《The Princess' Harem》


 Part One

    "I will not be wearing that!"


    Lyra stared at the hideous dress that the maid brought in for her to wear. It was a tight mid cut dress, with Green and Yellow as the main colours, if that wasn''t the worse part about it. Ther frills around the hips and that came up behind the neck would seal the deal for anyone. This was something picked out specifically by her father for the day''s events. Her eyes rolled as she turned around, facing the mirror on her rose gold polished vanity.


    Muttering under her breath, she picked up a brush and began to run it through her hair, counting in her head as she went through each little section. After a moment, she looked into the reflective surface of the mirror, seeing that the maid was still standing there with the dress in hand.


    "Bring me one of my other dresses. I am quite serious about not wearing that. There is no way I will be looking like a clown in front of these people." she returned to tending to her hair.


    Lyra watched as the maid left the room, disappearing into the room that held the rest of her clothing. After that, Lyra set the brush down and leaned back in the vanity chair. Her thoughts filled her mind; as the tracks got jumbled together, she heard the door open again.


    "That is much better. Thank you, Octavia" Lyra stood up and greeted her maid when she brought over a soft coral coloured dress.


    "Lyra, I don''t think the King will like this change." Her face showed her concern as she spoke.


    Lyra waved her maid''s concerns away with a hand, "I will take on any damage caused by this." she said, looking over the dress. "Help with this, will you?"


    Octavia agreed, and in a moment, Lyra had on the dress and was back at the Vanity fixing her hair up into a twist.


    "You look lovely." Octavia hummed as she helped Lyra place some pins on her hair. "Reminds me of ya mother, when she first arrived in the castle after her choosing."


    "Not many have the gull to compare me to my mother, Octavia," Lyra said, staring at the woman in the mirror.


    Lyra saw a smile appear on the older woman''s face, "Not many met the woman before she turned into a right old witch."


    The two shared a chuckle. After that, they shared a look in the mirror together. "Eat their hearts out, Lyra. Make those old hound shake in their boots."


    "I plan on doing nothing less." she grinned devilishly for a moment.


    "Get on, don''t make yer father wait for ya any longer."


    Lyra left the comfort of her own bedroom, leaving out into the halls of her father''s palace. On one of the upper levels, she quickly made her way from her room to the bottom floor, where the throne room awaited her. Moving as quickly as she could, her movements were occasionally slowed by the icy floors.


    Her feet held no shoes, nor had they ever. She was the firstborn to the King of Calipyre; in her father''s nation, only the poor wore shoes, as only they worked the jobs that needed them.


    So, to feel cold when the floors should have long been warmed already did shock her enough to slow her pace to her destination.


    Even with her slowing down. Lyra managed to make it to her father''s side in under ten minutes through the whole journey. When she enters, the curtains covering the large windows surrounding the room on three walls were drawn back. Lighting everything up and showing the family crest on the centre of the floor.


    Lyra noticed that the banners were also lowered; the yellow and green of the nation''s colours flicked lightly as a small breeze that couldn''t be felt where she stood moved them about. Each marked with her family crest.


    In the centre of the Yellow and Green banners was the symbol of a succubus done in red. This had been the symbol of the Calipyre''s noble family for generations.


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    "Lyra!"


    Hearing her name, Lyra quickly turned to look at her father, who was already sitting on his throne speaking with his advisors. As she got closer, she noticed they all shared a face of concern. They passed looked between each other, occasionally a few at the King and then at Lyra herself. She did note this as strange behaviour for them, but she expected them to have some sort of reaction after all, with what her father would be announcing today.


    "I see you choose to once again choose something else besides what I requested." Lyra''s father ageing eyes looked her over.  His wrinkled face shook from side to side for some time before he shrugged. "I guess I should be used to this by now." he chuckled. "You look perfect; you made a good choice in the change of outfits."


    "Of course."


    He waved her to come to stand closer to him. Which she did. Next to him, she stood up only a few feet higher than the rest of the room, but it still gave it a different feel. She smiled as soon she knew this view would be all hers to have.


    "Can I have a moment alone, with my daughter, please?" her father asked the men that stood in front of them. They all gave thereof courses, and yes, your majesty as they bowed and left the room through the door that Lyra came from.


    "Do you wish to talk to me about something?" she moved in front of him so that they could speak eye to eye.


    Her father, the King, no longer had any colour in his hair nor his beard. Only white, like the clouds, clung to his wrinkled ageing face. Lyra knew that her father had a difficult time conceiving with all five of his wives, which is why she and the rest of her siblings were born so late in his life.


    She didn''t share many of his features, only the green of his eyes; everything else came from her mother. Though she found herself closer to the man that stood before her than the woman who birthed her.


    "Yes, I would like to speak with you before everything today. Cause the two of us will be very busy for the next while," he said, adjusting the way he sat. "Since we discussed my retiring from King and you taking over. You know that you will have to start your choosing of your husbands."


    Lyra shook her head, "I know. One from each district of the Kingdom." she repeated, "To unify the commoners with the nobility and our strength of power lies within our numbers. That has been drilled into my skull since I was old enough to read, father."


    "It never hurts to go over it again, my girl" the King put his hand up to calm his daughter, who was getting slightly more excited than a lady of her standing should.


    Lyra bit the inside of her lip, reminding herself to use fewer words. She still needed to look and act like the Princess and not the soon to be Queen. As her father hasn''t announced that publicly yet.


    "I wanted to discuss rather or not you would be willing to break some standards with your choosing process," he said, thinking over his words carefully as he said them.


    "What do you mean by break some standards?" she raised her brow as she restated the phrase he used.


    He bobbed his head a few times as he was thinking, "As you know, my wives were just handed to me. It was publicly announced as a choice, but I had gotten not a word in otherwise about who or what I was being married off to. Though my situation was far different from yours as your grandfather had just perished, and I was in line for this old thing." he said, patting the throne he sat on. "I just want you to have a better time than I did."


    Lyra smiled softly as her father rambled on, "Alright, I can at least hear what you wanted to do before I say anything against it."


    "Oh good," he said, looking happier now that she agreed to hear him out. "What if we turn your Choosing into a game?"


    "A WHAT?" she almost yelled as the words echoed in her mind.


    "A game, we bring five men from each district, and you can even choose what they have to do. Make a show out of it, so they have to perform and do tricks in public view. Which I believe is quite entertaining, and behind closed doors, you can spend all the time you need getting to know them."


    "Have you gone mad?" Lyra gawked wide-eyed at her father. Before turning and placing her hand on her head. "You hear yourself, right? A game?" she turned and looked out at the room before her, were only a few guards stood at the furthest end. "I cannot be hearing this correctly. You want me to make a game out of something very serious?" she turned back around, staring at him, waiting for him to say something like it was a joke or he had her fooled. He didn''t say anything like that.


    "If you do not like the idea, it will not be forced," he said.


    Lyra thought about it for all of a second, "What would we even have them do? Balance Pies on their heads?"


    "If you wished, though, I would go with something more traditional like fencing,"


    "What would be the benefit to something like that?" she started to pace in front of him.


    "I could list a few, but the biggest and the most important to me is you can extend the time you take one choosing them. So you know who you work well with. Yes, my wives did well for me over the years, but I do not want a just do well for you. I want you to have the ones your want and need." he spoke as if he was a hopeless romantic.


    Lyra looked him over, seeing that this was serious and a good reason. Though she never expected to ever be in love as she grew up. She would have the chance with this; maybe she could understand what those old storybooks were talking about. Or maybe she would be certain they were just baloney. Who knew if she didn''t give them all a chance.


    "Alright." she finally said after she finished pacing for a few moments. "I will go along with your little idea. We will host a series of" she held her hand up when the old King started to smile. "OF Competitions that will challenge, the mind as well as the body, and we will use this as a way to make the peasantry like us by holding feasts and other things they are allowed to attend. Since this is a time of unity."


    The old King just smiled and laughed triumphantly. While Lyra reeled on the fact that she just agreed to this outrageous idea.

 Part Two

    "I can not believe Father is stepping down as King," One of Lyra''s sister spoke up while all the children dined together that night after Lyra''s long day of meetings and planning.


    Another one added to the mix, "I don''t see it has to be Lyra that takes over."


    The two, speaking very loudly though they made it obvious it was a two-person conversation, were Lyra''s younger sisters, the fourth and fifth born named Ariel and Leira; Ariel was from their father''s second Leira, the third wife.


    Lyra sat at the head of the table, with the second and sixth born being the only buffer between her and the heretics that thought they were the supreme sisters. The third and seventh born sat on the other end, looking between themselves and Lyra as if they were pleading with her to say something, anything.


    "Ariel, I would advise your, like our mother has to be kind to Lyra; she does hold our future in her hands." Lia, Ariels full-blooded older sister, spoke up after the two continued their conversation.


    Ariel sneered up her nose at Lia, "Lyra won''t do anything." she said confidently, "Daddy would be sad, and Lyra wouldn''t dare do that; she is his favourite after all."


    Lyra ignored the conversation the younger siblings were having, as she just tiredly and mindlessly eating.


    "You would think that he would at least wait until my mother gives birth; maybe she will be the first to have a boy and made daddy''s first wife," Leira added to the mix, as her mother, the King''s third wife, was, in fact, pregnant with her third child, the only wife to have a third.


    "I am sick of you Leira." Leona, Liera''s full-blooded older sister, said, she stood from the table and stormed out of the room before she did; Leona turned to Lyra, "I hope you have the backbone to say something to them, or I hate to see what Queen you be." and continued out with her red locks fluttering behind her.


    Lousie, the youngest of the seven sisters, also stood; she tucked her dark curls behind her ears. "I will also be taking my leave; I am no longer hungry." she too left in the same hurry as Leona.


    Lia was the next one to stand, "I am going to check on Lousie. We all know how she can get with conflict." and she followed behind.


    Now there was only four left in the room, Lyra, Ariel, Leira, and Lilanna. Lyra didn''t want to deal with the two terrors of the family, but she knew she would have too or they would continue to terrorize the rest of the family.


    So she stood up, stared at the two, and walked out herself.


    "Lyra!" Lilanna screamed after her as she too left the dining area. "I cannot believe you!" she was rather upset, "Why did you not say anything?" she whined.


    Lyra looked at Lilanna; she was the sixth born and from their father''s fourth wife. Her coiled hair and dark-complected skin showed that she was from the Koirale district, at least her mother was. A mountain district northeast from where the capital was.


    "Lilanna, I do not want to deal with them right now." Lyra continued moving away from the dining room.


    She huffed, "You never deal with them. Leona was harsh, but she was correct; what will you do if you won''t deal with them." Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Lyra stopped as she felt the anger and tears start to form, "I do not know! I do not know." She screamed, catching the attention of a few servants.  Lyra shot them all a glare, and they quickly went back to work.


    Lyra looked down, trying not to scream and shout, and she noticed a small leather book in Lilanna''s hand with a carving in the front. "Did you bring that old book to dinner?" she said softly with a slight chuckle in her voice.


    "I did." Lilanna moved the book in front of Lyra; it was a storybook that all the girls were read when they were younger. It was an old fairy tale romance, the one that got most of Lyra''s younger sisters the stupid idea of love in their head, but it was the story that made Lyra realize that she would never have that chance.


    "You know, father said he wanted me to be happy," Lyra said, grabbing the book and looking at it. She then looked up at Lilanna, meeting her brown puppy dog-like eyes.


    "We all want you to be happy, Lyra," Lilanna said, "I want you to be the best Queen. You have to give up a few things and face others, one being our terrorist sisters." Lilanna pointed back down the hall as she spoke, using it to put emphases behind her words.


    "Ariel and Leira are not my problems, I may be the oldest sister, but I am not their nursemaids."


    "I know you not-"


    "Then we agree," Lyra pushed the book back into Lilanna''s hand, and she walked away, trying to end the conversation. Lilanna followed her all the way up to her bedroom.


    "Did you have to follow me?" Lyra stopped at her bedroom door, looking over her shoulder.


    Lilanna nodded her head. Causing Lyra to sigh, "Then come in," she said, flinging her door wide open, and the younger sister skipped right into Lyra''s room. "Happy?"


    "Yes."


    "I am not going to talk and more about Ariel and Leira," Lyra said sternly to make it known she was pretty serious.


    "Okay, okay, I won''t talk about them. Though that is not why I followed you." Lilanna hopped up on Lyra''s bed, curling up on the pillows. "I wanted to hang out with you before you became too busy."


    "I am just going to be busy for a little while; it is not like I will be dying or anything." Lyra sat down at her vanity, where a pitcher of water and a rag was waiting for her so that she could wash off.


    "Well, I still want your attention for a little while." Lilanna snorted as she pulled out her book and started flipping through the pages.


    Lyra smirked as she watched her sister get lost in her book, as this was her way of spending time with people. Lilanna was not much of a conversationalist outside of when she had questions she wanted to be answered. Lyra curled up next to her sister, pulling close, and the two sat in silence, staring at the pages of the book.


    The hours passed by until the sun finally set, making it too dark to read any longer. Lilanna set off to her bedroom, leaving Lyra to herself. The Head Princess got up from her bed not long after Lilanna left. She made her way two the centre of her enormous room; she dropped her dress to the floor. Feeling the release of pressure from her torso and chest. Immediately she took in a large breath, one that felt refreshing, parts of her body ached from the tight dress and corset being on for such a long time.


    On the rose gold vanity, there was a lotion Lyra was gifted that she put on her palms, preceding to rub it over her bare skin. It was a cold, chilling sensation at first, making the hairs on her skin stick up, and as she rolled the lotion over her breasts, it causes the nipples to point as well.


    It wasn''t long for the chilling sensation to turn to a warm, soothing one. Quickly relieving all of her pain from the day. Afterwards, she dawned on a sheer robe that didn''t hold much coverage. With that, she crawled into the warm sheet of her bedding and dozed off without much effort.


    Her mind wasn''t clear on how long she had been out when she felt the mattress move. However, it didn''t take long for her to be wide awake.


    "I didn''t mean to wake you, Princess." a voice spoke with a deep, thick, melodic accent. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could see the silhouette of a man. She put her hand up carefully and brushed his cheek.


    "Sasha?" she whispered his name, leaning forward using her hand that was on his face to guide her lips up to his. "I thought you were busy tonight?"


    The large wall of a man leans forward, trapping her small soft frame underneath him, "There is always a time that can be made to service my lady."


    "Good, I have had a stressful day," she said after kiss after kiss fell on her lover''s lips. She reached up and untied her robe, letting it fall open, as she pulled him down on top of her. "I just want to be lost for a while."

 Part three

    Lyra was the first of the two to wake in the morning. She woke quickly and was ready to start her day not long after opening her eyes. Quickly she scanned her bedroom, making sure Octavia hadn''t entered in early that day when she noticed a pile of armour set up on the chest at the end of her bed. So Sasha must have come in late from his Knightly duties and decided to stop by her room.


    She looked at the man lying in her bed. A Royal Knight under her father command, in the day he belongs to him, at night he belonged to her. That is how it had been for near on two years now. Somedays, she questioned how somebody hadn''t caught their affair yet. Then there were peaceful mornings like this particular morning where she never questioned her actions.


    Lyra sat up, placing her head on her knees as she gently ran her fingers over his tawny coloured chest. Circling her fingertips over the few scars he had trickled around his body from training and few scuffles he had been in, there weren''t many but enough to add patches and stripes of soft pinks that would catch the eye. Leaning in closer, she could hear his breath and feel the warmth radiating off his body.


    Most people could say they were in love with someone, but Lyra was harder to know. She had always heard of love in the storybooks, and with Sasha, it didn''t quite add up. The Princess knew she cared for him and in a significant amount but not quite sure if she loved him. As most days, she wondered if love was a fundamental idea or not. Though this Royal Knight had managed to find himself a place with Lyra, it would make her crumble where she stood if he ever left it.


    "Sasha," she whispered, rubbing his chest with the palm of her hand. "It is morning. I need you to go before my maid gets here." she continued when she heard him start to grumble awake.


    Instead of opening his eyes or responding, the Knight wrapped his arms free arm around her waist. Then he continued to roll, pinning her under him; he stayed like that for a moment before fluttering his eyes while he adjusted to the light of the morning sun that came pouring through the curtain from around the room.


    "You are a barbaric creature in the morning; I hope you know," Lyra said, unaffected from the switch in positions that had happened.


    "You have never had an issue with my barbaric nature in bed before." Sasha pulled his head back as he leaned into his arm that was both propping him up and stuck under Lyra''s back.


    She huffed, "When we are between the sheet, your rowdy nature is quite appealing. However, when it is morning, and you need to leave before someone sees you, that is when it becomes unappealing." Lyra said, popping herself up onto her elbows.


    "Have the trumpets sounded yet?" Sasha asked, looking over towards the windows that overlooked the courtyard below.


    "They have not." Lyra pushed the man off of her so that she could get out of bed. "You can still use the east hallway to leave, and the guards switching shifts won''t see you leaving."


    Grabbing her robe from the night before, she wrapped it around herself as the air was starting to grow nippy as summer was growing to a close. The Knight also followed suit with getting out of bed. He made his way to the Princess, kissing her forehead.


    "You look lovely this morning," his voice often sounded like it had its melody, and that line proved to Lyra that it indeed did. He moved away from her to reclothe himself and dawn on his armour. Lyra perched herself on her vanity chair and watched him, a typical morning routine for her; the two shared a kiss before he headed out the door.


    Lyra stared at the door, waiting; she heard the trumpets sound for the morning staff to begin their day. Once the last note played, Octavia promptly walked into Lyra''s room carrying a basket in which she quickly started putting all of Lyra''s clothes from yesterday in.


    "You look bright-eyed this morning." Octavia said she cast a glance towards the bed, "As wrinkled as your sheets are, I would have thought you''d be tired. Did you have a nightmare?"


    "Oh no," she hummed, "I slept quite well." She watched Octavia stare at the bed for a few more seconds before moving on with her chores.


    "Would you like a bath drawn?" she asked as she hummed around doing her chores. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "Yes, please. Is there anything I have to do this morning?"


    "Not that I was told, though you will start your meetings with the Dukes this afternoon. They are to go over how they are choosing the men for your choosing."


    "Which Duke am I visiting with today?"


    "I don''t know, Ma''am, you would have to meet with your father about that."


    "Can you send one of the footboys to receive that information then?" Lyra quickly retrieved some paper and her writing quill, but she didn''t grab the ink. Instead, she started writing without the ink, causing small indents on the parchment to appear that was just enough for her to see.


    Octavia stopped and looked over Lyra''s shoulder, "I still can''t imagine how you do that. Nor why you do that, you have plenty of parchment, and your father would get you more."


    "I know, Octavia, but I prefer this because I can plan out my day in privacy, and I can always use the paper for something more important later."


    The maid just shook her head as she walked to the severance bell pulling it three times, hall a footboy to come to Lyra''s room, then headed herself into Lyra''s private bath to start heating and filling her tub. Lyra smiled as she heard the older woman mutter a song in a familiar tone.


    Lyra scratched out her notes for the day; she sat back and stretched, feeling her back crackle. She hummed in relief when a  soft, almost inaudible knock came from the door. Octavia seemed not to hear it, so Lyra walked herself over to the door, opening it up slightly, being extra careful to keep her body covered, sense her robe did nothing. On the other side was a young boy, possibly of the age of seven, with while wheat coloured hair and slight tanning to his skin, which was common for the peasant children to get in the summer months.


    He looked up with big doe eyes, "You summin'' me ma''am?" he asked with a very obvious whisp to his speech.


    "I did. Wait right there, while I grab the notes" she quickly shut the door before he could answer her. Lyra rushed to where she kept her ink. She scratched down some almost unlegible writing and slipped it out the entrance to the boy. Hurrying him off.


    "Lyra, get your royal arse back into this room."


    Of course, she whipped her head around to see a slightly upset maid. "I was handing the boy written message to my father. I don''t think he was quite old enough to remember the message of hand."


    "Okay, but what about being almost as bare as the day you were born?"


    "Octavia, I was behind the door the whole time; trust me, he barely even saw my face." Lyra moved to the bathroom door, where she could feel the heat coming out in waves.


    "Get in there before the water gets cold." Octavia grabbed Lyra''s robe from her, flinging it over her shoulder as the Princess went to her bath.


    As Lyra slipped into the bath, she heard Octavia''s footsteps come in. It wasn''t uncommon for her to do so, so she didn''t think much of it.


    "You sure you didn''t have a nightmare last night?" she asked with a strange tone as if she was wanting to know something else and not about the nightmare that didn''t exist.


    "I am quite sure."


    "Then a heartbreak?"


    Lyra sat up from her bath and looked at Octavia, whose face was evident. She knew something, and Lyra had a printed fear of what that something was.


    "How-"


    "Today isn''t the first time I saw that tall glass of water leaving your room in the morning. I just never thought I''d have to say anything about it, but now it seems I do."


    Lyra''s head spun as her perfect little secret was brought up. She felt her heart start to pound loud enough to hear it in her ears, "Please, do not tell father." Her voice cracked as a wave of emotions crashed into her.


    "Oh dear, Lyra, what stupid thing have you gone and done. You look white as a ghost." The old maid ran up to the Princess, quickly running a rag next to the tub into the water and then over her face. "Oh sweetie, I won''t be tellin'' your father nor your mother. Trust me, not a soul will hear about the man from me."


    Lyra heard her words and started to tear up; that morning had felt so calm and normal. Why was it is chaos now?


    "Listen to me." Octavia grabbed Lyra''s face with both her hands, "I meant to say, I needed to talk to you about it. Once you have gone and calmed down, I say what I was going to."


    It took the panic Princess several minutes to stop her sobbing; she was still quite a wreak when the maid started talking.


    "Well, now you have calmed a bit. Lyra, you know I have no say in most of your dealings, but you need to think about the fact you bout to be a married woman." She patted the green-eyed girls face lightly, "Will that night lover of yours be willing to stick around as just a fancy showpiece? I don''t want you to have a broken heart nor have issues with the men that will be in your life." Octavia''s words struck, but Lyra didn''t want to hear them. Sasha would have had to know what would have happened, what was to come after all, right?


    The thought of losing him scared her, hurt more than she could ever imagine.


    "Are you in love with him?" Octavia asked.


    Lyra shook her head no, "No, it is nothing like those stupid storybooks, but I do care for him, and I do not know how to say how I feel except I need him, Octavia. I need his laugh, his smile, his mind and conversations."


    Octavia laughed, "That sounds an awful lot like love to my dear," Lyra just wrinkled her nose at the old woman. No, it didn''t; it sounded nothing like that, nothing at all.


    "Just be cautious, my girl," Octavia said, then hugged Lyra tightly. "Let your heart talk, but don''t let it lead your path cause it is a stupid thing at the end of the say."


    Lyra nodded as she sunk into the creamy coloured water that Octavia filled with gels and scents. As she wondered who else could have found out about Sasha, if he was endangered or if she would be forced to lose him.

 Part Four

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    "Nisa, Yes!" the dark-toned female smiled back. Lyra could tell that they were going to take a while.

 Part Five

    Nisa and Lyra had now moved into the castle as they had dinner together. Only the stars knew how long their planning would take. The two old friends pondered after every question and looked over every option, and between the two of them, there really wasn''t a good way to select possible contenders.


    "I know you say that looks don''t matter, but I am just saying that making them both pretty and smart will eliminate a good portion of people," Nisa spoke with a half-full mouth as she scarfed down the side of mashed potatoes that was on her plate.


    Lyra picked at the flora salad that was on her plate, "I can afford to be a little superficial, I guess."


    Nisa watched her friend slowly start to close in on herself; she had been watching the descent all day. She picked up her plate and slowly shuffled over to Lyra, placing herself down next to her. "Let''s think about it this way, if we figure out exactly what to do today, you can simply copy the exact wants and needs down to the other Dukes so that this part will go by faster, and you won''t need to stress about it any longer."


    "Your right, but honestly, I didn''t realize how much I would be taking on. I start my lessons tomorrow with my father. This will take up most of my day, and then I have more meetings with the other dukes and then with the advisors. Plus, I will be expected to make a public announcement, then start to start looking at my own advisors privately-" Lyra stopped and put her hands over her face as she took long deep breaths, pinching the bridge of her nose between her two hands. She moved one hand down after a moment, leaving the other to massage the part between her eyebrows with her thumb and pointer finger.


    "Lyra, do you trust me?" Nisa asked, placing her hand on her friend''s shoulder.


    Lyra looked over at Nisa to see an earnest face, "I do."


    "Then let me take this over for you; you can tell everyone that it was your idea. Let me lighten the load a little, and you can focus on your duties until you meet them."


    "I cannot-"


    "You can; if you release a bit of control over to me, I promise I can help you here. You will still do everything; you need to. I will take over the planning. I know what you like, and I know the general idea of what you will need to help you lead this Kingdom. Please, Lyra, let me do this part for you?"


    She was silent for some time, thinking over the pros and cons; if she let Nisa take over, then she wouldn''t have to worry about this any longer. That didn''t sound so hard, and she could relax a little before things got too stressful.


    "You have my permission; do what you can remember; father has made this whole thing into a big show, so make it flashy whatever you do."


    "Lyra, Princess of Calipyre, you have my word. That as you very best of friends, I will not let you down."


    The two finished their dinner talking and gossiping, as now Lyra wasn''t thinking about what to do. In her opinion, the next few hours were quite joyful to her; it was just what she needed in the week she had.


    Nisa saw herself to one of the guest rooms in the castle while Lyra trudged her way up the steps. When she heard something whisper from behind the corner, she stopped and peeked around the stone wall to be met with a pair of gorgeous green eyes.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "There is my lovely Princess," his voice drew out in perfect cords.


    Lyra whipped her head around to see if anyone was in the area; when she saw there was no one, she took a step off the stairs, wrapping her arms around Sasha''s waist. "It is dangerous for you to be seen with me, you know that."


    "I''m aware, but I have the perfect excuse for you. Come with me on a walk, please," he pulled slightly on her to coax her to follow him.


    Lyra was still wide awake; she followed the Knight out into the courtyards. When they got to the busier section, Sasha took a step away from her. The two made their way across the darkened area of the castle towards the horse stable; Lyra passes a few glances over to Sasha, who gave her a smile and nothing more.


    "What is your plan, dear knight?" Lyra asked as they reached the stable as a soft glow of lantern light was still inside.


    Sasha gently hushed her, "You will see, just play along." he opened the door and walked in; Lyra stayed back for a moment. Watching what he was doing.


    He walked up to the stable master, and the two spoke for a brief time, Sasha gestured over to Lyra once, and then the conversation stopped. The two men walked away from each other, Sasha back to Lyra, and the Stablemaster went into the saddle closet coming out with two saddles, one under each arm.


    "I told him the Princess wish to go on a night ride." Sasha leaned into Lyra''s ear so that only she would hear.


    Lyra smirked, "I am not in the best dress for horse riding,"


    "But, you don''t have to be in the dress for long if you preferred." he wrapped his fingers around her hip and squeeze a bit, before letting go and returning to his acting guard position a foot away from her.


    "We shall see my dear Knight,"


    The stable Master worked quickly and had two of Royal riding mare up and ready for them, in what seemed to Lyra like no time at all. She was helped up onto her personal mare, Jessbel, and Sasha was given white and grey spotted mare that was generally used in parades and other things.


    Jessbel was one of the larger riding mares, standing at 17.1 hands. She was gifted to Lyra when she was two years old, this was on Lyra''s 18th birthday. At the time they didn''t believe the mare would get much bigger as her Sire stood at 15.7 hands and her dam at 15.1.


    Lyra leaned down and petted the side of Jessbel''s neck as they started. Sasha had put her in front when they left, as she was supposed to be the one who wanted to go for a late-night ride, and not him.


    "Are you going to tell me why you brought me out here?" Lyra asked after they were well out of earshot from anyone else.


    He rode up next to her before answering, "I know you''ve been stressed, with your choosing coming up I figured a night out of the castle would help."


    Lyra''s head whipped over, "How do you know about the choosing?"


    "Servants talk."


    "I see, that needs to get a grip on before they gossip about something they should not" Lyra made a mental note to speak with her father about their servants'' loose lips. "I was going to tell you about it myself, but it seems since I do not have the ability to, I guess all I can ask is, your not upset?"


    Sasha shook his head as if he was prepared for her to ask this question, "Lyra, I knew who you were on our first meeting. I knew some things wouldn''t be avoidable, you may not marry me, I like to believe I have your heart, rather you say it or not."


    Lyra really didn''t know what to say, she had avoided the words I Love You with this Knight for the past two years. Yet, he has surely said them to her as Octavia said that morning. Was she in Love? What the hell was that word anyway? Was it just fairytale myths or was it different, was there anything close to it?


    "I care for you, so much Sasha. In a way you could say you have my heart, you do my affection and the ability to steal my time and it not be a waste."


    That is what she could give him, the truth, but maybe it did have a name, though she couldn''t wrap her mind around it being love.


    "If that is your highest praise I will accept it, if not then I will work for whatever that is," he said before stopping them and turning their horses down a path. It was fairly dark and all Lyra had was the light of the moons to guide her vision, but even with that, she could see that this path was rough, and not kept up. Though signs of it still being used, although very rarely was there. Soon the path narrowed and Sasha had to take lead, leaving Lyra behind him so she could stare at his hair that was flowing just past his collar line. "We are almost there," he said turning his head slightly, catching her staring at him, "See something you like Princess?"


    "I suppose I do,"

 Author Announcement

    I would like to thank the small following that I have gained over the past couple of months. I would like to apologize for the dead air as things have been quite crazy around here for me. As I know it is for everybody. I have reread over the starting chapters of this story and I am going to go ahead and edit them before continuing the story.


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    It might take me about a week to get the full thing edited and updated.


    BUT what that means for you all. Is when the next update comes out if you were reading this before the update I would suggest rereading over the last few chapters as they will have new information but if you don''t that is alright as it won''t change much.