To Love, Once Again

At the entrance of the Throne Room, Sera stood holding her leather bag. She'd been planning on heading out until someone had called her from behind.

"My Queen."

Icaros kneels before Sera on both knees, head bowed in deep regret.

"I apologize for the hurt caused by the false marriage plan I created. It was supposed to be a cleaner alternative, gathering the chaff in one fell swoop. The marriage was supposed to be a happy surprise. I didn't realize to what extent it would cause misunderstandings between the two of you."

Sera sighed, rolling her eyes at his statement. This was the problem when a man tried to make plans for a woman. Good at seeing the big picture, but missing the smaller, important details entirely.

"In my defense, I urged His Majesty to be more open in his feelings with you..." Icaros trails off as Sera watches him speak, arms crossed over her chest.

Sera doesn't say a word. She lets the long, awkward pause unsettle Icaros, keeping him in his uncomfortable bowed position as a small payback. Finally after what feels like Icaros an eternity, she opens her mouth.

"......I forgive you. But prepare yourself for some payback. Your plan put a wall between Lucien and I." Sera finally responds, allowing Icaros to get up.

Icaros nods with all seriousness. He didn't know what Sera's payback entailed, but he knew it would be painful. This woman that his master loved and thought was a goddess was also a part-time evil genius.

Icaros' heart beats a little faster, nervously thinking of what she would do to him. During the Great War, he'd loved teasing the laundry women a little too much as a pastime. Sera had been the one who would orchestrate small paybacks that packed a big punch. The last time he'd pulled a prank that'd gone too far, Sera had the laundry women wash his clothes in pepper water, making training that day an extremely uncomfortable and embarrassing affair. The payback before that came as a result of his flirtatious character. Two laundry women had found out that he was messing around with them both.

Sera was the one who'd come up with the genius idea of filling his straw mattress with stones and sewing it back up. After many nights spent bemoaning the soreness of his back and body, they'd finally taken pity on him and removed it.

"Thank you, My Queen."

He salutes her and stands up, gesturing with his arm that he would guide her out of the Throne Room. The small squadron of men in Icaros' detail fall in behind them, headed out to the stables to saddle up and be on their way.

"M'lady! Wait for me!"

"Bea!" Sera recognizes that voice and responds in surprise.

Bea scurries into the room, light footsteps echoing down the hallway as Sera prepared to follow that last squadron of knights to their destination. Icaros though Captain of the King's Guard, had remained to lead the group, removing his red cloak to be more inconspicuous.

It was a small punishment from Lucien, to be unable to join the action. Icaros didn't mind, when this was nothing compared to the hurt he'd caused between his master and his lady.

He'd just given Miss Sera a briefing on how the plan would work. There was a list of all the traitors. Icaros had divided them up and assigned knights to arrest each one. As long as Lucien's side had the element of surprise, things should go well. The nobles would be taken to the dungeons for separate questioning, and then tried for their crimes.

They would be setting up a small headquarters in the town square. A few covered wagons in a protective formation, good for mobility and to transport the prisoners to the dungeons to await their trial.

"Where is Leo now?"

"He's safe M'lady. The Elder arrived. With a poof, M'lady! A poof! I've never seen someone do that before!" Bea's voice rises in her excitement. Icaros smiles bemusedly from beside Sera at her antics.

She quickly sobers when the lamplight falls across the other side of Sera's face when she walks forward, illuminating the swelling in her cheek. This was no time to be excited about some magic, no matter how long it was since she had last seen a magician.

"The young prince is in the safest place he could be. He doesn't know a thing about what had happened, though I'd heard from some knights about M'lady and His Majesty going missing" Bea nods reassuringly after catching herself grimacing at the thought of her Lady in danger.

"That's wonderful." Sera gives a soft smile.

Thinking about her son, "Leo must be sleeping right now. I pray this will end swiftly and with the least number of casualties" Sera hoped these things for the future of her son.

For the future of the three of them as a family, she understood that tonight was important. Lucien was protecting his people. Changing the status quo, so that she could stay by his side even if she was Queen.

"I like your new outfit, Bea" Sera smiles, looking at her former head maid up and down.

"Now, don't make fun of me, M'lady" Bea blushes, squirming in her outfit. It was the first time in her life she had ever worn pants, with a boy's hat atop her head with long hair tucked inside.

If Sera hadn't recognized Bea's voice, she might have mistaken her for a squire boy.

"I asked his majesty to allow me to accompany you. Like during the Great War, M'lady. Remember those times?"

"I remember, Bea. Thank you, it helps if you're here with me. "Sera truly appreciated another woman by her side.

"But what's with the clothes in your hand?" Sera felt like she could guess the answer already. There was another set of squire clothes in Bea's hands.

"Yes, M'Lady. The King requested me to prepare this for you while you were packing your equipment. His majesty asks that you wear this too, and hide your hair as an extra precaution."

She holds up a stack of neatly folded clothes a white shirt and dark blue trousers.

"Alright. Let me quickly go change. Come with me, Bea."

"Yes, M'lady"

After quickly changing in one of the private rooms, 2 young boys come out, squires with soft cheeks and thin arms and legs. Sera stretches her legs. It felt good to wear pants again for the first time in a while.

"E-hem"

Icaros and his men leaned against the wall, sharpening their swords as they waited. Sera shakes her head. Men. Always sharpening their swords or polishing their armor. It was the same in her old world, reminding her of her Pa who would always be out in the garage polishing the classic car he'd painstakingly rebuilt. For men, if it wasn't a sword or a car, it would be something else. Sera had the impression that they would develop a fondness of caring for anything that would work as an extension of themselves. Cameras, watches. Gadgets. Weapons. Cool stuff.

"Let us depart, Miss Sera. The men will start arriving at the set locations soon" With all seriousness, Icaros sheathes his sword and turns to Sera..

Looks away. And looks back. After a triple-take his eyes open wide in surprise as he sees the two squire boys before him, while the men behind him loudly cough. Their loud, dramatic coughs suspiciously sounded like they were hiding their laughter.

"Alright, Icaros. Let's go." Sera speaks in a low tone to adapt a young boy's voice.

"I didn't recognize you, M'lady." Icaros quickly fixes his dumbfounded expression and salutes her.

Why would he, when Sera had taken some soot from the fireplace in the room and rubbed it into her and Bea's cheeks. Now they both had a dark 5 'o'clock shadow. Bea even had a small mustache below her nose. The two women now looked like young boys with overactive growth hormones.

"Is it a bit much? I couldn't tell."

"Maybe a little less would help, M'lady." Bea pipes up from the side using her usual tone. It was weird to see the feminine voice coming out of her face with her heavy beard and mustache.

-Pfft!

Bea glares at the black-haired young knight in the back of the group. He was the one who accidentally let out a guffaw.

"Alright." Sera uses her sleeve to roughly wipe off some of the soot, smearing it over her face. That was a little better. She used her sleeve to wipe Bea's face too, removing the mustache and toning down the beard so it was more of a grey shadow on the cheeks.

According to the plan Icaros had laid out for her(he reassured her the Elder had been involved in the decision making as well), Sera wouldn't see who was captured. There was one backup wagon that she rode with a few knights to protect her, and that was it. If any men were terribly injured, she would be called to the location.

Her job was to wait and hope that all of Lucien's men came back safe and sound.