In Which Devidra Makes It Clear

December 25, 1178

"Well, it's about damn time!"

Where had the idiot boy been for the past half hour? Adrius knew perfectly well what day it was and what time he'd been expected in the throne room. He should have figured that by now, the steward--whatever this one's name was, the incompetent fools were fired and replaced so often that Devidra no longer bothered to learn their names--would have gone down to the gates to meet with Princess Ramona and her escort. And he definitely should have realized that his future bride would likely take offense if he wasn't there to greet her.

Not that Adrius knew anything about women, judging by his incoherent mumblings and awkward lookings-away every time some pretty young thing batted her eyes at him. It was his nineteenth Christmas and Devidra doubted he'd ever taken a girl to bed. How would the princess feel on her wedding night, being thrust at from every angle by a man unsure of where to put it? Devidra's own husband had been older than her father and had rarely managed to get it up, but at least her wedding night had given her another week to get used to the idea of bedding him before his limp prick would finally allow it. A man who no longer could was one thing, but a man who knew in theory but had no experience in practice? For the girl's sake, Devidra hoped he'd been late because of some loose chambermaid.

Ah, but that wasn't her son. The only loose thing he'd been with was a book he'd read too many times. "Sorry, Mother. I lost track of time with this... this..."

"Book?" A guilty flush betrayed him. Devidra sniffed. She was not disappointed in Adrius's quest for written knowledge--a king ought to be well-read, after all--but it would hardly serve him or the country without the balance of more immediate occupations. His physical training was neglected and the accounts would have been checked minimally had Devidra not felt the need to take care of those herself. And never mind that he'd never met with any of his generals since she'd dragged him to the war room as a protesting seven-year-old. He'd insisted that he was a pacifist; she'd just said that was a big word for his age and that most of his peers were out hitting each other with sticks. "Damn it, you know what day it is! Don't you realize how offended your bride will be if you seem to find her less interesting than a stack of rotting pages?"

Adrius sighed. "She might be interesting..."

"As opposed to what you were reading, which is indisputably interesting?" Her son swallowed; Devidra's mouth curled in some odd, unsatisfied triumph. Adrius had never protested the agreement, but that didn't mean he wanted it--not that it mattered. "Look. Your oldest brother died when he was eighteen, and you'll be nineteen in May. You have no living brothers, and your two remaining sisters are a nun and a women past her childbearing years with only a barren daughter to show for it. If something were to happen to you, your idiot cousin would be king and all of Carvallon will curse you for it. Besides, the Dovians have never liked us and an alliance with Naroni would provide a neutral buffer."

"Mother, we've been over this--"

"Not enough, apparently." She jabbed one finger in the direction of Adrius's throne. He took the hint and climbed the stairs to take a seat; Devidra herself took the one beside him. "Adrius, I don't give a rat's ass if she's the blandest, homeliest, most useless thing alive. You're going to marry that girl. You're going to get an heir out of her, and one or two spares, and a couple daughters. And you'll be good to her. You don't have to like her--you can fuck whores behind her back for all I care--but you will treat her well, because she's the mother of your children and she deserves your respect. Is that clear?"

Adrius opened his mouth and closed it a couple times--possibly to protest, possibly to tell her he didn't want to fuck whores--but all he ended up managing was a simple "Yes, Mother."

"Good." Devidra glanced to the door before fixing her eyes back on her son. She knew firsthand that a political marriage could be hell for a young person, but she also knew that this one was necessary. For all Roderick was a bumbling ass, his daughter did not come without her advantages, and shy, bookish boys like Adrius were not like to find wives for themselves. "Is there anything else?"

Her son slouched somewhat, confused and nervous and not at all kingly. He'd have to correct that before Ramona arrived. "Do you think she'll like me?"

"Of course she will." The answer was a little automatic and perhaps Adrius had picked up on that, but she did have hopes. For all she had to admit that he was a spineless daydreamer, she had raised a good man with a good heart. If the princess could see that, then there was little cause for worry. "Just be nice to her. I know you will be."

He looked like he was about to argue, but he was cut off by the door and the resulting return of his uncle. Zareth strode forward as stoic as ever, indulging Devidra with a bow that was more of a nod than anything else. She felt her eyes narrow. "Brother."

"Sister. Nephew."

One more word than she'd thought she'd get out of him--without prying, at least. "The princess?"

"She'll be here in a minute. The steward and her maid are with her, plus my men."

"And none of your men laid eyes on her before arriving here?"

Zareth shook his head. "They knew better than to look."

"Good." The word itself was not praise enough, but Zareth had rarely been praised before she'd made him captain and not often since and no doubt didn't recognize it in such small doses. She supposed she'd throw him a bone. "Well done, brother. I knew you'd get the job done."

He grunted and stepped to the side. Zareth had his mother's name, but if all these years at court couldn't hammer some manners into him, then he was a true Alderfell indeed.

The door creaked again, more tentative this time. Devidra shot Adrius one last look, then straightened her back and turned her face forward. "Enter."

"Your majesties: Her royal highness, Princess Ramona of Naroni."

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