Chapter 135
CAMILLA’S P.O.V
A week passed and I was beginning to doubt whether it was possible for it to die down. No one had said or done anything outright or untoward to us but the story had only circulated further and gotten worse. There were now so many absurd versions of what actually happened that I began to wonder if many people lacked the me*ntal capacity needed to think because some of the stories were wild.
I heard one where I had caught him with his penis inside of her and had nearly gone crazy and almost beat her up. I thought it was stu*pid because if I ever caught him with his di ck inside of someone I was going to kill him and not her but that wasn’t even the problem. The problem was that I just wanted people to shut up.
Riley was supposed to leave today and she had already asked twice if we needed her to stay back. I assured her she was fine but clearly that wasn’t enough because she kept shooting me wary looks as we loaded her things into the carriage that was supposed to take her to the port. Ryker was standing by my side looking more solemn than he had in a very long time. Once we were done, Riley turned to us and wrapped her arms around her brother’s torso.
“Are you sure that you don’t need me to stay?” she asked and Ryker narrowed his eyes at her. He opened his mouth to speak but she quickly held up her hands in mock surrender. “Relax, I already know that you don’t need my help. I just wanted to ask.”
She pulled away from him and made her way to me. She melted into my embrace and I sighed as I wrapped my arms around her. She didn’t say a single word but I could feel every ounce of worry and fear in her and I hoped for both our sakes that she couldn’t feel mine.
“You’ll be fine,” I assured her. “We already sent missives by witches ahead of you. They should arrive within a few days and the letters will be sent directly to you so you know which places are safe enough for you to visit.”
She swallowed and took a deep breath before responding. “It isn’t me that I am worried about. I don’t know how this scandal is going to end.”
I looked up at Ryker who was watching us with soft eyes then lowered my head so I could whisper. It was one thing for him to know we were worried – which he did – it was another entirely for him to hear us worried. I knew it could be emasculating and while Ryker never struck me as the type to be worried about things like that, this week had made me see a different side of him.
“Your brother will be fine,” I whispered to Riley. “He is strong and we all know that Alara is lying. We will get to the bottom of this soon, I promise you. The moment we do, I will find a way to get the news to you.”
“Okay,” she nodded as she pulled away from me slowly. “Just take care of him please. He has spent so long taking care of other people and I am worried that he doesn’t take care of himself.”
“You never have to worry about that, I promise you.”
She smiled with a teary nod and gave her brother one last hug. She stared at a spot behind me and I turned to see Christine standing beside a pillar. She had Aurora in her arms while Audrey ran over to give Riley a hug which she graciously accepted. After she promised to send back gifts from every country she travelled, she rose to her feet and waved at Christine who hesitated before waving back.
Riley was led to her carriage and we watched as it disappeared into the night. Once she was gone, Audrey was by my side weaving her hands into mine.
“I want to travel like her when I’m older,” she said in a dreamy sigh. “Do you think I can do that, mummy? I’ll be on the big ship or the train and I will never stop. I will go everywhere in the whole wide world.”
I chuckled and used my free hand to smooth her hair back. “You can definitely travel. I think it will be fun but what happens when you miss home?”
I didn’t want to outrightly tell her that traveling the world forever wasn’t in her cards. She was the heir to the throne and unless she abdicated and gave it over to Aurora, her entire life was here. Regardless, if she wanted to travel then I was going to make sure that she travelled as much as she could before she was shackled to the life of a royal.
I looked down at her to see her pondering over my last words. It took her a minute before she responded. “I’ll just take you with me,” she turned to Ryker. “You’ll come with me, right daddy?”
Ryker looked down at her with a small smile but didn’t say anything. That seemed to be enough response for her because she shrugged and steered us both back towards the palace where Christine was still standing. Ryker took our daughter from her hands and I noticed that careful look in her eyes as she watched him. It was the very same way I had been looking at him for the past week but it was also the same look that he absolutely despised. After day two, he had told me not to look at him like that because it meant I thought that he was guilty. I tried to explain that I was just worried but he was having none of it.
“Are we needed anywhere?” I asked Christine who shook her head.
“No, I just thought the girls would want to say goodbye to their aunt. Your schedules are completely clear for the day.”
“Thank you,” I smiled at her before turning back to my family. “Why don’t we take a detour before we go back in? Maybe we can take a walk around the palace grounds or we can go to one of the streams.”
Audrey frowned. “Can’t we leave the palace, mummy?”
“Not right now, no,” we had tried so hard to stay out of the public’s eye so it wouldn’t fuel more rumors but that wasn’t something I could explain to a child. She pouted but didn’t say anything else much to my relief.
“We can go another time,” Ryker cut in and that seemed to uplift Riley’ spirits because she beamed wide and nodded. “We should go to the private gardens. There is so much that we can do there.”
“Okay, I’ll race you,” Audrey announced and then she was gone before either of us could say a word.
I noticed her guards rushing to catch up to her and that gave me enough courage to just take a small walk instead. Ryker walked in step with me and I couldn’t stop myself from reaching out to place a hand on his bicep. He froze for a split second before relaxing into my hold. There was so much tension in his body, I wish I could take it away with a snap of my fingers but I couldn’t.
“Can you try to relax?” I asked but he remained silent. “Just forget about all of this for once and spend time with us. Your mind has been anywhere but here for a while now.”
He let out an exhausted sigh. “I’m trying, Camilla, f*uck, you know I am. I don’t know how to deal with this. This isn’t like a pack, this is more political and I am not cut out for this sh*it. You know that, everyone knows that. I have been thinking of a way to get all of this sorted out but nothing comes to mind.”
“I know, and that is why I suggested this. Just spend time with your daughters, spend time with me. Maybe you just need to remember what exactly matters here and that is us. If we believe you then I don’t care what the rest of the town or palace thinks. They will forget about it soon. Sure, it might come up every other year but it will fizzle out like it always does.”
He smiled softy but I could see the disbelief in his eyes. He just placed a kiss to my temple and that was it. I knew there was nothing more I could do except to hope and pray. When we got to the fountain, Audrey was sitting next to it with a sh*it eating grin on her face. For the first time in a week, a genuine grin grew on Ryker’s face.
“I guess you beat us,” he announced and she nodded. “You’ll have to teach me how to run that fast too.”
“I will.”
As I watched their exchange, I chose to believe that everything would be okay.
We stayed in the garden for the better part of two hours before we were interrupted. I sighted the guard first and I knew that it was over the moment Ryker saw him as well. He came up to us and bowed.
“The elders have requested your presence in the council room,” he said and my mind immediately began to conjure up the worst case scenarios.
Had something happened? Were we going to get in trouble? Those thoughts filled my head as we took our girls to Christine and as we made our way into the council room. The elders were deep in conversation with themselves and from the whispers, I knew it was serious.
“We have a problem, your majesties,” it was Caius who began.
“What is it?” I asked but no one spoke. “If you are going to call us here then you might as well be ready to speak. What the hell is the problem?”
“The girl- Alara, her name is- she reached out to us today,” he cleared his throat before continuing. “She insists that her cycle is late and that she might be pregnant with his majesty’s child.”
