“What do you mean you can’t get in?” Marcus smashed the plates on the table in front of him. His servants served his dinner just a moment ago while his warrior came to report on the situation in his neighboring country. One month ago, he had to leave the woods and cross the borders again to attend matters in his country. Since then, he didn’t leave the castle, solving the financial issues and disloyalty of his people. His country slowly fell apart while he spent several months away. As always, Marcus did nothing else but tried to solve it with the brute power of his loyal warriors.
“Daniel Colton staged dozens of warriors in every entrance of the capital. They began issuing travel documents and business documents for approved merchants and within a month, they distributed them to everyone who does business in the capital. Without proper documents, we can’t en
“How are you today?” Daniel asked Ariana as they were dining together. For the past month, his country had changed. Especially the capital. No other spies appeared in his town, and everything seemed to calm finally, yet Daniel feared the calm weather before the storm. With Marcus, he could never know his next moves.“Tired. Those old farts don’t even consider my pregnancy as an excuse to go easy on me. Sometimes I feel they make it harder on purpose.” Ariana took a bite of grilled chicken. Her last meal was lunch several hours ago. Starvation bothered her during the afternoon lessons, forcing her to think about her stomach instead of the class. Especially from today’s lessons, she remembered absolutely nothing.“Tanya stopped by my office an hour ago and asked me to take you to her after dinner.&
“Good morning.” Tanya greeted Ariana as soon as she entered her room through the connecting door. A few weeks ago, Ariana stayed in the infirmary under medical supervision, but after two weeks, she had had enough. She was constantly connected to a machine monitoring her baby’s responses. She couldn’t go to the toilet by herself. They even strictly monitored her diet.During these two weeks, she made a deal with both Daniel and Tanya and negotiated at least a room stay. Daniel had the rooms arranged to be walk-through, leaving the door between the two rooms open in case Ariana required emergency medical attention. Tanya simply had continuous access to Ariana. The room was also equipped with a screen where Ariana could watch programs or listen to music. The maids regularly brought her books from the library and new magazines straight from the city. Anything Ariana asked for she had wi
“Something is wrong.” Ariana cried out in pain. She felt a searing pain in the right side of her stomach. It was only a few seconds since her baby was turning again. She felt a sharp pain which got stronger with every passing second since then.Tanya placed her palm on the spot where Ariana complained of sharp pain and tried to feel the baby. Something was wrong. The heartbeat that Tanya could normally feel through her abdominal wall was weak. The child’s responses were rapidly fading.“She needs to get out,” Tanya decided immediately. She already had most of the tools she needed ready in her room. Daniel converted the next room into a smaller infirmary just for these cases.“But there’s still a week left.” Ariana wanted to protest, but she knew, she
“How are they?” Daniel asked once Tayna left Ariana’s room. She looked tired, dirty from Ariana’s blood, but she had a wide smile on her lips.“They are both healthy, although I thought we might lose the baby girl.” Tayna paused for a second before finishing the second part of the sentence. She could shake off the fear of what could happen if she was just a few moments later. The girl would suffocate inside her mother’s womb.“What happened?” Daniel wanted to know. Tanya took her time to explain what forced them to take the girl out. Once Tanya finished, he peeked inside the room, hoping he would see Ariana.“You can go inside, sir.” She knew exactly what was going on in Daniel’s mind. Of course, he was happy for th
“What are you planning to do now?” David Parker asked during the meeting. Daniel called for an emergency meeting the following day after Ariana gave birth to her daughter. It was finally time to proclaim Ariana’s position as his queen.“Ariana gave birth yesterday, so I plan to finally officially announce her appointment as the new queen.” Daniel briefly informed him about his plan. He thought exactly what to say, since there were still Marcus’ people outside of the city, trying their luck to sneak inside.Thanks to Ariana, they found the majority of smugglers’ tunnels leading out of the city, especially after Ariana showed them the hidden doors inside the basement of the houses, which the young woman used to get Ariana out of the town. Ariana followed her instincts and showed them exactly
“She is beautiful. And how tiny she is.” Peter had already forgotten what it was like to hold a tiny baby like Aaliyah in his arms. Ariana was born to them more than eighteen years ago, and Peter was almost always on duty. He could not help his wife with the care of their daughter. Now it was different. Although he had an agreement with Daniel and a permanent position in the barracks, he still had time for his granddaughter.“Would you expect her to be born fully grown? Silly you are, aren’t you?” Daria scolded him, although she couldn’t miss the gentle look in his eyes as he held his dear granddaughter firmly in his huge hands. Especially in his arms. Little Aaliyah looked smaller than she was.“You know how to spoil the mood.” Peter complained about his wife. Ariana watched their squabble with
The coronation was approaching at an extremely fast pace. Days turned into weeks and weeks almost into a month. Just a few last days before she stands in front of all the people who matter, and she gets her crown on her head. Her stomach clenched in pain just thinking about it.“I’ll take her again.” Ariana reached over to Maria, who was playing with baby Aaliyah. She wanted to feel her closeness, but she also hoped the child would calm her down. She wanted to stop thinking about what awaited her, at least for a moment.“You look nervous.” Maria stared at Ariana as she thought of how to cheer her up. Aaliyah will sleep soon, which gives Maria time to somehow distract Ariana and turn her worries into something more positive.“You can’t be surprised. Daniel t
Ariana stood in front of the mirror and couldn’t take her eyes off herself. She had no idea who she was looking at. The person staring back at her from the mirror was someone completely different. “Who is it?” Ariana asked. Of course, she knew she was looking at herself, but even though she had her image right in front of her eyes, she couldn’t believe it. “Daniel said that you can only go into the city in disguise. The little one will be here at the castle with her grandmother, and we have the entire afternoon to go shopping. I also had herb bags sewn into your clothes to cover your smell. Nobody will recognize you. So even if some kidnappers are waiting for you in the city again, they won’t know it’s you.” Tanya looked at Ariana with undisguised surprise. Luis was famous for his art, but what he did with Ariana was simply a masterpiece. “Thank you, Luis. I think this is absolutely perfect.” Luis worked on Ariana for almost two hours. He tried to change her features so no one woul