His Secret Slave to Scandalous Queen

Lionel rose more slowly, his eyes still burning. Richard wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then looked at the blood with mild irritation.

"Know your place, Lionel."

"You lied to me," Lionel said.

"Did I?" Richard asked, raising a sarcastic brow.

"Do you truly have no shame?" Lionel demanded.

Richard’s jaw tightened. His cheek throbbed where Lionel’s fist had landed, and his lip was split badly enough that every word tasted faintly of blood. Wonderful. His father would love this.

"The king is your friend," Lionel said.

Richard looked away. The accusation beneath all accusations. Betraying Henry. His Henry. His friend. His brother in every way but blood. "I have nothing to say to you, Lionel," Richard said, forcing coldness into his voice. "If the king wants to have a discussion with me, then fine."

Lionel stepped closer. "You cannot marry her."

Richard gave a short, bitter laugh. "I believe that decision belongs to her."

"If your friendship ever meant anything, you cannot marry this woman."

Richard’s eyes lifted. "Because?"

"You would torture him like this?" Lionel’s voice sharpened "You would let him watch her be with you? You would put our king through that? You and I both know he doesn’t deserve this. You and I know that."

Richard’s face hardened. "Then he shouldn’t watch."

Lionel’s shoulders slumped. "You want to hurt him."

"That was never supposed to happen. That was never my intention," Richard said. "I didn’t know. I had no idea until he told me."

Lionel’s eyes narrowed.

Richard stepped closer, blood still at his mouth. "And he would have told me sooner, wouldn’t he? He would have come to me. He would have said he was losing his mind over some woman from Beaumont’s, and perhaps I would have known then before everything became this fucking mess."

Richard pointed at him. "But you, you told him not to talk to me about it. By the time he did, it was too late. I couldn’t..." He swallowed hard, dragging one hand through his hair. "I can’t..."

Lionel’s fury faltered. "Your Grace..."

Richard let out a bitter laugh, turned away, pacing once. His horse stood nearby, snorting softly, reins hanging loose. "I see no reason why you are angry because she is going to run back to him once she sees him anyway."

"What are you saying?"

Richard’s mouth tightened. His shoulders sagged, and the truth came pouring out. "When I found her, she could speak of nothing but him. She gave me instructions to find him." His laugh was sharp enough to wound. "Not that I did. Not really. That is not the point. The point is, before me, there was him."

Richard lowered himself to the ground, resting his back against his horse’s side. Lionel stood there a moment longer, then sighed and sat beside him in the dirt.

"What is wrong with the both of you?" Lionel asked.

Richard stared ahead.

"Why the same woman?"

A faint smile touched Richard’s split lip. "Excellent question."

Lionel gave him a sideways look.

Richard chuckled, but the sound was miserable. "The first time I fall in love, and I do it with a woman who loves the king." He leaned his head back against the horse, eyes closing briefly. "How pathetic is that?"

"All the women in England..." Lionel chuckled. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Apparently, God looked down, saw every woman in the kingdom and decided, No, Richard. That one. Go ruin your friendship with the king."

Lionel shook his head. The anger between them had cooled. Richard sighed.

"I’m sorry I hurt the king," he said quietly. "It was too late, Lionel. By the time I knew, it was already too late. I couldn’t bring myself to hand her over. It was selfish," Richard continued. "I know that. I know exactly what I did." Richard’s voice lowered. "My heart called and I answered."

Then Lionel exhaled and repeated the king’s words, almost sadly. "Love doesn’t ask why."

Richard turned his head slightly.

"This is a mess, Your Grace."

"I know." Richard looked away. "And I will be the loser."

"You do not know that."

"I do." His laugh was soft and wretched. "She loved him first."

Lionel looked down at his hands. "The king cannot have her. I told him that much. If he loves her, he cannot have her. Not without making a mess of things. A big mess. Bigger than they are now."

Richard swallowed.

"It puts her in danger," Lionel continued. "The princess will sharpen her claws. The queen mother will breathe fire. And it puts the country at risk. That is the truth of it. You cannot marry her either." Lionel’s face was grave now. "Not without subjecting him to torture. Not without making the king watch his best friend walk into court with the woman he loves on his arm. Not without reminding him, every time he sees you, that you have the life he cannot touch."

"So what, then?" Richard asked. "We both love her so she must be abandoned?"

Lionel sighed. "I am saying there is no clean path."

Richard pushed himself upright a little. "It’s up to her, Lionel. It is up to her what to do, who to choose. She may end up choosing none of us. Hell, she has every right to choose the old man the king arranged for her to marry. That was a trick wasn’t it?"

"Now you are giving her a choice?" Lionel snapped.

Richard’s gaze cut to him.

"Now? Where was this option weeks ago, uhn? Where was her choice when you knew the king was searching for her? When you knew he was losing his mind? When you knew the name she carried in her heart belonged to him?"

"Fuck you."

"Ah." Lionel shook his head slowly. "You fucked the king’s woman, uhn? Knowing she was taken by the king first?"

The question sounded almost humorous when Lionel said it.

Richard’s eyes narrowed. "I choose not to answer that."

(200 golden tickets. This happened before the monthly reset so we are back again. Starting from zero.)