Ironside Tales

[DaveIronside]

The King knew that he was a lucky man, here he was lying beside a beautiful young woman who had beguiled him since their first meeting. Stasya Pelagyia was all he could think about at times, the way he soft skin felt against his, the touch of her lips, even the way her hair smelt, It was true to say David was falling for her, but that was the problem. The Lodjain Lady in Waiting, while freely returning the King's affection hadn't perhaps fallen quiet so hard as her lover. David had now twice told her that he loved her, and both times she had deflected any response, admittedly the first time they had been mid throws of passion and the second at a concert and so David put it down to bad timing rather than anything else. The problem was how to be together, Stasya's family were not even aware of her being a Cultist and to be openly a worshipper of anyone but Sessifet would lose her the positition she had within the royal household, something her family were exceptionally proud of, David imagined Stasya telling her parents of her deceit would upset them just as much as their family losing its influence. So instead the pair kept up what relationship they could, while the King visited Lodja she would act as his local aide , as was tradtion in Lodja, and that of course meant sharing his bed. It was probably an open secret in the Palace of the Goddess but he knew such news wasn't even worthy of the lowest gssip magaizne in Lodja. Stasya knew too that the King would have many suitors, it didn't bother her, the Lodjain mindset after all saw sex as nothing to be precious about and what did it matter to her if David took a Morelander lover, he was telling her he loved her and so she knew she had him under her spell.

The King was lying awake his mind thinking of the smooth tanned flesh of Stasya when he felt something brush against his back. "You awake?" the gentle female voice asked. The King rolled over to face Professor Maddie Howard, she draped a hand around his neck. "I'll take that as a yes then" she kissed him as she entwined her long legs with the Kings. "I want to thank you for last night" she felt the Kings hand on her hip, "Throwing that party for the dig team was lovely, they've all worked so hard." The King had invited the staff and students who'd been taking part on the Greenflowers dig to a party at the Palace, it had been rather last minute and far more casual than one would probably expect, during the evening the KIng and the Professor had spent quiet a bit of time chatting, they were friends and had even been on a few dates, all before Maddie had deceided that seeing as the King was technically one of her students it wasn't appropriate, but the King had graduated with his Masters now and so that hurdle could be overcome. A few bottles of wine later and the pair had made their excuses and left the party seperately only to meet up at the Palces backdoor. David had felt like a teenagers sneaking her into the Palace and to his rooms, not that he had ever done anything like that, when it came to the girls David had always been popular, he was charming, handsome and thanks to his love of sport had a body women admired, yet even with all that David had always been worried about what his father and mother would say if he dated the wrong girl. They'd have liked Matilda, he often thought but that marriage had ended in disaster, so perhaps his parents wouldn't have been the best judge of character. As soon as the pair had reached the King's suite David put thoughts of his ex-wife to one side as Maddie dragged him to the couch where within minutes the pair were making love.

This morning though as he caressed her he couldn't help but feel guilty, Stasya was thousands of kilometers aways in Lodja , probably distraught at the death of her Queen and here David was bedding another woman. He thought for a moment that perhaps he could excuse it that Moreland would no day need a new Queen, and so long as Stasya was a secret Cultist it couldn't be her. His historcial education meant he knew many Kings of East Moreland would never have loved their Queen, but instead have been captivated by a secret mistress or two , but that didn't help salve his conscience. "Do you have to rush off?" Maddie asked breaking his train of thought.

"No" the King replied, he had no official functions that day and Rhiannon was spending time with Matilda.

"Good" Maddie pressed her lips to his as she pulled him close to her, he responded but that thought of betrayal of Stasya lingered.

[DaveIronside]

Rhiannon's Furry Buddy

The 6 year old Princess clutched the envelope tightly as her little half brother Oliver gurgled away in the car seat next to her. Rhiannon just peered out the window waiting for their destination to come into view, she'd been waiting all week for this day and not just because it was her weekend with her mother Matilda. Ever since Evie had been given a little Gerbil by Alex and Auntie Freya she'd wanted a pet too, then when they did a project on pet animals at school she'd seen everyone else had them, Alice had a little green bird that made beautiful calls, Henry had a little lizard that was funny because it licked its own eyeball, but Rhiannon didn't have anything. She'd gone home that evening and started asking her father, King David, if she could get a pet, she'd started small by asking for a Gerbil like Evie's but her father had simply said "We'll see." Eventually Rhiannon had seen Sophie's working dog Bandit and changed her mind, she wanted a puppy, this time David had said he'd discuss it with Matilda, before finally a hedgehog being the favoured creature and she got her yes, but there was a condition. "We'll pay you £20 a week if you don't get into trouble, you get an extra £20 if you get a good report from school and £10 if you do all the chores you get set ok? Once you've saved up enough for the pet, its home and it's needs you can buy it." her father had explained. Rhiannon had eagerly nodded and for the first week began thinking up hedgehog names. It was only when she got Auntie Freya to sit with her and make a list of what they'd need, "But....but.....if they cost £400 that'll take me FOREVER!" Rhiannon moaned as she peered at the cute little baby hedgehog on the screen.

She'd managed to go six whole months though without getting in trouble at school, staying off the naughty step at home and even though she hated it making her bed everyday, washing breakfast dishes and laying the table. She'd even washed Uncle Alex's car for an extra £20 one day. Now she had an envelope that contained around £1,300 and she was keen to see what Portworth's Pet City had in store for her. She'd gone off the idea of a hedgehog a little but still wasn't sure, she figured she'd just wander around and pick something cute, furry and fun, if possible something no-one else she knew had. As they pulled into the car park of the Superstore she spotted the staff from the store outside. Matilda, who was driving shook her head and spoke to her sister Erin who was sat beside her, "I bet this is the Security Agents doing" she had wanted this to be as normal a day as possible but it looked like some state reception had been planned by the pet shop staff keen to welcome the royal party.

As the car parked in a space pointed to by a suited agent Matilda turned to Rhiannon, "Remember you can't spend all that on just the pet, they'll need a house, water bowls, food bowls, some toys and things." She stepped out the car and spotted Abby Kenwick, Rhiannon's security agent approaching. "Abby I said I didn't want any special treatment here" Matilda admonished the young agent who was already helping get the children out the car her eyes ever on the swivel.

"Blame your guy" Abby pointed over to Harvey Jackson, a private security guy Matilda had employed instead of relying on royal ones, she'd had to battle her former husband to withdraw royal protection but she imagined them almost spying on her, but now she only had to deal with Abby on a temporary basis. "He made the phone call, I've already told him he's an idiot" Abby kept her focus on Rhiannon as the six year old jumped down from the vehicle. "You OK missy? Picked what your getting yet?" the agent smiled as she began leading the family towards the store. The manager was keen to meet Matilda and Rhiannon and couldn't be more friendly, he was however a little miffed that Abby wasn't keen to have everyone pose for photos, it was something David tried to avoid with Rhiannon, the big media circus.

Inside the store was almost empty, the staff had only been letting people inside in small numbers giving it almost exclusively over to the Princess. Rhiannon skipped off looking at the fish tanks near the entrance and almost immediately the manager came over and began telling her all about each of the fish and which ones she could get. Rhiannon looked puzzled as he rattled off names of the exotic fish quickly, she then tried to move on but clearly the manager was a fish fan and continued waxing lyrical about Clown Fish, or Nemo as he called them. "I don't like Nemo" Rhiannon said sadly.

Rhiannon moved on to where they had some kind of frogs and toads, the Manager beginning his talks once again, both Abby and Matilda could sense the Princess was feeling a little overwhelmed by the man, as good as his intentions were. When he tried to do the same thing when Rhiannon reached the lizards it was time to intervene. Matilda took the man to one side and engaged him in conversation while Abby lead the Princess away to look at some kittens. Matilda meanwhile explaining they wanted to be left to it once her daughter was out of ear shot, after all she was a Professor in Marine Biology and while no expert on cats it meant she was probably more than qualified to help a six year old pick a pet.

For the next two hours Rhiannon wandered back and forth in the store, sometimes sitting down in front of the pens with puppies and kittens and watching them for a while, they even got so far as her holding a little hedgehog and stroking it before it just yawned and fell back to sleep leaving Rhiannon to brand it "boring" and moving on. It was only on lap two that she noticed the "Exotic" pet section and headed in, most of the stock there seemed to be birds and more boring fish, but then she spotted some pens that had more interesting creatures in. The first was a kind of gerbil looking creature but with what looked like wings, the sugar glider scurried up and down some fake trees watching the Princess before disappearing into a little hutch. Rhiannon moved round to watch the fascinating creature and could then see two more curled up inside, the three playing together made her grin as she watched them through the viewing window. Matilda expected Rhiannon to pick one of these, she could see her daughter was mesmerised by them. It was then a fient little muffling sound from behind the Princess caught her attention and she turned away from the Sugar Gliders to see a small ball of yellow fur watching her. It was about the size of a kitten but with large pointy ears, its head twisting back and forth watching the Princess. Rhiannon laughed at how funny it looked and the creature gave a few high pitched squeals before chasing its own tail once and turning back to the Princess. There was a tiny mesh fence at the front of its pen and Rhiannon carefully reached out a hand, a soft black nose coming towards it as the body moved away as though it was conflicted. It sniffed the hand before backing away and giving a low nervous bark. "Mummy what is it?" Rhiannon asked as she sat crossed legged watching use its back legs to scratch itself.

Matilda read the sign, "It's a fennec fox, they come from the desert sweetheart" Matilda approached and the fox darted off into its hutch area, Rhiannon sprang agiley to her feet and went to look through the small glass viewing window, the tiny fox was burying itself into its bedding.

"Why doesn't it have any friends like the others?" she asked as it was clear this fox was alone.

The store manager had come near sensing the epic search was nearing an end. "Not many people have Fennec Foxes, we had four kits come in, three female and one male, three have gone, but nobody else has shown interest in that male one. Apparently males make more active pets." he explained.

"But you can't leave him on his own he's so tiny" Rhiannon said sweetly. "Can I stroke him?" she asked the store manager, then noticed the look her Mother gave her and instinctively remembered why, "Please" she added as the manager smiled and came forward, unlocked the cage and retrieved the fox who gave a few weak barks as it was carried to meet royalty. "Hello" Rhiannon said soothingly as she pressed a hand gently against its fur. "Do you have no friends?" she asked it not really expecting an answer back but she'd seen how Sophie constantly talked to Bandit and so figured this is how it had to be done. The fox seemed to relax and within ten minutes Rhiannon was holding it and the fox purring like a kitten in her arms. The manager brought some dried worms and Rhiannon fed it one, it took the next and gripped it between its paws for a moment before swallowing it whole making Rhiannon laugh. "How much is he please?" Rhiannon asked the manager nervously. She knew pets could be expensive and even though she'd saved hard she was worried she'd have to leave the baby fox behind and get a stupid fish.

"He's £1000" the manager responded.

Rhiannon looked around at the things in the area, she could see the hutch like the one it had here was £300, then she'd need bowls and blankets, toys and other things. She knew she'd never be able to afford it. "Is he your very last one?" she asked and the manager confirmed he was, "So if I come back in a month he might be gone?" Again the manager confirmed Rhiannon was right. "What if I give you £800?" Rhiannon suddenly said confidently. Matilda was surprised but said nothing.

"We don't usually change prices" the Manager too was shocked.

"Yes but I want him and I need all the other stuff" Rhiannon pointed to the things around her, "He needs a house, a nice blanket, some wormy things" she began explaining. "If you make me spend all my money buying him I can't get those and that means Daddy won't let me have him" she could feel tears in her eyes thinking she'd have to leave the fox behind.

"But....but" the manager was wondering what to do, policy was that he couldn't lower prices but this was the daughter of his King. "Erm....I'll have to phone my area manager" and with that he hurried off. Rhiannon for some reason contemplated just running for the door with the fox but then remembered Daddy would be mad and probably take her sword from her and that wasn't good.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Matilda asked her daughter as she sat on the floor next to her.

"Auntie Erin does it all the time when she goes cloth shopping, and that Stasya lady from Lodja does too. If you can do it for dresses why not for foxes?" Rhiannon asked, Matilda had to be honest the logic made sense. The manager reappeared having been asked if he was insane by his superior, here was a Princess willing to buy from their store, the PR would be tremendous and worth hell of a lot more than the money they'd make from the sale.

"My manager says for £1300 you can have the fox, the hutch, the outdoor pen, water bottles, food bowl, a months supply of worms and three toys" He waited nervously for the Princesses response.

"It's a deal" Rhiannon stood up and tucked the fox under one arm while extending her hand towards a rather shocked manager who hesitatingly shook it and thanked her for her purchase. "Come on Goldie we're going home" she skipped off hugging the new member of the Ironsides close to her followed by Abby and Matilda grinning away at each other.


Introducing Goldie Ironside, Aged 2 months

[DaveIronside]

The Ironside Mausoleum, Northfort Palace

It was rather fitting that it was a rainy day in Northfort and the sky reflected the feelings of King David. He made the walk from the Palace up to the Mausoleum alone, a small wicker basket in his left hand. As he reached the door he fumbled in his pocket and brought out a key which he used to unlock the old heavy wooden door. Once upon a time it would have been the job of a Priestess to keep the chamber lit with candles and lamps but now they had been replaced with electric lighting which illuminated all day everyday. The centre chamber was tall and its walls full of little notches each one with an urn inside. The floor on the far side had an opening which allowed a person to go down to the lower levels where even more urns waited, close to one thousand years of the family was housed here, direct relatives, distant cousins and even siblings and children. David found the notch he was looking for, the name "Caspian" engraved above it along with his date of birth and date of death, he had been three years old when he had passed. The King placed the basket down and removed a blanket from it and laid it down on he floor before taking a seat on it. Almost reverently he placed his sons urn on the blanket and laid out various plates of food, the favourites of his young son. "Hello Caspian" David spoke softly, just how he used to when he went to visit his boy after arriving home post bedtime. "It's been another year" he began telling the Prince about what had happened in the last twelve months, it went on for close to an hour. During that time the King wept, laughed and sat for a while in silence imagining what Caspian would be like now had he lived.

After a while the King brought down the urn of his sister Joanne placing it next to her nephews, he imagined the pair of them in the afterlife his sister looking after Caspian and them playing in the woods of Helus. His train of thought was broken when he heard the door swing open. "Daddy" Rhiannons voice filled the chamber. "We came to bring Caspian a new toy" she had a wooden model knight in her hand as she hurried over to greet her father. It had been Matilda's weekend with Rhiannon but the Princess had been insistent that they come and visit Caspian and so here they were. David hugged his daughter who spotted the urn and sat down next to it with the toy soldier. It was then Matilda walked in.

"You usually come in the afternoon" Matilda said apologetically. It was a tradition of the Cult that one the anniversary of a childs death their father would come tell them the news of the family, David had always done it at around the time they put Caspian down for his nap and read a bedtime story, this year though he'd be heading to the CNN Expo and so instead had come early morning. "I'm sorry" she apologised.

"Its fine, he's as much your son as mine" David said just as another figure entered the chamber, it was Matilda's partner Sam Halliday holding their son Oliver.

"Your Majesty" he said respectfully. He held his 18month old son in his arms, the child was afflicted with the same genetic condition as Caspian and it had been the fact Matilda was carrying the defective MSP gene that had sealed the end of David and Matilda's marriage, she had been desperate for another child whereas the King couldn't bare the thought of another child suffering like Caspian had. "We thought we'd come pay our respects" he said nervously as he put Oliver down next to Rhiannon. The Princess put a protective arm around her half brother as she began talking to the urn. "Mind if I introduce myself" Sam said rather casually as he headed towards the rug, "Guess I'm his step-father after all" the racing driver chuckled. He took two steps past the King before he felt a strong grasp of his arm.

"You are not anything to my boy" The King dragged Halliday back and began pushing him towards the door, Sam was shocked he didn't understand what was happening as David unceremoniously pushed him through the door. Sam began to protest and continued to do so as the King deftly placed a foot behind the retreating Sam and pushed him in the chest. Halliday fell backwards almost doing a backwards roll down the small hill the building stood on, David followed him and placed a firm boot on the prone Halliday. "This is twice now you've claimed to be part of my family." The Kings eyes seemed to look through Sam. "You are not" David stamped on Hallidays chest, "nor will you ever" The King stamped down again, "Ever," another stamp, "ever" a final one, "Be part of my family" the King knelt and punched Halliday in the face. "You ever try and say your father to Rhiannon or Caspian then this will be the least of your worries." he punched Sam once more.

"STOP!" Matilda hurried out the door having told Rhiannon first to stay with Oliver. David ignored her and was now berating Sam who was doing his best to get back to his feet holding his sternum. She grabbed her ex-husband and pulled him away. "What the hell is wrong with you." she yelled at the King who struggled to try and get past her, as Sam got to his feet and began backing away the King prepared to launch himself like a feral beast at him and broke free from Matilda, it was only the fact that Alex Redfern had been out on the rounds of the Palace parkland with his Red Legion troopers that someone stopped him.

"Calm down" Alex said as he grabbed his friend the King and pulled him back, "What the hells got into you" he pushed the King towards the three Red Legionnaires that were with him.

"He just snapped" Sam coughed as he spoke, his lip was bust and he was sure he'd have a black eye soon. "He's lost it" Sam allowed Matilda to inspect his face. "He could have killed me."

"Shut up" Alex snapped at him. "Matilda go grab the kids and leave." he ordered and Matilda did as instructed, Redferns team had now formed a rather loose protective square around the King all slightly confused about what was going on but aware that the King had just kicked the ass of the nations top racing driver. Moments later Matilda lead Rhiannon out while carrying Oliver. Rhiannon skipped over a sandwich still in her hand from the picnic inside.

"Mummy says you feel sick" she hugged her father, "I hope your better to pick me up from school tommorrow" she kissed him on the cheek as he'd scooped her up. "Bye Daddy......Bye Uncle Alex.....Bye Red Legion Men" she added as she skipped over to Matilda and disappeared off down the hill.

"Lads tidy up inside for me. Be respectful" Alex nodded to his troop who left their gear outside before entering the maseoleum. "What was that about?" Alex asked his friend as he two watched Matilda walked away.

"I'm fed up of that bastard somehow thinking because he's bedded Matilda he's part of my family." David said angrily. "He's no right to even think he's anything close to being part of my family. You should have let me kill him." David snarled.

"You couldn't kill anything" Alex laughed, "Look today you should have spent it with Caspian, how about we go say goodbye, get back to the Palace and we have a whiskey to the boy." The King sighed, nodded and followed Alex inside.