Her Protectors, Their Love

Yvette could hear their footsteps following her as she walked towards the great hall. The closer they got, the louder the noise. Inside, her whole family and many of the nobles from their kingdom and other kingdoms still friends with theirs were there. Her sisters were walking about in groups together, gossiping as usual and her brothers all flirted with the nobles daughters. Maids and Butlers walked about serving food and answering everyone’s orders. The guards all walked the perimeter of the room, talking to one another occasionally but were for the most part quiet. The youngest children all ran after each other. She sighed as she stood in the door way, scanning the room. She was startled when she felt a hand rest on her lower back, pushing her forward. Cameron spoke quietly, “Princess you can’t stand at the door all day sweetheart. Go in. We’re here. We’ll be watching you.” She turned and gave them a frustrated look.

“I didn’t know ALL these people would be here... I’d rather be in my bedroom. Or in the gardens. Can’t I just leave?”

They all gave her small smiles and John now pushed her forward again. “Your mother is walking over here. Too late. Go say hello.” They walked away from her towards the other guards and she turned and came face to face with her mother.

Angelica was a kind woman, no older than 40. She was quite beautiful for her age, still the most beautiful of all the kings wives. She had been the first to marry the king and had given birth to 3 boys before giving birth to Yvette. Yvette was the oldest of all her sisters from her mother, her mother had given birth to one more boy and 2 more girls recently, twins. Her siblings through her mother were the only ones she truly trusted in the castle besides Mal, Cameron, Patrick and John. Her brothers, one of whom was Edward and the heir to the throne being the first born male, had always sought to protect her. Her younger brothers and sisters looked to her for play and comfort. The twins sometimes called her “Mother” since their real mother usually had no time for all of them. Not that she didn’t love them, for her heart was biggest when it was for her children, but as the first of the wives she had more responsibilities than the others. “My sweet child,” she said, reaching out to pull Yvette into a hug.

“Hey mum. I haven’t seen you since the day you came back from that trip with my father.”

Angelica sighed, pulling away from her daughter and holding onto her shoulders as she studied her. “Yes... I do regret that it is true. How are you princess?”

“Fine I suppose. I wish I could--” Yvette was interrupted by the sound of a horn, she turned towards the great doors as her father entered, followed by his guards and servants. As the whole room bowed to him, Yvette included, he laughed raising his arms as if her were hugging the room.

“Welcome friends and family. Eat and enjoy.”

They watched her King Argon go straight to Edward who was busy talking with he and Yvette’s birth brothers and pulling away, towards some nobles. “Poor Edward... He never gets to relax,” Yvette said, crossing her arms in front of her. He mother pulled her arms apart with a kind smile.

“Don’t cross your arms like that dear, gives off a negative aura....”

Yvette smiled and kissed her mother on the cheek. “As you wish. I’m getting some food okay? I... love you mother.”

Angelica smiled, kissing her daughter’s hand. “And I love you.”

~~~~

As Yvette carried her 5 year old twin sisters, Gigi and Gia, around the room, talking to the guests, she would quietly look around for atleast one of her guards. Usually she found them talking with Endora’s guards, who they were all good friends with. They always smiled encouraging her to continue small talk so that eventually they could sneak her out of there and give her the freedom she wanted.

Gia and Gigi squeezed her cheeks as she set them down on the floor. “No!!!” They both cried in unison as Yvette got back up.

“Stop you silly bugs. I can’t carry you all day. I’m not as strong as the guards you know.”

Gigi, grabbing hold of the hem of her dress, shook her head. “But we want to stay with you mother. Please don’t go....”


Yvette sighed, kneeling before them. “Look, mother is here and if she hears that you’ll break her heart. Secondly, I PROMISE tomorrow we can play in your bedroom. I’ll make some time. Just go play with the others now. And remember that if you need me I’m here. I just need some rest from you two now. Okay? I want to talk to Edward for a while. Remember our brother?”

Gia pulled on Gigi’s hand, tears running down her small cheeks. “Okay....” Yvette laughed and pulled them into a hug.

“Stop pouting. Go bother Patrick or John, they’ll probably carry you a little while if you ask and you can talk to the guards okay?”


They ran off, delighted that Yvette had given them permission to bother the guards they loved to bug the most. As soon as Yvette got up she spotted Patrick and John, fully aware why the twins were running towards them. They gave her a look that promised she would be punished for bringing this upon them. She smiled slyly and walked away, looking for her brother.

~~~~

She found Edward with a group of their brothers from the other wives. The moment he saw her he stopped the conversation and excused himself to speak with her. “My adorable little sister, how are you this morning?”

Yvette laughed as her brother cupped her face and kissed her forehead. “I’m okay. How are you? You spoke with father and the noblemen....”

He led her away from the other’s towards a balcony overlooking the gardens. “You know about the problems we have been having... there is an uprising coming we are sure of it. Now it is only time to figure out exactly from whom... and we fear some of our own people will be involved. No one is to be trusted.” He leaned against the railing, studying Yvette as she played with her hands. “Don’t worry. I doubt your men have anything to do with it. How are those four by the way? Still fighting over who gets a go at you?”

Yvette kicked her brother on the knee, causing his to jump on his good leg and laugh, “Still a good kicker I see.”

“Shut up will you? Let’s not mention the fact that I’ve seen countless females in and out of YOUR bedroom.”

“Hey... not ALL the females. You know none of our brothers will sleep with Lorena.” Lorena was a maid who slept around quiet frequently with guards, none of Yvette’s however. Atleast not since they had all started sleeping with her. But that was not the reason the princes didn’t sleep with her.

“She’s probably our sister Edward, you know that. It’d be wrong for one of you to sleep with her.” Lorena’s mother had been a maid in the castle before she died as well and she had been rumored to be sleeping with the then Prince Argon, now King. When she had given birth to a girl with no husband it had been a huge scandal and everyone assumed the King would send her away. He hadn’t, but also did not allow Argon to take her as a then 3rd wife either. So now Lorena was only a simple maid and the only way she could feel power was by sleeping with guards.

“She is.... Well I must go, Father wanted me to meet him in the throne room.” He pulled his sister into a tight hug. “Eat a little more sister, you’ll be skin and bones soon I swear it.”

As he walked away Yvette laughed, “But all I ever do is eat!” When Edward was gone from her sight she looked back over the gardens, wishing she was there.

She turned back towards the castle to head inside and in front of her stood Mal with the same goofy smile he always had. “Meet me in the hall,” he said simply, leaving the balcony. She smiled and counting to ten then left the balcony, swiftly walking through the crowd of people so that no one would stop her for a chat. She could see out of the corner of her eyes Cameron, Patrick and John’s annoyed faces, already aware she was leaving with Mal. As soon as she got in the hall she felt his arms sweep her up, close to his chest. She giggled, expecting him to carry her towards her bedroom but inside he carried her towards the doors to the gardens. “Oh! Yay! God I love you!”