A young boy, one long cowlick curling straight out the top of his head, pokes his messy red haired head out through the dog hole he'd discovered long ago in his adventure time. Ignoring the frantic calls of the maids who were searching for him, he wiggles his round little butt out of the bramble, small arms and legs pumping to propel himself forward.

He turns around and pulls at a raggedy white bunny doll that was tangled in the bush behind him, the soft long ears flopping around as he hugs it to his chest.

"Time to find Mama!" He says brightly, nose and cheeks pink from the exercise. With a hop in his small steps, he wanders off into the castle.

——————————

"Sire, the wedding guests have begun to arrive."

The head butler stepped into the study, back straight, awaiting his King's instructions. The stream of servants, nobles, and ministers seemed to be gradually increasing, every day Sera spent at Lucien's side. The Minister of War, a grizzled old general, coming in for a consultation on the army budget.

Icaros was gone most of the time now, off training who-knows-where.

A King's wedding was an extravagant affair. Even before the wedding preparations were finished, the rooms in the castle were prepped and ready, dusted and aired for the nobles and visiting delegations from the neighboring regions.

Sera couldn't help feeling bitter jealousy as she helped with the preparations, organizing the lists of rooms and names in her seat next to Lucien at his desk. Today, she was dressed in a gorgeously crafted deep blue dress, tiny walnut buttons lining the front of the dress, with a cinched in corset and swooping balloon sleeves. Day by day, the dresses seemed to get more and more extravagant. The technical craftsmanship was superb. But as a girl who was used to wearing jeans and a t-shirt, she couldn't tell for sure. Hilda hadn't given her a clear answer when she asked, hemming and hawing, and finally trailing off into silence.

Sera didn't know, that over the 5 years that she was gone, Lucien had been amassing a huge wardrobe filled with dresses of every color and shape. For every spring missed in Thornmere, there was a collection of spring dresses. For summer, dresses, hats, and riding clothes, and so on. The cost of it altogether was enough to buy a country. The money for these things came from the spoils of war that Lucien had earned himself. These clothes and accessories were being gradually added to her new closet installed in Lucien's room. Every morning since the challenge, frothy skirts, round white pearl necklaces, and ribboned shoes laid on the bed and over the chair and hanging on a hanger, waiting to be picked out.

It was always an awkward conversation in the mornings. Hilda would enter the King's room with a few other maids that quietly murmured as they helped Sera take a morning bath and dress.

She knew they would talk about the lovemaking marks all over her body later. The red marks were now blossoming all over her inner thighs, not just on her neck and chest. Daily, they were increasing. Sera didn't know what her back looked like, but she knew there were marks there too, judging by the gasps she'd heard when she turned to was he back in the bath, attended to by the maids. Lucien was taking her with gusto every night. They even slept together in the King's chamber now, together on the bed, instead of Sera being next door. She hadn't bothered to protest. Some mornings, she would wake up early and feel Lucien's hard, toned body spooning hers, surrounded by his warmth and scent, and feel so secure.

This morning, a rose-colored upholstered chair was a new addition in the King's study. It sat dwarfed by Lucien's large leather chair, and Sera hadn't noticed it at first, moving to stand on the side next to Lucien's chair as he sat.

"Not there," Lucien had said, frowning, standing up and pulling out a chair on the other side, waiting for her to take a seat. Arranging her skirts and taking a seat, Sera was surprised that this chair, neatly arranged in front of the King's desk, fit her petite frame perfectly.

"Shall I prepare the receiving chamber for their greetings, Your Majesty?

Lucien once again pushes up the aggravating gold-rimmed glasses that constantly slip down the bridge of his nose. He had perfectly good vision. The reason he put them on was to keep himself focused on finishing the tasks before him, instead of repeatedly stopping himself and failing from having his sight drawn to the beauty next to him.

"That will be unnecessary. Lead them to their rooms"

Waving the butler off, he focuses on reading the report laid on the table.

Taking out a handkerchief from his waistcoat, the smartly dressed butler lightly pats the sweat off his forehead

"Sire, it is customary for the King to greet noble guests in the receiving chamber."

"Well, that custom will change from today." Lucien doesn't look up as he crosses out something and pauses, contemplating as he writes with his feather pen.

The butler bows and exits the room.

The doors burst open as Lois enters the room as soon at the same time the butler exits.

Lois, brows furrowed, gives a short curtsey to Lucien.

"Sire, one of my patients needs Miss Sera's help. It is a matter of utmost importance."

Giving a short nod, Lucien turns to Sera,

"You can go"

If Lois hadn't come herself to ask for help, he wouldn't have let Sera go. It was getting too dangerous within the castle with all the new faces arriving. With Lois here, Lucien knew it was a real emergency, and Sera was needed. Although she often denied it herself, Sera was a skilled healer, able to make split-second decisions and provide new methods of healing that had never been seen before in Thornmere.

"I need you to come with me." Lois calls to Sera, and marches out, cane staccato tapping against the floor, Lois moving as fast as her old body can allow.

"Haaah"

As the doors close behind them, Lucien rubs the space between his brows again, taking off his glasses and dropping them on the table. The chair creaks as he leans back, head against the back of the chair, arms trailing off each side.

He pats the chair next to him where Sera had sat, sliding down to the floor and eventually pressing his face into the upholstered fabric, taking deep breaths of her scent. He missed her already. Rubbing and pressing his cheek, his nose, his lips, he focused on the vestiges of Sera's presence, feeling her warmth fade from the chair. The fingers gripping the arms of the chair curled, making the wood groan in his grip.

"Follow them"

He speaks into the empty room, voice muffled by the chair's cushion.

A short pause, and a voice curtly responds out of nowhere.

"Understood."
————

Sera hurriedly follows behind Lois, ignoring the whispers and sideways glances shot her way. With more nobles arriving at the castle, there were more ears and lips eager to hear gossip. Everyone knew she was Lucien's mistress now. Fawn hadn't wanted to talk to her when she'd last seen her during supper.

"What's the patient's status?" She asks, different scenarios running through her mind as she gets the general gist of the situation from Lois.

The two women both don't notice a small figure hiding behind a vase in the hallway. He jumps out after they were long gone, only the faint breeze in the hallway showing that they'd passed him. He tilts his head, looking at the bunny whose ear flops to the other side, tilting it's head back at him.

"What should I do, bwunny?"

Leo was good at hide and seek. There weren't many games you could play with a maid inside a cottage. Hide-and-seek had become the go-to game for these maids, taking the time to take a short break while the little boy hid in a cabinet, giggling.

This time too, no one noticed a small dirty boy with leaves in his hair, holding a tattered doll, hiding in the shadows of a large decorative vase.

He looked like some servant's lost child.

Naturally, they wouldn't notice that this boy was also the young, hidden Prince.

"Mama!" Leo calls, scampering after them.