Chapter 11. Do you still think you're that great princess?
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Sponsored by Curufin. Thank you ❤️ (5/8)
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Late at night, Kayan snuck out of Elmir’s palace with his entourage.
Their destination was a private residence about an hour away from the palace.
The Anut warriors drove their horses with skillful movements in the thick darkness.
Hiying. It wasn't long before they came upon the supposed lair of the traitor.
Kayan gave the signal, and his men surrounded the traitor's compound with swift movements.
Kayan drew his sword and kicked in the door.
The worn door made a sharp sound as it swung open.
“Damn it.”
The room inside was empty.
There were no signs of human habitation, which meant the information they'd gotten was likely false.
Loyal henchmen had deliberately spread the false trail around.
The Anut army had been fooled time and time again.
The traitor was able to fool even Kayan's planted spies, which was quite clever for an old man on the run with an injured body.
Kayan turned, sheathing his sword back into its scabbard.
Doa said in a slightly irritated tone.
"Ugh, such a slimy human. I thought this place was unmistakable."
The only good news was that the torturous chase, with no end in sight, was nearing its end.
Now that one of the 50/50 hiding spots was useless, there was only one left.
The Gebelkato rainforest along Elmir’s eastern border.
He had already sent troops there, which eased his worries a bit.
Kayan left the area with the idea of speeding up the departure of the Anut envoys.
***
It was night when the order was given to follow Kayan Bayate to Anut.
When all the maids and courtiers were asleep, Ihedia stared out the window, deep in thought.
She knew this day would come one day.
When Patrick and Lena's interest waned, she and Evan would no longer be living breathing things.
But she wanted to live, so she did everything she could. She was willing to accept a life of submission and cowardice, even if it meant letting go of her pride, letting go of her beliefs, letting go of herself.
"Is it really over now?”
She had no expectation that Kayan Bayate would accept her.
And even if he did, she might never return to this land of Elmir again.
They say the dying have no fear.
She felt strangely relieved after her long ordeal.
Then she heard a gentle knock at the door.
Before she could ask who it was, the door slid open.
Ihedia gasped at the sight of the unexpected face.
"Madam Lloyd?"
The Marquess of Lloyd pressed her index finger to her lips, urgently trying to keep quiet.
She glanced around and quickly closed the door.
"My princess, I apologize for not being able to see you sooner."
Madam Lloyd said, squeezing Ihedia's hand.
Then her eyes filled with water.
Ihedia, unable to speak, looked at her in disbelief and gently pulled her hand away.
"I understand. The Queen has no idea why I'm doing this."
"What does this all mean....... and how the hell did you get in here?"
Ihedia asked sharply, her guard up against Madam Lloyd.
The Marquis of Lloyd was a close friend of her father's.
An unequivocal man of the good king, he had only been able to retain his position so far because he had sworn eternal loyalty to his new master as soon as the regime changed.
As soon as the former king died, the Marquis of Lloyd was at Patrick's side as if he had been waiting for him, helping him with all his might.
Ihedia, therefore, could not fathom the reason for Madam Lloyd's sneaking in here.
"I know you must go to Anut soon. I can't wait any longer on my hands and knees, so I've come all the way here."
Madam Lloyd hastily handed over a piece of paper she had hidden in her sleeve.
As she unfolded it, an intense light flashed in Ihedia's eyes.
It was in the handwriting and signature of her late father, King Grayson.
When he wrote important documents that needed to be delivered in secret, he used a distinctive handwriting that only a few trusted members of his entourage could recognize.
Ihedia recognized it instantly, and her eyes flashed.
"House Lloyd has never gone against the will of the Good King, not even in his lifetime."
Ihedia quickly read down the letter her father had written to the Marquis of Lloyd during his lifetime.
Her hands trembled as she gripped the paper.
Madam Lloyd calmly recounted the events that had transpired.
The Marquis of Lloyd had turned and become Patrick's man, at his lordship's request, to protect his two remaining children.
Suspicious, the royal couple, while seemingly supportive, constantly put the Marquis of Lloyd to the test.
Despite giving away his entire fortune and complying with their outrageous demands, the Marquis’s family was constantly under surveillance.
It was not easy to see the Marquis of Lloyd's blood suffer such hardships.
"At best, all we could do was post placards attacking the royal family or secretly assist in the burial of loyalists who were unjustly executed."
Fortunately, the royal couple seemed to have let their guard down a bit about the Marquis of Lloyd.
Then came the news that Ihedia was going to Anut.
"My Princess, please find a way to escape from there, however difficult it may be. As long as you return to Elmir, I will rescue Prince Evan and help you both get far away."
At the mention of Evan's name, Ihedia’s low voice was tinged with another worry.
"Evan's condition is not good, and if anything happens to him while I'm gone, you'll have to......."
"That won't happen."
At Madam Lloyd's unexpectedly firm reply, Ihedia could only send her a questioning glance.
"There is a blood oath between Patrick and Prince Evan, something the late King has planned in advance to prevent any untoward incident."
A blood oath that bound their lives together.
Ihedia had seen the words before, in an old book she'd stumbled across.
She had never imagined that such ancient magic could actually exist.
Her father had planted the gold technology without anyone's knowledge, knowing that Evan, the next in line to the throne, would be the first to die at Patrick's hands if things went wrong.
‘So this is why Patrick has kept Evan alive all this time.’
In retrospect, Patrick would lash out at Evan like a man possessed, only to wince when Evan fainted and quickly call for a healer.
What an incomprehensible behavior.
"Like all magic, the blood oath has an expiration date. Within the year, the spell will be broken."
"Does Patrick know that?"
Madam Lloyd shook her head.
In that moment, Ihedia felt a rush of hope that she thought was gone forever entering her heart.
What she had thought possible only in her dreams had become a reality.
'If I can make it out of Anut alive, I can escape this life with Evan..........’
Madam Lloyd was about to speak again when a shout came from somewhere.
Someone was approaching Ihedia's bedroom.
Madam Lloyd looked at Ihedia in horror.
Ihedia moved as noiselessly as possible and hid her behind the curtain.
Then she hurriedly blew out the candle on the nightstand.
Then the door burst open with a crash.
"What brings you here at this hour?"
Ihedia asked the uninvited visitor, faking a feminine voice.
The lantern-bearing Charlotte arched a thick eyebrow and looked around suspiciously.
"I'm pretty sure I heard talking......."
"As you can see, I am alone here. I don't know what you're trying to get at, with the guards, the North Palace archers, I’m under heavy surveillance."
"That's because the guards who are supposed to keep a close eye on things are lying on the floor like they've been drinking on the job, and His Majesty the King has ordered them to keep their guard up for today because the Princess has something important to do tomorrow, those pathetic bastards!"
Charlotte swung her lantern around as if she still had any doubts.
Ihedia balled her fists to hide her trembling hands.
Then she cleared her throat as Charlotte tried to peer through the curtains.
"How impudent of you, a maid to come into the bedchamber of the Princess in the middle of the night. As you know, I have important business to attend to tomorrow and must sleep early, so get out of my way."
Charlotte's head snapped up and her eyes widened at the uncharacteristic aggression in Ihedia's voice.
"What?"
"You've been so unruly for so long, and now your tongue has turned dark? For a woman who is so strict on manners, Lord Gordon has raised you to be so uneducated."
"What, what?"
"You've forgotten how to address royalty, and now you behave so badly that no one will think of you as a noblewoman, and other maids, who know nothing of manners or letters, will look more dignified than you."
Charlotte, her face flushed red with anger, stalked toward Ihedia with a grunt.
She struck her on the shoulder and said.
"Hey, are you done? You still think you're that great princess."
Without hesitation, Ihedia slapped Charlotte's face.
When Charlotte jerked her head up in surprise and glared at her, Ihedia gave her another slap, this time with more force.
***
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