Chey

 



Julies bath was cut short with a sharp knock on her door. 

"Who the hell can that be? Especially at this time of night."

Julie gets out of her relaxing bath and dresses quickly.



"Robert? Is that really you?" Julie runs into Roberts outstretched arms. 

"The rumors were true. You are alive!"

The pair chat well into the night about there kingdom being destroyed. 

"When I got back I knew something was wrong. There was no one at the gate.. No one at any of the shops. It was so odd and when I got into my house I found my mother and father dead.. It was horrible." Robert pulls her into his arms... 

"I assume my brother was dead as well." Julie nods. "Well, I see you are doing well here. Are you taking care of all of this by yourself?"

"God no. Some time ago I fished a boy out of the pond. He had fallen in got his foot caught under a rock. Then the season after that one another boy was attacked by wolves and I nursed him back to health. Ever since, those two have lived here and they help me around this place. Actually, funny thing, they want me to be their queen. We named this area Ula'ree and it's just us here. Every once in a while we gets travelers that pass by and that's good for trade but other wise it is just us."

"Well you've been busy I see." 


"You wouldn't believe! Oh my and the boy that was attacked by wolves, Wren, he tried to court me." At that Robert laughs loudly. So loud she heard the boys stir.




"Does he know you are GAY?" 

"No, he had no clue." That makes Robert laugh even more. 

"Everyone knew you and my brother had a pact.You only were marrying him because you can't marry a woman but he could continue with his lover and you could continue with yours. It was the worst kept secret in Dranlya." 

At the sound of the name both of their smiles dropped. It hurt to say it.. She missed home so much. 

"Do you have another bed for me? I know this is last minute but I would like to stay as well Queen Julie."

"Of course I have bed for you Rob. Tomorrow morning we can talk about your place in this kingdom." 



"Queen Julie!" Wren yells out after Julie as she makes her way to the corn fields. 

"Wren.. How are you today?"

"I'm well. Who is that man?"

With raised eyebrows Julie answers, "That is my dear friend Robert."

"I thought you said everyone in your kingdom died?"

"Robert had joined the service the spring prior to the slaughter Wren." Wren nods his head but deep down he was angry. Over breakfast he saw how they were and Wren didn't feel like someone gay acts like that with the opposite sex. 

"I thought you said you were gay Julie." 

"I am gay Wren. What is with all these questions and please address me as Queen Julie"

"I heard you and Robert's conversation this morning. You were talking about royal babies and a castle. Why him and not me QUEEN Julie?"

"Oh my.. This is why eavesdropping is never good. He was asking me as a Queen what I was going to do about the most important part of the job, having a royal heir.. I said I didn't know what I was going to do but the most logical thing would be to take a king and have him help me produce heirs.. Of course he would have to understand that it wouldn't be a real marriage, I would probably have a female lover and the only time we would be in our martial bed would be if we were making a child. I haven't decided anything though because I have many years to think about such a thing."

"Ah, I apologize then for being rude. I really care about you and I hope if you do decide to go logical you choice me."

Julie nods her head in understanding before turning on her heel towards the corn field.



From that conversation on Wren made everything a competition with Robert. What he didn't understand though was it was no match. Wren was still so young and immature and it showed more then ever. 

 "How long have you been in the military?" 

"For 2 years now. I love it more then anything. I am excited to start up a military here in Ula'ree."

"Are you willing to lay your life down for the Queen?"

"I was willing to put my life down for the queen before she was a queen." Robert looks at Julie and makes a silly face mocking Wren, causing Julie to laugh loudly. 

This angered Wren more then anything but it only made Julie and Robert laugh more. 



It wasn't all tension in the Ula'ree kingdom.. Mow and Kobe had a kitten, Julie named her Pudding.

-

Julie had been so busy this spring she hardly had time to talk to Sterling. So when they sat down for some dinner they had quite a bit to talk about. 

Sterling, though only 16 at this point was wise beyond his years and gave her great insight about what to do about her heir problem. 

"You don't have to marry in order to have a child Queen. After all you are the queen and it doesn't have to be like other kingdoms. If you do decide to marry you can marry a woman. Make being gay legal here in Ula'ree." 

"I suppose you are right Sterling.. Speaking of you being right, In the coming year I will be moving into my castle and wanted to know if you would be my adviser?" 

This shocked Sterling. He was so young and nothing more then a painter by trade but if it made the Queen happy he was willing to do it. " I would be honored Queen Julie!"

"Then it is settled! You will be moving with me to the royal castle!" They share a smile while finishing there dinner.

Wren over hears the conversation and becomes even more enraged. It seemed only he would be not going to the royal castle!

 



"So Ms. Gang and I are going to the pond for some fishing. She is craving that fish soup again and who am I to say no." 

"Yeah, of course. I'll be here, probably making Kobe a bed and getting that privacy screen up for Julie."

"Why do you insist on calling her by her first name. We are not equal to her!"

"Julie and I are only a year apart Sterling. We are equal. Hell, I'm thinking of courting her next year."

That bit of information took Sterling by surprise. He realized just how young he was because he didn't see a young Ms. Gang in that way at all. In his mind he knew she was only 19 but for some reason she seemed so much older then that. 



Off to the pond that went. Sterling still wasn't very good at fishing, he would often fall down or slip on the slopes. He hated the feel of the fish and mostly he was scared of falling back in the water and getting his foot stuck under another rock. 



When Sterling finally did catch a fish he was so excited!

"Ms. Gang! I did it."

"Good job Sterling! I told you you would be a natural."



Wren spent his time doing what he said. He put up the privacy screen, built Kobe a dog bed, and did the other mundane chores around the house. 



"I'm very proud of you Sterling. You caught a big fish and we should have enough for many batches of fish soup!"

"Thank you Ms. Gang. That was a lot more fun then I thought it would be."



Though most of the chores were done around the house the onions still needed to be picked. Julie used onions in everything and thought about starting a second plant. Julie couldn't believe that winter was again almost here. She had a lot more food this time around and help but it still shocked her. Had she really been living this way, on her own without her kingdom, for 2 years now?



"MAX! There you are! I thought you were gone for good. Where have you been?" Sterling hugged and pet the dog for a good hour. Feeding him the left over bones from the fish as a treat. Max was a good dog that Sterling hoped would stick around but he only came ever so often. 



That night at dinner Wren made his intentions known. 

"Julie, I want to thank you again for saving me almost a year ago. You truly are a godsend."

"Oh, well thank you Wren. That's sweet."

"I.. I also wanted to know if you would maybe accompany me to the forest for a stroll. I know it isn't the best date but it's all we have here in Ula'ree."

Julie was taken back. He obviously didn't know, because she had never told him..

"Wren, you are sweet as pie but I was suppose to marry the shop keepers son and I knew him my whole life and didn't want to marry him. I actually can't see myself with any man honestly. I- I think I'm gay."

Wren's eyes went big. He didn't see that coming. 



The conversation was cut short when Sterling headed over to the table. Wren didn't say much of anything throughout dinner but the silence wasn't uncomfortable. 



Like many of the strays that hung around the lot, Mow decided to stick around. He wasn't anything like Kobe. She didn't eat the birds or squirrels. She only ate corn. She also stayed in the house more often then not. 




After a year of practice I could finally make myself clothes. I was excited and made myself something. Only having 2 outfits wasn't always nice, especially with two men now sharing a home with me. 



The last night of fall was a disaster. Sterling and Wren got into a fight. Wren was upset about being turned down and needed to take it out on somebody. 

"Why didn't you tell me she was gay."

"Who is gay?"

"Don't play dumb with me! You've known her longer. I know you knew and you let me make a fool of myself!"

Thankfully the fight didn't result in any bad markings.