The next morning, Alex was feeling quite okay. The treatment had hastened his recovery and he couldmove around. The first thing he had in his head was to go find Fiona. They weren't done with theirbusiness and he really needed to find the girl and finish up whatever they had started. He was hellbent onfinding whoever had hurt his Athena.He woke up as early as six, knowing fully well that Athena would be asleep or still in her chambers.She spent most of her mornings there, bathing and having her breakfast so it was rare to find her in thedining room.Once he had dressed up, he left his room and went out of the palace through the servant's quarters. Noone would see him as the palace quarters would be empty due to the fact that they had all resumed theirdaily duties.The grass was still damp from the morning dew and he made sure to avoid wetting his boots since theywere almost going bad. He needed to avoid water at all costs.The roads were void of activities save for so
"This is where weapons are made for the Kingdom?" Alex asked as they entered the workshop. It was filled with ash and smoke and soot. Everywhere was black due to the constant use of fire and the shingles were bad. Water would definitely leak into this place constantly especially during the rain. "Yes." "It looks really bad. Was the previous King before Athena not aware of the state of this place?" Fiona shrugged and lifted up a really heavy hammer. She placed it gently against the wall. "My father probably informed him." At the mention of her father, Alex felt sad for Fiona. Not only had her father been killed, he had been killed for molesting young children. He wondered how Fiona would think of him if she found out. But he wasn't going to say anything. Infact, he acted ignorant. "So you said arrows are made here," Alex reminded her. "Show me where." Fiona led him into another room. In this room, there were jute bags filled with spearheads that
The whole room became immediately silent as Athena entered. Minutes ago, the men had been speaking in low tones, how Athena was making a mess of things and how being a woman King was messing things up but as soon as they heard familiar footsteps coming towards the meeting room, they all hushed in silence. Athena's face was drawn tight. She was unsmiling. This was her usual expression but it seemed like it was more intense today. Everyone made sure to compose themselves as they were not ready for their blood to be spilled. They all stood up and bowed to her in reverence. Ignoring them all, she walked up to her throne and took her seat before facing the congregation of men. "Why has this meeting been called for?" Morpheus, one of the spokesmen who had been appointed by the late King, stood to his feet and cleared his throat. He was a man of great speaking voice. "We called this meeting to remind you about the coronation. It is only right and customary that you
Alexander spent the rest of his evening in his room, pondering and brainstorming on who might have fired that arrow at Athena. No matter how angry he had made her, he still cared about her and wanted to find the culprit. When it was evening, his stomach rumbled and he stood to his feet. He hadn't eaten all day and he needed to put something in his belly. So he stepped out of his room and walked through the corridors towards the kitchen. His face was still tight and unsmiling so no one dared speak to him. When he got to the kitchen, he went straight to Tiffany, one of his favorite cooks. "Hungry, aye?" The dark skinned woman asked. Her curly hair was wrapped with a woolen scarf. Alex nodded. "I haven't eaten since morning." "Wait for me in the dining room. I heard that the Queen— King lets you dine there." They both exchanged a chuckle. "I think I would love to eat here." Tiffany shook her head. "The King has forbidden us from eating here i
"I see that you've been rendezvousing with that Fiona girl again?" Alex was just standing to his feet when he heard her distinct voice behind him. He sighed and turned to look at her with a bored look. "And how is that a problem?" Athena blinked. She hadn't expected him to ask her that. But she was good at composing herself and she did so. "It is a problem because she is in my premises. I do not want her here and she seems suspicious." "Suspicious?" Alex gave her an incredulous look. "Why would you think that?" Athena shrugged. "She might be the one who shot the arrow. I feel it." "But you aren't sure. You have no right to speak of what you know nothing about." Athena laughed. "How many days do you have left? I'm tired of seeing you around here." Alex felt a pang of hurt in his chest as she said that. "You're always chasing me away, right?" Athena nodded in affirmation. "I don't want you here. I also don't want this ring and we're never go
Athena's eyes blazed with so much fire. Alex had never seen her this fierce. He could smell the jealousy and hurt coming off her and the more she suppressed it, the worse it became. Her fists were clenched and the soldiers who stood beside her immediately retreated, giving them both privacy. Alex was not going to offer her any sort of clarity. He wanted her to vent everything she was feeling so he just stood where he was, watching her with interest in his eyes. "You believe I have slept with Fiona and you also believe I have slept with Kali. I am a footman and you have not failed to remind me that I am and put me in my place Athena. You have made sure you want to have nothing to do with me and you have also shown it to me." "That's because I don't care about you!" "Why are you mad at me for moving with these women if you don't care about me?" Athena stopped. It seemed like it had dawned on her. She staggered backwards and clamped a hand over her mouth for several
Athena went back into her chambers and wrapped a cloak around herself before leaving her room. She hurried down the ornate staircase, nearly bumping into one of her servants who immediately jumped out of the way. When she got to the door, the ostiary immediately pulled the door open for her. Indeed, they were men standing at the base of the steps leading to the porch. More than ten of them and they were all able bodied, filled with testosterone that dripped off them in torrents. For the first few seconds, she was confused. Seeing a lot of able bodied men at the same time who were standing before her for the reason of finding whoever had tried to kill her for the purpose of winning her hand was quite overwhelming. One of them was bold enough to step forward and introduce himself and the others. "My King," He began in a tone that was laced with respect. "We have all gathered here for the sole purpose of finding whoever fired that arrow at you." "And why is
Athena sat on her vanity table and thought about Alexander and his recent behavior. After that night she had gone out of control and whacked his face, he had changed drastically towards her. The Alexander she knew would always pester her and be a pain in her butt. He would always encroach her space and make her angry. But that had changed. He was no longer interested in being around her. In fact, he had avoided her for the most part and had given her cold stares and replies which had made her really uncomfortable and worried. But she still blamed it on the ring on her fingers. Just three days and it'll be off her hand. And then, she wouldn't care about Alexander's existence, if he died or not or if he was okay. But now, she was worried. She hoped he was safe out there and when she remembered that they would be passing by her window, she stood to her feet and went there. She pulled the close curtains and the lights lining the streets down below flooded into her ro