Whispers

Andy nodded at her sisters words. “I will” She promised, her eyes twinkling with excitement just thinking of the night before. Not because the king was fantastic in bed, but because of the fact that she had, once again, managed to lure him to bed with sweet words and promises of a bright future. Indeed, the king seemed very keen whenever Andy spoke about their future together. How much she loved and adored him, and how she wished she could give him a son.

Andy had always hated her name. She wished that her parents could have given her a simpler name. Maybe Anne or Mary. Anything but Andrea. But she dared not say so to her father. He already hated her, and she saw no reason for making her life more difficult by making him hate her even more. Instead, she curtsied to her father and left the room. Just as she had reached the other side of the door, which was hidden away from her family's view, she heard her sister and stopped mid step. Her fathers words cut her deeply. She was not sure what had made him so displeased with her. She had done everything he wanted her to do, and she had even gotten invited out to hunt with the king. So then why could her father only ever show any kindness to his younger daughter? Andy firmly shook her head of the thoughts and went to her room to bathe.

Lexi winced slightly at the mention. It was so formal when people called her queen. She still was not completely used to the pressure that came from being queen. As a princess, she had almost been expected to make mistakes. As a queen, a single misstep promised her own demise. Furthermore, a misstep such as losing two of the king’s sons, was a misstep no one would forgive. And no one had. Before she had become pregnant the first time, hopeful whispers about whether she was carrying a baby in her belly had been heard. After she had lost two possible heirs, the whispers had quieted down. Now, they seemed only to be about what curse the poor queen must have over her.

“I suppose.” She considered his question for a moment and then frowned slightly. “Unless the curiosity is what leads you to find things that should not have been known” She said, almost to herself. She was thinking about her own lady: Andy. She had been worried about her. She had been gone from the queens service so often that Lexi had assumed she must be badly ill. When she had asked around, however, all of her ladies had shied away before finally, one had spoken up and told her that the king had a mistress, and that the rumours mentioned Andy. It had been heart breaking. The king had not taken another mistress during their marriage, and it had been a shock to hear. From that moment on, the queen had known that her husband had given up on her.

As Lexi lifted her eyes from the ground and looked at the lord, she smiled slightly. Both of them knew what she was speaking of. Both of them knew that his own sister was the secret that the queen should not have found out about, but did.

“Whispers can be very loud” She stated quietly and glanced back at her ladies. They were whispering amongst themselves, as though to prove the queen’s point.