A King Needs A Queen - Epilogue (Patreon)

At long last we finally have the conclusion to this little saga. There's not much to say about it except that I hope all of you enjoyed my attempts at writing a larger story for just about no reason beyond my need to make things harder lol

Prologue - Chieftain Ursha - Princess Kasheeri - Eldawen - Lady Amoura - Epilogue

“He'll never be able to pick.” Ursha laughed.

“Is yer faith in him really that low?” Amoura asked.

“It's not about my faith in him. It's my suspicions about the three other sluts I'm competing with!”

All four of Latharyn's possible brides laughed, the atmosphere of the balcony they were lounging on thick with amusement and excitement. Stretching out across her carpet as it floated just beyond the railing Kasheeri was the first to speak again, “I imagine his council will push him towards a decision, it seems only prudent to listen to them in this matter.”

“Uh huh,” Clasping her arms behind her head as she laid out on a comfy divan much too small for her massive frame Ursha closed her eyes and grinned, “It's only 'prudent' because you know they'll favor you and your precious trade routes!”

“If trade is of a significant concern then a bond with my people would prove just as beneficial as an alliance with yours.” Eldawen remarked as she poured herself a glass of wine and sat down on a mound of pillows they'd all brought from their rooms.

“Bah! What good is trade when armies make landfall and march through your kingdom?! My people can keep the lands safe. Even now we've fought off at least a dozen raids with ease!”

“Who needs a big army when you've got the best weapons in the land?” Amoura replied, “With all the metals I bring you could fight off a thousand men with nor more than a dozen!”

“Bullshit!”

“That's preposterous!”

“Truly?”

“Of course! Give each of a suit of black iron alloy and some weapons infused with salamander blood and you've got an unstoppable force!”

“If it's so unstoppable then why haven't your people conquered their neighbors yet?” Kasheeri asked.

“Oh we will. Just as soon as we figure out how to put a roof over everythin so we don't have to worry about this damned sky hanging over us all the time!”

More laughter filled the air for a moment as everyone sipped from their glasses, nibbled on whatever treats they'd brought with them, or simply thought about what was to happen next. “How do your people transport all that ore?” Eldawen eventually asked, “It must be quite difficult to move across the overlands.”

“You have no idea girl!” Amoura sighed, “We gotta build special carts and haul it all ourselves. We can never get our damned Vollun topside long enough to do it for us.”

“Vollun?” Ursha remarked, perking up, “You really use giant moles to lug your things around?”

“Of course. We already use their tunnels, milk, and meat. Why wouldn't we use them to help us carry all our shit?”

“Why not use the rivers when you travel overland?”

“Cause all our ore would sink the moment we tried puttin it on a raft. Just ask the first and last sailors of Kalladruhn!” Kasheeri and Ursha chuckled at their companion's remark while Eldawen furrowed her brow. “Lighten up Elfy, none of em drowned! Contrary to popular belief Dwarves are very good swimmers!”

“Hmm? Oh I wasn't thinking about that.”

“Then what's got yer pretty face all crinkled?”

“I was merely trying to discern how heavy freshly cut stone blocks are.”

“Why would you possibly wonder such a thing?” Kasheeri demanded.

“It'd depend on how big they are.” Amoura answered.

“Well the last ones I saw were at least twice the height of Ursha. And probably wider than a pair of Vollun standing next to each other.”

“Damn! How in the hell were yer people movin all that?”

“By boat.” Eldawen replied, her tone slightly confused, “I guess your ores and metals must be heavier than all that stone though.”

“I'm no stonesmith but something tells me that rinky little cart you came in on wasn't carrying that much weight on it!” Ursha laughed.

“It sure as Vollun shit wasn't!” Sitting up and looking at her Elven friend with a wide eyed grin Amoura wasted no time asking, “Are you tellin me you can transport somethin that heavy down the river like it's nothin?”

“Of course. We transport everything by river. Unless we absolutely have to take it by land.”

Whistling in amazement and slowly leaning back in her seat the Lady of Kaershull jokingly replied, “I should be marryin you!”

“If what you're claiming about weapons is true I could say the same about you!” Ursha chuckled.

All three of them grinned at one another for a moment only to slowly look at Kasheeri as she hovered nearby. The moment she found herself the subject of their gaze she haughtily replied, “I have no desire to marry any of you.” Though the corners of her mouth twitched as she spoke and she did little to hide her mirth.

“Well of course we're not gonna marry you!” Amoura teased, “What good would a bunch of sand do for us?”

“If you think sand is all I have to offer you're even more foolish than I first assumed.”

“Oh yeah furball? What else you got?”

“Aside from trade routes with more than a dozen tribes across the dessert and an entire country on the other side of a continent?”

“Yeah.”

She scoffed at her ridiculous companion and very nearly resisted the laughably obvious bait being dangled in front of her without subtle or grace. But her pride got the better of her long before she could resist and after a handful of moments she turned an eye towards Eldawen, “I assume your people use magic to transport goods to bodies of water not connected to rivers?”

“Of course. There's a beautiful lakeside town on the far side of Wyndelle that relies very heavily on our goods to prosper and we—”

“Well my people know every oasis and spring across the desert and every town that's sprung up around them. With that knowledge you could effortlessly expand your own routes could you not?”

“Well they aren't my routes. But the Princes could certainly make use of them yes.”

“And your people are quite fond of Sikkeeri spice are they not?” She demanded of Ursha.

“We can't get enough of them! Why? Did you bring any with you?”

“I always bring spices with me. But that's neither here nor there. An alliance between our peoples would ensure ample spices for your 'cuisine' and ample protection for our traders across your lands, would it not?”

“There isn't a tribe in Vrosh'kinsa who'd turn down that offer!”

“And you!” She looked at Amoura with a half imperious, half amused expression. The utterly fearless Dwarf she stared at met her gaze without hesitation, “Truth be told I don't have the slightest inkling what you or your people might want. But rest assured we have it!”

Laughter rang out yet again as all four of them burst into delighted giggles. Through hiccups and guffaws Amoura gladly answered, “I wouldn't say no to the silks yer people are always flaunting. A good, or just better, price on them'd be great!”

“In return for new metals and stone to build our palaces and arm our soldiers such a thing could easily be arranged!” Kasheeri stated.

“We have a great deal to offer one another.” Eldawen remarked. “Why has this never been discussed before now?”

“Before now most of this wasn't possible.” Ursha stated, “Not with that howling mad prick on the throne and his armies waging war on everything in sight.”

“Unless I'm mistaken this is the first time all four of our peoples have been together in a single place since the siege of Wyndelle castle.” Kasheeri added.

“Yeah and we weren't exactly talkin about trade routes or silk clothes!” Amoura chuckled.

“We most certainly were not.”

A few moments of silence stretched out between them as the four women considered that fact and everything else that'd been said. Once more Eldawen was the first to speak up, “But now that Wyndelle is free of the Mad Emperor . . .”

“I'm thinkin we've been real shortsighted with our plans!”

“It looks like it doesn't it?”

“I certainly can't deny how advantageous a greater alliance would be. Particularly against the seaborn raiders. If you've truly beaten back a dozen raids already they'll sure continue their assault.”

“Maybe they learned of the Mad Emperor's downfall.” Eldawen stated. “I know his reputation scared away many a foe.”

“To put it mildly.” Kasheeri stated.

“It sounds like we're just talkin in circles around what we've already decided!” Amoura stated, rising to her feet and folding her arms, “But we still got one last question to answer before we do anythin else!”

“We do?”

“What is it?”

“And what question is that?”

“What are we gonna do with King Latharyn?”

On the other side of the castle King Latharyn was practically pulling his hair out as he tried to decide between the four remarkable women waiting to marry him. Each had remarkable value even if he were to set aside his personal feelings. But if he included such things in his reasoning an already impossible choice seemed almost insurmountable. In one moment he wanted to choose Amoura purely for the sake of their past. The next he told himself he'd choose Kasheeri for the trade and prosperity she'd bring to his people. In another second he was letting his cock choose Eldawen solely to find out what else she'd be able to do in the bedroom. A heartbeat after that Ursha's charming brazenness and utter disdain for all things politics sealed her as the best candidate. But notion was replaced by another within seconds and the cycle repeated over and over again. Reports, dossiers, and books were strewn across his bedroom in a haphazard array as he repeatedly turned to ink and parchment in a desperate bid to find some kind of purely rational justification for picking whichever woman he picked. As if the answer to his dilemma might be found in the history of Gilgahan or records of troop movements in and out of Vrosh'kinsa. All he managed to do was further obfuscate the issue and fill his head with even more distractions, even more avenues to consider. No matter how absurd or meaningless they ultimately were his frantic mind couldn't let a single thing rest for even a second. He paced back and forth across his room wearing down the soles of his boots and scuffing the stone beneath his feet until he'd worn a faint path from one end of the bedroom to the other. Had it not been for the sunlight beaming through the windows he might've thought he'd been trapped inside his indecision for days or even years. Although it hadn't been more than half a dozen hours at most that little dose of sanity couldn't begin to penetrate his newfound insanity. The only distraction he found was the sudden sound of voices outside his door around the early afternoon.

“Forgive me Lady but the King said he was not to be disturbed until he made a decision.”

“Just cause I have a spare century or two doesn't mean I wanna spent it waitin around for somethin that'll never happen!” Amoura replied.

Hearing the approaching footsteps of not only his old paramour but at the very least Ursha and the poor servant they were ignoring Latharyn immediately called out, “I've just about decided who I want to marry!”

The door to his bedroom swung open and all four of his possible brides stepped into his room, each one looking at a different part of the mess with amusement or surprise. In Ursha's case it was both and she wasted no time calling his bluff, “Who'd you pick?”

“I—uhm—I picked—of course I picked—uhm—I picked you!”

“Is that right?”

“A-Absolutely! Who else could it be? I-I'm sorry Lady Amoura. Princess Kasheeri. Eldawen. I know this must be a terrible inconvenience for you!” Latharyn continued, speaking much too fast far too frantically to convince anyone but himself. “You're welcome to remain and attend the wedding but I wouldn't be offended if you—”

“We're overruling your 'decision'.” Kasheeri stated.

“Y-You are?”

“Of course we are.” Amoura laughed. “You aren't gonna marry Ursha.”

“I'm not?”

“No.”

“Then who am I to marry?” His tone was confused yet slightly hopeful.

All four women smiled at him but he could only stare back, entirely unsure why they were grinning yet oddly nervous about it at the same time. “You're going to marry all of us!” Eldawen explained, her face lit up in a radiant smile, “You're going to marry all of us and we're going to marry each other!”

“That was just a joke.” Ursha quickly interjected. “We don't have to marry each other for the plan to work.”

“But wouldn't it be fun? We can have . . .” She trailed off as she looked at everyone and counted out the number of weddings, “We can have so many weddings! So many celebrations!”

“She's makin a real good point.”

“I wouldn't object to a grand celebration or ten.”

“Well of course I wouldn't either! But we can do all that after the first weeding. I doubt any of our people will care all that much who's married to who!”

“What are you talking about” Latharyn asked, more confused than every.

His four brides to be looked at him as if suddenly remembering he was there, “Oh we've decided you're going to marry all of us.” Kasheeri explained. “You'll marry all of us and we'll all benefit from the trade and alliances a union between our five nations will bring.”

“I'm . . . I'm going to marry . . . all of you . . . at once?” Swaying on his feet and looking about ready to faint Latharyn did his best to understand what they were saying and what they were proposing. Or perhaps more accurately what they were telling him.”I . . . I don't . . . I never thought . . . is that truly what you want?”

His question was directed at all of them and all of them responded without missing a beat. “Of course!”

“Absolutely!”

“Without a doubt!”

“Mmhmmm!”

They waited for him to respond for a moment but when he continued to stare without saying a single word they quickly turned back to one another, a conversation about the wedding immediately breaking out as each woman sought to impress their own culture onto the event. More stunned than ever their groom sat down on the edge of his bed and stared at them with open mouthed incredulity. Of all the many, many, many concerns with such an arrangement his idiotic mind couldn't help but focus on perhaps the least important aspect, “I'll never be able to satisfy all of you!”

Silence fell over the group and they looked back at him for a moment. Amoura finally broke the quiet when she said, “You'll figure it out handsome!”

All four of them promptly returned to their conversation and Latharyn was left to watch and listen in an utter daze. His mind couldn't believe what was happening even as they talked about it right in front of him. Even as they bid a servant to gather the court so the King's 'decision' could be announced to the whole of Wyndelle. Even as they all but carried him down to the throne room and set him down in front of his council, his nobles, and a great many other faces he barely noticed while he stood before them in a haze. Someone asked him a question and he barely even heard the words let alone understood their meaning. But when Ursha jabbed him in the ribs with her massive elbow the sudden spike of pain cleared away just enough of the mist clouding his mind. Snapping back to the real world King Latharyn looked out across his court and cleared his throat.

“A decision has been made!” He announced in a tremulous voice.

Whispers abounded for a moment before being silenced by his council hurriedly shushing anyone still speaking when Lady Herrad asked, “Who have you chosen to marry Lord?”

“I've chosen . . .” His voice trailed off for a moment as a wry smile flashed across his face, “I've chosen . . . to marry all four of our guests. In the tradition of our neighbors and in the interest of fostering a true and lasting peace between our kingdoms.”

A stunned silence fell over the court. It only last a moment before dozens upon dozens of questions were hurled at him like spears by every person standing in the throne room. While he attempted to answer them as quickly and clearly as he could his brides to be merely stood behind him grinning and watching the Humans lose their minds. “”You'd almost think it was his idea.” Amoura stated.

“I doubt he could ever admit we forced him into it.” Kasheeri added.

“We didn't force him into anything!” Eldawen objected.

“We sort of did.” Ursha laughed. “But that's hardly important right now.”

“Oh? And what exactly is important Chieftain?”

“You making sure there's enough Sikkeeri to go around at the wedding!”

“I hardly think that's the greatest conern at the moment!”

“Well it's the only thing I care about! You don't wanna see a room full of Orcs after they've run out of spice for their food and drink!”

As the King spoke to his court another conversation broke out between his brides and neither would be solved for a long while. But even that was little more than a prelude to their true 'problems' and in the mind of the poor, beleaguered man at the center of it all a harrowing rebellion against a mad despot didn't seem quite as trying  before too long. It was a thought he had often in the months leading up to their strange yet incredible wedding and it was a thought he couldn't put out of his mind as his wedding night rolled around and the truth of his prediction was finally put to the test. Not even Marrwyn could spare him now.