Turn right

Looking carefully in all directions to make sure he is unobserved, the king turns to his right and makes his way toward the portion of the palace that houses the staff. Although he is the sovereign of the entire kingdom and this whole palace is technically his residence, this portion of the building hardly ever sees his presence. Those who live and work here tend to come to him -- not the other way around. If anyone were to see Malcolm walking these halls, it would certainly get their attention and soon become an item of conversation throughout the building.

The clocks on the hallway walls report that it is nearly midnight. The king quickens his pace and makes his way past a number of offices, the kitchen, and storage closets. Straight ahead is the corridor that leads to the quarters of the staff that resides at the palace: maids, cooks, and various aides. The king stops just short of that corridor and opens a door. After looking in both directions, he enters.

The room is dimly lit with a single light. The glow of that light illuminates the bundles of linen that await washing. In the soft light, the bundled fabric has the appearance of soft clouds, and if Malcolm were about 40 years younger, he would have wanted to jump in the piles and play, but frivolity is the last thing on his mind at the moment. He is not alone.

He looks at the young woman standing in the center of the room, with hands clasped nervously in front of her. Agatha was hired as a chambermaid when she was 17, and for the past two years she worked hard for the meager wage that came with the job. She did not complain about the low earnings, however, because she considered it an honor to serve in the palace of the king.

Six months ago she was promoted and became part of the housekeeping crew for the chambers of the king and queen. She was filled with such pride that her hard work earned such a coveted role within the housekeeping staff.

It wasn't long before she attracted the attention of the king, himself. She remembered the first time he spoke to her as he passed by. He asked her name and complimented her on her attention to detail. Agatha fairly burst with excitement as she shared the news with the other chambermaids.

"Are you sure it is your handiwork that has caught the king's eye?" asked one of the girls. "He is known to have much more appreciation for a woman's body than he does for her work."

Agatha dismissed such notions as being the talk of jealousy. She redoubled her efforts to work hard, and the king showed his appreciation with more and more attention.

The royal attention culminated one morning when the king asked Agatha to come into his chambers to discuss something privately. As she followed Malcolm into the bedroom, she wondered what she could have done wrong that might have upset him. Nothing could have surprised her more when, instead of speaking to her, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

Agatha was too shocked to resist. When she caught her breath, she said, "Your Majesty! What on earth --? The Queen will...."

Malcolm put a finger on her lips, cutting off her words. "The Queen will not be back until tomorrow evening," he said. "She is on a good-will tour of the southern region of the kingdom, and I find that when she is gone, I am in need of companionship. Will you serve your king by keeping him from being lonely?"

Without waiting for her answer, the king began to undress Agatha. With a peculiar combination of fear, anticipation, and arousal, she felt the touch of the most powerful man in Mirantia on her bare skin, stroking parts of her body that no man had ever touched. She gave in to his advances and spent most of that day and all of that night in the king's bed, surrendered to the passion of his expert touch.

Since then they have been together several times. Only a couple of their sessions of lovemaking have been in the royal bedchambers. Most have been here, in the linen room, under the cover of nightfall. Tonight, as the king enters the room, Agatha rushes into his arms as she has on numerous occasions, but this time, rather than hurrying to remove the king's clothing from his body, she looks into his eyes, meaningfully.

"What have you found out?" the king asks, gravely.

Agatha takes a deep breath and blinks back tears before answering. "It is confirmed. I am pregnant."