Chapter 146
CAMILLA’S P.O.V
I was stunned to say the least. Ryker had already arranged everything and all that was left was for us to leave. To be honest, we did need a vacation and I was meaning to get to it but I didn’t expect him to already plan everything. It was just going to be us as a family and as the carriage drove off from the palace, I couldn’t help but bounce my feet eagerly. Audrey was sitting opposite us while Aurora was comfortably lying in Ryker’s arms.
“Where are we going, mummy?” Audrey asked making me turn to her. “It looks like the same road we went through with aunt Christine.”
I had somehow forgotten about that trip and how badly it ended. I cursed when I realized how worried she might be. I sat beside her and held her small hand in mine. She wasted no time in squeezing my hand as she looked out of the window watching and searching. I knew the vampires weren’t an issue anymore but she was a child, I couldn’t dismiss her fear especially since I had no idea what they faced.
“It is, but we are safe this time, I promise you,” I assured her and I could tell she wanted to believe me but she was still worried. “Do you want me to close the curtains? Maybe if you don’t look outside then you’ll feel better.”
“I’m scared,” she whispered and I felt my heart shatter as I pulled her close to my chest. I placed a soft kiss on her head and tucked her underneath my arm. “You’ll protect us right, daddy?”
“With my life,” Ryker didn’t hesitate before answering. “You have nothing to worry about.”
The curtains remained drawn for the remainder of the trip and Audrey calmed down enough to fall asleep. I couldn’t help but hope that she stayed sleeping until we got to the house. I didn’t want her worrying and I knew there was no way to stop her from doing that. No words were exchanged between Ryker and I, we didn’t need to speak, all it took was one glance from the other person to know what was wrong and what needed to be said.
“She’ll be fine,” I told him and he just hummed. “She’s young, there is a possibility that she will forget about this when she is older. Even if she doesn’t completely forget, it will be a distant memory. We have peace with the vampires for now and hopefully it lasts throughout their lifetime as well. She is safe.”
“I know that, I just hate that it is even a problem for her. She is so young and she has faced so much. It is a miracle that she is still standing here. There was a reason I never wanted children, I didn’t want any until I was sure that I could protect them from everything. I will never regret my girls but what good am I as a parent if I cannot keep them safe?”
“You have kept them safe, despite everything thrown at us, they are alive and they are happy, that is all we can ask for as parents,” I spoke softly so as not to rouse the girls. “We cannot always protect them from everything but we have done everything in our power to keep them safe, we have tried our best and that has to be enough. You are a great father to these girls.”
“Sometimes our best isn’t enough, Camilla, they depend on us for everything.”
I sighed. “Be that as it may, you protected them from things that you didn’t even cause. Frederick was not your fault and neither were the vampires. We inherited the sins of our parents and we paid for them.”
“I wasn’t talking about that, I was referring to Alara,” he looked up at me. “I brought Alara into their lives. She could have hurt them and we would never have been able to figure it out. What good am I if I am unable to keep them safe?”
I was about to respond when the carriage lurched to a halt. My spine straightened and I looked at Ryker to see that he was just as confused as I looked. Audrey stirred next to me at the sudden stop.
“Are we there yet?” she mumbled but I quickly kissed her forehead.
“No, sweetheart, go back to sleep,” I adjusted her so that she was leaning against the window and grabbed the handle of the carriage but Ryker grabbed my arm.
“What are you thinking?”
“I want to investigate.”
“Are you insane?” he all but spat. “We don’t know what is out there. Why would you even think about going there?”
“You can come with if you want,” I winked at him before pulling the door open and stepping out. The coachman was by my side as soon as he saw me. “What is going on?”
“There was just an old lady, some of her wares scattered in the middle of the road. If we tried to pass, we would have damaged them.”
Ryker got out behind me and I smiled at him before making my way to the front of the carriage. He muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like ‘goddess help me’ but I was barely paying attention to him. Scattered in front of the road just like the coachman had said were bundles of firewood, baskets of herbs and a bunch of other trinkets/that I couldn’t identify.
I sighted the old woman struggling to load them all into a small cart and I couldn’t stop myself from helping her. She didn’t notice me at first until I took one of the firewood bundles to her cart. Her eyes widened as she took me in.
“Your majesty,” she bowed low but I was quick to stop her. As soon as I put my hands on her shoulders to steady her, I felt a pulse run through my blood.
I didn’t know how but I immediately knew that it had something to do with my healing powers. It was almost like there was something inside of her that called out to my powers, something inside of her that needed to be healed. I could feel the tug almost as if it was fighting to get out of me and into her. I immediately snatched my hand back.
Ryker was behind me with his hands at my waist. “Are you alright?”
I nodded then turned back to the old woman. “Are you by any chance ill?”
I knew it was an out of pocket question and she blinked at me carefully before bowing her head in shame. “How did you know, your majesty? Has it began to spread to my features?”
“What ails you?”
“I don’t know. It took my mother and my grandmother. It is a miracle I managed to live this long. The physicians say there is nothing they can do. It ails the women in my family. Alas I lived a long and full life and I bore only sons. The ailment will die with me.”
I gave her a sad smile. “Good luck.”
“I wish you the same, your majesty.”
She bowed and dragged her cart across the road. Ryker was still looking between us in confusion and as soon as we got into the carriage, I explained what had happened. I didn’t know how to describe it because it had never happened to me but I did the best that I could. By the time I was done, he just stared at me.
“Is that perhaps part of your powers?” he asked and I co cked my head to the side in confusion. “Everything is supposed to have a downside, is it not? You have two powers instead of one, perhaps that could be the disadvantage. When you touch people, your powers are drawn to their ailments.”
“It would make sense but I wouldn’t know until I touch someone else who has an ailment. I spend most of my time in the palace,” I ran my hands through my hair with a sigh. “Do you think we should try it out?”
“I think it can wait. We came here to relax, we can worry about all of this much later, okay?” I nodded. I reached out for his hand and he squeezed. “We should be arriving at the house soon.”
We were on the road for another twenty minutes before the carriage pulled to another stop. This time, it was the coachman who opened the door for us. I gently roused Audrey from sleep who looked like she was going to fall over if she took a step on her own so I carried Aurora while Ryker took her.
I didn’t know what I was expecting when I heard about the vacation house but it was not a two-story stone house complete with a garden by the side, trimmed vines growing up on the walls, a massive space around it and a lake to the side. I could have sworn I heard horses as well. A little distance over to the left was a much smaller house that I immediately knew was for the staff and the guards. It was amazing that this place existed and my mother never spoke of it.
As we got inside, I soon realized why. There was no sign on the inside that she had ever been here, it looked more to me like a bachelor pad than anything. It seemed like the kind of place he would go when he had enough of the palace. The inside resembled a simple townhouse, it reminded me of some of the houses I had seen back at Tyson’s pack. There was a large fireplace in the center of the living room and a massive kitchen.
“This is beautiful,” I whispered aloud and Ryker couldn’t help but hum in agreement.
“Welcome to the manor,” a voice behind us spoke and I nearly jumped. I turned to see a butler standing there complete in a black set and a white shirt underneath. “I am Mr. Biggs and it is an honor to serve you. My father served the late king as I will do with you.”
Ryker snapped out of his haze first. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Mr. Biggs smiled.
“There are a total of five bedrooms and all your things will be brought in and taken to the rooms. There is a garden out back and a horse ranch if you ever feel the need to ride. The late king also had a private room where he kept all his antique game sets including a very beautiful hand carved chess set.”
I was impressed, I didn’t know my father played chess.
“The cook will have the meal ready in an hour. Would you like me to take you to your rooms now?”
