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Lizzie lounged on her throne.
Standing next to her, in a perfect parade rest, was the most loyal (and most beloved) of her personal guard.
Ren was staring straight ahead, as he’d been trained. He was decidedly not looking at her, which simply would not do.
Lizzie liked to be looked at. She would not look as lovely as she did if she didn’t want to be admired, to be looked at, to be loved.
She wasn’t wearing anything, as well. A lady like her knew very well that she looked as lovely, perhaps lovelier, in the finest silks and satins as in nothing at all. She wasn’t the sort to be ashamed of anything about herself, least of all her body.
Her hair was long and loose today, her usual pale pink. Her bare skin was fair, like porcelain, dotted with silver freckles. She was stark against the dark green satin on her marble throne. Her eyes were an even deeper green.
Lizzie never liked to keep her throne room looking the same way. Today it was all cold white marble with streaks of pale pinks and greens. Everything was elaborately carved, but the eye was immediately drawn to the dark green of the throne, and thus to the queen sitting on it.
Ren, of course, was dressed to match. She couldn’t possibly have her guard not match her throne. That would have looked tacky. She’d had him keep his fluffy brown hair, though. She quite liked it like that.
She’d have liked it even more if she could see the way his hair framed his face, the way he had to push it out of his eyes, the way his ears twitched at every little sound. If he would only look at her.
Ren should be looking at her. Her guards were there to admire her, not stand around staring at nothing. He, especially, should be looking at her. She quite liked him, and she quite liked his eyes, and it was terribly annoying that she did not get to see them, nor the cute way he would blush when he had to see her bare skin.
She could order him to look at her- she was his queen, after all- but where was the fun in that?
Hm… how to get under his skin?
She smiled mischievously as the idea came to her.
“So I was thinking,” she began, stretching out so she could nudge Ren with her foot. “It’s been so long since we’ve had any sort of fun. We should throw a party! Everyone else’s are so very dull. If I show them how we party here, maybe the lot of them will learn to have some real fun.”
“An excellent idea, my lady,” Ren said, still not looking at her.
“Let’s see… should we have it in the statue gardens? Or maybe the glade? Or, or, maybe the fountains? Think of all the fun we could have! Maybe I’ll finally get to see Cleo or Joel in their full!”
“Another excellent idea,” he said, with a hard swallow. “The lake is especially lovely this time of year, and the stones are always good for dancing.”
“True!” Lizzie clapped her hands in delight. “Yes, we’ll have our party down at the docks. With lots of dancing and drinking and fun. Real, true fun, not the nonsense the others somehow seem to think is fun.”
She started to plan, still sort of talking to Ren but mostly to herself. She talked over how she should decorate, and what drinks they would have, and how drunk she might get everyone.
“What will we eat? We’ll have to- oh, wait,” she frowned. “We’ll have to have Joel and his boys to bring food. No one will eat ours. How impolite. Nothing to be done about it, I’m afraid. If only our friends were a bit more foolish.”
“If only,” Ren agreed. “At the very least, I’m sure whatever those three come up with will be excellent.”
“Oh, of course.” Lizzie’s mouth watered at just the thought of it. It was very difficult to impress on the tastes of one who had only ever eaten faerie food, but Joel, Jimmy, and Grian managed it.
She moved on to the dancing, humming as she decided which songs would work and which most certainly wouldn’t. Ren’s ears twitched to the beat.
As she sang, she thought harder about how to get a rise out of her guard. Another idea came to her, and the song trailed off.
She turned in her seat, laying her head on the armrest closest to him. Her hair brushed his arm.
“I’ll need a guard,” she told him, smiling mischievously. “I don’t want them to think I don’t trust them, but it’d be odd if I didn’t have any guards at all. Just the one should do, shouldn’t it? Oh, but he’ll need to stay by my side the whole time… right next to me, at my arm… who should I ask to do something like that? Who would be suited for it? Maybe… Dragon? Or Ogre? Oh, or Taxes! Taxes is terrifying. Shall I ask him?”
His ears went flat against his head. “No. No, you- you don’t need to ask him. I will guard you, my lady. I am more than capable- I can- that is, I- I am the one who knows you most, am I not? No one is as suited for the task as I.”
There it was. She knew she’d get something out of him.
Lizzie gracefully flipped herself over, leaning over the edge of her throne. She tapped him on the nose, giggling. “Don’t be like that, puppy. I was only teasing. As if I would ask anyone but you.”
She could see his ears settle, his shoulders just barely drop. She grinned. And his face was really quite pink. How cute. Had it been her calling him puppy? She’d have to call him that much more, then.
“Of course,” he said, still blushing. “I should have known- my apologies, my lady.”
“Don’t worry, puppy,” she cooed. “I’ll think of some way for you to make it up to me.”
Somehow, Ren blushed harder. Lizzie smiled to herself. Oh, yes, she had lots of ideas for her most loyal, most lovely, most beloved guard.