The curtains fluttered, and the icy winter breeze blew into the room. Abrielle’s brows pulled together, her body shuddered..the cold wind gave her goosebumps.
Her eyes slowly opened, a frown visible on her face as she stared at the open window in front of her, and she was more annoyed by the empty bed.
Cedric didn’t return last night. She has indeed chased him away. She groggily sat up on the bed rubbing her eyes. She was exhausted to the bones.
Abrielle just sat staring at the window for an imasurable amount of ti thinking about the story Yuki told her. Her mind pondered his tale, the way his voice faltered.
She wondered if the story was true. Why did she resonate with the story so much?
A soft knock from the door drew her attention from her wandering thoughts. A soft voice followed before the door opened.
"Good morning, your highness." Evelyn chid, after stepping into the room with a group of attendants. They quickly pulled open all the curtains and started to prepare her bath water while picking up her outfit. Abrielle yawned, her eyes were still sleepy.
She didn’t notice the suspicious look on Evelyn’s face.
"How was your night ?" Evelyn asked while giving out instructions. Abrielle was still lazily rubbing her eyes. Too lazy to move an inch from the bed.
" It was long," she answered.
The maids beckoned for her to enter the bathwater. She finally moved away from the bed and approached the small bathroom by the bedroom. Steam filled the room, carrying a rich mix of herbs and a flowering scent.
With the help of the maids, she stepped out of her dress and entered the bathwater. She has already grown accustod to being served like this. Her scalp was being massaged while they attended to her other needs making sure the princess was squeaky clean.
It was truly relaxing. "Do I have anything scheduled for the day?" Abrielle asked.
Yesterday was Aurelius’s coronation. Abrielle was not familiar with how things were done in Heliosa and she didn’t want to be tied up in the castle. It was beautiful within the tall walls but it felt like she was being held captive
"You have a visitor awaiting your presence?" Evelyn inford Abrielle leaving her a bit stunned. Who could that be? She wondered.
"A visitor," she chid, slipping deeper into the water.
"Yes, Your Highness," Evelyn answered. "The emperor ca to have breakfast with you, but it seems he is more interested in speaking with Prince Cedric."
Her ears perked up, and she turned to Evelyn curiously. "Aurelius knows about Cedric." She gasped and her eyes glimred..
Evelyn smiled, "They are currently speaking in the emperor’s old study." She explained. Abrielle nodded. A smile tugged her lips. He must have heard about Cedric from those knights.
She was elated that Cedric was still around. Her fears were now gone. "We must hurry then," she replied.
She had to see Aurelius and her husband. They had a lot of things unsaid
A couple of minutes later the princess was already set for the day. Her hair was pulled up and styled elegantly. She wore a white blouse and a long green shirt. The outfit was simple and elegant and it made her appear more like a career woman than a princess.
From what she was told Cedric and Aurelius were still discussing behind closed doors and were yet to head to the dining room
Her soft footsteps echoed as she found her way to the study being escorted by her attendants.
"Good morning, Your Highness," the guards at the door greeted her once they sighted her. "Morning," she acknowledged them with a subtle nod before she stepped into the study.
The air felt heavy and serious. The tension was palpable. She imdiately sensed, Cedric and Aurelius were speaking about important matters
"It would be best to attack during the winter hunt before he gets crowned." She heard Aurelius ntion. Her eyes imdiately perked up, and her feet found their way to them.
Their voices echoed in the large study filled with shelves.
They were talking about invading Draconia. "Plans have to be made and we might not get there on ti. It’s a long journey. The winter prayers will be long over before we get there." Cedric’s voice followed
Abrielle found them sitting in a lounge area, completely engrossed in their conversation, and didn’t notice her at first. "That’s true but the rumours from Draconia are getting hard to ignore." Aurelius chid half-teasingly
His playful deanour was a stark difference from Cedric’s rigid deanour.
"What rumours?" Abrielle blurted. Her soft voice startled them, drawing their attention to them. Once their eyes fell on her, their eyes imdiately softened..
A soft smile graced Aurelius’s lips while Cedric, although his eyes held complicated feelings. His expression relaxed in her presence. Abrielle smiled sweetly at them.
She approached the setup and took a seat by Cedric’s side. She felt his body subtly stiffen before he relaxed. "Which Rumours do you speak of?" She asked, ignoring Cedric for the mont.
They weren’t exactly on good terms considering their argunts. She was going to keep up this attitude until he spoke up.
Aurelius noticed the subtle strife between them. He didn’t comnt on it. "I heard insider information. There are rumours that the queen is unaware, and Lucian’s coronation would be brought to a closer date. "
Abrielle was surprised by the information. "When did you get the news?" She asked. Cedric didn’t seem affected by the news. It felt like he knew sothing.
"This morning I got information, Queen Eleanor fell sick yesterday, although the details of her condition aren’t clear." Aurelius left her even more dumbfounded how did he find out that fast
Even carrier birds don’t travel that fast. "Yesterday." She blurted.. Cedric understood her and explained imdiately..
"Heliosa has more advanced thods to transfer information due to their advanced magic mastery. Aurelius has an insider within Draconia which I find disturbing." Cedric explained
He wondered how long this prince had been spying on them.
Abrielle’s eyes sparkled on realising it was magic. That was interesting to know..she wondered what magic tools it must be.
This world was truly beyond her imagination. "That’s the case. Whatever happened to Eleanor is serious because it is being kept under wraps." Aurelius chirped in
Cedric’s mind was thrown into deep thoughts. He wondered if Elysia had a hand in this. He rembered the subtle scent of incense she carried. They were the ones from the temple in Draconia
"I would need a couple of days to organise an attack, plus we might never get there on ti. In that case, it would lead to a full war." Cedric analysed the situation thoroughly. Aurelius nodded.
"I am willing to provide support. The court won’t oppose, bearing in mind Abrielle is a Ceaphyr, but you would have to pay a favour." He ntioned..
Cedric never doubted Aurelius’ support, but his brows pulled at the ntion of a favour. "What favour?" Abrielle was the one who blurted.
Aurelius smiled apologetically to Abrielle. "Help find a groom for Lyra, preferably far away in a remote Kingdom in Theraxia. " He requested leaving Abrielle dumbfounded. She rembered that Aurelius once ntioned his intentions to marry off his half sister to a noble far away from Heliosa.
"That would not be difficult to achieve." Cedric agreed, it wasn’t a difficult request. A soft knock rang from the door requesting Aurelius’ attention.
One of his attendants stepped in and requested his presence. There seed to be sothing urgent he had to speak to the emperor imdiately. "Excuse ," Aurelius politely requested then exited the study leaving just Abrielle and Cedric in an awkward silence
The door clicked at the emperor’s exit. Abrielle nervously poured out so tea for herself to handle the nervousness..that calming aroma placed her nerves at peace
His gaze never left her, she felt every second of it. It felt like it was burning into her soul. Still, she chose to ignore it, pretending the tea was the most interesting thing in the room.
She felt his arm wrap around her waist. Abrielle’s heart skipped a beat, and she almost spilt her tea. Cedric scooped her, securing her on his thighs with his chin resting on her head.
"I can’t stand your silence," Cedric muttered. She bit the inside of her cheek, finding his tone sowhat pitiful.
Abrielle took the last sip of her tea before her lips parted, then she spoke. "Then stop hiding things from Cedric. You don’t have to keep in a bubble.".
His grip tightened, and he was still reluctant to speak; her heart ached. Who was she to make such a request when she was also hiding things from him?
"They are not important. I will handle everything," he insisted, and sothing snapped in her. She wanted to smash the cup and bolt out of his arms to show her emotions but she held herself.
A bittersweet smile tugged her lips. "You don’t have to handle everything, Cedric. We are married and I am not that weak. Leaving in oblivion won’t help ..." She explained her voice was soft despite her turmoil
"But I understand why you don’t trust ," Abrielle added.
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