There was a faint knock on the door interrupting Abrielle and Cedric. "I will take it," Cedric said walking towards the door. The door creaked open, and Evelyn was standing patiently there.
"Sothing just happened, your highness." Her voice was shaking, her eyes unable to focus.
*****
A few minutes earlier, close to the Nightshade estate, grunts could be heard around the wood west of the main building. The sa route Abrielle had attempted to use during her escape.
Beads of sweat ford over Evelyn’s forehead. Her fist clenched as she delivered another power kick to a tree trunk at the sa spot she had been kicking for a while. A large hole was already in the outer bark.
"Still not enough." Evelyn groaned, jumping to deliver a flying kick, but she still felt worthless. The image of Abrielle’s numb body appeared in front of her after they pulled her out of the frozen water
She was so worthless then and the princess almost died. Her duty was to protect Abrielle and not the other way around. "You need to be stronger." She scread, kicking the tree with a reinforced kick covered with magic.
The old trunk shook and threatened to fall. She stopped and bent over to catch her breath. Sweat dripping down, her chest beating fast. It was already dusk, and the air was getting chilly.
They were slowly approaching the middle of sumr, but Vesper, being a coastal land, was particularly cold at night. A round of applause rang, and Evelyn’s head turned towards the direction of the sounds.
"That was a brilliant performance but it seems more angry. I never knew you get affected by stuff enough to want to kick down a tree. I thought you were the pri nonchalant boss." Elias joked, clapping his hands.
This man was freaking annoying. "I don’t have ti for this Elias." Evelyn groaned, grabbing her things from the ground. She turned to leave. Elias followed after her which she expected. He was truly annoying.
"What happened? Your mood is off." He inquired, Evelyn stopped walking then pulled in a deep breath. "Nothing important." She answered then continued walking. That was convincing.
"Nothing? Evelyn, you kicked that trunk so hard that you are limping. Are you sure your legs aren’t injured?" He was worried by her walking step. It looked like she was in a lot of pain.
"I can manage. I have so high-grade healing potions that can help." She answered. What she didn’t expect next was for her feet to get swept off the ground. Her heart was hamring as she scread at Elias, wiggling out of his embrace. His hold was firm.
"Let go of . What are you doing?"
"Stop acting stubborn. You are injured. What really happened that got you in a bad mood?" He snapped at her. His eyes showed no intention of wanting to put her down.
"I can walk on my own and I am fine." She barked at him, still resisting.
"You can’t and asking for help doesn’t an you are weak. Being a fragile woman for once doesn’t make you any less than the great woman you already are." His words left her dumbfounded. It felt like they held more aning than what ets the eye.
Her lips parted then closed. Evelyn’s cheeks puffed then she looked away. She has the once in a blue moon blush on her face. "I am just angry I failed to protect Abrielle. The princess was the one who saved us." She admitted.
Elias smiled, continuing to walk in the direction of the mansion. "Everyone is safe, that’s all that matters. If you get badly injured you won’t be able to protect her with a bad leg."
They were getting closer to the road, slowly leaving the woods. Evelyn held onto Elias. This was weird and the first ti it was happening but yet. She secretly liked the feeling of being held by this annoying man
"Elias," she called out. He humd in acknowledgent. "What are your plans after this is over? When will the prince eventually beco king?" Evelyn asked. To her, she believed Cedric was going to be king no matter what. She was going to lend him her strength to do it.
"I don’t know if we’ll leave long enough to see that day. Maybe I might settle down and have a family. My mother is already bothering about that fact. I am the youngest son and yet she doesn’t want to give a break. She already has grandchildren." Elias complained bitterly.
"Don’t you have any plans on getting married? You seem reluctant about the idea."
"I do, I have to eventually but I hope it is with the right woman and not just a random arranged marriage," Elias explained. His footsteps slowed and he stared in a particular direction. There was a change of aura around him.
"Getting married sounds nice.." Evelyn’s voice trailed, and she slowly realised sothing was wrong. They could see the main entrance from where they stood. Rebecca was marching out with a large group of soldiers. Soone was at the main gates.
"What is going on?" She asked, Lucian didn’t answer, and he subtly got closer to the main gates close enough to get a peek but not expose his presence. They didn’t see the exact person, but they spotted an obvious fact from the crowd.
The imperial army flag. "We need to warn the Prince," Elias said. Evelyn hopped off Elias’s hold managing to land on her good foot.
"I will warn them. You stay close to observe." She suggested, her hard gaze wasn’t backing down. Elias sighed. "Fine, be careful with your feet." He said out of concern.
"I will," Evelyn left rushing towards Abrielle’s room while Elias lurked around to get a better understanding of the situation.
A part of the imperial army was at the gate being held back by the holy night. It was a special regin of knights loyal to the crown prince. Lucian sat on a horse, his gaze firm, while Callista stood close to the gate with a soft smile.
Pierre was on the other side of the gate, his face twisting while Rebecca’s eyes held shock. This was a bad sign.
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