The next morning, I ate alone in my room then set out for a morning walk, a time when it would be quiet and I could head to the woods to pretend just for a moment I was free, even with Nathaniel by my side he could sense I wanted just peace today, no conversation, no worries and no king Edric! But just as we were out of the doors, I noticed in the distance a small heard of horses and men with flags pacing toward us in the distance, both me and Nathaniel stopped in our tracks immediately as we looked before us in confusion and concern.“Go and tell the king! I demanded as I glanced to Nathaniel “they have a flag, it must be someone of importance and call Matthias he should be in the main hall”He nodded and quickly ran back into the castle, I slowly made my way to the gates as I motioned to the guards standing nearby to follow me, I could start to make out the colours of yellow and white on their flag, and it was colours I did not recognise to belong to any of our allies. “Be prepared
Aldrich’s POV:I knew I had to go into this meeting tactfully, not showing my true thoughts about king Edric and his rule, I had to come here to form my own opinion before I could really make a sound decision on what course to take, but I had a feeling Mallon’s description of Edric was not exaggerated, why just meeting Aurelia had already given me an inkling on that.The moment I saw her at the gate, I knew straight away it had to be her, her long hair shone just as warmly as her smile and the kindness in her sea blue eyes that betrayed her, for they proved just how innocent and submissive she was and I was eager to know the young girl more… the girl that in a short space of time managed to make my son fall in love with her and truth be told, a part of me didn’t want her to leave my side, I had a funny feeling she’d be the only one here with some sense, someone I could relate to.Mr Williamson pulled out a chair at a long, narrow and stained wooden table, I nodded in thanks to the poo
Aldrich’s POV:Polite little Maude escorted me to Edric’s privy chamber and I was annoyingly shocked at how overdecorated it was. My eyes glanced quickly over the many tapestries that hung neatly on the walls, the long expensive rugs coating the stone floor, his desk was covered in gold and silver ornaments, more of them flocked all around the room, neatly lined on the floor in front of the walls. His desk chair looked as plush and rich as his throne! When I first arrived here yesterday, I felt the place was very plain, cold and underdressed, barely any decorative attempt anywhere... and now I know why, Edric had only felt it necessary to completely cover his own room with pricey trinkets and materials. I inwardly rolled my eyes as Edric motioned for me to sit in the empty chair opposite his desk.“Have you enjoyed your morning here, my friend?” Edric asked me as his lips turned up into a cocky smileFriend? I scoffed to myself “Yes I have, in fact, I decided to spend a little bit of
Aurelia’s POV:I walked through the corridors with a certain bounce in my step today. I had woken up this morning to see the sun shining and all I wanted was to take Artax out for a ride and breathe in the fresh air. My thoughts suddenly went to Aldrich, I hadn’t seen him since our talk yesterday and I wondered how he was managing to cope with my father. As if my thoughts came to reality, Aldrich suddenly appeared from around the corner ahead of me, his face suddenly breaking into a warm smile as he saw me, his arms stretched out as he quickened his steps. I smiled shyly as I suddenly felt nervous, just like I had before.“Wow, what a beautiful lady to see so early in the day” he greeted as he stood inches in front of meI smiled as my head dipped down to my feet bashfully before I looked back up at him “Good morning your majesty, did you sleep well?”He thought for a moment as he let out a small groan “It was certainly better than my first night here. Are you off somewhere?”"Yes, I
When I woke the next morning, my face wasn’t throbbing, after Maude had put a cold flannel on it, but it still hurt to touch and I could feel that part of my skin had become bumpy. I knew he left a mark, which meant I now had to put up with him mocking me in front of people, telling them how clumsy I am for falling over, or always managing to get myself scrapes and scratches. I don’t know if anyone ever actually believed him, but either way, they knew better than to voice their opinion.As soon as I sat up, my head started to thud, I tried to rub it away, wishing I could just go back to sleep, at least for a few days, at least until I could be bothered to deal with yet another day of seeing my father’s smug face.Just as I was willing my headache to go away, Maude came into my room with a tray of porridge and warm lemon water.“Oh, you’re up, my dear. I thought I’d have to wake you. How are you feeling?”“Like… like someone’s just hit me across the head”“Oh, my darling” she sympathis
Mallon’s POV:I spent the last three weeks taking over all my father’s duties while he was gone. It took so much to hold back and not go to Northelye with him. “I can’t have you there being all hot-headed” My father said.“I need to see King Edric myself, I need to think of what’s right for our kingdom, my son, so I’m afraid you’re just going to have to stay here and trust that I will do what needs to be done” and I did trust him. I trusted him more than any man, I had nothing but respect and admiration for him. But he didn’t know what I was thinking or feeling. He didn’t know how guilty I felt for leaving Aurelia the way I did.Having to put duty before love. That’s the fucked up thing about being a king, queen, prince, princess! No matter what, duty always came first… duty to the crown and kingdom. Of course, I completely honoured and respected the way of things, but it didn’t make me feel any better for hurting someone so innocent. Even with the letter I left for her, I knew it wou
I sat in a daze at my dressing table, brushing my hair. I felt glum today and my chest felt heavy. I knew it was because my heart just wanted a break, something good. Some light to shine in on our lives, not just for me, but for everyone. I kept thinking on how I felt like a prisoner. I couldn’t run away as much as I fantasized about it. I couldn’t without Edric hurting anyone just to find me, but in reality, we were all prisoners. Edric held the key to all of our lives.“Are you ok, my dear?” Maude asked as she walked into my room and jolted me out of my daze.“Mmhmm” I replied.“Aurelia! What is going around in that head of yours?”“Nothing, I was just getting ready for bed”“Well, it doesn’t even look like you’ve brushed your hair properly. Here, let me do it” she said softly as she took the brush from my hand and began to stroke it through my hair gently.I sighed “We’re all just stuck here, aren’t we?”“Well, obviously we all dream of things being better, but all we can do is thi
“Good Morning Maude, morning everyone”, I greeted the kitchen staff as I strolled in to have some breakfast. I didn’t want to eat alone in my room and, definitely didn’t want to eat with Edric and his guards.“Good morning, Aurelia” they all called in unison as I sat down on one of the stools next to the kitchen side door. It was always open when they were cooking, with all the fires lit, it would become so hot, you’d feel like you’re suffocating with pools of sweat underneath your garments.“What’s for breakfast this morning?” I asked Maude, who was busy slicing bread.“What would you like, my dear? You can have some oats, or we have some apples and bread”“ An apple and a piece of bread please?”She handed me the food then continued with preparing the food. “If you’d like Aurelia, once you’re done eating, you could pick some fresh berries from the gardens. We’ll need some for tonight’s meal.”“ok” I agreed as I chomped down on my apple.“The king has asked for fruit pie. I’m assumin