She needs rest

"Please.... I need to clear my head. I... Thank you."

"Anytime your majesty"

Rienlest stood and went to the well nearby to wash his face, leaving Ethimilee alone on the couch. She couldn't believe what she had just allowed to happen. Or what she had almost said. She had been about to beg him to fuck her. She needed to gather herself and not let this happen again. At least, she knew she shouldn't. What he had done to her had been unlike anything she had experienced with her late husband. She wasn't sure she could really say no to experiencing that again. She put on her panties on and pulled her dress back down. She watched as Rienlest finished cleaning and made his way to the exit. She made a mental note to have the guard stationed elsewhere. As enjoyable as this had been, it shouldn't have happened.

She gave Rienlest a few minutes of a head start and then she left the garden as well. The guard on duty smiled at her, until he saw the angry look on her face.

"M-my lady?"

"Why did you let him in?"

"You looked stressed. I thought some company would...."

"This is my private garden. It is my place to be alone and that was what I needed."

The guard nodded and looked away. With that done, she went to her room to get cleaned and changed. She wished she could spend the day lounging, but she was a Queen and had work to do. She met with her advisers, spoke to the captain of her guards and had her garden's roster changed, and set about making sure that her business for the day was completed as quickly as possible. She noticed Mitri and Lethila talking quietly together but when they saw her, they quickly stopped their conversation. She stopped to talk with her daughters for a short time, before getting some lunch. Oddly enough, she didn't see much of Broden for the rest of the day. She knew he was probably busy with war reports and planning strategy, so she let him be. At least for now it gave her time to clear her head more. Rienlest's help had done much to make her life a little easier, but she still felt like she could use more.

As evening approached, her work settled down and retired to her room to relax. She had stopped by the library and gotten a book to read before bed. It had been a long day and she thought that some light reading would help her unwind. The book was a romance novel. One of her favorites that she had read possibly a hundred times. She started to read it, but had forgotten about an early part where the lady was making love to a man other than her husband. The affair had driven the story of the book, but this particular scene was a little hotter than some of the others. She remembered how much better her half hour with Rienlest had been that any night with her late husband. She slammed the book shut and blew out the light. It was time to get some sleep.