Reggie was scampering over. I groaned I really needed to find something to do with my time now that I wasn’t planning war every second of the day. I thought back to how Jayde had gotten me to sign that damn treaty.
The woman was a master! I never thought that she would sway me as much as she had. Maybe she was too pretty for her own good or was it that fiery personality that had drawn me like a moth to a flame. I had given her everything she wanted without even coherently considering my options. I was such an ass.
It couldn’t have been the kiss. I don’t know what had come over me. Her attitude just begged for control? Did I just want to see if I could do it? I don’t know. There were a lot of I don’t knows when my brain honed in on Jayde. The damn woman wasn’t supposed to affect me the way she had. I was honest when I had said that I didn’t expect us to love each other, but she wheedled through the walls I had in place and I was finding that I was strangely attracted to the head strong, hard bargaining, bright eyed, damsel. I knew I wasn’t a nice king, but I still wanted her to choose me.
How could I possibly think such things? What was happening to me?
“So I have asked Drea to decorate the second guest room. Would you like to sign off on what you would like put into Lady Jayde’s room?” Reggie handed me a list of all the items of furniture they had picked out for the sparsely decorated room. I looked down at the list confused at the multiple shades of blue and green I didn’t know existed, but was apparently going to be in Jayde’s new room, courtesy of our decorator Drea.
“Looks okay to me.” I signed the bottom sheet and got off my butt. I left my office desk contemplating how I was going to get Jayde to actually enjoy her visit in Encante- South. I walked over to the window and looked outside. My office looked over the beach that was in the back gardens of the castle. It was starting to get dark and the sun setting was right over the water. Shades of purple, pink, and gold were covering the sky. The onset of the night sky not yet taking hold, but would be soon.
Jayde would like a tour of the kingdom that was for sure. I had to do the exact opposite of everything that Kohl did except woo her of course. He apparently had done a fantastic job of that. Jayde was clearly smitten with Kohl if her response to him entering her room was any indication. He also seemed to have experience in her quarters if she accepted him into her bedroom without one protest. That told me I had a lot of work cut out for me. The scales were already heavily in Kohl’s favor. I had to do something that would be unforgettable. Hopefully, dad was doing what he could wherever he was and ruining Kohl’s chances with Jayde as we speak. I needed a masterful plan so she could see and be intrigued by all the good qualities I could muster. I had some somewhere.
I wasn’t particularly happy that I had to deal with any of this. I knew this treaty was nothing, but a headache I just didn’t realize how much until Kohl had found Jayde first. Now, I was stuck vying for a woman’s attention that should already have been enamored with me four years ago. Oddly enough I knew if it was any other girl I wouldn’t need to try. Oddly enough if it was any other girl I wouldn’t have tried to even entice the girl to pick me. There were other ways to gain rule over Encante.
I walked to my intercom and called for Reggie to come back. “I need you to write up a list for me.” I said when he finally answered.
“Will be there in one moment, your highness.” Reggie answered obviously flustered.
Just as he promised he rushed into my office and closed the door behind him.
“Good, we need to brainstorm.”
“About what?”
“Lady Jayde of course.” He nodded and opened a notepad.
“May I tell you about an idea?” Reggie chimed in. I shrugged and he regaled an excellent idea to do exactly what I wanted.
Kohl
I didn’t have a clue as to how I could make her forgive me. All those things she said she couldn’t possibly believe those things. I was using her? Could she really believe that? Could she not see that I was in love with her? Could she possibly think Shawna was anywhere near the same league as she was?
I looked over at the other men arguing again about how long they thought this treaty would last. They were in astonishment when I told them what Jayde had accomplished in such a short time. It took her a few hours to get a treaty, I had been fighting with Sy about the same thing for two years with nothing lasting more than a few days. Hell it was usually over that night! Maybe it was a good thing Jayde was around because Jayde had found Sy’s weakness and was getting all she could out of him.
My thoughts had just circled back around and they were back to Jayde. This meeting was a lost cause, I wasn’t going to hear a word of it when I knew Jayde was so close by and so upset with me.
“Your majesty?” Someone said drawing me out of my thoughts.
“Yes?” I said trying to pretend I was actually listening to the disagreement.
“Do you think we should take a vote?”
“Let’s talk this over a little more. We can take a vote later on.” I said hoping to figure out what the vote was about.
“I feel that I have made my point crystal clear. I don’t trust this. We can’t expect to just move our soldiers and then he attacks like he always does.” His face was starting to turn red.
“I’m not saying that we remove everyone, I say we show some faith and loosen our reins on the borders.” They all seemed to contemplate this idea.
“How many would you keep at the borders.”
“How many do we keep there now?” I asked trying to remember the specifics of the ever changing numbers around all the borders of Encante-North.
“Fifteen on land and ten in the water.”
“How about we just half that. Five in the water and 8 on land. Shall we vote?”
They agreed and within a few minutes I was signing the new plan and finished with my meetings. Not like I could take any more of these meetings today when all I could focus on was Jayde. I walked into the hallway to see her walking down the stairs with Isadora. She looked up and then went back to what she was doing.
“Hello, what are you lovely ladies up to today?”
Isa looked up and curtsied as best she could standing beside Jayde on the stairs, “We are practicing Jayde’s walk for her coronation in her shoes.” I looked at Jayde’s feet. She must have picked the tallest heels in existence.
“How can you walk let alone stand in those?” I asked trying to pinpoint an exact measurement in my head.
“These have a platform so the six inches aren’t as severe.” Jayde said still slowly taking one step at a time. “I just have to get used to it.” I nodded and watched her slowly and purposively take the next few steps. She made it to the bottom of the staircase and slid the shoes off her feet.
“Lady Jayde, we have to practice walking around normally as well.” Jayde rolled her eyes as she slid the shoes back onto her feet.
“Lead the way, Isa.” She said and started following Isadora around the first floor. I looked at their retreating bodies. Jayde looked over her shoulder at me, but quickly turned back to her instruction.
I walked into the library there had to be some way I could make everything up to her. She was going to trust me again. Wasn’t she?
Philip slid into the library right after me. “Your highness?”
I turned around finally acknowledging his presence. “Is something bothering you?” He asked a quizzical yet worried look coming to his face.
“I may have messed up everything.” I said not even bothering to lie to the only person that I could confide in. Philip closed the door on cue.
“What has happened?” He asked actual fear showing in his dark eyes.
“Shawna.” I groaned falling onto the leather love seat.
Philip gave me a suspicious leer before he spoke. “I thought Shawna was out of the picture.”
“I know she is, but apparently she doesn’t understand
that. I don’t even know who would let her in here anyways.”
“She was here?” Philip said his eyes noticeably widening with the news.
“In my living quarters no less in practically no clothing.” I complained.
“Well she is gone?”
“Of course she is gone I kicked her out last night. Philip, who do you take me for?”
“I guess it’s a good thing Jayde didn’t see or we might have--” He looked at my pained expression. “She did?” he practically squeaked. “Is she angry?”
“Angry is not exactly the word more like mistrustful. She thinks I’ve been lying to her and sneaking around with Shawna.”
“Well.” He asked pointedly.
“Well what?”
“Have you?”
“God no, Philip, that woman is the devil!”He nodded in agreement.
“Has Jayde forgiven you yet?”
I shook my head, “I don’t think so and I don’t know what to do to make her forgive me she was ready to leave to Sy’s.”
“This is good, Kohl.”
I looked at him incredulously. How was any of this good?
“The fact that she is upset means she has strong feelings for you. You are winning.” I wanted to roll my eyes I already knew how Jayde had felt, but Philip and the kingdom didn’t know it.
“I’m not winning anymore. Do you know what she said to me?”
“What?”
“She said that Sy may be a horrible person, but at least he is honest about it. I hide and lie to make myself seem better.” I scoffed. “She couldn’t possibly believe that. Could she?”
“I think she said that out of anger.” Philip consoled. “How about instead of dinner you take Jayde out to explore. Show her around, she’s been trapped in this mansion since her arrival.”
I thought about it. It was actually a good idea. “I got to go.” I said quickly leaving the library and looking for Jayde. I stepped into the front hall and found her sliding off those shoes again.
“Lady Jayde.” I said breathily.
“Give us a moment, Isa.” She said not even acknowledging my presence and still focused on her feet and examining the red welts that were present. All that for a pair of shoes?
“What would you like to discuss now, your majesty?” She said it a bit angrily telling me she was still upset with me. She stood and winced, I was at her side and lifting her into my arms before I thought of the implications. “I don’t need you to carry me. I can walk just fine.” She said looking straight at me for the first time. The same iciness from last night still showing in her eyes. “Put me down.”
I obliged regretting not being so close to her anymore. “You’re hurt the least I could do is carry you to your room.”
“I’m fine walking.” She said picking up her shoes and starting slowly towards the stairs.
“Lady Jayde, I was curious if you would have dinner with me tonight.”
“I think I’d rather eat in my quarters.”
“Not here, I meant in town.”
“In town?” she repeated with a hitch in her words.
“I’d like to show you around. This is the first time I’ve been free and you deserve to see all of Encante.” I looked at her feet, that were still red, I imagine from the various straps on her coronation shoes. “We can reschedule to tomorrow if you are unable to walk.”
“No.” she said quickly. “What should I wear?” I smiled.
“Anything you like. You will look lovely in anything.” She blushed slightly at the compliment.
“When will we be leaving?”
“Whenever you are ready.” I said starting up the staircase worried about how much pain she was in.
“Twenty minutes?”she said and started to walk faster.
“As you wish, my lady.”She smiled, actually smiled and quickly flew up the stairs to her room.
“Mission accomplished.” Philip said with a smile at the bottom of the stair case.