Bruce and Andy were both waiting to welco him ho but there was neither excitent nor question on their faces.
Instead, they looked like they were in trouble. Bruce was even sweating profusely as if trying to co up with a way to reveal what had happened behind his back in the city.
The fact that they had been waiting for him at the door irked him sowhat. It was obvious to him that sothing bad had happened and it was probably bad enough for them to be so eager for his return; so much so that they were practically watching the path he was going to tread to return ho.
"You're back." exclaid Bruce in relief. He sighed as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his back.
"I'm back...but you don't look too happy to see . Is there sothing wrong?"
Zach cast a questioning glance towards Bruce and Andy one after the other, expecting to hear the answer from them as soon as possible.
Bruce hesitated to tell Zach about Christina because he knew how protective Zach could be about the won around him. Christina even seed a little too close to him; maybe more so than his sister was. If he had rained hell on earth for Diana, Bruce wondered what he might do for Christina if the royals treated her the wrong way.
Andy on the other hand wasn't that concerned about Zach's outburst as long as it didn't involve him. So, he was the one who narrated how the royal order had asked for Christina's presence at the welcoming ceremony arranged by the higher ups for the princess.
"Do any of you know why they demanded her presence at the conference hall?"
Zach couldn't figure out why the royal family would specifically call for her even though she wasn't even the family head of Elizabeth family. It was her father who was a Marquis and not the other way around. Why would the royal family ask for her when they shouldn't have even noticed soone of her level?
"Who knows? But the welcoming ceremony was arranged for the princess who is coming to take charge of Byzantium city. She is one of the leading figures of the royal family as her brother is the crown prince of the empire."
Bruce was the one to answer this ti. Although he preferred not to break the news fearing that he would co to regret it, he didn't want to keep any information from him.
"Did that princess call her over? Or was it soone else?"
Zach wanted to make sure if it was the royals who had set their eyes on her or if it was soone else.
"I don't think anyone else would have dared to call her over in the na of the royal family. It is highly likely that Princess Candice summoned her."
"Do you have any idea why this princess would want to see her when she had barely arrived in the city?" Zach asked Andy this ti because he was sure that Bruce had already shared whatever he knew with him.
"I don't know if it is related or not, but I did hear a piece of news from one of my colleagues. He is responsible for receiving and seeing off dignitaries along with the governor and often ends up stumbling onto the secrets of those bigshots. This news ca directly from his mouth. I am not asking you to trust the man unconditionally but there is high likelihood of it being the truth."
"Don't dilly dally and give it to straight. What is it?"
Zach looked like he was in a hurry as he pushed Andy to increase the pace of his narration.
"All right; I heard that the princess arrived in the city as early as three days ago. She didn't show herself or reveal her identity in front of others as she stayed by herself in a remote corner of the city."
Zach wondered why she would hide her identity even though revealing herself would have allowed her to live more comfortably.
It wasn't one or two hours but three whole days. She had stayed hidden for the whole ti and Zach didn't believe that it was for a good reason. Otherwise, the princess wouldn't have bothered to hide herself the whole ti.
The uncertainty began to eat away at his sanity and Zach couldn't help but call Christina out of worry even though he knew that she was busy attending the welco event staged for the princess.
The phone rang for a few bells until she answered the call.
Zach only found solace when the call was answered. The burden of guilt that he had been carrying on his head felt lighter all of a sudden.
He had barely said a sentence when the call was cut abruptly as if soone had interfered with the connection.
He could instinctively feel that the person on the other end of the line was Christina even though she hadn't said a single word to affirm his belief.
The static buzz from the satellite phone made him regret not coming a little earlier. He could have easily joined her to go et this princess from the royal family if he had. Instead, the princess had succeeded in her venture as she managed to et up with Christina in his absence.
Zach wondered if the princess had been waiting for him to leave the city before making her move or if she was so unbelievably lucky.
He couldn't exactly stay calm when the subsequent calls went unanswered as well.
"Sothing is not right. I need to go and see it for myself whether she is safe or not." thought Zach as he couldn't sit still not knowing if Christina was suffering all by herself.
Zach could not bring his emotions under control anymore. Who could know if the royal family was trying to coerce her into doing their bidding?
Overwheld by his fury, Zach decided to ride straight into the conference hall to check her wellbeing for himself.
"How long was that welcoming ceremony supposed to last? When will she be back?" asked Zach worriedly as he stared at Andy for the answer to his question.
"The governor was pretty secretive about the arrangents of the ceremony. He was probably afraid that soone else would steal his ideas. So, even the security detail around the conference hall don't have much information in that regard not to ntion an insignificant official like who is barely included among the top brass."
Zach's mood was further put off by Andy's answer and an unknown anxiety began to replace his worry for Christina. It wanted him to erupt and rain down his fury on everyone around him.
"I can't stay here any longer. I am going to find her and bring her back."
Revealing his intentions to Bruce and Andy, Zach rushed outside towards the stable to get a horse to ride into the city.
Zach was soon done saddling up his horse and was just about to ride it when he felt a force tug his shoulder back in an attempt to keep him from climbing onto its back.
It was Bruce who grabbed his shoulder in ti and tried to keep him from taking any drastic action that might later co to bite him in the back. He had been afraid of this when he hesitated to provide him with all the information regarding Christina's summons.
Alas! The worst had still co to pass even though he had tried to prevent such an outco.
Andy also looked extrely helpless as he stood beside Bruce as if to support him in stopping Zach from taking any drastic asures.
Zach shook his shoulder free from Bruce's grip as he could already infer what the latter wanted to tell him from the grim expression on his face.
"There is no use in you going there to cause a ruckus. It will only harm her more. Going there without any information will only be counterproductive. Why don't you wait a while, so we can co up with a possible solution?" suggested Bruce as his last attempt to stop the inevitable from happening.
Zach on the other hand looked like a mindless beast that had lost control. He could not hear anything that Bruce was telling him. His mind had been occupied with the sound of static that appeared after the call was cut off abruptly.
Pulling himself free and onto horseback, Zach was about to gallop towards the conference hall when Andy's words forced him to co to a halt.
"What if your impulsiveness ends up harming her instead of helping her? You DO realize that you are putting her at more risk, right?"
Andy's question kept Zach from kicking his heel into the horse to nudge it forward. Instead, he turned his head around to look at Andy as the logic in his words forced him to co to a halt.
"By inducing her to offend so many higher ups of the governnt, you are essentially making her an accomplice in your mutinous behavior against the royal family. Even if she is capable of thinking for herself, the mont you show up and ask her to co with you, she will follow you without hesitation. But that will only bring her harm."
Andy figured that he must have said sothing right to attract Zach's attention. Therefore, he continued to reinforce his previous words with more logic and managed to convince Zach to stop his impulsive actions.
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