Hilda
Hilda climbed out of the large bed. The air was cold on her bare skin as it drifted in through the open balcony door. She walked through the room lit by the moonlight cast through the windows and open door.
The sky outside was dark, it had to be past midnight. It was a clear night, and a thousand stars blinked as the two moons of Bastion reflected the light of the sun. The moons stood large, bright and full against the star lit backdrop. It was a beautiful night, but a cold night with a slight breeze.
Hilda let out a small sigh and closed the door before she then went back to the bed across the chilly stone floor. She looked at the man in bed who had shared the bed with. He was sound asleep, as though a million worries did not fill his mind each and every day. She let out another sigh. She should have been in her own bed, she told herself. How many times did she tell herself she had to end it.
Hilda slid back into the warm bed, and under the waiting covers. She ran her hand over the pale warm skin that stuck out in the darkness. ‘You are sworn to protect him, Hilda. How long are you going to keep doing this for?’ she asked herself like she had done so many times before.
King Oswald shifted slightly in the bed. He was her king. She was sworn to protect him, but that hadn’t stopped him. It hadn’t stopped when he had been married and his wife had still been alive. It hadn’t stopped when others shared his bed. He was more than three times her age and that hadn’t stopped her either. She couldn’t refuse him no matter how much she told herself she should.
He was old enough to be her grandfather, and her mother had been one of her King’s Guard, and lover, just as she had become. The very spot she held had been her mother’s before her death in the King’s service. Hilda had duties, and she should not be in bed with the king, but she was, again.
Hilda reached a hand and felt his warm chest and snuggled herself against his back. The warmth of their bodies felt better than a warm blanket. She closed her eyes, and could smell the sweet smell of his hair.
The king rolled over and looked at Hilda, and caressed her face with a slight smile before he spoke. “Don’t,” he said softly.
“Don’t what?” she asked defiantly before she caved in and rolled her eyes. He knew her better than her own family, even herself she thought at times. “I have too…”
“You don’t have to do anything,” King Oswald cut her off with a yawn. “I’m the king of the bloody Commonwealth. You are a member of my King’s Guard. The only thing you have to do is what I tell you,” He said with a grin and yawn. “And I have never told you to do anything in your life. But stay with me. Keep me warm.”
Hilda looked at her king for a moment. She gave him a long kiss on his forehead. “I have early duties to attend to, and I would rather not have any more rumors spread about me than are already out there.”
“What rumors?” the king asked and he rose a little in the bed. “I will end them at once,” he insisted.
“Nothing,” Hilda sighed as she slid back out of bed and looked for her clothes spread out around the room. “You and I both know how this works.” She began to put her clothes back on as she found them. “Even if we weren’t fucking, there would be rumors. All the nobility ever does is spread rumor.”
Hilda finished pulling a shirt over her head to cover her bare chest, and looked at her king. She leaned over and kissed him on the lips. “It is nothing. I promise. Just the never everyday bullshit. I’m just saying I do not want to be known as the king’s mistress.”
“You are the youngest member of the King’s Guard since the founding of the Commonwealth,” the king replied.
“And I won't have it said I got there by sleeping around,” Hilda cut in with a rush. “I have to work twice as hard to show that I belong here, and three times as hard to prove that I am better than all of them.”
“And none who know you, or have seen you in action could say anything other than that you earned your position,” the king said sharply. “Find someone who dares say otherwise. Rumors are meant to find our weakness and instill doubt in us.”
“I know,” Hilda agreed. She smiled at the king, and brushed her hand lightly across his face. “I may be known as the youngest King’s Guard, but that isn’t all I will be known for.” Hilda stopped and smiled. “I have duties to do and things to accomplish, and they will never happen if I remain in bed here with you. No matter how much I wish too. Besides you like to sleep in, and I need to be up early. If I get back in bed with you I won't be out of it until late morning.”
“I could think of worse things than staying in bed all night and morning with you,” The king said slyly before he closed his eyes and smiled. “You will be great. Of that I have no doubt in my mind my love. No doubt at all.”
Hilda looked down on her king one last time, and smiled before she slipped out of his bedchamber. She was glad for the empty hall, that the guards she had dismissed earlier were still gone, and tried to make it down to her own quarters without being seen from any of the other guards of the royal palace.
