Lara stood at the archway, unsure whether to enter the garden or turn around. A palace servant guided her toward this wing, saying her brother Peredur was in danger.
"How could he be in danger in a palace full of guards?" She asked with furrowed brows.
The maid looked at her as if she was an idiot. "Lady Lara, that kind of danger, " the maid emphasized.
She just nodded. She seed to understand, but not at the sa ti.
When they turned a corner, the maid made an excuse and pointed her to the garden, saying she would find Peredur there.
Lara followed the cobbled pathway to the garden, guided by the yellow light of the torches. She saw two figures sitting on the stone bench, their distance too close, too intimate.
Who was the woman? Was she the one that Alaric loved?
She felt a slight prick in her chest, a feeling she barely recognized, because she hadn’t felt it in a long ti—a lifeti ago.
Jealousy.
Every ti her father openly showed his love for her two siblings, jealousy reared its ugly head and nipped a part of her heart.
Why was she feeling it again? No! It must be sothing else.
She turned around and wanted to disappear into the shadows, but soone was suddenly by her side.
Alaric.
"What are you doing here, Lara?" he asked, an edge in his voice.
"I am looking for Peredur, " she answered, stealing a glance at the woman who stood from the stone bench and walked toward them.
"Lady Lara, you looked even more beautiful in the dim light," Ceres said sweetly, but Lara could sense the undercurrent in her voice.
"I am sorry, have we t before?"
Ceres chuckled.
"Ari, dear, you should introduce . I can’t believe there is soone in the capital who does not know ."
Lara frowned. She did not like the woman’s arrogance or how she said Alaric’s na, as if she owned him.
Alaric turned to Ceres. "This is Princess Ceres, my half-sister."
"I am the queen’s adopted daughter. It is no secret, Ari. You can just spill it." Ceres interrupted Alaric. She did not want to be introduced as a half-sister because she wanted more.
Lara nodded. "I have to go. I still need to look for Peredur."
"I’ll accompany you," Alaric said without hesitating.
"Ari, are you going to leave here? We haven’t seen each other for a few months." Ceres pouted.
"Haven’t we just talked? Go back to your quarters." He did not wait for her to say anything more. He ushered Lara back into the corridor leading to the banquet hall.
Ceres clenched her fists, and her eyes darkened. She had seen Lara earlier, dancing gracefully and entrancing the crowd. They were so engrossed in watching that none noticed her entry into the banquet hall.
Even after the dance ended, no one noticed her. The noble n who used to look at her with adoring eyes, even from far away, did not glance her way.
She had ticulously dressed tonight, but that woman stole her spotlight. She had never been ignored in her entire life, not until tonight.
In her anger, she stord out of the banquet hall, and none of her suitors chased after her. How can they when their eyes were all on Lara? They did not see her.
When she rembered how she and Alaric danced or how she led Alaric in the dance, her blood boiled. Then, she saw how Alaric looked at her with gentleness, and her heart almost stopped beating from anger.
Alaric could only belong to her. She had already hinted to the queen that she would marry only Alaric. Of course, Helga was horrified.
"He is your brother." She said, almost disgusted.
"Mother, but we are not biologically related. It is not like sothing like this did not happen in the past."
"Ce, there are many n out there who are handso and more capable, why choose him?" Queen Helga tried to change her mind.
"Mother, there is no one in Northem more handso and better than Ari."
Helga stiffened. She felt that Ceres had slapped her in the face. Was she saying that Alaric was better than her son Reuben?
Ceres realized that she had spoken sothing she should not have. She has a very high EQ, she managed to be close to the aloof and indifferent Alaric.
"Of course, my brother is not counted, Mother. I am talking about the n that I could marry."
Helga relaxed. Ceres was actually the daughter of her maternal cousin, who was also her best friend. When she found out that she could no longer bear children after giving birth to Reuben, she decided to adopt Ceres and treated her like her own daughter. The color of her eyes was similar to Heimdal’s, and it was what captivated Helga.
The breeze gently blew, and the fragrance of the magnolias wafted in the air. Ceres, pulled back from her reverie, watched as the two people turned and disappeared into the shadows of the corridor.
She lingered a mont longer beneath the magnolia tree. The petals above her stirred in the breeze, white as snow and soft as silence. She gestured, and a dark shadow appeared before her. It was her hidden guard.
"Investigate that woman and let know how she beca entangled with Alaric."
...
After escorting Lara back to the banquet hall, to her family, who were worried about her disappearance, Alaric went back to Astrid’s chamber. He wanted to spend the night there secretly.
But from a distance, he saw the flickering light of the torches and candles, and through the gauzy curtains, he could see the silhouette of a man standing unmoving in front of the wall where his mother’s portrait hung.
His father had not left yet. Alaric felt sothing stirred in his heart.
Then he saw the silhouette move toward the door and snuffed out the torches. The room dimd, and only a candle illuminated it. The figure moved toward the bed and disappeared from his view.
Alaric: "..."
Tomorrow, the court will wake. The heir to the kingdom has been nad. Masks will be worn, alliances asured, and the ga will resu.
But sothing had shifted tonight.
A king had wept in repentance.
A son had listened.
And perhaps, sowhere between sha and forgiveness, the beginning of a man Alaric had never been allowed to be... had begun to erge.
And a king who carried the weight of his guilt for so long would finally find his redemption.
Reviews
All reviews (0)