Maiden by Decree: Epilogue by Maggie Finson

“The governess to see you, your Majesty.” Sestalphas informed Deirdre and she could well see the man was barely holding back his amusement. “She says it is urgent.”

After signing the document she had been reading, Deirdre gave her secretary a probing look. “What have they done now?”

“I have no idea, your Majesty.” The man blandly answered. “The Lady Violet is barely coherent at the moment.”

“Don’t bother sending her in, I’m coming.” The Queen of Jhalmar told him as she rose from behind her desk and almost glided to the door.

“I believe that would be a good idea, your Majesty.” Sestalphas was smirking now.

“They are your god children, Sestalphas.” She gave him a pointed look. “One of these times I just might let you take care of a problem.”

“An event that would likely prove to be very enteretaining, your Majesty.” The man answered then barely suppressed a chuckle.

“Gods, what have they done now?” Deirdre questioned the ceiling knowing that her secretary wasn’t going to tell her.

“Central courtyard.” He told her. “Fountain.”

Deirdre pointedly ignored her secretary’s muffled chortles as she smiled at the fifth governess they’d had within the past year as she took the young woman’s arm gently and left the antechamber to her offices.

“What have those hellions done now, Violet?” She questioned, noting that the young woman showed no signs of having been tied up, or abused in any way other than her being wet.

“I am sooo sorry, your Majesty!” Violet let the words rush out. “They ignored every word I said, I swear on the gods I did my best to restrain them!”

“Peace, Lady Violet.” Deirdre shook her head. “I know my children. Just tell me what they’ve gotten into this time.”

“The — the fountain, your Majesty.” The girl managed to choke out.

“Ahh, and just what are they doing in the fountain, Lady Violet?”

“Fighting, your Majesty.”

Once the ladies emerged into the central courtyard of the palace, Deirdre noted the presence of sergeants Savar and Hemish.

“Why are you two just standing around?” She questioned the men.

“We were just preparing to step in, your Majesty.” Savar answered with a smoothness he had learned over the past years.

“Aye, your Majesty.” Hemish agreed. “Things have been a bit confused over the past few minutes.”

Giving a fond look to the leaders of her personal guard, Deirdre laughed. “Admit it you two. You’ve been enjoying this and didn’t want to stop it.”

“Well, they really aren’t hurting each other, your Majesty.” Savar defended himself and his long-time friend.

“I seem to recall giving you both permission to spank them if they really misbehaved.” Deirdre answered while looking at the thrashing screaming and giggling mess in the center of the fountain.

“But, your Majesty.” Hemish gave her half guilty look. “They are having so much fun.”

“I noticed.” Deirdre nodded with a sigh.

Deridre reached the edge of the fountain and watched the pair rolling around in the water for a few breaths then raised her voice just enough to get the miscreant’s attention. “Evaine! Cedric!”

The twins recognized the ‘mama voice’ in her tones and stopped long enough to give their mother a half guilty look before resuming their mayhem on each other.

“Don’t make me come in there to get you.” Deirdre threatened.

“Your Majesty!” Violet was appalled as Deirdre lifted her skirts and stepped up to the raised tiles around the fountain.

“I’ve been in there before, Lady Violet.” The queen reassured her children’s governess.

“But it is unseemly for you to do this!”

Deridre gave the bedraggled, still wet and dripping form of the governess an impatient look. “Would you rather go get them? Let me handle them, they’re my children.”

Before anyone else could protest, Deirdre stepped into the pool and started wading towards the two rowdies in the center of it. “You two stop this NOW!”

That demand from a queen who terrified hardened warriors had no effect at all on the pair of children wrestling and squealing as the fountain poured water over them.

“That’s it!” Deirdre growled as she moved forward to catch each miscreant by their necks and pull them apart. “What is it this time?”

Evaine, a miniature image of her mother gave her brother a dark look and piped. “Ced said girls can’t fight!”

Deirdre sighed and took her son’s chin in a gentle hand. “Cedric, do you really think that?”

“No mama.” The boy, with her piercing blue eyes and his father’s cornflower hair admitted.

“So what was this all about?”

“I don’t know, mama.” The boy mumbled.

“Cedric…”

The four year old caught the hint of menace and a spanking in his mother’s tone of voice and shrugged. “I wanted to play in the water and she wouldn’t.”

“So you made your sister mad enough to follow you into the pool?”

“No mama!” The child answered. “She pulled me into the water.”

“Evaine?”

“I just wanted to show him that girls CAN fight, mama.” The little girl responded.

“We’ll talk about this later.” The queen told her children. “Now why don’t we all go home and get into some dry clothes?”

She stopped them as they left the pool and gave her son a mother look. “Fish, Cedric. Put them back now.”

The boy sighed, then pulled two gold fish from a pocket and gently set them back in the pool.

“Other pocket, my beloved son.”

With a put upon sigh, the boy produced another goldfish and placed it back in the pool. “That’s all I have mama, honest.”

“Evaine.” Deirdre looked at her daughter.

“Yes mama?” The little girl gave her mother an innocent look.

“Fish. Back in Pond. Now.”

“Oh, all right.” The little girl sighed while taking several of the finny creatures from a pocket in her apron and setting them back in the pool.

“Now, let’s go home my darlings.” Deirdre took a hand of each child and led them out of the fountain pool. “We will discuss this once we are all in dry clothes.”

The king emerged from a side passage to watch his family leaving the area and shook his head. Mother always threatened me with having a child like I was. But she never considered having a child like my wife.”

Garret chuckled and followed the wet trail his wife and children had left on the way to the royal apartments.