Change of Heart

By: xXBeetle of DestinyXx.

Challenge: Lady Mage's March Challenge

Rating: K+

Summary: Written in response to Lady Mage's March Challenge. Aly is worried about Dove and her impending marriage. She always does what is best for her country, but does she ever take into consideration what is best for her? Oneshot.

-

Dove slowed Kypry to a walk. The large stallion pranced a little and shuffled his wings as his rider chuckled. Aly smiled at her friend as she slowed her own brown mare to a walk. Her brown mare snorted indignantly and watched Kypry.

“You better watch yourself Kypry,” Dove laughed. “It seems that you have an admirer.”
Kypry snorted in response and arched his neck, doing his best to show off.

Aly grinned and shook her head. “You have no idea how hard it was to escape the palace without some admirers of our own.”

“Why? Were there more than usual?”

“As soon as I mentioned that we were going out to the meadows I had your man Taybur trying to convince me to bring half of the Queen’s Guard. Not to mention every servant or slave in the building. Even Chenoal offered to come along.”

Dove scowled at Aly, her small hands clenched into fists around her reins. “How many times must I tell you not to call him my man?”

“Not enough, obviously,” Aly grinned. “This place seems nice enough.”

Aly was pointing to a meadow to the left of the trail that they were riding on. The ground was covered with a thick covering of downy grass, and there was a clear pool in front of the trees that lined the bottom of the meadow and two other sides. Dove guided Kypry into the meadow without bothering to reply. She was still angry.

As they dismounted and flopped onto the grass, Aly attempted to start up a conversation again. “How has your week been?”

“Horrid, being the queen of this place is a lot harder than it looks,” Dove grumbled as she pulled her boots and stockings off and set them on the grass beside her. “There are so many people that I’m expected to please and so many people that want me to do the exact opposite of what the others want me to do.”

Aly smiled at her friend and took off her own boots. “Have you ever thought of doing anything for yourself?”

Dove stared at Aly as if that was one of the silliest questions that she had ever heard. “Like what?”

“Oh, I don’t know. You could take a break from court, go and inspect your summer estates. Or you could spend some more time just relaxing. The god’s know that you need to.”
“I’m not that desperate,” Dove said as a small frown creased her brow. “It’s just the conservatives and their staunch beliefs are driving me up the wall.”

Aly watched her friend for a few moments before she spoke again. What she was about to say was probably verging on treasonous but Dove had told her that she was allowed to speak her mind. “Have you ever considered finding yourself a flock?”

Dove jumped. “A flock? I have my friends and my family and-”

“No, I mean a flock of your own. Like Nawat and me.”

“Nawat and I,” Dove corrected from habit.

“I meant to say that,” Aly replied before she realised that Dove was trying to distract her from the topic at hand. “Now stop dancing around the subject and answer me truthfully like the queen that you are.”

Dove fidgeted and played with the hem of her blouse. Finally she whispered her answer. “Sometimes.”

“Sometimes?” Aly asked.

“Well. Sometimes I will dream about having a husband and a family,” Dove admitted. “But then I will look at all the other women at court and realise that no one would want me for anything but status. You know, whoever I marry will be king.”

“Does that really matter?”

“Of course it does,” Dove growled, her expression turning sour. “I have to please everyone with my marriage. I can’t just marry for me; I have to marry for the country. I have to marry for the whole of the Copper Isles.”

Aly sighed and lay back on the grass. Her eyes shut tight against the suns glare. “That can only be true if you believe it yourself.”

Dove bit her lip to stop the flow of words that she so dearly wanted to shout at her friend. Did she really believe that her marriage was not hers to decide?

-

Four months later.

A soft knock on the door woke Aly from her sleep. Her back and shoulders felt stiff as she sat up, though that was her punishment for sleeping at her desk. She yawned, stretched and went to answer the door.

Dove stood in the doorway, her eyes over-bright. “Can I come in?”

Aly blinked in surprise but opened the door for Dove. As soon as she was inside Dove shut the door and turned the key in its lock.

“I want to take up your offer,” Dove continued before Aly could speak. “I think that an inspection of my summer estate is long overdue.”

“Is there a reason behind this sudden change of mind?” Aly frowned. It was very unlike Dove to be so impulsive.

Dove’s expression turned sour in an instant. “Must I have a reason for everything that I do?”

“Of course not,” Aly replied hastily. “I was only curious.”

“And I am only bored. Do you want to come with me?”

“I am your spymaster,” Aly grinned. “Who else are you planning on bringing?”

Dove pulled her small hands from her pockets and began to count out the people she intended to bring on her fingers. “Chenaol, Duchess Winna, Boulaj, Fesgao, Vitorcine, Yoyox, Olkey, Atisa, Quedanga, Ysul, Duke Nomru, Nawat of course, my personal graurd will insist on coming aswell. I’ll be lucky if I manage to get away without half the army following me. That’s all.”

“You’re sure about that?” Aly asked with a roll of her eyes.

“Of course,” Dove said automatically. “And Taybur too.”

Aly let a crooked grin settle on her face and quirked an eyebrow. “So you’re bringing your man along?”

“That’s unfair Aly,” Dove groaned. “He is the captain of the Queen’s Guard. He has to come.”

“So you aren’t going to be bringing any suitors along?”

“Since when did I have any suitors?” Dove shot back.

“Since you became-”

Dove held up a hand to interrupt Aly, her eyes held a fixed look of determination. “We have had this discussion many times before, my dear spymaster, and each of them has turned out rather the same. I really must get going though, I have a state meeting to attend.”

“Yes your majesty,” Aly mocked. “Please excuse little old me, but I have a letter from your sister for you.”

The change in Dove’s expression was sudden and shocking. One moment she was trying her best to seem infuriated, and the next she was stood before her spymaster, her eyes pleading.

“It arrived this morning,” Aly grinned as she gave in and handed Dove the letter that she had pulled from a draw in her desk.

Dove’s hand shot out to take the letter before Aly changed her mind, and in that moment Aly noticed the difference. “You’re wearing an extra ring Dove.”

“So?” Dove’s answer was defensive. It was as if she had been caught peeling the icing from one of Chenoal’s cakes.

“Where is it from? It looks expensive.”

“It’s a gift from one of the local lords,” Dove shrugged. Her eyes flickered to the door and back, as if she longed to escape. “He said that it was a thank you for saving the Copper Isles.”

“Right,” Aly smiled. She did not believe Dove’s story one bit. “You should probably get going or you’ll miss your meeting.”

Dove thanked Aly for Sarai’s letter and hastily let herself out of the room. Aly stood to lock the door behind the young queen. Dove’s reaction had made her curious. Why would she be so nervous if it was only a gift of thanks from a local lord? And if it was a gift from a local lord, why did it look so expensive? It was of a simple yet beautiful design. It was composed of a gold band, moulded to look like a vine, the two ends of the vine trailed across a small diamond and two inset emeralds. Craftsmanship of that quality would cost a small fortune.

Aly stared upon the courtyard for a moment. Dove had been acting strangely for a while now, she could almost be described as secretive. Dove had made one crucial mistake though. Aly was the realms spymaster, and the only thing that spymasters live for are secrets.

She was about to step out into the courtyard when someone caught her eye. Taybur Sibijat, captain of the Queen’s Guard, sat on the rim of a fountain in the middle of the yard. He wore his usual uniform but he had an extra edition, a small silver ring on his right hand.

Aly watched him for a while. Every so often he would scoop some water from the fountain with his hand and watch it through his fingers. Just as Taybur seemed ready to leave, someone called to him from the shadows. Aly watched as he ran across the courtyard, arms outstretched. The person in the shadows came forward to meet him, her black hair shining in the midday sun. The person wasn’t just anyone either.

The person was Dove.