Page 20 of Untouched Queen by Royal Command

‘It’s a request wheel, my Lady Moriana. You arrive and sit where you will, according to need, and I will see to that need.’

Moriana froze, her cup of tea halfway to her lips.

‘Your brother doesn’t like it,’ Sera added. ‘I think he found the whipping scene somewhat confronting.’

‘Uh-huh,’ his well-spoken sister said with a blush. ‘So he’s supposed to come in and choose his…’

‘Fix,’ suggested Sera. ‘Yes. Having said that, he’s been here exactly once and refused a seat. Perhaps he just needs to get used to it. It saves quite a lot of time.’

‘Uh-huh.’ No more tea for Lady Moriana. She returned her cup to the saucer she held in her other hand and walked a slow, rapt circle around the tapestry. ‘There’s an orgy scene.’

‘Yes. If you don’t mind me saying so, you Arunians do seem a little repressed.’

Moriana smiled faintly. ‘Perhaps. Do you have a favourite scene?’

‘I like reading aloud to people.’ She’d learned that particular skill while tending to the children of the High Reaches. ‘I like spirited intellectual debate and reasoned argument, so I quite like the conversation scenes too. As for the sex scenes…’ Chances were she’d like those too if she ever got a chance to indulge in them. ‘Each to his own, no?’

Moriana hadn’t yet fled the room screaming. This was a good thing. ‘What’s the one with the people standing around the table covered with maps?’

‘Strategy sessions for weighty subjects like war and succession. There is a book to accompany the carpet. I’ve set it aside for your brother, assuming he ever wants to see it.’

‘I could take it to him when I leave here,’ Moriana offered. ‘It might be better presented to him as a curious artefact rather than a working guide to your services.’

Sera nodded. ‘Please do. Would you like to sit?’

‘This…circle…works for me too?’

‘Of course.’

‘So if I wanted to sit and discuss my brother’s marriage options with you, which panel would I choose?’

‘You might choose the panel with the maps. Strategy session,’ Sera offered. ‘I’d get my computer and take a seat within that area also and we’d discuss options. I’d provide refreshments. More tea or cold drinks, stuffed dates or something savoury. We’d plot and plan and consider what we already know when it comes to the monarchy’s needs and preferences. We’d come up with a list I would then consult whenever I have to plan another function or dinner and I would make sure to get the women on that list in front of him.’

Moriana sat where suggested and the world did not end. She took a deep breath and then looked up at Sera with a smile. ‘I love stuffed dates.’

‘Tell me…’ Sera was wholly prepared to woo the King’s sister to within an inch of her life. ‘Do you like them dipped in chocolate?’

---