He knew it was pointless, but he had to say it. Didn’t she realize that she was meant to be resting for a reason? He watched her enter his office the way she had for the past few days and stood. She froze in the doorway. “What’s wrong?”He lifted an eyebrow at him and came around the desk, plucking the pages from her hands and placing them on his desk. He ushered her out of his office and locked the door to his office behind him before lifting her off the ground. She squeaked and floundered in his arms, “Your Majesty!”“We had a deal, didn’t we?” Adolph said, descending the stairs as she tried to get out of his arms. “Stop struggling, precious. You won’t get free.”Laurel turned bright red and turned her face into his shoulder, “Your Majesty, it’s embarrassing.”“Perhaps it will be punishment enough for you to hold up your side of the deal,” Adolph admonished gently, pressing a kiss to her temple as he reached the correct floor and walked towards her room.“B-But Your Majesty… I ca

Laurel was nervous. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t shared a private meal with Adolph before, but this was the first time they would be alone together for a meal since she woke up. Sarah was beside herself, bustling around to help her get ready as Laurel tried to figure out why she was so nervous. She hadn’t been this nervous the day they were supposed to get married. Her hands trembled as she fidgeted. “All done!” Sarah cried and froze seeing how pale Laurel had become. Sarah worried her lip and placed a hand on her shoulder, “Miss Laurel?”Laurel looked up then away, “I-I’m fine. I don’t…”Sarah wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close, “Should I send word that you aren’t feeling well?”“No,” she said, taking her hand. “I-I’m just… I’m just being silly. I’ll be fine.”Sarah eyed her suspiciously, but nodded and followed her out of the room to where Sam and Lynn were waiting. Sam nodded politely and they led them down the corridor towards the first floor. Rather than turning to

If there was one thing Delia could be sure of, it was Basil's physical attraction. He was a man, after all. She eyed herself in the mirror, examining every inch of her naked form beneath her robe.She thought back to Eden's comment and huffed. She never thought she'd be reduced to trying to get pregnant by the idiot prince, but desperate times called for desperate tactics. She closed her robe and resolved herself to walk to Basil's chambers. She'd put off sleeping with Basil since they got married with excuses, but that ended tonight.She wondered if Laura had ever slept with Basil and sneered as the thought came to mind. She had no reason to compare herself to a dead woman who was too stupid to use her station to her advantage. The woman hadn't even needed to use any tricks to get there and she'd been ousted with ease.She walked down the corridor to reach Basil's room and found it empty as she entered. She looked around with a sigh before closing the door behind her and going to h

Sarah hurried to gather a simple traveling bag for Laurel. Chasel had given her very specific instructions about what was needed for the journey, so it was an easy task to complete. What worried her was that Laurel had barely said a word after Adolph found her, content to stare off into space for hours at a time without even glancing towards the door no matter what time of day it was. She hadn’t even asked about Lily and the movements of the castle. Sarah had reported to Adolph Laurel’s state and he promptly had Lily take over as much of Laurel’s duties as she could to give Laurel time to collect herself. Everything else was to be put on hold. Sarah agreed that Laurel was in no state to be working, but she didn’t know how to help her either. Sarah had tried to ask her, but Laurel had turned away from her, barely managing to say she didn’t want to talk about it before Sarah decided to leave her with her thoughts and focus on getting her things together. Maybe Adolph had something pl

It wasn’t an odd question, but the timing felt strange. He was serious when he said it was unlikely that the vampire queen’s forces would try to poison him again, but did she think that they would attack the capital? Or rather, did she believe that he couldn’t protect her?“Why?”Her lips twitched and she nodded at the depiction. Adolph looked at the window and winced. “You don’t think it’s just a metaphor?”“Can you handle a sword?” She asked with a wry smile. He sighed, “I suppose you have a point…”“If something happens,” Laurel said. “I don’t want to be a useless shield.”She looked up at him, “You wouldn’t begrudge me that, would you?”Adolph grumbled. She knew he would never begrudge her anything. “Very well,” Adolph nodded. “As soon as we get back, I’ll arrange someone to train you.”She smiled, “Thank you, Your Majesty!”He growled, backing her up against the wall and leaning in her space. Her face turned red and she let out a shuddering little breath. “Call me by name,” h