monarch

Just as Ponsonby expected, the Andalusian horse on the king's lap had just galloped for 5 minutes when warm and large raindrops began to fall from the dark sky.

It was a dark night, and Edward opened his eyes wide, barely distinguishing the woods, roads and stones in front of him.From time to time, a streak of blue-purple lightning flashed across the night sky, illuminating the tall oak trees surrounding the two riders with its blue light, and then a thunder burst out of nowhere in the midair, and after reverberating in the air for a long time, just reluctantly disappeared into the endless night.

The strong wind swept the raindrops and hit the king like bullets.Although the woolen traveling cloak was heavy, it was soaked with water after only a few minutes, wrapping tightly around the king like a sail soaked in a storm.

The rain ran down Edward's hair to his face, and down his cheeks all the way to his neck, forcing the king to bow his head.Fortunately, His Majesty was riding a well-trained famous horse. This noble horse of Andalusian blood had a slender body, and the slender legs like a deer were intertwined with blood vessels like fishing nets. Can also walk on the ground.And this famous horse has been trained by a horse trainer for many years after it has grown up, and it can avoid obstacles in front of it without the rider's instructions. on thick tree trunks.

As the rain became heavier and heavier, the smooth road became full of water and gradually turned into a muddy puddle. The horse's hooves splashed countless mud spots on it, and Edward had to let go of one of the reins from time to time. hands, to wipe the muddy water off his face.And the horse under his crotch was also obviously uncomfortable with running in such a harsh environment, its ears pricked up, and hot steam that represented irritability began to come out from its nose.

Although they were in such a harsh environment, neither the king nor Ponsonby had the slightest intention of slowing down. The two horses rolled on the road leading to Chatham like a whirlwind, leaving behind them in the mud. The next two strings of fragmented horseshoe prints.

When the two finally left the woods behind, the king's hat had been knocked off by the branches, and the cloak he was wearing had been cut to pieces by the bushes growing on both sides of the road. Spurs pierced the belly of the car.But that horse appeared to be more fanatical than its owner, its hooves barely touched the ground, as if it had become the divine horse Pegasus with wings under Perseus, and was about to take its owner with him. Riding the wind together.

The rain gradually weakened, and the moon, which had been hidden behind the thick clouds, finally jumped out of the dark ocean, outlining the outline of the whole world.In the eyes of the drenched traveler, the vast meadows stretching from here to the sea can be seen. On this beautiful meadow, countless rich villages and towns are dotted, like a huge carpet. Beautiful patterns.A broad river of spray stretched to the horizon, the Thames, which looked like silver tassels at the edge of a rug.

The town of Chatham lies at the bend of that silver tassel, and the town has a natural deep-water harbour, and those sea-going ships that come in from the mouth of the Thames must be navigated by a pilot if they want to go upstream from here.So many ocean-going cargo ships choose to unload here, and then transport the goods to all corners of the island with barges that are easy to travel through canals and small streams.

It usually takes more than two hours to get here from Hampton Court Palace on a fast horse, and when the king's horse slowed down in front of the square in the center of the town, the clock tower of the church had just sounded two o'clock in the morning.

Chatham's Post House is a small Gothic three-storey building in a street off the square.This bustling commercial market has attracted countless merchants from all over the world. Naturally, many businessmen who smelled business opportunities opened hotels here, ranging from small hotels for two shillings a night to large hotels that are as luxurious as the palace. Tam City has it all.

Princess Mary and Princess Elizabeth stayed in the two most luxurious hotels in the city respectively, and the Spanish mission and the Portuguese embassy lived with them respectively.However, Robert Dudley did not choose any hotel, but chose the official post house of Chatham City.This small building was built by King Henry VI 100 years ago. At that time, his fiancée, Margaret of Anjou, came to England from France and had a rest here for one night. Few people.It was evident that the new British ambassador to Spain valued this tranquility, and he did not wish to meet his traveling companions prematurely.

There was no one standing guard at the gate of the courtyard. The king rode his horse all the way to the center of the courtyard, and then dismounted. The horse did not need the care of the groom, and trotted straight into the nearby stable to hide from the rain.

The king shook the water-absorbed cloak on his body, untied the tie, and threw it casually on the ground.

A man in the uniform of the Praetorian Guards was dozing against the half-open door. He was awakened by the sound of horses' hoofs, rubbed his eyes vigorously, and yawned loudly at the same time.

"Who's there?" he asked aloud.

"Don't shout!" Ponsonby hissed at him. "It's me."

"Ah, ah, is it my lord?" The soldier quickly stood up, straightened his helmet, and reached for a burning torch, "Are you here to see Lord Robert?"

"Where is Lord Robert?"

"The Earl is resting on the second floor." The soldier said, turning his gaze to Edward, "This is..."

Under the firelight, he recognized the familiar face of the king, and he couldn't help but took a deep breath.

"Your Majesty..." He was about to kneel down on one knee, but Pang Senbi, who had quick eyes and quick hands, grabbed him.

"Don't make a sound." Ponsonby said softly, "You take your Majesty to Lord Robert's room, and then come back, and take me to the room of your guards to warm up by the fire, understand?"

The soldier nodded hurriedly. He put down the torch, picked up a dim oil lamp, and respectfully gestured "Follow me" to the king.

The two walked up the creaking stairs due to disrepair to the second floor, walked through a long corridor, and stopped in front of a door at the end of the corridor.

"It's here, Your Majesty." The soldier bent down obsequiously, and pointed to the door.

"Thank you, sir, you may go down," ordered the king.

"Shall I leave the oil lamp to Your Majesty?"

"Thank you." The king nodded and reached out to take the dim oil lamp.

The soldier bowed again, turned and left, and quickly disappeared at the stairs.

The king put his hand on the doorknob, gave it a slight twist, and the door opened.

Edward tiptoed into a small vestibule.The cyan light from the oil lamp illuminates the lilac-patterned wallpaper on the walls of this small living room. Due to damp, the corners of the wallpaper have warped, exposing the gray wall below.

On the other side of the vestibule was a blue velvet drapery, which the king lifted quickly across the drawing-room, and entered Robert's bedroom.

"Who?" came a voice from the silk curtains of the carved oak bed in the center of the bedroom.

Edward held up the oil lamp and walked towards the bed. When he got to the bed, the green curtain was pulled back just in time.

Robert was wearing only linen pajamas, and in the light of the oil lamp, he was blinking violently.

When his eyes finally adjusted to the light, what he saw made him involuntarily open his mouth.

"Your Majesty?" The young man jumped up from the bed in astonishment. He didn't have time to look for slippers, so he could only step on the ground with bare feet, "Why are you here?"

"I thought the king could go wherever he wanted." Edward's lips rose slightly.

"I'm going to ask someone to light the lamp." Robert said and walked towards the door. He picked up the bell on the door, and was about to ring the bell to summon the servants. Suddenly, as if thinking of something, he put the bell back where it was. place.

"I'll do it myself." He walked to the fireplace again and manipulated a switch on the wall, and then the chandelier on the ceiling was lowered by a pulley.

Robert took the oil lamp in the king's hand, lit the candles on the chandelier, and then manipulated the pulley to raise the chandelier to the ceiling again.

The room was brightly illuminated by the light from the chandelier, Robert turned to look at the king, and couldn't help but be startled by the king's appearance.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?" His mouth opened wider than before, "Your body is covered in mud, and your clothes are torn...it looks like you just came back from the battlefield."

The king looked at a mirror hanging on the wall next to the fireplace, and he couldn't help but smile because of his own face in the mirror: Edward's face, hair, and even eyelashes were all covered with muddy water, and there were some muddy water. The spots had dried, leaving striking dark brown spots on Edward's fair skin.And the silver-white tights on His Majesty's body have absorbed enough rain and muddy water, and now it is impossible to recognize its original color.Expensive silk, satin, and brocade were huddled together, wrapping the king tightly, and yellow-brown water droplets fell from the crumpled tassels, leaving several water spots on the ground.

"Maybe you just fell asleep, and there was a storm outside just now." Edward shrugged his shoulders and said calmly.

Robert stepped forward hastily, and laid his hand on the king's wet forehead.

"It's a good thing you don't have a fever." He took a long breath, "It's raining so heavily outside, what are you doing out here?"

"After I showed up at that boring celebration, I wanted to come and see you." The king lowered his head a little embarrassedly, "You're leaving tomorrow...we haven't seen each other since you resigned .”

There was a blush on Robert's face, and he heard his heart beating happily in his chest, as if he couldn't wait to jump all the way down his throat to see the world.

"But you should at least come in a carriage," he said disapprovingly.

"It's already two o'clock in the morning. If I choose to take a carriage, it will be almost dawn when I get here."

"You rode for two hours in the heavy rain. Do you want to catch typhoid?" Robert said, unbuttoning the tights for the king. You caught a cold."

The coat fell to the ground, followed by the shirt, leggings and boots. When Robert finally took off all the clothes on the king, he realized that Edward was naked in front of him.

Hot blood rushed to Robert's head like a fountain, and he felt his temples beating violently like a drum that was about to be hammered.

"I'm sorry...Your Majesty..." He stammered, "I'll go find clothes for you."

Edward burst out laughing, he put his hand in front of his body, hesitated for a moment, then let go of his hand generously, showing everything in front of Robert.

Robert Dudley had faced many things before, but he had never felt so embarrassed as he was now.The scene in front of him made him feel like he had fallen into a colorful painting, and standing in front of him was a lively Narcissus or Endymion.

Robert rummaged through the chests and chests, trying to find a piece of clothing for the king to wear, but he searched in vain in every corner of the room, but found not even a piece of extra cloth.

All the clothes were in the trunk, and to get them out the servants had to be woken.

Robert thought for a moment, and decided to take off his shirt and let the king wear it. The size of the pajamas was already loose, and Robert was one size bigger than Edward. This linen underwear was worn on the king, and the hem could barely cover it. The hidden place that should not be seen.

He was about to make this proposal to the king, but found that at some point, Edward had slipped into the quilt on the bed like a catfish.

"It's really cold." Edward wrapped himself in a quilt until only his head remained, complaining softly while shivering.The pair of lips that seemed to have lost their color due to the cold involuntarily pursed slightly, mixed with that lazy voice, inexplicably brought a somewhat ambiguous atmosphere.

On the contrary to the king, Robert felt his whole body warm up, and his throat was like a traveler who had walked in the desert for a week, and his thirst was about to smoke.

He strode to the edge of the tea table, picked up the kettle, poured a full cup of cold water into the cup, and drank most of the cup in one gulp.

He poured the little water that was left over his head, and wiped the water over his face with his hands.

"Hey, what are you doing?" The king watched Robert's movements with a smile, "You saw that I was soaked all over, so you want to try the feeling of getting wet?"

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, I feel a little hot." Robert's voice had become hoarse, and he lowered his eyelids slightly to prevent the king from seeing the dangerous gaze in his eyes.

"But I am cold," said the King.

"Then I'll find someone to light the fire."

"You don't need to do that." The king stretched out a white and tender arm like a lotus root from under the quilt, "Come and sit next to me, my hand is as cold as ice... You hold my hand, it will make you cool Now, I can warm up a little too."

Robert trembled a few times. He was like a puppet in a funny play being manipulated by someone with a rope. He walked stiffly to the edge of the bed and sat down. He stretched out his hand and gently took the king's hand.

As the king said, his hands were as cold as ice.

"Yesterday was my birthday." Edward moved the hand that was a circle bigger than his to his face, and gently played with the slender fingers.

"I haven't wished you a happy birthday yet." Robert bent slightly.

"It's a pity." Edward said softly, "I originally planned to spend the night with you when I was an adult. But now it's the second day, half of the night has passed, and the sun will come out in a few hours gone."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"You are leaving tomorrow... I will bring you back as soon as possible, three years, no more than four years at the latest, the most I can bear is to let you be an ambassador, and then I will send someone to replace you... I There was even the crazy idea of ​​declaring war on Spain in a year, so you could come back to me in a year, justifiably."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Edward pouted a little aggrievedly, "If it was a month ago, facing the current situation, you probably wouldn't just say the words 'Yes, Your Majesty'?"

"I don't understand what you mean." Robert faltered, but his face and the involuntary reaction of his body still betrayed him.

"I came all the way here just to give you a parting gift." Edward put down Robert's hand, and held Robert's face with his own, forcing him to look into his eyes, " But you show no interest at all."

"I don't want you to do something you don't want to do out of pity." Robert took a sharp breath, "I have no right to ask you anything."

"Yes, you are not qualified to ask me anything." Edward said, pecking Robert's lips lightly, and he noticed with satisfaction that Robert's breathing became much heavier because of his kiss.

"I'm a king and no one can make me do something I don't want to do, especially this kind of thing. I'm here tonight because I want to do it, and I want to do it, you understand?"

Robert nodded mechanically.

"So... are you thinking the same as me?" Edward stretched out his arms and put them around Robert's neck, the quilt fell from his shoulders, and he felt Robert's stubble rubbing against his delicate chest "Do you want to do this? Don't worry about others, there are only two of us in this room. Listen to your inner voice and let it tell you the answer."

Robert didn't answer, and when Edward wanted to ask again, a wet touch came from his chest.

Robert looked up, and the king noticed that he was licking his lips contentedly with his tongue.The look in his eyes reminded the king of the green halos in the eyes of a wolf at night, the greedy look of a predator staring at prey that fell between its claws.

"I hope Your Majesty fully understands what I want." The undisguised danger in Robert's voice made every hair on Edward's hair stand on end, and to his surprise, this feeling gave him It brought a kind of excitement that I had never experienced before.

Suddenly, without warning, there was a loud noise from the window, and the wind and rain poured into the room from the wide open window, blowing out all the candles on the chandelier at once.

Robert quickly jumped out of bed, rushed to the window, closed the window again, and fixed the window latch under the window.

After doing all this, most of Robert's pajamas were wet by the rain, so he simply tore off his jacket. When he walked to the bedside, the thin pair of shorts fell on the ground. His strong muscles make him look like Michelangelo's statue of David alive.

Under the flickering moonlight, with a narrow smile on Robert's face, he looked at the king whose expression became a little dull.

"Are you satisfied with what you see?" Robert climbed onto the bed again and again while talking, he looked at the king's face that looked softer in the dim environment, presumably what Selene saw under the moonlight So is Endymion's beauty.

"It's...not bad." The king's voice sounded like a stern cat, "After all, I'm not an expert in judging this."

"Oh?" Robert said, grabbing the king's hand, "Does Your Majesty want to learn more about this? Could it be that you want to observe more samples?"

"Stop talking nonsense... If you do this again, I will regret it." If the light was still on at this moment, Robert would have noticed that the king's face was already red up to the ears.

He leaned into the king's ear and said softly, "You regret it now, maybe it's too late."

The gentle air current brushed against Edward's ears, making him tremble a few times involuntarily.

Robert grabbed the part of the silk sheet under his body that hangs to the side of the bed, and tore it forcefully, the sound of tearing silk echoed in the empty room.

He used strips of cloth torn from the bed sheet to tie Edward's hands and feet to the four pillars of the big bed.

"You are right, the king can do whatever he wants." He bent down and kissed Edward until both of them were out of breath, "Now you are my prisoner, this is my chamber, and I am the master .That is to say, in this room, I am the king, so I can do whatever I want with you, do you understand?"

Edward gasped like a fish struggling on the deck of a boat, and when he finally calmed down, he nodded shyly.

The thunderstorm that had once shown signs of stopping suddenly became heavier and heavier, and the water level of the Thames River rose all the way. The huge ships moored in the harbor danced up and down in the turbulent waves, and were sometimes thrown into the water. The bottom of the valley is sometimes lifted to the top of the peak.

In the stables of the post house, the steeds snorted at each other while happily chewing the finest barley and oats, while the lonely guard leaning against the door was still dozing leisurely.The symphony of wind and rain covers up all other sounds, whether it is high-pitched or hoarse, excited or pleading, everything is melted in the acoustic ocean created by nature, and even a scale and a half claw undiscovered by outsiders.

--------------------

Endymion is a beautiful young man in ancient Greek legend. On a bright moonlit night, when Selene, the moon god, was driving a chariot across the sky, she accidentally saw Endymion sleeping peacefully in the valley. So every night, she floated down from the air and secretly kissed the sleeping shepherd.And when Zeus learned of it, he forced Endymion to choose between death and the eternal sleep of youth, and Endymion chose the latter.