Nan was in her room, sitting at her desk trying to figure a new healing concoction when there was a knock
at the door.

"Yes, come in," she said, not looking up from her work for a moment when the person entered.  She was shocked when she did look up and saw it was Christine.

"Hello, your..." Nan almost slipped by calling her new friend "your majesty" when Christine gave her a look, reminding her of their earlier conversation. "...Christine.  Do you need something?  Are you ill?"

"No, I just came to apologize.  May I..." Christine pointed to the bed, the only place there was to sit, besides the chair Nan was using.

"Yes, of course.  But why do you need to apologize?"

Christine sat on the bed.  She looked at it for a moment, running her fingers across the sheet that was draped over the mattress.  Nan was dying to know what was going through her mind.  Maybe it was something close to what she was thinking.

"I'm sorry, I got lost in thought there for a moment. I wanted to apologize for abruptly leaving you earlier in the courtyard.  It's just that when Lord Richard...I...it was...it was the first time I had seen him since...that night."  Christine closed her eyes, a single tear escaping.

Nan left her chair and sat on the bed, grasping Christine's hands with her own.

"You don't have to explain.  It's all right."

Nan smoothed back the bangs from Christine's, then lightly kissed her on the forehead.  Her skin felt so soft on her lips.  She rested her lips there for a moment, enjoying the feeling that rushed through her. 

Then Nan moved her lips to the small scratch that cradled Christine's right eye, wanting to take away the pain of the injury.  Her lips moved further down, feeling the warmth of the queen's cheek.  Then she stopped, suddenly aware of what she was doing.

"I'm...I'm sorry...I...," Nan began to apologize, but Christine's lips covered her mouth, ending the possibility of speech.

The kiss was soft, lips barely brushing.  They released each other for a moment, then touched again. 
The kiss began as the first, but Nan felt a need for more, opening her mouth and letting Christine explore with her tongue.  Time disappeared, as they tasted each other.  Nan felt they had been kissing for hours when they stopped to breathe.

"I...don't want to...leave," Christine whispered as she held Nan's face in her hands.

"Then stay," Nan whispered then kissed her lover again.

"Oh Nancy, you taste so sweet and your skin is so soft," Christine said as she glided her finger over Nan's naked stomach.  They were lying in Nan's bed, wrapped in each other's arms.

"I was just thinking the same thing about you," Nan said, kissing Christine's forehead.  "Mmm... my delicious darling."

"I've never felt this way about anyone before.  The first moment I saw you, I couldn't get you out of my head."

"Do you want to know a secret?"  Nan asked.

"Oh yes, I love secrets."  Christine jumped up, sitting next to Nan, wrapping her arms around her lover.

"I have premonitions, feelings about things that are going to happen.  Ever since I was a little girl, I had this overpowering feeling that I was going to meet my soul mate at the castle."

"I bet you didn't know your soul mate was going to be the queen?"

Nan smiled then kissed Christine, savoring her taste for a few moments after their lips parted.

"No.  That I didn't foresee or would have ever believed if I did."

Nan thought for a moment, but decided to leave the other half of her premonition to herself.  Now that she knew it was the queen who was her soul mate, the feeling began to make perfect sense.  She had always known that her love affair would not last long and it would end in tragedy.

"I want to make love to you again," Christine said, waking Nan from her thoughts.

She decided to push the terrible feeling away for the moment.

"Actually, I believe it's my turn to make love to you."