lemon and cucumber and fresh mint, and briefly wondered what determined which water jug went to which tables. The group quietly waited and watched Their Royal Highness reading enthusiastically, and I caught Bastian hiding a small sigh.

Rowen put down the menu and their eyes snapped up to me. "Greetings to you, Princess. And congratulations on your new … home."

There were many words they might have said, but home was a good choice. I smiled. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"None of that!" The ruler of Peldeep waved a hand, and suddenly, there was a young woman in standard adventuring attire sitting where they'd just been. "Call me Rowen."

"Are you intending to go in disguise for the whole trip, Rowen? Or just until you reach the palace?" Keith inquired. His fingers ran along the top of my hand, and I shivered.

Rowen waved at the waiter to come take everyone's orders. A wise waiter who, upon noting the magical displays and titles being bandied about earlier, had taken to serving our tables exclusively.

"Ladies first." Rowen waved a hand expansively. "I'll have the lamb shank with mushroom gravy. It sounds divine."

"I'll have the lamb quay-sa …" My tongue tripped on the unfamiliar word. Whatever it was, the description sounded delicious.

The waiter asked, "The quesadilla, miss?"

"Yes! That one, please." Flat bread pan-fried together with meat and cheese and spices sounded exactly like what I needed.

The waiter nodded, finished taking everyone's orders, and then walked back to the kitchen. Keith had chosen a simple potato leek soup with garlic toast, and Bastian a boar cutlet on spuds.

I didn't want to speak over the ruler of Peldeep, but it had been a while since I'd seen Bastian and was wondering how we could catch up. Back when he was just a knight, he'd been assigned to the group that went dungeon delving with me. It'd been almost two years since I'd last seen him.

Bastian noticed my stare. His eyes wandered to the hand held by Keith and back again. He raised one eyebrow.

I blushed, recognizing the question. Almost imperceptibly, I nodded my head to show that yes, I was in fact courting the Dark Lord of Nilheim. And wonder of wonders, he was courting me back!

Bastian relaxed a trifle, returning his gaze to his ruler. I knew in my heart of hearts that Rowen was a married and happy Their Royal Highness; a parent with children older than myself … but it was hard to handle them flirting with my Dark Lord.

"Of course, if you're interested in joining our court for a moon viewing next month, there would be ample room for you." It was the light tease in their voice that turned my stomach. And if I was not mistaken, they'd altered their new form to emphasize certain … features.

"My apologies, Your Majesty," Keith politely refused. "But I'll be in the middle of wedding plans, and it will be hard to get away."

One of Their Highness's guards choked on their lemon water. Bastian frowned at the man, and he stuttered as everyone's attention focused on him. "My apologies. I didn't realize Your Viciousness was engaged?"

Keith shrugged and shared a quick look with me before saying, "I'm not. My necromancer, Chloe Watercress, is marrying Julia von Slyke."

"Calisto's heir. I'd heard." Rowen laughed. "Did the grand duchess poach one of the most powerful women in your army?"

"Actually," Keith grinned, "I poached her heir. Julia announced that she's officially moving to the Dark Enchanted Forest."

Their Royal Highness blinked. "That would mean …"

"Julia's brother will inherit the duchy." Keith let go of my hand and took a sip of his own water.

As far as I knew, Grand Duchess Calisto had two children, Julia von Slyke and Julian von Slyke. No one knew why, or at least I didn't know why, but he'd gone north after his father's death. He'd been little more than a young boy at the time. Few had met him over the years, and rumors had spread like wildfire in his absence.

There was a silence around the table, finally broken by Rowen. "Well. Things will be more interesting at this Spring Ball than I thought … Does Calisto know?"

"She knows Julia and Chloe are getting married," Keith said. "I don't actually know what else she knows other than that."

The ruler of Peldeep chuckled. "A most interesting ball indeed."