I made it back to the dorm mansion in time to get a bath, to Sara's and Tabitha's delight, and they helped me get dressed formally. Both maids slipped away when I was dressed and I didn't know where they had gone until the king and Melanie came into the dining room.

Melanie was no longer wearing her professional assistant suit coat and black skirt. She now wore a resplendent red dress that hugged her curves and showed off exactly why she had caught the king's eye. Her red hair was teased into a stylish mass on her right shoulder and made her stand out that much more. The left side of her neck was left bare and even if I didn't have my vigilance technique, I would have easily seen the lip marks and impressions.

“King Rivers.” I said and bowed to him. “Royal Consort.” I said and bowed to her as well.

Melanie's face became as red as her dress and the king laughed.

“Your maids certainly know what they are doing.” The king said and sat Melanie at his side before he sat himself. “I didn't even bother to ask where they could have gotten such a wonderful dress.”

I sat on his other side. “I try not to question the miracles they perform, your highness. I mean, look at me. I grew up in a marsh.”

The king laughed again and lightly touched my shoulder. “It's not where you came from, it's who you are that matters.” He said and looked at the beautiful woman next to him. “As you can clearly see from the woman beside me, she doesn't believe that she deserves my attention.”

“M-my k-king.” Melanie whispered, her face going red again.

“If I did have such thoughts for another man's woman, I would envy you, your highness.” I said and Melanie's face didn't lose the blush.

The king nodded and took Melanie's hand. “She keeps trying to compare herself to the queen and I have to keep reminding her that she shouldn't. She's a different woman, with a different upbringing, and her views on such things is also different.”

“But, she's the queen.” Melanie said.

“Yes, and you are the royal consort.” The king said. “Two different jobs need two different people. The queen doesn't look at you and think that she needs to change herself to fit your personality.”

Melanie opened her mouth to respond and then closed it.

“Did you know what you were signing up for when you accepted the contract?” I asked Melanie as I waved my hand at the kitchen with a touch of magic for them to start serving supper.

“She was fully briefed; but, the reality can be subtly different from the written word and the expectation.” The king said with a chuckle. “I must say that she's taken to her duties to maintain my very hectic schedule with both enthusiasm and expertise.”

“When I can get you to listen, your highness.” Melanie said with a bit of a huff and the king laughed.

“You see? She's already learned to talk back when she needs to. She's amazing.” The king said and the kitchen helper came out to serve him.

The conversation dropped off as we were all served and we ate the meal in silence, as per protocol for a formal meal. Talking with food in your mouth was a social no-no. The three course meal was over fairly quickly and the king sat back in his chair as he gave the end of meal toast. We all drank a sip of wine and the king sighed.

“My compliments to the chef.” The king said to the kitchen helper as she cleared the dishes.

“Th-thank you, your highness. I'll pass it along.” The kitchen helper said and went into the kitchen. A moment later, there was the sound of several pots and pans clattering around and a squeal of delight.

The king laughed. “I almost always get that reaction.”

“Your highness, can we retire to the parlour for a few minutes?” I asked.

“If you have another bottle of that great wine.” The king blatantly hinted.

Hope let out a chuckle as we all stood up. “We have two left.”

“Excellent!” The king said with a big smile and took Melanie's arm to escort her to the parlour.

Hope went to get both bottles and I went up to my bedroom to retrieve the enchanted sword. I waited for a couple of minutes to let the king settle in with a glass of wine and then walked in.

“What's this?” The king asked as I held the sword out on both of my hands.

“It's the magic sword I promised you.” I said and knelt in front of his chair. “I, Lord Drake of Drake's Marsh, do hereby grant thee this sword, enchanted by my own hand, for your practical use.”

Both the king's and Melanie's eyes widened at my wording.

“Practical?” The king asked and I turned it for him to take the hilt. I held onto the scabbard and the king drew the longsword out. The ring of a well made metal sword filled the room and the king admired it. “May I ask what it is enchanted with?”

“Of course. It would be too dangerous if you didn't know.” I said and told him about the protection enchantment, the weight cancelling enchantment, and the toughness, durability, sharpness, and double damage enchantments.

The king stared at the blade as if it was a national treasure. “Please tell me you have somewhere I can test this.”

“My work room upstairs, your highness.” I said.

The king practically ran from the room and Melanie laughed, then she gasped and covered her mouth.

“May I escort you?” I asked and offered her my arm.

She looked like she expected me to admonish her for her outburst and then she nodded and accepted my offer. We followed the king at a sedate pace and we went up the stairs. We could already hear the sound of wood smashing because the door to the room was still open. Melanie let out another laugh as she saw the king, quite undignified and dishevelled, as he stood over the remnants of one of my workbenches.

“This sword... is amazing.” The king said between panted breaths.

“I'm glad you remembered which room was my work room, your highness.” I said and Melanie laughed softly.

The king laughed as well and then bent over to catch his breath. I handed him the partially used healing vial and he took a sip. “Ahh. Thank you, David.”

“If you continue testing the sword like that, you can keep the vial.” I said and he laughed normally.

“I will.” The king said and put the vial into a pocket of his royal robes before he slid the sword into the scabbard.

Melanie tied it around his waist and he somehow stood straighter than he had before. “Your highness, we need to go. The castle staff will be wondering where we've gone.”

“The staff?” The king asked, pointedly.

Melanie blushed a little. “I need to change as well.”

Hope, Sara, and Tabitha appeared suddenly and led her away. The king and I barely had any time to exchange small talk and the professional looking Melanie was back with a small bag over her shoulder.

“Somehow, that hasn't diminished your appeal in the least.” The king commented and Melanie's face went beet red.

“W-we need to go.” Melanie managed to say through her embarrassment.

“Let's.” The king said and they walked over to me. “David, thank you for today.”

“Your highness, it is I that needs to thank you. I never expected you to come here personally to discuss my treatment with the teachers and staff.”

The king smiled and put a hand on my shoulder. “The problem with delegating authority is that it also weakens that authority. If anyone lower than me showed up, no one would have paid attention.”

“It's true.” Melanie said. “No one can ignore his highness when he's in the room.”

“I'm going to ignore such an easy opening to tease her.” The king gave me a smirk. “I hope to see you at my birthday celebration.”

“I wouldn't miss it.” I said and he nodded.

“Melanie.” The king said.

“The invitation has already been sent.” Melanie said with her own smirk.

“Of course it is.” The king laughed and let my shoulder go. “Goodbye, David.”

“Your highness.” I said and bowed. “Royal Concubine.” I bowed to her, too.

The king and his assistant left the room and I heard Hope bid them a good evening as well, then the front door shut and the whole event was over. Two squeals of delight could be heard and when I went out to investigate, Sara and Tabitha were hugging in the hallway.

“Did you see the look on the king's face? He loved our work!” Tabitha asked.

“He loved Melanie, too.” Sara said with a grin. “He couldn't keep his hands off of her.”

“It's so nice when a plan comes together.” Hope said as she came up the stairs. “My lord, that was a brilliant idea to give the king some alone time.”

“It was the easiest way to thank him for coming all the way over here personally.” I said. “I need to change.”

“Leave it to us.” Sara said and Tabitha nodded. Hope followed us into the bedroom and I was quickly changed into normal clothes as they discussed the evening.

“What was in the bag you gave Melanie?” I asked.

“It was the dress and the other piece of snake meat.” Hope said. “Melanie's going to surprise him later with it.”

I chuckled. “He might give me another title for that.”

That made the three maids laugh.

“I have some potions to make.” I said.

“We'll clean up.” Hope said and I left the bedroom to go to the potion brewing room. I had a lot of work to do and I started everything up right away. It didn't take me long to brew up the first part, since that was the simple part. It took a while to finish the rest of the recipe and the first batch was done after an hour. I crated up all twelve large stew pots into twelve cases and I only had 23 more brewing sessions to reach my goal of 10,000 cleaning potions.

I also wanted to make up for the five days I had been away and should have been brewing, so I worked for five more hours and crated everything up. That left me with only 18 more to do and I went to bed quite happy.

The next day was History and Geography with Mage Ridge and she was in a happy mood. Her classes passed by the entire morning before I knew it and it was time for lunch. Vanessa wouldn't let me go to the dorm mansion and took me to the cafeteria. I wouldn't realize why until we stepped into the room. There was a partition around the two Bronze tables, cutting them off from view, and a well dressed blonde haired woman was waiting for me.

“Lord Drake, I humbly apologize for my predecessor's egregious treatment of you.” The good looking woman said and bowed to me.

“It wasn't your fault; but, I accept your sincere apology.” I said.

The woman's tense face relaxed and she stood up straight to smile at me. “I'm very glad. Thank you.” She said. “My name is Robin Lee Jackson.”

It's nice to meet you, Ms. Jackson.” I said. “The king tore up my Bronze card, so I don't know where I'm supposed to eat.”

“That's why I'm here.” Robin said and pulled out a Gold card. “You can eat from the gold or the silver tables. Whatever strikes your fancy.”

“And my maid?” I asked and accepted the card.

“Right after you take a portion, a portion will be sent down to the servant's dining room.” Robin said with a smile. “I also have something else for you.”

I raised my eyebrows at her and she waved at the door. A mage came in and walked over to me to hand me an official document. I opened it and read what it said silently.

“No way.” Vanessa whispered. “That can't be true.”

“The single maid restriction has been lifted for you.” Robin smiled, knowing what that meant. “The new director took it upon herself to send word to your dorm mansion to inform the staff there as soon as the paperwork came through.”

I folded the paper up and tucked it into my bandoleer. “Thank you for letting me know.”

“My lord, it was my pleasure.” Robin said with a huge smile and then she waved at the tables of food. “Please, help yourself to whatever you see.”

_______________

You have a minor choice to make. It won't really impact much, except for those within hearing distance.

A) Tease her. B) Say nothing. C) Nod acceptance. D) Kiss her. E) Invite her to eat. F) Choose two.

Things have been going really well for me, so let's have a bit of fun. I thought. I'll choose two, A and E.

_______________

“You're lucky you waved at the table when you said that.” I responded and the woman's face flushed red as she blushed. “Would you care to join me for lunch? Vanessa usually sits with her friends every day and there's no room for me.”

Robin paused and looked like she was seriously thinking about it, then she nodded.

“Vanessa, I'll see you tomorrow.” I said and Vanessa gave my cheek a kiss before she walked over to her friends and they started to talk furiously.

Robin took my arm and I led her over to the Gold table. There were some very nicely prepared meals and after I chose two for us to share, we went to a table by ourselves and sat. She chanted under her breath as she held onto a necklace and a slight mist surrounded the table to obscure us from view.

“Did you mean what you said?” Robin asked as she started to eat.

“Within the limits of a betrothal contract.” I said and tried the succulent meat on my plate.

Robin took in a sharp breath and gave me a very sexy look. “You do realize that I'm not a mage?”

“I've heard that becoming a concubine as a mage is a social mistake.” I said.

She looked surprised and then turned her head to look at a very blurry Vanessa. “She's already submitted an application?”

“Weeks ago.” I said. “We're negotiating officially during the break for the king's birthday.”

“She's quite bold to accept such a thing.” Robin said and turned back to the table to keep eating.

“It was her idea.” I said and Robin choked. I reached over and pat her back several times to help.

“Th-thank you, my lord.” Robin said.

We finished the meal and she sat back in the chair to look at me, as if she was trying to decide if she wanted to buy what I was selling.

“What's the enchantment in the necklace?” I asked.

“Fog of Obscurity.” Robin said.

“May I see it?”

“I can't take it off. The enchantment will end prematurely if I do.”

I smiled a little and she laughed softly, knowing what I was asking of her. She leaned across the table and gave me a very nice view down her shirt and the necklace dangled close to her chest. I carefully put my hand behind the necklace and almost brushed the skin of her breasts. It made her catch her breath that I was that close.

I pulled the necklace closer and examined the picture on the front of the metal pendant. “Is this a family crest?”

“It is.” Robin said, proudly.

“You can power a crest and you're not a mage?” I asked.

Robin sighed. “My parents were... eager... to have me tested for magic early.”

“I'm sorry.” I said.

“So were they.” Robin said. “I barely did one infusion when I was six.”

I knew what that meant. “Wow, you were powerful.”

“Wh-what?” Robin asked, shocked.

“You were only six and could make the absorption crystal light up to one notch. That's amazing.” I said and her shocked look remained. “The reason I'm sorry is because the testing stunted your magical growth so early.”

Robin closed her eyes and seemed to deflate. “I knew the rumors were true.”

“It shouldn't be rumors. I was the one that exposed the testing crystals as a ploy by the guild to keep a tighter control on the creation of mages.” I reached over and took her hand. “It's too late to worry about what could have happened, though. All you can do is go forward.”

“But, my life could have been so different.” Robin said.

“Mine, too. I could still be back in the marsh. Or dead.” I said and she looked surprised. “I almost died a few times. Instead, here I am and now I own the marsh instead of just living in it.”

Robin took a deep breath and nodded.

I let the pendant go and smiled. “Thank you for having a meal with me, even though we just met.”

Robin smiled back. “I suspect we're going to see each other a lot more, now that you can eat here as much as you want.”

I chuckled. “I'm not greedy. I'll eat what I need to fill me and that's it. I never waste food.”

“I'm glad. I hate seeing food wasted, too.” Robin said and she cancelled the enchantment. The fog faded and the sound of the room returned. “It was nice meeting you, my lord.”

I stood up and took her hand, brushed my lips over her knuckles to make them tingle, and she stared at me. “See you tomorrow.”

“Y-yes, yes you will.” Robin said and walked towards the kitchens. Her hips swayed in her skirt and the cloth was taut across her cheeks. That was surprising, considering it had been loose cloth barely a second before. Almost as if she knew I was looking, she turned to smile at me. I didn't tell her it was curiosity over what she did and not the sight of her backside behind tighter cloth.

I left the cafeteria and debated getting changed before going to my botany class. I decided it was better to change, especially if we were going to be digging into the soil like I suspected. I ran home and successfully avoided three very happy maids with a promise to celebrate properly after school. I changed into casual clothing that was more suitable for working with plants, and ran over to the botany class.

I was sure that Victoria would have several surprises waiting for me.