“No no no no, you’re still slouching, your highness.” It was the same reprimand he had heard a dozen times already. It was getting harder and harder to intentionally defy the Governess’s instructions. Something about the way they had been drilling over the past few days made him want to give in, to just allow himself to move the way he was told. He’d already lost the battle to keep the sway from his hips as he walked, and now it was down to the finer points of “behaving like a lady.”

“This is ridiculous,” Auden protested, “I am a man, why must I learn to behave like a-”

“Am I intruding?” Camdyn asked as he stepped through the door into the entertaining room that had become Auden’s training hall.

Instantly, Auden felt that annoying warmth spread from his core again. Every time this blasted traitorous squire showed up, ever since that first time, that… kiss… his body betrayed him in Cam’s presence.

“Not at all, your Majesty. Her Majesty and I were simply going through her paces on sitting properly, and she was protesting the lessons on conducting herself as a proper lady.”

“Again? My, you are an obstinate one, my Queen,” Camdyn said, approaching Auden and taking his chin between thumb and forefinger gently.

Auden felt his breath catch in his chest and his face begin to heat. “I- well, I-I’m a man after all, I shouldn’t be learning to behave like a lady,” he protested.

“Wonderful, ma’am! You softened your voice perfectly there, just as we practiced!” Governess du Soliel said, clapping lightly. 

Auden felt his blush intensify and folded his hands in front of his face to hide his shame. 

“You’re so cute when you blush like that, Audrey,” Camdyn drew closer, pulling her hands gently from her face.

With her vision clear again she could see just how close he was, feel his breath on her skin, ‘Oh gods,’ she thought, ‘I-is it hot in here or is it just him? ME! I meant ME!’ Her lips felt dry, so dry, and Camdyn’s tongue darted out to moisten his as if reading her mind. ‘Godsdammit…’ She lifted herself slightly on the balls of her feet and pressed her lips to his. Pride as a man be damned, she needed this right now.

Lessons for the day were concluded at that point, while the Queen was given time to clear her mind and gather her thoughts after having them particularly well disturbed and jumbled up.

Auden hadn’t even realized he had, in that moment, thought of himself not only as a woman, but as Camdyn’s woman, his queen. When he caught that thought process some time later in the day, he had chastised himself furiously.

Still, it was becoming harder to resist what his body wanted. To what degree did the body impact the mind? Was the magic that sparked this transformation still at work on his thoughts?

That thought haunted him, and in the coming days between his lessons with du Soliel, he dedicated himself to research in the Royal Library into the history of the King and Queen blades. 

As it seemed, one did have to be worthy to draw the blades from the thrones, and be possessed of the proper temperament to serve in the appropriate role.

‘What does that mean for me,’ Auden wondered, staring into the pages of the tome. He idly lifted a hand to bite his thumbnail while deep in thought, but caught himself. ‘Ah... if I bite it, I’ll ruin the polish…’ he frowned, inspecting the rich purple coating that mirrored his typical attire’s color scheme. He sighed and returned to leafing through pages, settling for twirling an errant lock of hair around one finger instead. 

-=-

“How go the lessons, Audrey?” Camdyn asked one morning as they stood in Auden’s doorway.

“Quite well,” he held his dressing gown closed over his nightgown as he spoke. Though the pair had surely seen each other in less during their time on the road, somehow he felt more ashamed to be seen now by a ma—by another man while not decently clothed.

“Full glad am I to hear it,” he boomed, taking a step to close the gap between them, but pausing when he saw her discomfort. “Ah, but I’ll leave you to make ready for the day. Do join me for breakfast when you are prepared, my fair queen.”

Auden let out a relieved sigh at Cam’s departure. After a moment to collect herself, er, himself, he called out for Serena & Daliah, informing them he was ready to bathe and dress.

Not that he could confide it in them directly, but he had come to enjoy the morning ritual. At first, bathing had been awkward, but now it was a relaxing start to the day. He even enjoyed the simple small talk his handmaidens made as they washed him. 

“You’ll never believe what the king’s gentleman, Marius, said to me,” Serena said.

“Did he finally take up some courage and ask you to accompany him?” Daliah asked.

“Yes! To the Royal Coronation Ball, no less!” Serena and Daliah both giggled giddily and were, for a moment, distracted from tending to their queen. 

Noticing this, Auden found himself drawn into the mirth, and chuckled along with them. “And what of your prospects for my coronation ball, Daliah?” 

“Ah, m-my prospects, your majesty?!” Her face had gone quite red, eliciting further giggles from Serena and the Queen. “Well, there is Jonah, the guardsman…”

“The handsome one you always smile at on our walks?” Auden asked.

“The very same, ma’am…” Daliah returned to her work of toweling off the queen before applying perfume and powders.

“I see,” Auden began, “then I suppose I must go through with this whole ball nonsense after all, lest I ruin your evenings!” He began to let out another laugh before the air was rudely cut from his lungs. He still hated corsets, but they were admittedly necessary to keep his girls under control while participating in his newest lessons, swordswomanship. 

He had of course had lessons and a lifetime of practical experience with the longsword and greatsword in his time as a hero, but a rapier was much different. This was a blade for small cuts and quick precise jabs, not unlike the verbal sparring he had been learning in his classes with the governess. 

It was a truly suitable weapon for a woman like herse— he cut that thought off and shook his head, sending his hair tumbling about. 

“Majesty…” Serena chastised, having to re-gather and restart the braid she had been doing.

“Apologies, Serena… just an errant thought.”

“Thoughts of the King perhaps?” Daliah asked teasingly. 

“I-no! Of course not… alright perhaps from time to time but not just then!” Auden rebuked them playfully, “you two are far too cruel with me, you know!”

All three of them shared in light, bubbly laughter as they prepared her for the day.

-=-

The clattering of a blunt practice rapier against a buckler filled the air as attempt after attempt was turned away by his instructor.

“Good, my queen! You are improving!” The instructor laughed cheerfully, following along with Auden’s attacks. 

“Still not good enough to land a hit,” Auden huffed between thrusts.

“Perhaps you need a better target to aim at,” a familiar voice called out over the clatter.

‘No. Not him, not now…’ Auden grimaced, and his sparring partner pulled away, bowing to his king.

“What do you say, my queen? Shall we spar?” Camdyn grabbed a wooden sword from the rack.

Auden swallowed the lump in his throat. “Yes, m-my king,” he replied, remembering to use the proper form of address for Camdyn while others were around.

“Ladies first, my queen,” Camdyn said with a coy wink.

Auden set her jaw, moving forward in a precise series of thrusts and cuts that he had been practicing intently with his instructor. 

“I believe your sword work has improved from the past, milady,” Camdyn teased.

“Nonsense,” he shot back, a thrust nearly catching Camdyn’s shoulder before he swatted it aside. She grimaced and course corrected, trying to catch him on the back stroke. “You never once defeated me in any of our many sparring sessions!”

“A squire couldn't expect to hold a job if he bested his sworn lord in battle regularly! Especially not if his lord was an esteemed hero!” 

“Are you… saying you let me win?!” He demanded, her feelings hurt a bit. His mind was a swirling mess of combat and revelations.

“Yes,” he brought his practice blade around and deftly sent hers flying, “that is precisely what I am saying, my queen.”

Auden swallowed hard, glancing over at his fallen sword. When he glanced back, Camdyn had him at the blunted practice sword’s point. 

“Do you yield, milady?” He asked in his infuriatingly smooth voice, the trace of a coy taunt behind his words.

Auden sighed and let his arms fall to his sides. “Yes, I yield, my lord.”

“Good.” Camdyn was upon her in an instant, claiming his prize: a kiss of the deepest and most passionate variety.

Auden felt her insides melt. Gods curse this man for his touch and the way it made her feel. It took all her restraint for Audrey to resist deepening the kiss further, and throwing herself at him.

When they finally broke apart, she was left gasping for air, her lips thrumming with the sensation of the kiss, heart pounding so loudly she thought Camdyn would most certainly hear it. 

“Keep up the good work, my queen. You’ve been training quite hard, and I am proud of you.” Camdyn leaned in for a much more chaste kiss, then pulled away. 

She was left dazed in the training yard, watching him go. As the training instructor returned from his “urgent need to take a walk and stretch his legs,” Audrey found one new thought bubbling to the surface. ‘Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to be his queen…’