22
“When do I get my own horse?” Rachel asked as she and Breyind rode back towards the village.
“Don’t you like sitting with me?” Breyind asked.
“Of course I do, but it would be nice to be able to go places by myself sometimes.”
“You seem to think I have an extra horse to give you...or that I can somehow get one...” They approached the castle.
“I’m sorry,” Rachel said. “I wasn’t meaning to sound greedy or like I had any assumptions about you. I just assumed that everyone here has horses to spare... I guess I don’t quite understand the value of things here yet.”
“Don’t worry, Rachel. I am teasing you. You can have a horse… provided you keep the secret I am about to show you.”
They rode into the grounds of the castle itself and dismounted. Breyind handed the horse to a groom who took the horse to the stable. Rachel felt slightly confused. Was he a stableboy? No, he was far too clean for that.
“First, a tour,” Breyind started.
First, Breyind showed her the grounds immediately around the castle. There were the gardens which were being planted for the growing season which was virtually upon them. There were splendid glass houses with interesting plants from lands afar. “Here is where Stella gets most of the herbs she needs which she can’t grow for herself… not that there are many of those..”
“She’s going to teach me about all of them,” Rachel said excitedly, almost forgetting about the forthcoming secret.
“We can look at the livestock now or the castle first...”
“I would like to see the goslings and goats that we purchased in England,” Rachel said. “But I want to see the castle first.”
Breyind laughed softly. Rachel couldn’t help feeling she was the butt of a joke.
They walked around the castle for ages, looking at all the grand rooms. Breyind showed the servants quarters and the guest quarters and then led her towards the family wing. Finally, they came to a door which Breyind opened. In the room, Rachel recognised some of her things.
“This is your room until we wed,” Breyind explained.
The shock on Rachel’s face was palpable. She gasped and entered, looking at everything and gasping frequently. The room, in the family wing, was stunning. What was Breyind saying? Who was he really? Breyind closed the door behind them and walked around too. “I hope the room is to your liking.”
“Yeah. It’s wonderful,” she answered, unbelieving and still in confusion. Then her nerve failed her. “Who are you?!” Rachel demanded in amazement.
Breyind ignored her and left the room. Rachel hurried after him. “Tell me who you really are!”
Breyind laughed softly as he led the young woman down the corridor. Two doors further, he stopped and produced a key which he fitted into the lock. “My room,” he said as he allowed her to enter first.
Rachel’s previous shock was nothing compared to the new one. The room was grand and ornately decorated. She wandered around as Breyind closed the door again.
“What do you think?” Breyind asked, catching up to her and taking her hand.
“I don’t know what to say!” Rachel said, stunned.
“You...speechless?” Breyind teased gently.
Rachel gave him a quick glance. He used it to grab a kiss from her.
“This room is amazingly beautiful. Who are you?” she asked in awe.
“I am a nephew to the king. I am Prince Breyind Irari, King’s Nephew… but I prefer just to be called Breyind.”
Rachel nearly swooned. “A prince?!”
Breyind caught her and held her to him. “There’s more.”
“How much more can there be?!” Rachel wondered aloud. She looked out the window next to her. Then it came to her. “It’s Adrick, isn’t it?”
Breyind nodded sitting with Rachel on windowseat. “Adrick of Velantia is my cousin, the King’s eldest son, heir to the throne.”
Rachel gasped again. “Katja doesn’t know, does she?”
Breyind shook his head.
“Not just one, but both of you… princes including the heir to the throne?”
“Please don’t be overwhelmed...”
“Give me a minute to be overwhelmed, Breyind. I’ll recover soon enough. It’s just so much to absorb, accept and understand. I never dared to dream of even meeting a prince! Never in my wildest fantasies dreamed of marrying one!”
“It is why we kept the information from you. We wanted to be just Breyind and Adrick to you first… not Princes.”
“Don’t you think it would have been better to tell me this before asking me to marry you?”
“I hated every minute of the deception, please believe me, Rachel. Adrick and I have both agonized over it. We didn’t want you to be impressed by our titles. We didn’t want you to be in love with the idea of being a Princess. We just wanted you to know Breyind and Adrick… the people. When I fell in love with you and you with me, I knew you weren’t after my fame or fortune. That is why I want you to keep the knowledge a secret from Katja until she has had a chance to make up her own mind.”
Rachel nodded, still stunned. “I understand.”
“I desperately hoped you would,” Breyind said, clearly relieved.
“I will keep the secret, I promise...but please tell me the moment I can tell her because the anxiety will be killing me! I have never kept anything from Katja!”
“I promise that in return,” Breyind said kissing Rachel who was very quiet, still digesting the revelations. Breyind worried slightly. “Are you okay?” he asked.
Rachel nodded. She rose and walked across the room towards the alcove. Her feelings were running wild. Here she was, alone with a Prince… no. He was simply the man she loved, title or no... and they were truly alone for the first time since they’d met. Suddenly, she recognized that she had a decision to make. Just as quickly, she knew the answer.
“It doesn’t change your feelings about me...” He followed her across the room.
Rachel could hear the fear in his voice. She took a deep breath and turned. “No, Breyind. Of course it doesn’t. I am just surprised beyond belief… I would never have dreamed..,” she stammered until Breyind kissed her passionately, running his hands down her body.
He lifted her to him and placed her on his bed, pulling the curtains closed as he did. “Shouldn’t we wait until after we are wed? After all, you are a prince,” Rachel asked as their passion heated up and clothes were shed.
“We can wait if you would feel better about it… but as a prince, I am sometimes allowed to be disrespectable,” Breyind replied kissing her deeply and running his hands along her nakedness.
“I would hate for you to be disrespected,” said Rachel now breathing heavily between kisses, desperately wanting her lover’s passion.
“Me too!” Breyind said giving her what she was longing for, satisfying their lust together.
“So much for waiting,” Rachel said quietly lying beside him in his embrace.
“I said we could wait if you wanted..,” Breyind said worried for one second until Rachel smiled lovingly at him. Breyind laughed merrily and with obvious relief.
“But I didn't really want to wait,” Rachel reassured.
“I love you so much, Rachel!”
“And I love you, Breyind! Prince and all!” Rachel said.
Breyind pulled his clothing back on. “Now, let’s get looking respectable and take a tour of the rest of the grounds. We need to check on our goslings and goats. You have a horse to choose and I want to know anything you might want to have or do!”
Supplemental Materials
Prologue, map, character list
The Legend of the Sacred Trio
Links to Buy the ebooks
(Note: If anyone knows how to make this table look better in markdown, please comment!)
| Please catch up! | Links to buy |
|---|---|
 |  |
| Birth of the Neví – 829 T.C.E. It is a tumultuous period of Terrenden history. As is all too common, there are those who wish to profit from the misfortune of others. Some of these come together in a new "charitable organization" and step on the toes of the notorious Uugli. Combine this with draconian new measures to combat pollution and Terrenden has a situation ripe for a power struggle. | Rebound of Power: 850 T.C.E. Collection of Romance Terrenden is being terrorized by a previously underestimated Neví who through the mysterious “Curator” have been controlling elections all over the planet. In this collection, we meet some interesting women. Iyva, a homeless teenager in Irola whose untrained power leaves her close to death; Marc’la, a breeder of prized caballus in Kasago whose heart lives in the past; Zukie, an abused widow whose heart is afraid to try for future happiness; Jenna, an elections assistant manager and masseuse who has a prejudice against A’mara; and Kami, a chola student in Varkevand who has been assigned to protect Ardin, a man who has his own reasons to distrust A’mara. |
| Coming | Soon! |
| Rise of the Neví - 830 T.C.E. The Neví begin their rise in power with the completion of several large housing projects that seem totally charitable, but also hide a great evil within. The draconian measures brought in the previous year has caused major distress throughout the world, perfect for giving the Neví a further foothold on the Terrenden stage. Will the A’mara, now removed from the Council of Peers, be able to shut down the Neví? | Acting the Part - 851 T.C.E. Collection of Romance - The Neví continue to make a nuisance of themselves, infiltrating the Terrenden Freedom Party who have been winning most elections around the world. Dr. Jarly is still on the run and the Curator still dominates a larger part of the Terrenden stage than most would like to know. What’s more, famous actor, Derick Aiden has decided to release his Neví expose film, causing them to issue a Death Edict on him, forcing him into hiding. In this collection, we meet more interesting women (and revisit some we’ve already got to know.) Kauri, a simple receptionist who doesn’t realize one of her wildest dreams has come true; Tirry, an elections manager who is always the bridesmaid and never the bride; Zara, a chef who has all but given up on finding love for herself; Dzani, who isn’t even looking, but has to chaperone her more vulnerable roommate; Soala, the daughter and heiress who is expected to marry, but refuses to marry someone she doesn’t love; and Moxara, one whose past griefs have locked away her heart. We also get updates on some of the lovely ladies we met previously. |
Don’t forget!
I’m still offering 1 Steem Basic Income share for any minnow who asks me a question which prompts an “Ask the Author” post! I’m thinking about putting these into a Dbooks ebook all its own, actually.
Image Credits:
Brighid's Blood cover art based on:
- Mountain background shot (on the border of Slovakia and Poland) – PublicDomainPictures.
All three images were under the creative commons licensing, (no attribution required.)
- Shaze picture developed from PXhere
Shaze divider based on:
- Sword image from Wikipedia Commons
All maps/editing by myself on GIMP and Photoscape, both free programs.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Although the penalty of knowing me in real life is that you will influence the creation of my characters; any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Writing and artwork copyright myself 2005-2018 – all rights reserved.
If you are interested in helping me publish these works, please contact me on Facebook or Discord, viking-ventures#2883.
Lori Svensen – A'mara Books & Viking Visual
