Chapter 9

When Crecylla receives news that she was going to be sent home as a tributary guard, she was in no position to say no. Cyrus had given her the choice to have dinner with them if she didn't want to go, but she would rather go home. So when she packs her bags and heads home, she feels lighter.

Luna notices her sister immediately. She stays quiet for the sake of privacy, but she calls her into her chambers immediately after. When Crecylla is questioned, she answers as she normally would've. Luna assures her that she wouldn't give her away, and only then does Crecylla let down her guard a little. She tells her tale of the wilderness, and Luna questions why she decided to return. She really didn't, she just wanted to see how everyone was doing.

Helios is elated when he sees his beloved wife talking to someone. She had always been so paranoid that someone was going to kill her like they did to her sister, and when he recognizes those ocean eyes, he springs into the room. He doesn't bother throwing in a greeting, and he wraps himself around Crecylla. She's confused but she doesn't fight it. He asks if she wished to carry out the marriage still, and eventually it came down to a no. She wouldn't be doing that, she didn't want to. She wanted to return to the wild but something about the kingdom was off.

Cyrus knows his wife had been sleeping around with other people. The purple marks on her neck and chest were evidence of it. He just needed a who, and a why. So when Cyra tells him that she got the treaty for the Eclipse empire, he knows who. The prince had long been single, and he only have out treaties to queens who slept with him. He knows he could've avoided this if he had sent the guards to look for Crecylla back then, and he can't help but think it was his fault. It kinda was.

Cyra knows he knows. What he doesn't know, is that the child she was pregnant with wasn't his. It was Rigel's. She thought it was the King's until she had remembered that they had stopped sleeping together for a month. Then it hit her. She would have to fake that the child was hers, and hope it would work out. Rigel knows, and he was ready to finally claim was was supposed to be his.

When Crecylla returns to Phoencia's castle, she senses that the air around the king and queen were tense. It was an odd thing really. They had been so in love last time she was there, and suddenly there was tension. She doesn't question it, and sticks to guarding the queen fiercely. There had been news that Cyra was pregnant with an heir, and she was to be guarded and protected at all times. Crecylla guessed that the child probably wasn't the King's, or else he probably would've had announced to the nation that his wife was pregnant. Crecylla doesn't push it, and when Cyra breaks down one evening, she helps her out.

Cyra knows her guard is Crecylla. Her black hair was hard to miss in an empire of rainbow haired people. She was wearing contacts, but here eyes mellowed out the gold so that it was more emerald. Her black hair was nowhere similar to how the Floral empire looked, and she looked like different. She was curious as to why the princess had decided to suddenly return to the kingdom, but she wasn't trying anything so she let her stay. So when she breaks down one day, she's surprised to see Crecylla calm her down. She hadn't taken her to be that type.

Cyrus hears his wife's sobs. He knows that she's crying again, but his love for her had faded, and he no longer felt the connection. Call it fleeting romance, but he didn't love her the same way as before. He no longer looked at her like the light of his life, and he found himself looking forward to getting his first concubine and mistress. He was yet to find a noble who would be willing, as Cyra was known to take a toll on people's mental states, to be his mistress. Perhaps he could appoint one of the guards. So when the princess returns as a guard, he's tempted to call for a divorce and remarry the girl he was actually supposed to. But who on earth would marry their sister in law?

Crecylla listens to Cyra talk, and sure enough, she finds out that the child wasn't the King's and that it was in fact Rigel's. She doesn't judge, she's in no position to do so anyways, and she brews the queen a cup of tea to help soothe her. The chamomile scent flies through the air, and soon, Cyrus himself shows up for a cup of his own. Crecylla bows and pours him a cup as well, and Cyra watches it go down. He doesn't look at her like before, and suddenly she feels like the mistress in the situation. So she coughs gently and motions for Crecylla to guard outside. She nods and leaves.

Cyrus had been stressed the past days, and Crecylla notices the eyebags underneath the King's eyes. He looks more stressed and tired, and she fears that he might take out the stress on the poor queen. Cyra is tired, and she doesn't even notice that one of the servants had set something into her tea. Without Crecylla around, she realizes that she had lowered her guard around everyone. So when she calls the girl back in, Cyrus takes his leave. He stops to tell Crecylla to drop by his room before she started patrol for the night, and she nods. Cyra knows what he's going to tell her, but she can't do anything to stop them, she was pregnant, and she was weak. Her anemia was acting up again.

Crecylla visits the King's chambers, and she's surprised to find her pyjamas on the bed. She wasn't aware that the queen didn't sleep in the same bed as the king, and she was mildly concerned. He nods gently, and asks her how she's been over the last years. She shakes her head and mentions that she had been a peasant back then, but he runs his fingers through her hair and mumbles about how much he missed the flash of black in the castle. Crecylla draws away, and she mumbles a quick apology before rushing out to start her patrols. The king was allowed to do what he wanted, but she wasn't allowed to become a mistress. She was a knight, protecting the queen. This was starting to sound like Henry the 8th.

Her night patrol is peaceful, and she makes sure that no one interrupts the queen while sleeping. She heads off to bed herself when the clock strikes 12, and only then does she feel at peace.