Chapter 110
CAMILLA’S P.O.V
I read over the words a few times wondering if I was reading properly and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it. It was just a few sentences but it had shifted the trajectory of everything that we had been working on. They read: I met Alastair in the woods today and I was almost caught. We have to be more careful next time. If anyone finds out what we are doing, it could cost us our lives.
I couldn’t believe that my father knew Alastair and they were friends of some sort. I almost laughed. It seemed like every single problem we had tied back to my father and his actions. In that moment, I couldn’t help but wish that the man was alive so that he could deal with the consequences of his own actions instead of leaving them up for me to handle.
“I can’t believe it,” Ryker muttered as he flipped through the pages. “There are no other mentions of Alastair on this page but I know there has to be something else. What were they doing? What is it that he didn’t want anyone to know.”
“My father was smart apparently. He may not have put it out directly but it will be there. It has to be somewhere.”
We were almost done with the books. We had finished half of the pile. If we didn’t find anything then we were ultimately back to square one. Ryker tried to convince me to go to bed but after that discovery, I couldn’t even force myself to feel tired anymore. We read straight into the early hours of the morning. I didn’t realize the sun had come up until light began peeking through our curtains.
I was exhausted- we both were- and we hadn’t found anything else which put a damper on our spirits. I was practically a walking corpse as I made my way out of the room. There was no hiding the tiredness in my eyes despite washing my face a few times in the hopes that it would make me look better.
I got to the dining room with Ryker in tow. and stopped in my tracks when I noticed that Alara was already there. It wasn’t her presence that took me off guard but the fact that she was seated in my chair which was directly next to Audrey and on the other side of where Ryker would sit. She was locked in a conversation with my daughter so she didn’t immediately realize when we walked in.
“Mummy,” Audrey squealed when she saw us and that was what made Alara notice. Audrey glanced between me and Alara before dropping her voice to whisper. “You’re in my mummy’s seat.”
Her
eyes widened. “Your majesty, I am so sorry. I had no idea. Please forgive me.”
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She started to rise but I waved her off. She was having fun with Audrey and it was just a chair. There was no reason for anyone to make a fuss over a piece of furniture. I could always sit somewhere. It wasn’t the end of the world.
“It is fine,” I assured her as I took another seat. She didn’t look convinced but she didn’t say anything else. “How was your first night here? I hope you slept well.”
“Like a baby, your majesty. I have never felt so refreshed in my life. Also, thank you for the clothes. Someone gave them to me this morning and said that they were from you. I could never thank you enough for all of this.”
“You don’t have to worry about it. It is what any decent person would do.”
I stopped talking after that and focused on my food. It took everything not to fall face first into my bowl a few times but no one seemed to notice except Ryker who kept glancing at me every other second to make sure I was fine. I knew if he had his way, he would have dragged me back into the room and forced me to go to bed but there were a lot of things that demanded our attention today and for once, he had something else to worry about that wasn’t me.
After breakfast, Christine came to take Audrey for her lessons. Alara tried to be friendly with her but Christine practically ignored her. I was taken aback by her actions because I was used to her being kind and accommodating. I made a men tal note to talk to her about it later. I saw Alara’s face fall and as much as I wanted to comfort her, I couldn’t make it seem like my cousin had done anything wrong so I forced myself to stay still.
She left within minutes after that interaction and as soon as she was gone, Ryker turned
to me.
“Are you sure that you don’t want to take a day off?”
“Would you be taking one with me?” I asked and to my surprise, he nodded. “Are you joking or did you actually mean that?”
“We are both exhausted, Camilla. If we both need rest then we should take it. We aren’t of any use to the palace or the people when we aren’t at our best. At this point, I wouldn’t notice if a man was attacking until he got very close. I haven’t slept properly in over two weeks.”
I felt bad instantly. I was part of the reason he was so tired and sleep deprived. Instead of dragging on the conversation for longer than necessary, I stood to my feet and stretched out my hand to him. He wasted no time in intertwining our fingers and we walked out of the dining room together. We had barely gone a few feet when one of the elders approached us. I looked at him with a raised brow wondering what he was doing standing there alone without his usual team behind him.
“Your majesties,” he bowed but it felt more mocking than anything. “We were expecting
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a meeting today with you.”
“We didn’t plan a meeting with you,” I deadpanned and I saw his jaw tick. “Is there a reason that you wanted this meeting? Is it important?”
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“I would believe so. There are matters of the state that need to be discussed. Surely you would realize the importance of that.”
I was exhausted and I was annoyed. I had to breathe deeply through my nose before I responded. “We spend over an hour in there talking every day and nothing comes out of it. Forgive me if I would rather spend my time in a more productive manner that is more viable to produce results. There is nothing you can give to me that I cannot give to myself. I see no need for meetings with the elders every day. I will only call for them when I feel they are important.”
“Your majesty, it is tradition,” he practically hissed. “Every king and queen before you has done the same and they have been able to rule the kingdom the right way. We know best.”
“You knew best, maybe, but there is a big difference between leading a kingdom during a time of peace and during a time of war. Every second counts and right now, you are wasting my seconds.”
eyes
He was shocked, it was evident all over his face but there was something else in his that was a little harder to decipher. It looked like pride but that didn’t make sense considering I had just insulted him and thrown away everything he had said. I waited patiently to hear what he would say in response to that but instead of speaking, he just bowed.
“Perhaps you are right,” I had to blink twice to be sure that he wasn’t an apparition. “The daily meetings do not have to be a thing but we would prefer to be informed about things happening, your majesty. We were unaware that a guard was attacked and a girl was now living in the palace.”
“Those things do not concern the elders,” it was Ryker who spoke. “Your business is the well being of the palace and the royal family. Your job begins and ends with advising the ruling family- nothing more.”
“That might be true but we cannot give accurate advice if we are unaware of what is happening,” he sighed. “I do not want to be your enemy. We can work together and do this but there needs to be trust.”
“Are you speaking for yourself or for the entire team of elders?”
“I cannot speak for my colleagues. Everyone has their plans and intentions. I just want peace. I have grandchildren in this pack and I do not want them to become victims of this. That is all I am asking, your majesty.”
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I glanced at Ryker in a silent question. He was better at reading people’s intentions and honesty. It took him a second but he nodded discreetly. He trusted what he was seeing and hearing so I did too.
“Okay, I will keep you informed,” he bowed and began to leave but I stopped him. “What is your name elder?”
The
“No one has referred to me by my name in a long time,” he smiled softly to himself. “My name is Caius.”
He walked away after that leaving Ryker and I in silence. Once again, all traces of tiredness had vanished from my eyes but I still found myself going up the steps towards the room. The least I could do was sneak in an hour long nap and then get back into my work. I didn’t even bother changing out of my clothes as I landed face first into my bed. Ryker chuckled from behind me and leaned over to place a soft k*ss on the spot between my shoulder and neck.
I turned over so I could watch him undo his buttons and place his shirt gently on the chair. He took a much calmer approach as he got into bed and I couldn’t stop myself from crawling over to him and placing my head on his chest. He wasted no time in pulling me close. I could hear his heartbeat from my spot on top of him.
“I should be training right now,” I mumbled to which he laughed. “Loris wouldn’t mind if I come in an hour later, right?”
“He definitely will but the question is if there is anything he can do about it,” he quipped and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. “You deserve this. Forget about everything else.”
“I will. It is just weird for us to have an entire hour to ourselves. I am completely shocked.”
“Don’t jinx it then. Take what you’ve been given and enjoy it.” As if on cue, someone knocked on our door and I let out a groan. “Ignore it. If it isn’t important, they will go away.”
We ignored it hoping they would leave but the knocking only became more frantic.
