The Duke's Masked Wife

Far away from town in one of Edgar's homes, Tobias pushed open the door to the bedroom he would be using with Hazel for the next few days. He made a rash decision to move up their time away from the palace after more questions about an heir were coming to him again.

Tobias turned around to inspect Hazel's reaction as she walked in after him. It wasn't quite what he was expecting.

"Comfortable? There is no one here but us. We only need to send a guard for a maid when we need one. You're too quiet Hazel. Do you want to go home?" Tobias asked, feeling like there was something wrong. He knew she wanted to be away from the palace but now that they were, she didn't seem happy.

Since they arrived Hazel was silent and didn't show any excitement to be here.

"No, I am excited. I am still in disbelief that you managed to get us out of the palace. Your ears are going to be destroyed by the court men when we return. Are you sure it's okay for you to leave the palace, Tobias? You didn't need to for me," Hazel replied, worried about the trouble they would find themselves in. What if something big were to happen while they were away?

"I am the king, Hazel. They can be upset all they want but I do not care. You haven't exactly been happy these days when your friends aren't in the palace. I want to see you happy again so don't even think of the palace," Tobias said, rubbing her arms to cheer her up.

"How can I not think of the palace? From the moment we neared the gates of this home, I kept thinking, am I going to get pregnant if I am out of the palace? Can I stop stressing my body and do it-"

"Hazel," Tobias touched her shoulder to stop her from talking about a child now. "You do not need to think about that right now."

"I do. I have to think about it all the time. By now I should already have a prince or at least a princess but I do not. It is not something I can not worry about when the kingdom is worried about the future. We cannot leave the kingdom without an heir any longer. It won't be long before your relatives come to the castle to suggest a new queen or for you to take a woman to your room," said Hazel.

To her, their time out of the palace felt more like her last chance than a vacation. Tobias wasn't the one pressured by the worries of the people, she was. They didn't hide how she was failing her one duty as a woman.

"It has already started with Linda as an option. I am sure they would love to have her as queen right this second. They wanted it from the start but she had eyes for Edgar. I feel like a fool for questioning if she knew what her grandfather was planning before I even spoke to her. I don't like how I feel these days," Hazel confessed in a soft tone.

"I didn't bring you here for us to make a baby. Truthfully I was looking forward to us having sex and not thinking about the palace at all. I understand your concern but I am sure you will be the one to carry the future king. There's been too much pressure on you which is why I plan to do a bit of shaking up in the palace when we return."

Hazel didn't understand what he meant by shaking up and asked, "What do you mean by shaking it up? Are you going to get rid of the people not on our side? If it was easy you would have done it long ago."

"It was never easy and took years of careful planning but the time is now. They need to go or we shall continue to live in misery. The palace already has the best doctors in Lockwood but I am bringing in more doctors from other towns so they can figure out what is causing you to not have a child," Tobias said. He was certain it could be fixed.

"And what if the problem is that I am barren? I have been thinking and I have come to the decision that I am alright with you sleeping with another woman for the sole purpose of making an heir-"

"Hazel, enough of this before I am angered by your words," Tobias gave her a warning. He made it very clear before their marriage that he would not be like other kings who had many women.

"No, I am speaking what is on my mind. You will eventually be backed into a corner and forced to pick another woman. I would feel better if it is a woman that I have picked and I have prepared myself for it. It is not what I want but what the kingdom needs. It has finally dawned on me what your mother meant when she said my husband will not belong to me," Hazel said, recalling the speech the former queen gave her which was unclear for years.

Hazel always knew she shared her husband with the kingdom since the people needed Tobias but she understood now she was being told that marrying a future king meant she might have to share him with other women. Whether it be for a child or for Tobias to have more allies in the palace. Hazel was warned she could not stop it.

Hazel made up her mind about welcoming another woman. Unlike most queens, she would select the woman. "When we return I will select a woman to-"

"One month. Wait one more month to see if we can have a child and if we don't, I will let the selection start. I will tell the men in the court of this when we return so they will leave us alone for one month. It has not worked out for us since we married but I have high hopes for us this time," Tobias said, placing a hand on Hazel's stomach.

Hazel rested her head against Tobias' chest to hide her tears though he would feel the wetness in his clothes. She was thankful that he loved her this much. If not for him, life in the palace would have forced her to take her own life long ago. "Okay. One month," she agreed.

Tobias embraced Hazel and did not mention the tears she wanted to hide. He wished to tell her that he was investigating the people around her to see if there was any foul play to stop her from getting pregnant.

It wouldn't be the first time it happened to a queen and it would not be the last. This was part of the reason he wanted her out of the palace now and for most of the one month, he would keep her out of it. By now Edgar should have received his letter that once their trip was over, Tobias wanted Hazel to stay there with the Duchess.

Tobias didn't care about who would question why the queen was not present in the palace. His only focus was making sure nothing was being done to his wife. Grant's recent persistence to have Linda bear the next king made him suspicious of Hazel not yet pregnant.

Tobias started his investigation with the cooks, the doctors who offered Hazel medication, and the royal food inspectors who were to check her food for anything suspicious. There were no issues with these people in the past as they were always quick to pick up on threats to Hazel and pointed out the maids trying to harm her but there was a chance their loyalty was bought recently.

"Get your hand off my buttocks, Tobias," Hazel grumbled against his chest. Leave it to her husband to touch her there in an emotional moment.

"No can do. My hand seems to like it right here. I am enjoying not having to sneak into your room at night to touch you like this. Remind me to get rid of that foolish tradition of the king and queen having separate rooms. I say we stop thinking about the palace right now. I'm sorry in advance," Tobias apologized while he hoisted Hazel into his arms.

Hazel didn't understand the apology when there was nothing one was needed for. "What are you apologizing for?" She asked.

"We won't get to see much of the area. I plan to keep you in bed from this moment on."