The queen and the maiden (Part 3)

Tarja was torn out of her sleep when a hand suddenly moved on her back. She was scared at first, but then remembered what had happened the evening before and started to calm down. Tarja listened to Anette’s calm breathing and steady heartbeats.

I cannot believe that she stayed with me last night. No one has ever tried to comfort me like that before. And when she got me out from the throne room…

Tarja moved her arm that lay across Anette’s stomach. The movement caused the maiden to moan slightly before she opened her eyes.

They both lay still for a while, until Anette started to move. When she sat up, Tarja felt how her heart sank in her chest when the close contact they had been sharing suddenly ended.

“Good morning, Tarja!” Anette said smilingly.

Tarja answered her greeting shyly.

“Come on; let us go to the kitchen. I am starving!”

Anette grabbed the queen’s hands and pulled her out of the bed. Tarja was surprised, but did not struggle until she suddenly stood in front of the wooden door that would lead out of her room.

“No I…I cannot. Just go and get my breakfast.”

“Is that an order, your majesty?”

Anette had a playful look in her eyes, which warmed Tarja’s heart.

“No, it is not an order.”

“Good, come on then!”

“Did you see the look on their faces when you just walked in and started to slice up the bread?” Anette said with a big smile on her lips

The queen and the maiden were back in Tarja’s room. They were sitting on the huge carpet that covered the most part of the floor in the room. For hours, Anette had been telling the queen stories about the life in the city. Tarja became more and more fascinated after each one, but also sad. She only went outside the castle to go to church or to visit the homes of the nobility’s.

“What is it?”

Anette looked straight at Tarja. The queen clenched her fists slightly and breathed in heavily.

“I was not allowed to go out much after I turned fifteen. Well, not even during my childhood years. When the time had come, my mother practically sold me to the king. I have spent so many years hiding in here with my responsibilities. The king broke me down and told me that I was his toy, and that he was the only one who was allowed to look at me or touch me.” 

Tarja bit her lip to prevent herself from crying.

“All I want is to feel free. Even if it was just for a moment.”

Tarja sighed and looked down on the floor. Anette put an arm around the queen and began caressing her shoulder gently while Tarja leaned into her embrace.

They sat like that for a while before Anette almost jumped up from the floor.

“I have an idea, I will bring you your lunch and then… This is going to be so much fun!”

Tarja gulped down her lunch quickly and waited for Anette to come back. She had been out for quite some time. The only thing she had told Tarja was to put on some comfortable clothes and a cloak.

The queen checked herself in the mirror one last time, and hoped that Anette would like her red, loose fitting dress and her black cloak.

Suddenly, the door flew open while Anette came running in.

“Come on, the king is out to declare a new tax law! We have to go!”

Tarja nodded and put on her cloak before Anette handed her a dagger. Confused, the queen looked at her.

“Put it in your belt, you never know what kind of people you may meet.”

The queen did as she was told before they both went to the kitchen, where the back exit was located.

The market was almost empty. Everyone must have gathered at the square, where the king was going to hold his speech. Anette was constantly watching over her shoulder. She was familiar with these streets and knew what could happen. In some corners, she had spent some of her years begging. That barely gave her money to pay for food. In her early teens, she went from begging to stealing. Later she ended up outside the Snow’s family house. Anette had been lurking around there for a while and finally they took her in. They taught her how to read and to write, and later she became the head of the house servants. Anette was heartbroken when she had to leave, but she could not throw away what the Snow family had done for her.

If it were not for them, she would still be out on the streets.

Anette shook of the thought for a while and looked over at Tarja. The queen had a bright smile on her face and Anette noticed a twinkling in her eyes.

They walked past the market stalls with fruits and vegetables. Some were selling spices and fabrics from around the world. Anette had to drag Tarja away from several of the stalls. They had to be back before nightfall.

After a while, they stood by the city gate. Anette looked at Tarja and saw her hesitation. The maiden grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly, causing Tarja to straighten up and taking the first step.

It was there, on a field a few hundred meters away from the wall that covered the city. It was here Anette had spent a lot of time with her now deceased mother. They had been fishing in the small creek and enjoyed the shade under the only oak tree in sight. They shared stories with each other and picked flowers, which they later placed in the vas on their kitchen table.

But now, they were all distant memories. Anette felt how Tarja let go of her hand.

“Wow, it is so beautiful!”

The joy in the queen’s eyes made Anette’s heart clench up. Anette liked the queen, she had been so kind to her already on the first day she had met her. And now she wanted to repay Tarja’s kindness.

Anette took off her cloak and revealed the bag she had on her back.

“Let us go fishing!” the maiden said and pulled out two thick strings with hooks on them.

The hours went by fast and soon it was time to go home. The fishing did not go very well, since Tarja kept losing the strings.

First it was hard for her to relax, but after spending some time with Anette, she felt that she could let go off her worries. A feeling of happiness bubbled up inside of her, as the two of them went to the oak tree that Anette had been telling her about. There, Tarja had been lying on Anette’s stomach, while the maiden had been telling her about her past. Tarja could not focus on Anette’s words, since her heart almost jumped out of her chest.

Tarja now knew that she loved her. She had been denying it before, but now it was impossible to hide. All Tarja could think about was how badly she wanted to kiss Anette’s lips.

“Tarja, are you listening to me?”

The queen quickly regained her senses.

“No…I…I am very tired. We should probably go.”

“You are right. Let us pack up our things and head back” Anette said while Tarja felt how a wave of heat travelled through her body and reached her cheeks.

When Anette had gathered all the things, she grabbed Tarja’s hand and pulled her up from the ground. This sudden movement caused Anette to stumble backwards.  Her heel got caught in one of the tree-roots, and caused the queen to end up on top of her.

Tarja was so surprised that she giggled at first, but then her heart started to ache. Tarja looked into Anette’s beautiful blue green eyes before she bent down and captured Anette’s lips with her own. Tarja’s heart sang with joy when Anette responded. The queen started to caress Anette’s cheek, when the maiden suddenly pulled back.

“No your majesty, I cannot.”

Tarja felt how tears started to form in her eyes, but managed to blink them away. The queen moved away from Anette so that they both could get on their feet.

On their way back to the castle, Tarja felt how her heart started to break into a million pieces. She felt so embarrassed and cursed her actions over and over again.

I have lost her now. I am so stupid!  

The queen clenched her fists while she lost battle against her tears. When they got inside the kitchen door, Tarja darted past everyone and ended up in her room. She closed the door and threw herself on her bed. The queen curled up and cried until there were no more tears to cry.

At the same time, Anette lay in her room and thought about today’s events. The kiss she and the queen had shared repeated itself in her head over and over again.

The maiden did not know why she had reacted the way she did. Tarja was married, unhappily married, but still. And she was the queen. There could not be more than friendship between them.

But that kiss…

Anette remembered how good it had felt and how her heart started to speed up when she felt Tarja’s body against her won.  

Oh no, why did I reject her? She must be heartbroken!

Anette rose from her bed, but realized that it was the middle of the night and that Tarja was probably asleep by now.

Anette sighed and changed her clothes before she curled up under the covers.

Tomorrow she would tell her, tell her that she loved her.