April Showers Bring Forth May Flowers

The rain bounced off the floor it was so hard, puddles quickly turning to rivers as the storm grew stronger in the night sky. Anna sat there in the car with Maxim, the car off, the sound of the rain hitting the roof quite loud. Maxim, in the driver's seat, looked at her.

"I guess we could check something else off that bucket list of yours while we wait?"

"I think you misunderstand what bucket list actually means, Maxie," Anna murmured with a smirk. "Besides, we need to get in, before someone sees us. You know they'll be looking for me."

"I know, but I don't think I can wait until we get to the house... can't we just... you know..." his hand on her thigh set her skin on fire. She turned and kissed him fully.

"No. Because if they come here and find me with you, we're both dead." Anna's eyes lit up. "And as much as the danger of that turns me on just a little bit, it's not a bucket list thing to die while I'm having sex in my secret lover's car." Max looked at her, and nodded. In the dark, his olive-green eyes were almost black. It took her breath away a little bit.

"Got you."

"Gotcha," Anna corrected, kissing him again. "Come on."

Anna opened the car door and stepped out into the rain. After just seconds, she was soaked through to the bone. They couldn't park in the normal spots, because if Max's car was seen, they'd haul him away for seducing the Queen and taking her from the King. Because of course, the Queen clearly wasn't capable of making her own decisions. Not at all. Max looked at her over the roof of the car. Already soaked through himself, the way his hair looked as the water dripped off him... Anna grinned. She stalked forward a bit, hiding among the bushes.

Where there should have been security, there was nothing. The house was entirely in darkness.

Suddenly, Anna ran out into the courtyard and jumped into the huge puddle, sending water everywhere. Max let out a laugh and joined her, grabbing hold of her hand. They were completey drenched as he pulled her close and kissed her, the fresh, cold taste of the rainwater mixing with the heat of their lips.

"I love you," Anna said softly, after breaking the kiss.

"I love you, too," Max replied, tracing her skin. "And I hope we can be together for a bit longer than just his trip to Japan."

"We will." Anna kissed him deeply again. "Come. It's freezing, now."

They made their way quietly into the house, dripping water onto the floor in the silent, pitch-black lobby. Anna put the security code into the alarm system, and then another one to stop it sending a notification to the main security hub that it had been turned off. They stripped off their clothes in the entryway, but before Anna could do anything, Max was on her. And she couldn't lie, she wanted it. She wanted it real, real bad.

And she wanted it on the shitty ornate sofas she was only ever allowed to 'perch' upon, because sitting fully on the newly-royal arse was so unladylike...

"Bedroom?" Max breathed, picking her up.

"Absolutely not," Anna grinned. "Sitting room. Sofas. And make a mess." Maxim carried Anna into the sitting room, kicking the door shut behind him.

Hours later, as the storm passed and the sun made a move to rise, Anna lay across Max's chest on the floor. The entire room had been violated, but the smiles on both their faces said it was completely worth it.

"So," Max yawned, tracing little circles on Anna's flawless shoulder. "You never did tell me how the King of Praesodon got it so wrong with his queen."

"Three projects." Anna yawned and sighed. "Three projects of mine... just gone." She shrugged and pushed herself up to look at him. Her full weight was on him, but he loved it. The soft feel of her skin, her warmth... she was just right for him. And he was just right for her. Just a year and a bit younger than her, but their personalities fit perfectly. Mature, but not mature-mature.

"Gone?"

"Yeah. He let me work on three projects: Hospital improvement, schools improvement, and a tax cut for parents to help them out. What does he do? Diverts funding from the hospitals and schools to his own little military purse, and tax cuts for parents became a fucking grant for families earning over a certain amount with a certain amount of kids who have never - never!! Left Praesodon. How does that even work?!"

"Wait - so no holidays abroad?"

"Even the people in the north who drive through Mastradon to get from Cuono to Persh. They don't count. Do you know how many people do that each day?!" Anna ran a hand through her hair. It had dried naturally, into waves. Max loved it. "So, I spent six months on projects just to be told 'no'. Do you know how many people will be let down, Maxie? Hospitals really needed something. People with pneumonia are being treated in mould-infested wards." She bit her lip, shaking her head. Max stroked her hair back.

"He's a prick."

"I know."

"But what are you going to do?"

"I think it's time for his reign of terror to end, Maxie. I can't get out of this alive. I know that. Not while he is." She looked at him. "I chose him because the only other option was to walk into the volcano plains and die of exposure or CO2 poisoning. I chose him because I didn't realise how restrictive he would be. I spent months being trained for the part. And when we married, we married quietly. I didn't speak my own language from the day I got here." She gave a shrug. "He told me to come because he wanted to see me. I was a bit too naive for my own liking."

"So... you're going to kill him?"

"Given how angry I am at him right now... yeah. Yeah, I think I am."

"And then what?"

"Well... I'll play the part of the grieving widow for a while, but then everything falls to me. The arsehole had the rest of his family killed, so there's no-one else left to inherit anything. I'll take over everything, start restoring a bit of balance... and maybe you can join me and help me, if you like?" Anna smiled up at him, eyes soft.

"You'd keep control of the country?"

"I'd restore some balance. Redistribute the wealth a bit... do what I could. And then maybe I'd propose a respublika. An end to the monarki." She kissed him. "And then run away with you into the sunset... to Novisitisk."

"Oh, all the way to Novisitisk!" Max cried, grinning. He pulled her close. "Whatever you need from me, baby. Just say the word and I'll help you. I'm sick of seeing this country go to shit because people can't eat."

"Did I say I love you?"

"Don't think you did, no."

"Well, I love you."

"Hmm, I think I love you too."

When the morning came properly, it brought a fresh storm with it. The April rains were always heavy and long, but the beautiful greenery of May made it all worth it. Anna realised, as she stood in that rain on the grass at the back of the house, that she was in the April showers part of her time in Praesodon. An assassination and some careful acting would bring about a beautiful May, where she could dare to dream of a life with Maxim, where she could have his babies and make him happy and wake up next to him every day and know that his smile was just for her...

As the rain dripped down her skin, a pair of arms wrapped around her. Anna grinned as Max kissed her throat, then her jaw.

"Good morning."

"Good morning to you," Anna replied, looking out at the spectacularly dark clouds on the horizon. She broke free of his arms suddenly, and pulled him onto the grass properly, sliding around. Max pulled her into a ballroom dance, waltzing her around, the grass slippy beneath them. Above them, a fork of lightning shot across the sky; both of them jumped and slid straight down a hill, laughing. They both lay there, panting.

"That was exhilarating," Maxim said, eyes wide, grinning. He looked over at her. "It'll be alright. Won't it?"

"Of course it will." Anna rolled on top of him, kissing him. "April showers bring forth May flowers."