The Kings Mistress Chapter 172

[ … words ]

Together, they glanced over to Cassandra, then at Agnes.

“They may spend some time in my quarters, but I promise you, nothing will happen between us. Cassandra has made it clear that our relationship is strictly on paper. As for Agnes, I do not intend on engaging with her unless absolutely necessary.”

He returned his gaze to Sierra, “So rest assured, my sweetling. You’ll have all of me, and me alone.”

Before Sierra could even reply to him, Alistair called forward one of his personal servants and informed him that he was retiring for the evening. He was still holding Sierra’s hand as he spoke.

Before she realized it, she was following him out of the ballroom.

“Where are you taking me?” She asked in confusion.

“Remember what I asked you back at the hot spring resort?”

“Yes, about a new tradition to mark our union?”

“That’s the one,” Alistair chimed.

Now that the official ceremony was complete, he did not want to spend a minute more in the ballroom surrounded by others. All he wanted to do was to spend time with Sierra.

“Oh right, Ida,” Sierra stopped in her tracks and turned around.

“Yes, your Grace?” Ida asked, using Sierra’s new honorific.

“Bring me the items I had prepared.”

“Ida, we’ll be in the Rosalia Garden,” Alistair added before continuing on their way.

When they got to the garden, Sierra gasped in surprise. It was a rose garden, covered with bright red roses in full bloom. In the middle of it, was a gazebo with even more roses covering the dome above.

The sweet scent of roses perfumed the air while lit candles guided them towards the gazebo. Alistair carefully guided Sierra down the path and into the gazebo. There was a small table set up for the both of them with a bottle of champagne on ice and two champagne flutes.

“Do you like it, sweetling?” Alistair asked with a smile.

“I…” for a moment, she couldn’t even find the words to express her joy, “I love it.”

Ida showed up shortly after, with another maid following closely behind.

“I had a few traditions in mind,” Sierra confessed shyly.

The first was the lighting of a specially made candle together. Alistair and Sierra each held a white candlestick. Using the matches provided, they lit their candles individually.

“For our union, may the candle light our journey together,” She signaled him to do as she did.

Together, they tilted the candlesticks in their hands and lit a larger candle that was placed between them prior. They allowed the wax of their candlesticks to drip onto it, signaling the formation of their union.

The larger candle was in the shape of a loving couple in an embrace. With the first one down, they placed the candlesticks back on the table as Ida stepped forward with a velvet pillow in her hands.

On the pillow, was a half-opened jeweler’s box with two rings within it. Both rings were made from gold, carved with intricate designs on the outer band. In the inner band, Sierra and Alistair’s names were carved into it.

Sierra picked up a ring and spoke, “With this ring, I promise to cherish you, to walk down the path of life with your hand in mine.”

She carefully fit the ring onto his finger, heaving a sigh of relief as it was a perfect fit. Alistair did the same for Sierra, repeating the words she spoke.

With each new tradition they shared, the smile on Sierra’s face only grew more vibrant. They were now on the final tradition she had in mind. Ida came forward again with a golden cage.

In it were a pair of doves.

“For the final part, we just need to release this pair of doves into the air.”

“What for?” Alistair asked, curious to know the reason for it.

“It represents harmony in our union,” she explained as she handed him a dove.

Together on the count of three, Alistair and Sierra released the doves in their hands, into the air. They looked up, watching the doves fly off into the air in the same direction.

Alistair looked over to Sierra, happy to see the bright smile on her face. He would cherish this moment for life. He picked up the bottle of champagne and popped off the cork.

He poured them each a glass of champagne and handed one to Sierra.

“To our union,” he said as he raised his champagne flute.

“To our union,” Sierra echoed his words as they clinked their glasses before taking a sip.

Sierra had one more surprise for Alistair. She was worried it would not have reached in time, but Ida signaled to her that it had arrived. She had it in her hands.

“I have one more thing for you, my dear,” she said with excitement as she received the surprise from Ida.

She placed it down on the table between them and removed the cloth that covered the surprise. At first, Alistair could not figure out what it was. He didn’t need anything else either.

But the moment he saw the golden cage and the bird in it, he knew exactly what it was.

“This… this is a silverwing, right?” He gasped as he took a closer look.

Sierra nodded with a wide smile on her face as Alistair’s face lit up too. She had explained the importance of the messenger bird to him before. He knew only members of the Bancroft of the family would have one.

They were specially trained to send and receive letters between selected people. Having one of his own meant he would have a direct line of communication with Sierra.

Alistair carefully unlatched the door of the cage. He placed his hand into the cage and the silverwing in it instinctively leaped on, perched on his fingers. He brought the silverwing out of its cage, allowing it to unfurl its wings.

The beautiful feathers shimmered under the moonlight.

“What’s its name?”

“It doesn’t have one. Not yet,” she explained, “You have to name it.”

Looking at the creature in the eyes, Alistair could see his own reflection looking back at him. The silverwing tilted its head to the side as it looked on curiously at the king. It leaned forward, allowing him to pet it on the head.

“Paco, I’ll name you Paco,” Alistair mused as he lifted his hand higher into the air.

The newly named silverwing, Paco, took to the sky. It unfurled its silver feather wings and circled the couple from above.