Chapter 65
Having a newborn has not been easy to navigate but Ryker was by my side at all times and he made it easier for me. He helped out at nights and didn’t mind watching Aurora when I had to attend meetings. I had hoped that being a new mum would reduce my workload by a significant amount but I thought wrong. I was busier than usual especially with Aurora’s naming.
Everyone knew her name but according to custom, a ceremony was supposed to be held. The last thing I wanted to do was go in front of the entire palace and showcase my newborn but I found that I had very little say in the matter. Ryker didn’t like it either so I knew I wasn’t overreacting.
“You’re the Queen,” Christine mused as she helped me get dressed for the day. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
“I think we both know that’s a lie. I did everything possible to get out of this and you know it.”
She sighed deeply and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “It’ll be over before you even realize and then you can go on that long needed trip that Ryker has been planning.”
“Are you going to tell me where he is taking me?” I asked and she pretended to zip her mouth shut.
Ryker noticed how stressed I was and declared that after the naming, we were going on a trip as a family. The elders were against it but I learned that Ryker did as he wished because he canceled all my meetings and the trip was staying despite everyone’s protests.
A loud gurgle snapped me out of my thoughts and I rushed over to Aurora. Unlike Audrey, she was a frolicky baby and it was very easy for her to go from gurgling to full blown tears within the span of a second. I picked her up and she peered up at me with wide eyes that looked too intelligent for her age. As I gazed at her, I couldn’t help but feel like something bad was going to happen.
“Is it too late to get out of this?” I asked aloud and Christine turned to me.
“Are you having second thoughts?” she asked and I shrugged. “Camilla, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I just don’t feel right-about this.”
“You’ll be fine. You have the best guards in the kingdom guarding you.”
Somehow, her words did little to calm me down but there was nothing I could do about it at the moment.
I was led towards the doors of the same hall I did my coronation. Ryker was standing there waiting for me and he gave me a soft smile as he saw me. He took Aurora from my hands and she made small gurgling noises. He was a girl dad through and through and the girls adored him. Audrey was clinging to his pants and trying to get his attention as he held Aurora.
He was the epitome of ease and I tried to convince myself that I was overreacting. If Ryker didn’t think anything was wrong then I was probably overreacting. His eyes found mind and he instantly knew something was wrong. He opened his mouth to ask but he was interrupted by one of the elders who walked up to us and started talking about the order of the ceremony.
I zoned him out because I already knew what was to happen. We were to go in, the priest would bless the child and dedicate them to the moon goddess and the ceremony would end with the child’s name. I had the same ceremony with Audrey although it was a more private ceremony because I was still in hiding at the time. As I watched Ryker listen with rapt
attention, I realized the information was more for his benefit.
Once the ceremony started, I zoned everything out and went through the motions on autopilot. Even when I delivered Audrey, I didn’t want to be around people but somehow, it was worse now. I got easily irritated and I didn’t know why. Ryker stayed close to me as if sensing my unease and I leaned on his calm emotions because mine were haywire.
I held my breath when Aurora was blessed because although it was rare, there were two cases in history where the goddess refused to bless the child. In the first instance, the first child died before reaching the age of five and in the second, the child murdered their entire family. A candle was lit and a prayer was offered. If the candle stayed lit then the child was blessed and if it went out, then the blessing was denied.
The priest was about to light the candle when the door to the hall opened. Standing there was a guard I had seen around but there was something off about him. His eyes were wide and he wasn’t moving. All of a sudden, a knife protruded from his neck and he fell to the ground. My first instinct was to grab Audrey and shield her from the violence but it was too late, she
had seen it.
Standing behind the dead guard was a man I had never seen before. He had dark brown hair almost the same shade as mine but his
eyes were a deep black, it was almost like he didn’t have irises. He crossed the threshold of the room and made a show of wiping his blo ody knife on his pants.
“Sorry to intrude but it looks like my invitation got lost in the mail,” he smiled widely as he made his way forward. The guards were quick to point their spears at him but he merely glanced at it and turned to face me. “I think you’re in my spot.”
“Excuse me?”
He straightened up and took a piece of paper from his pocket. He held out the paper and I began forward to pick it but Ryker grabbed my arm in a firm grip. He shook his head and I remembered that I wasn’t just Camilla, I was the queen and I couldn’t make stu pid decisions. One of the guards took it from him and brought it over to me. I hesitantly took it and unfolded the picture. I had seen enough of my father’s handwriting to recognize it on sight. He kept a lot of journals but it wasn’t the handwriting that caught my attention, it was the small photograph.
It was of my father and a young boy. The boy couldn’t have been more than three years old in the picture and it was dated the year I was born. I glanced up at the man in front of me and allowed the picture flutter to the ground.
“What is that? It’s just a picture, it doesn’t mean anything.”
He smirked. “I think we both know what that means. My name is Frederick the second, I was named after the late king. I am his son and rightful heir.”
“Anyone can come out and make a claim,” I glanced at his picture on the floor. “That means nothing to me or anyone else
here.”
“I don’t think you want your father’s infidelities aired out in public, Camilla,” he spoke my name like a threat and Ryker growled and stepped in front of me. “I only came here out of respect for the title. You have one week to vacate my throne before I make it my business. I will not hesitate to take my crown back from you, Camilla/
People were beginning to whisper and I knew I needed to do something to discredit him and fast. There were too many similarities between him and my father and it was clear to the n*ked eye. Regardless of that, I was not giving up the throne to a nob*dy, much less someone who killed a guard in cold blood.
“Even if you are the king’s son, you are a ba stard and I would rather die than have a ba stard sit on my throne.”
His jaw clenched and the next thing I knew, there was a knife being hurled my way. Ryker pulled me out of the way just in time and the knife embedded itself in the wall behind me. Frederick stood there with a snarl on his face.
“One week, Camilla.”.
The guards rushed to grab him but he was quick. He turned on his heels and disappeared. There was silence in the hall as people fought to grasp what had happened. I was breathing heavily and I had so many things running through my mind but the predominant one was that the priest didn’t light the candle.
“Finish the ceremony,” I instructed him. I could see him shaking like a leaf but he did as I asked.
Ryker looked at me like I was crazy but I wanted the ceremony over. I let out a sigh of relief when the flame burned brighter and I didn’t wait for the announcement of Aurora’s name before I grabbed Audrey and left the hall. I didn’t stop moving until I was safely behind the doors of my room.
Ryker and Christine were close behind and as soon as the door shut, Ryker handed Aurora to Christine and rushed over to my side.
“Are you okay?” he asked and I nodded. “What happens now?”
“Now, we have one week to prepare before that ba stard does something crazy.”
