The Knight's Taboo Ch. 02

"I think that many of us share your sentiment, Sire," Parsee said.

"Now," King Harminus cleared his throat, "let us enjoy this hearty banquet. Once everyone has had their fill, I would like to present my stunning wife with her birthday present."

Soon, the tables and its contents were nearly empty; only a small portion of food remained. And the nobles and the other royals all made way to the dance floor which had been radiantly decorated for the special occasion. Lights bounced from corner to corner, warm glowing lights that almost appeared as miniature rays from the sun, and they all made such a magical glow.

Angels statues adorned the walls along with a few majestic dragon statues, and golden bunting garland banners stretched from corner to corner from the ceiling walls.

King Harminus and Queen Merry had stayed behind at the banquet table so that King Harminus could present to her the birthday gift which he had been waiting to give to her at the perfect opportunity.

"My beloved Queen," King Harminus looked into her eyes, "every year that I spend with you I cherish, and every year, I struggle to make up my mind on what to get you for your birthday. Oft times do I feel that my choices were not the rightfully chosen, however, I do hope that you enjoy the gift which I have brought you."

"You didn't have to go to such trouble," Queen Merry placed a hand on his shoulder, her eyes looking into his with a sparkle. "Simply having you as my sweet husband is enough."

"I still beg that you accept my gift," King Harminus smiled at her and reached to the small burlap pouch tied around his waist and untied the string, removing it. He then opened the pouch and held it upside down above his risen palm and let something fall out.

What had fallen out, was a mostly silver, ruby pendant in the shape of a great fairy.

Queen Merry gasped, but her eyes were further shining.

"Perhaps there will be one day that I find a piece of jewelry, that will perfectly accommodate your beauty, my sweet. But for now, I hope that this will suffice."

"No, no," she excitedly said. "This pendant that you have brought me, it's perfect."

"Then, allow me to place it around your neck without further adieu."

King Harminus walked to behind her. He stood behind her and slowly began to place the necklace around her neck, clasping it by the tiny little lock. And the fairy ruby and silver fairy charm fell, dangling at the tiny cleavage line of her mighty-sized breasts.

"Thank you," she reached a hand behind herself to run a few fingers against his arm, "thank you for such a wonderful birthday. I will treasure the pendant, always."

The band had been waiting patiently for their arrival.

King Harminus walked towards the crowd of eager dancers and went over them. "If there are any who are among, whom desires more drink, please help yourself to any of my fine spirits. You may drink however much you desire, but, this I say: Know your limit. Drunkenness is not something that any of us should take pride in, and more so, I believe it will hinder the amount of fun you can experience on this night."

Parsee started to walk away from the large group after King Harminus had said this: Returning back to the banquet table and refilling his glass goblet until the deep-purple liquid nearly touched the top of the glass, near the brim. He then rose it to his lips and began to drink the wine, his eyes watching the crowd as the band began to play their instruments and the couples began to form for the dance.

His lips were almost trembling with laughter, when he saw Chandler, once again, trying to approach Lady Odette of Ewantia. Parsee could tell by the look on her face, which was much the same as it was moments ago when she had entered the castle walls, was not the most eager of people to have anything to do with Chandler. But still, the romantic-hearted knight was still trying his best to charm her, and it seemed like it was slowly beginning to work, because a fleeting smile was briefly raising the corners of her face, and the smallest of giggles fled her lips.

Parsee's glance had become empty in only a matter of seconds, he hadn't even realized how quickly he had consumed the drink. But, he refilled his goblet once more and again indulged in the nerve-calming beverage.

"You aren't really going to be standing over here all alone, are you?" A sweet, spirited voice asked him.

Parsee came to face his right, and there he saw the beaming face of Princess Abelia, who was quite clearly trying to entice him into dancing with her, by doing a small number of her own that strayed from the dances that Chandler and Lady Odette, and the others were doing.

"Well..." Parsee sloshed the wine in circles in the chalice, his face paling somewhat. "Yes, that was the idea, Your Highness."

"Don't be silly!" Princess Abelia spun towards him in that graceful, slow movemented dance. She practically hopped on one foot towards him.

"Princess, I really must insist against this," he continued to protest when her hands came to reach for him. "I--I really don't know how to dance, and I'm sure this will just end in a complete disaster. I don't want to embarrass myself in such a way, and I certainly don't want to embarrass you in such a way, either."

"Stop being so shy," Princess Abelia took him by the hands, still bouncing around sprightly in soft bounces on her heels and toes. "Maybe all you need is a good dance partner, hmm? And besides mother of course, who else better to teach you how to dance than me? I've been dancing for years now and I think I've become quite good at it. If you do pardon my bragging."

Parsee sighed. He knew that she wasn't about to take no for an answer.

"Very well, Princess," he locked his fingers with hers and finished his third glass of wine, placing the goblet back on the table before being pulled away by the energetic princess.

The Duke was among one of the very small numbers who had yet to partake in the dancing.

He himself was watching everyone from one of the walls, his back pressed against the glass-less window sills of the stone castle. He was watching Marquess Mikhale who, to some small extent, had come out of his shell and had approached one of the older noblewomen and began to dance with her.

The Duke then turned his attention towards Queen Merry, who was still seated at the banquet table, alone and holding her second chalice of wine, eyeing the others with a gentle smile on her face.

The Duke walked towards her.

"Pray," The Duke eyed Parsee who was awkwardly moving around with the laughing and smiling Princess Abelia, only to return his gaze back to the Queen. "What is the story with that one? Pardon me for my ignorance, as well as if I am being too inquisitive on matters that are of no concern to myself, but my curiosity has been intrigued for quite some time now since I have lain eyes upon him, and neither you nor King Harminus has ever told me the story of that one right over there. But...Whenever I visit, I generally see him strapped to your apron, which I find strikingly odd."

Queen Merry cast her gaze towards him. She lifted her glass of red wine to her lips and took a minor sip before returning the glass gently back to the gem-encrusted armrest of her throne. "That is quite all right, your inquisitiveness does not offend me. That one is my son," she answered back quite neutrally.

He looked at her agape; clearly brought to shock by her answer.

"Your son? Do forgive me, Your Majesty, but, even given my minimal interactions and time spent with him, it is plain to even I, that the boy looks very little like you."

Queen Merry lightly flared her nostrils.

"He is my son," she affirmed. "Before I ever met the king, that one was left abandoned on the streets. He arrived at my door-step when I was still living amongst the streets in poverty, and he was two years old at the time. He had a note which rested in the basket he was left in that claimed that his parents would shortly be murdered and that they wished to save him from the same fate. So they left him at a corner and I just so happened to find him that day while my family and I were trying to sell berries to passerbys."

"So his family was killed, then?" Inquired the Duke a look of empathy.

She nodded.

"Yes, that is what I fear. So I took him under my care and I raised him. For a time, my parents pitched in and helped as much as they could...But when they suddenly grew ill and died, it was all up to me. So I raised him all on my own. It wasn't easy of course, but I considered him a blessing from above. When the King took me for a wife, I pleaded with him to let me bring my son into his castle, and that, that was my only requirement to be his wife, and the King allowed it and my son has been here ever since... He was even taken as one of my husband's knights after showing great promise while aiding him on the field."

"So that is why," he hummed. "This is why that one is always around you! You are his mother..."

"I do worry about him at times," she confessed, her eyes drifting off to the sight of the wall while she sloshed her wine very slowly around the carefully crafted cup. "I worry about the treatment the other knights may give him. I know that I shouldn't however, they all must follow a specific code... Yet still, I always have this feeling of worry, like, perhaps...They feel he gets special treatment because he is my son. And maybe that is correct, to a degree."

"You haven't worry with me," said the Duke with a kindly gaze towards her. "I shall treat your son with nothing but sheer kindness. He will get no ill-treatment from me, and I shall always treat him with the utmost of respect."

Slowly she returned her eyes back to him and she smiled. "Thank you for that."

"Oh, I remember the first time I ever saw him lift a sword up, he barely knew how to swing back then. But, he has come such a long ways." Said Queen Merry with a look of pride twinkling in her dark brown eyes.

"He has most certainly indeed become a fine young knight." Said the Duke in agreement. "But there remains one more question that has been lingering in my mind since you made mention of his prowess in battle."

"Which would be?" Queen Merry rose the glass to her lips, her plump pout kissing the glass as she drank.

"As I have said, you made mention of his expertise while on the field, at such a young age. How would one so young, know how to fight so adequately before ever having been properly tutored on the subject?"

Queen Merry sipped on her wine for a few more moments, until at last her lips pulled away from the glass and she lowered it back down to the arm of her throne again, quite carefully.

"It was my father," she explained. "See, I grew up in the slums that most tremble to think about at night. Where crime and the unspeakable came in an unrestrained abundance. My father, having had to grow up in such a life, wished not for Parsee to have to suffer through the wickedness of the slums, thus when Parsee turned five, he began to teach the boy the ways of the sword."

"How would a commoner go about acquiring a sword?" The Duke inquired.

"He was in the favor of a blacksmith," Queen Merry simpered. "M y father had rescued the daughter of a blacksmith when he was in his youth, from a burning cottage that she and her friends were playing in. In gratitude, the blacksmith gifted my father with a brand new sword that he had crafted the prior night."

The Duke gestured her to go on with his hand.

"Parsee was decent with the sword," she closed her eyes, reflecting. "But when my husband took him? I was hardly able to believe how fast his swordsmanship grew within the castle grounds. But, he was never quite good with a bow. Passable, he was, but Parsee's strength lied in his swordsmanship."

"One who cannot protect themselves at long range is one who is a perfect target for death's clutches," the Duke shook his head, tearing his eyes away.

"Your words ring true. But," her simper began to show hints of smugness. "I feel as though there is one who will teach him to master his weakness with the bow."

"Your Majesty," the Duke walked bowed to her."I have enjoyed our time together, much greater than you can imagine. But, I have things that I wish to discuss with His Majesty, among them, one regarding the rebuilding of my army and improving my security. It has been a pleasure, My Queen."

He bowed to her again and then sank into the crowd of people.

Parsee was as drunk as drunk could be; the young knight was practically stumbling around while everyone danced merrily. Cohesive thought forming was a failing mission.

His attempts at dancing were laughable at best; his balance was terribly off, and Princess Abelia was the first but not the last who he had stepped on the toe of; more misfortunes began to follow and he even knocked over one of the fine young maidens who he attempted to dance with after his attempt to dance with one of the maids.

Slowly he made his way through the orchestra of people who were dancing about, and he stopped any further approach when he arrived before his mother, the Queen. He stared at her while he held a half-empty wine glass in his hand, having now consumed nearly his fourth glass, giving her the eyes that she had seen many times before from her husband. And through his drunken haze, he started to smile at her, and then he took a few unstable steps towards her, saved from falling only thanks to her as she reached out to grasp him by the shoulder and pull him towards her body.

"Your eyes..." He peered into her face, hands coming to grasp her by the shoulders; the smell of liquor from his mouth hitting her. "They're more beautiful diamonds... And your smile, there is no equal in heaven, nor this realm. Surely all the fae and all of the angels would weep in envy if they were to so much as catch a fleeting glimpse of your simper."

Queen Merry was visibly shaken by his boldness towards her; it was such a strange sight to see her son throwing such a stream of flirtations at her. But even despite this, she was flushing at the cheeks in appreciation to his words; being hurled such praise on her beauty almost gave her a feeling of melting.

"Your words are sweet as honey," Queen Merry blushed madly.

He began to unashamedly ogle her; his eyes venturing downward as he focused distinctly on the cleavage of her breasts. His lips took shape of a grin that did not go unnoticed by his mother. And he lapped at his lips, enticed by her body in that moment of inebriation and then lowered a hand to his own chest, as if stimulating a visualizing of touching hers but soon let his hand fall back down to his side only to lift it back up and place it back onto the lithe shoulders of Queen Merry and lean forward to her, inhaling her fragrance.

After he had lifted his face from her neck, an action that had Queen Merry's heartbeat thrice speed, he again found himself gazing without distraction into her eyes.

"My Queen...I would like to see you in privacy," said Parsee.

"In private?" She looked at him with faint concern.

"Yes," he answered, hands rubbing right across her shoulders. "I wish to speak to you of a few things."

"Very well," she briefly closed her eyes; shuddering at his touch. "L-let us head to the lodge."

They made their way through the crowded ballroom. It was a difficult task, getting through the merry dancers, who glided in every which direction without care, but they eventually managed to press their way through them and headed towards the knights' quarters while the King was pre-occupied discussing his victory against Falisia.

Queen Merry had found him ogling her every now and then as they walked together; he seemed so focused on her breasts this night. It was something that was uncomfortable, yet she didn't dare call him out on it; he was her son after all. And she did pity him that he had one too many drinks after believing he could stop just after one or two. She didn't wish to further embarrass him...Although there was some doubt he would be able to possibly experience such a thing as embarrassment with his mind being altered by his excess drinking.

When they had arrived in the knights' quarters, Queen Merry closed the nailed twin-doors behind them and walked towards Parsee with a million questions lingering on her face. Parsee, however, smiling like a ridiculous drunken fool who had been smitten by a witch's love spell, had closed the gap between them and reached for the hands of Queen Merry. He grasped them with his own and pulled her towards him until her body gently pressed into his and his face was mere inches away from hers.

Both of their breath took a dramatic increase.

"What troubles you, my sweet Parsee?" She inquired; head softly tilting to the side while she stared deep within his eyes.

"Your scent..." Parsee leaned in close to her; his hands releasing hers and then falling down to position themselves onto her maternal hips. His face leaning forward, his nose just mere inches from her dainty white neck as his nostrils inhaled her again with a loud sniff. "It intoxicates me...So..."

Queen Merry shivered; her teeth chattering and her hands shaking against her form, her body feeling like it was freezing in place and was submitting. "A—are you sure that it is is my scent that intoxicates you...Or is it the alcohol which still runs in your veins?"

Parsee didn't answer her; instead, he leaned forward and he cupped her lips with his own.

Queen Merry was taken aback by the act; her eyes growing wide and her pulse growing faster than a speeding arrow. She would never in her wildest dreams have expected something quite like this.

"What has come over you?" she questioned him, her voice straining to attain sternness, but failing miserably. For the first few seconds, shock had her within its clutches and indirectly allowed him to continue to kiss her. But then she took a step back, forcing their lips to depart from one another's.

"It's true I've been in services not to just His Majesty, but you, yourself, my mother," he said, looking deep into her eyes. "And I know that you have been with me since I was but a boy, but perhaps it has come with my grown age, that I have begun to realize just how beautiful you truly are. It has been such difficulty trying to resist you."

Queen Merry only flushed deeper in the face.

"Then you realize, even now, that I am your mother?" She questioned; her voice slipping into its usual, gentle tone. "Then, that means you realize this thing, that you are doing now, it is not something that can be done. Your words, your eyes, everything, it tells me that there is a great desire that has gained control of you."

"I can't refrain the way that I feel," he stated as he approached her from what little room was between them. And then he again began to touch her lips with his own.

"You mustn't," she protested. Yet, this time, her hands didn't lift up to try and push him away.

"This is something that we cannot allow to be done, Parsee, so I implore you, not only as your queen but as your mother as well, stop what you're doing. I am not yours to engage into such intimacy with... I am--" but the feeling of his lips gliding against hers was slowly befuddling her thoughts.

"This isn't right, Parsee..." She protested through the kiss from him.

Parsee didn't listen to reason; he was fully set on kissing her and he only began to kiss her with deeper intensity while his hands began to travel downward on her sides until reaching a particular spot. When his hands had finally stopped their wandering down her sides, Parsee began to hike up her garment and he slipped one hand underneath her gown where his hand ran upward before stopping its approach and then just descending downward before repeating this motion over and over again.