Ah, such a long and wearying day. And no one in the great kingdom of Bellavalten had heard a word from Queen Eleanor or the Crown Prince in a year.

As the mistress of naked pleasure slaves in the Queen's absence, I had spent hours inspecting all the slaves of the Court and then had traveled to the Queen's Village to make sure that those unfortunates exiled there were being severely disciplined and vigorously worked as always. I loved my duties, loved the training and care of so many beautiful and abject naked royal servants of both sexes who were kept in the kingdom strictly for the amusement of their masters and mistresses, but I was as discouraged as everyone else by the Queen's long absence from the realm and her silence. And I wanted only the peace and quiet now of my own quarters.

I had to stop at Prince Tristan's manor house, however, before returning to Court. And I welcomed a moment's rest and something to eat there as well, and of course I was eager as always to see Prince Tristan.

Prince Tristan had lived for over twenty years in the kingdom.

He was the handsomest of men, tall, robust, with blond curling hair and clear blue eyes, always properly and richly dressed, and the image of the proud and pampered courtier of Queen Eleanor. He welcomed me graciously into his private salon where a cheerful little fire fought the inevitable damp of the stone walls, and I could see wine and cakes laid out on the polished wooden table.

"Ah, Eva, our precious Eva," he said earnestly. "What would we do now without you? Have you had any word from Her Majesty?"

"None, Tristan," I said, "and frankly, though I do all I can-and Lord Gregory and the Captain of the Guard do all they can-the kingdom suffers."

"I know," he said, gesturing for me to take the chair opposite his. "We're the envy of the world for our system of pleasure slavery, but without the Queen, the slaves are anxious, fearful as the rest of us that something may happen to disturb the peace of the realm."

We were alone and Tristan himself filled my goblet. I savored the fragrance of the red wine and then drank. Delicious. Tristan's wine cellar was the best in the kingdom.

"You are so right," I replied. "In the village, Captain Gordon and Lady Julia have everything in hand. She is as good a mayor as ever a man was. I don't mind saying so even if she is my aunt. And Captain Gordon is tireless. But something's wrong, just wrong. I can sense it at Court, no matter how many entertainments I devise. All feel the Queen's absence."

"What can I do to assist?" he asked. He held out the plate of cakes for me.

"Well, this refreshment for the moment is splendid," I said. "I've traveled the entire realm today and I need these moments to recollect myself."

I might have added that looking on Tristan was always a refreshing pleasure.

For years Tristan had lived in his manor house with my uncle Nicholas, the Queen's Chronicler, and Lady Julia, my aunt, and Nicholas's sister. But Lady Julia had gone down to be the mayor of the Queen's Village two years ago. And my uncle Nicholas had gone off into the world a year before the Queen and the Crown Prince embarked on their interminable sea voyage.

Tristan had grieved over the loss of Nicholas miserably. But letters came from my uncle regularly, and though he never promised to return, we maintained the hope that he would do so eventually.

Some months ago, I'd given Tristan a magnificent pleasure slave, Princess Blanche, one of the Queen's old favorites from the castle. I'd hoped Princess Blanche would delight Tristan, as he had not found his other slaves to be of lasting interest. And Tristan had written notes to me more than once to say that my gift was most pleasing to him.