For anyone interested, I have thrown up the rules to both
One to Rule Them All as well as the
Royal Kingdom Challenge2.5: Into the Lion's Den"I'm just going to take your temperature, ok, sweetie?" Beatrice smiled at the young girl sitting on the exam bed.
The little girl nodded. She looked a bit green around the gills. Beatrice was gentle as she placed the thermometer under the child's tongue.
Beatrice kept smiling at her and when it beeped, she pulled it out and checked the reading. "Looks like you have a fever. The doctor will be in to see you in a couple minutes, ok?"
"Ok. Thanks, Lady Campbell."
Beatrice nodded as she went to go complete more of her duties. At least she was able to work with patients now, even if it was still fairly simple things like taking temperature. Then again, anything was better than being home. Even cleaning the analyzer.
She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. Ever since she had agreed to marry Gunner, he was over every other night so they could plan the wedding. At least, that's what he told his family. Thankfully, tonight it was just going to be her and Mira.
In fact, when she got off shift, Mira was waiting for her. She was no longer a kitten, but a full grown adult cat. She often waited for Beatrice to get home. Beatrice had to admit that it was nice.
Mira was a good companion. Beatrice picked her up and took her inside. She changed into something comfortable and made herself a late dinner. Mira jumped up on the counter to join her mistress.
Beatrice smiled. It was probably not a good habit for Mira to get into it, but Beatrice didn't mind it. And this was Mira's home as much as hers. So Beatrice didn't say anything. In fact, she gave the cat a quick pat on the head.
Beatrice was thinking about heading to bed when her phone went off. Frowning, she looked at the read out. She sighed and picked it up. "Yes, Gunner?"
"You sound so enthusiastic," he teased.
"I know it's been a long week. Why don't we make tonight about fun? I have reservations for two at Nim Isilme Cafe. Join me?"Beatrice sighed. "For two? Sure of yourself, hm?"
"Most days. C'mon, Lady Campbell. You need to eat, right? Join me?"She looked down at the meal she had prepared for herself, then sighed. She would be married to the man in less than a week. She supposed she should try to play nice. "I will meet you there."
She could hear the smug grin in his voice.
"Excellent. Reservations are for 8. See you then."She hung up and looked at Mira. "What am I getting myself into, hm?" The cat looked up at her and mewed. Beatrice chuckled and went back upstairs to change.
*****
The sun was just beginning to set when Beatrice stepped out of the car she had called for. A figure in white and blue stood on the sidewalk. She recognized the swagger. He turned and stopped. "Oh, wow. You look beautiful."
Beatrice squirmed a bit at the genuine look in his eyes. She was used to his arrogance and nonchalance. She was not used to seeing him bow respectfully, nor was she used to a genuine smile.
She looked toward the ground. "Thank you."
He offered her his arm. "Shall we?"
She took the offered arm and the two walked up the steps. Gunner approached the host and they were shown to their table immediately.
They ordered first. Once the waitress left, Gunner arched a brow at her. "You look a bit- uncomfortable. Are you ok?"
Beatrice frowned. Her discomfort showed? It wasn't suppose to show. The fact that Gunner noticed it was somehow worse. She was a bit more defensive than she wanted to be as she said, "I'm perfectly fine."
The arrogance was back as Gunner preened. "I suppose you don't know what to do about having dinner with such a handsome man, huh?" He winked at her.
Beatrice rolled her eyes, even as the waitress was returning to their table with their food.
After their steaming plates were set on the table, Beatrice reached for her wine and took a sip as she looked at Gunner over the rim. Her brow furrowed and she looked at him for a long moment. "You're not nearly as shallow as you pretend," she murmured, more to herself than to him. "So why the act?"
Gunner took his own wine, though he didn't drink from it. "How do you know that? I
am as shallow as I seem."
She shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I may be much better with information as opposed to people, but I've been studying you the last few weeks. Oh-" She gestured with her wine glass. "You know you're a handsome devil. And you sometimes use it. But you are much more shrewd than you wish to appear. Also much more- real."
Gunner laughed. Beatrice didn't miss the underlying bitterness in it. "That's quite an analysis, Lady Campbell." It was all he said as he tucked into his food.
Conversation after that was fairly light. Then Beatrice saw Gunner gave a slight nod. She turned around to see a couple sit down at a table behind her. She recognized them immediately. The King and Queen of Windenburg were well-known to her.
"This wasn't planned," Gunner muttered. He sounded almost defensive.
It made Beatrice laugh. "I didn't believe it was. Excuse me for a moment. I think it's time I introduce myself, hm?" She stood from her seat and had to pull in a breath. It was never easy for her to put herself out there. It could be considered a fear of hers, though she rarely let it show. At least, that was her hope.
"Your highnesses," she murmured as she approached their table and bowed. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Lady Beatrice Campbell, of Newcrest."
King Kellen's smile was warm as he stood and took her hand. "Lady Campbell, yes. I know who you are. I have much to thank you for." He dropped his voice low. "Thank you. For your information, of course, but also for what you are doing for my friend." Only his gaze went to Gunner, still at the table.
Beatrice could only keep her smile in place. "There is no thanks needed, your highness. I only wished to say hello. I will leave you to your meal. Good evening, both of you."
The evening ended shortly after that. Gunner walked her to the car that returned and helped her inside. He held the door open for a moment and leaned in close. "Beatrice? You will be getting an invitation to the Villareal estate for dinner. Don't accept it."
Beatrice frowned. "Why not?"
He shook his head. "It was my father's idea. I don't trust it."
"Gunner, I am quite capable of handling an evening at dinner." Something about the way he was so adamament she not accept the invitation made her hackles go up.
"Of course you can, I just- I don't want him near you!"
Her chin went up. "We aren't married yet. You go too far in trying to order me around. I will decide whether to accept the invitation or not. Am I clear?"
His own jaw tight and his expression stony, he jerked his head. "Of course,
Lady Campbell, you're crystal clear." He closed the car door with a bang. Beatrice jumped a little and turned quickly as the car pulled away. She watched the long figure on the sidewalk, silhouetted in the street lights, until the car disappeared around the bend.
*****
Beatrice approached the Villareal estate, her evening bag clutched in her hand. Perhaps it was foolish to ignore a warning from Gunner just because he made it sound like an order. But he had sounded too much like her father for her peace of mind. He would learn in short order that she didn't follow dictates. She had barely raised her hand to knock on the door when it was yanked open. Instead of a butler or servant, Gunner stood there. His eyes flashed. "Nice to see, m'lady," he growled through clenched teeth.
For some reason, his bad mood brought out a smirk. "Lord Gunner, how nice to see you again."
Bad-temperedly, he moved out of the door way so she could enter the home. It was a nice home, more spacious and certainly more set up for entertaining than her own. As she followed Gunner to the dining room, her gaze roved over it all. Gunner was certainly tense. Oh, he was good at hiding it. His smile didn't slip once, but she could see it in the way he held himself, the dark light in his eyes.
"Gunner, introduce us!" Several people were approaching. In the lead was a young woman that looked very much like Gunner. Beatrice knew this had to be the heir, Lady Dianna.
The smile reached his eyes this time. "Easy now, Dianna," he murmured. "Dianna, this is my soon to be bride, Lady Beatrice. Beatrice, this is my sister, Dianna."
"Pleased to meet you." Beatrice curtsied.
Dianna rushed forward and threw her arms around Beatrice. Beatrice froze. "Thank you." It was whispered so softly, Beatrice almost didn't hear it.
She forced herself to relax. So, the girl cared for her brother and if Beatrice was any judge, Dianna knew more than she let on. Perhaps the girl was more like her brother than she was like her father.
"Dianna! Control yourself!"
The voice was sharp. "Lady Beatrice, this is Lady Camille Villareal, my step-mother."
The woman inclined her head in greeting. "A pleasure, Lady Campbell."
"The pleasure is mine, m'lady. Thank you, for having me in your home." Lady Villareal smiled and bowed.
"The little one there, currently trying to escape, is Anthony, my younger brother," Gunner supplied, suppressing a grin as a little toddler tried to make a break for the front door.
Beatrice smiled at the boy. It earned her a bigger smile from Lady Camille. So, the woman cared about her family. Even Gunner, though there was a bit of tension there, if Beatrice was any judge. There was one person missing. Then again, Beatrice supposed that was to be expected.
"Ah, Gunner. Is this the lovely lady?" Lord Villareal himself stepped up, smiling.
Beatrice inclined her head at Lord Villareal. Her own smile was polite. "My lord, it's an honor to meet you." She could feel Gunner behind her, could feel the icy rage that came off him in waves. She dare not look behind her to see if he was under control of himself. Instead, she moved forward and put a hand on Lord Villareal's arm. "You're home is magnificant."
"Thank you. Please, let me get you seated. Dinner will be served promptly."
He pulled out her chair, waited for her sit, then pushed it back in before he went to take his place at the head of the table.
Gunner took the seat opposite her, Dianna took the seat at the opposite end. Lady Camille sat next to Gunner. Little Anthony was in his high chair next to his mother.
The meal was a quiet one. As Beatrice ate her soup, she was reminded of dinners when her father was actually home. They had been unpleasant affairs. But after a little while, Gunner began to tease Dianna, interact with his step-mother, and even play with Anthony when the little boy began to feel sleepy.
The only one that didn't seem to participate was Ezekiel. He sat at the head of the table, as if surveying his own private kingdom. She was aware that his gaze often went to her during the meal. She raised her head and met his gaze. She held it, letting him see she was not afraid of him. Then she went back to eating her soup.
Beatrice was making small talk with Lady Camille when Gunner cleared his throat. "Beatrice? This is my mother, Nina Barone."
She inclined her head. "A pleasure, Ms. Barone."
The woman looked Beatrice up and down for a moment. Beatrice saw Camille's mouth go into a thin line out of the corner of her eye. It couldn't be easy knowing the woman your husband had a child with still lived in the same house. Oh, it was a common occurence for many of the noble families, but few of them ever acknowledged the children out of wedlock. Gunner was one of the rare ones.
Oddly enough, Beatrice did enjoy Gunner's family, at least his sister and his younger brother. Watching him interact with them brought out a geniune smile.
Once dinner was through, Gunner walked Beatrice to the door. He still wasn't happy with her, but he did brush his hand over her arm. "Don't work too hard tomorrow," he told her in lieau of goodbye. "I'll be there when you get home so we can finalized plans, alright?"
She nodded. "Good night, Gunner."
*****
The image on the screen blurred in front of her for the third time. Beatrice closed her eyes tightly. But her head was pounding. She had woken up that morning not feeling the greatest. It had only gotten worse during her shift at the hospital. She was trying to analyze a sample, but she could barely see the screen.
She managed to make it through her shift. But by the time she got home, her head felt like it was going to explode. She went upstairs and changed. The thought of just crawling into bed was at the forefront, but there was still a few things to do before she could do that. At the ring of the doorbell, she sighed.
She finished changing and went downstairs to answer the door. When she saw who it was on the other side, she winced.
She had forgotten that he had said he would be coming over. She opened it. "Gunner, can we do this-" She didn't get to finish her sentence as he got a good look at her.
A curse left his mouth, one that had her eyes widening. "Don't you know how to take care of yourself?" he snapped as he crossed over the threshold to stand directly in front of her. She realized she had to look up to see his face.
"Excuse me?" She fisted her hands on her hips.
"You need a keeper," he growled as he passed right by her into the house.
Indignation warred with her headache as what was foremost on her mind. "A keeper? Just who do you think you are?" she demanded, following him into the kitchen.
He whirled on her. She took an involuntary step back when she saw the raw anger on his face. "I'm going to be your husband in a few short days!" he snapped. "And by the looks of it, you've run yourself into the ground! Now, where do you keep the medicine?"
Beatrice tried to articulate a sentence, but nothing would come out. Gunner let out a sound of disgust as he went through her cupboards. He found what he was looking for. "Now, will you take this like a good girl, do am I going to pour it down your throat?"
A part of her wanted to refuse, even to throw him out. But at the moment, he looked angry enough (and she wasn't in the best of shape right then) that he'd carry through with his threat. So she took the bottle from him, calmly poured some into a cup, and then downed it. It tasted awful, as medicine was wont to do. She grimaced. "There, are you happy?"
"Not remotely," he growled, his arms crossed over his chest. "Now, obviously you are in no shape to hash out more of the details tonight. I'll be taking the guest room like I did the other night. You, are going to go to bed, alright?"
Beatrice threw up her hands in frustration, then stomped up the stairs. She was angry enough that she doubted she would sleep, but soon after her head hit the pillow, she was out.
It was about half an hour before her door opened quietly and Gunner padded in. He hadn't slept much the night before so had planned on passing out in her guest room for a bit. But he wanted to check on Beatrice. He smiled as he looked down on her while she slept.
He sighed softly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hope one day you'll trust me," he murmured before turning and leaving, making sure to be very quiet so she could sleep.
