He wasn’t the first to tell me. “I suppose I was jealous of my brothers too. My elder brother because he was always in her favor and my younger brother because he could do no wrong.”
Galen seemed to contemplate it, then said, “I think I had a sister once, younger than me. I don’t remember much. Bright red hair is all.”
“She didn’t come here with you?” I asked.
“No, too young, I suppose. Perhaps she couldn’t fetch a good enough price.” He fell silent. I waited for him to continue, but he didn’t, so I picked up the thread of our conversation.
“Anyway, my mother sent me here because I’d been… behaving badly,” I said.
“A walking scandal,” Galen said with a grin.
“You read the daily scrolls?”
“No, Your Highness, I can’t read, but some of the others can. We weren’t supposed to have them, nothing that could link us to the fae realm, so we had to smuggle them in. My favorite stories are always the ones about you.”
Well, that was one good outcome from the incredibly libelous stories written about me. “My mother was worried about my reputation, so she sent me here, and at first I didn’t like it, but now, I rather do.”
“Lord Vasil seems a little grumpy, no offense.” He peered up at me sheepishly.
“None taken, and he is, at times, but he’s also incredibly generous and good-hearted. I mean, look at the care he’s provided to you, even after trying to kill him.”
Galen nodded, looking forlorn. “I wish I hadn’t done it.”
I sighed, feeling the echo of his regret. “Me too, Galen.”
“Still, I’d rather you let me go.”
“I’m sure you would. But you know the condition for that.”
He sighed with misery. “To be honest, I wouldn’t let me go either.”
“Don’t lose hope, Galen. You can still make things right.”
He shrugged, looking doubtful. “Is that why you’re mad at your mother? Because she sent you here?”
“No, I’m happy she sent me here. It’s because now my mother wants me to marry some other noble, an old man who’srather stuffy and arrogant in my opinion, and I’m upset because she’s always doing things like that.”
“Like what?” Galen asked.
“She wants to control me, to run my life and determine my every next step. I feel as though I have no agency with her always interfering.”
“You could run away,” Galen said. “Disappear to the Northern Realm where no one would ever find you.” His wistful sigh made me wonder if he’d fantasized about that himself.
“But I have duties, you see, ones that I enjoy, and I don’t think I’d be successful at hiding. I’m rather conspicuous. And I really don’t like the cold.” I recalled then my ex’s parting words to me, that he hoped my mother would ship me to the Northern Realm where I’d freeze my nuts off and my dick would never get hard again. I smiled at the thought of him, his fiery, take-no-prisoners spirit. That minotaur surely had his hands full.
Galen smiled in return, revealing a row of slightly crooked teeth that looked as if they’d been blunted, another sign of abuse since fae teeth were naturally pointy. I played the queen at last, which earned me enough hammer points to forge an axe and win the game. Galen laid down his hand to reveal a unicorn, the card with the highest point value of the set.
“Why didn’t you play that one? You could have won the game.” Perhaps I’d not explained the rules well enough.
“I know, but I liked it. It’s my favorite card.”
“Have you ever seen a unicorn?” I asked him.
“No, but I’ve always wanted to. I’ve heard they are beautiful and rare.”
“And extremely aggressive. They delight in using their horn to spear flesh. Or so I’ve heard. You’re not supposed to approach them.”
“I wouldn’t dare. But back to your mother, Your Highness. If you like living here with Lord Vasil, then I wouldn’t give up so easily. Sometimes you have to fight for the thing you love most.”
