Chapter 9

I burst into tears like a scared little girl, Glenda just gently pats my body and whispers soothing words to me; hiccups settles in the back of my throat thanks to crying, I clung to her uniform as if my life were running out on it, as I try to restrain my sore groans and moans, the lump in my throat intensifies almost tearing my vocal cords, so my voice is lost when crying attacks me again. Some whispers are spread in the air by some nobles who pass around us, but I don't care, all the modesty that I could be thinking of, disappears quickly, I just want to unload my helplessness without having to hear unnecessary questions that I do not wish to answer.

–Why don't we go inside?– The brunette guides me to the stairs with care because my sight blurred with tears is not helpful

We go up in silence, at a constant rate that allows me to catch my breath and force myself to keep it inside my lungs; The jingle of the keys makes my head throb and I clench my eyes, soon a stabbing headache settles on top of my face. The door is opened and then closed after both when we are inside it, Glenda guides me to the bed and leaves me sitting on the edge of it.

–All your makeup is a mess, let me clean it up– she says

Wiping her thick brown hands on the front apron of her dress, Glenda soaks a handkerchief with water and comes up to me, closing my eyes full of salty tears streaming down all over my face. I feel her rub the cloth on my face to clean me carefully, as soon as she does it, she returns to the door and pulls a bell that is hanging behind the door, a few minutes later, María and Illea arrive in the room with us. They help get rid of my dress and everything else that suffocates me. I don't even want to fight them when they immediately take me to the tub.

When I go back to bed, I feel that the water drained everything I had been carrying, because of the hug the pillow and with Glenda sitting next to it I decide to speak, thanks to the crying my voice is so broken and low that I am ashamed of just hear it. Several times I have to open my mouth and inhale air to be able to recover my voice stolen by the incessant crying.

–You were practically the one who raised me, Glenda. What should I do now? Confronting my parents seems to be the most opportune option, but I'm sure this will be on the news in all kingdoms– I say lost in my thoughts.

–Talking to your parents doesn't mean you will confront them, Your Highness. He will only tell you, like that– she emphasizes the last word pointing to the bandage on my arm– she got there and as if his side has a fairly large bruise, tomorrow we will call the doctor– she says

I take her arm suddenly when she tries to get out of the bed, which causes me a sore scream, the bruise on my side is not a joke; I still intend to move freely, now that the emotion of the moment is gone it hurts more than ever, Glenda applied ointment on it, but the pain will take time to dissipate.

She puts a tired expression on his face, takes my wrist and presses it causing me to give up my grip and release it; in silence, she takes his hand to my side and feels it, she hasn't squeezed too much when I have already screamed of pain.

It only barely touched me but it really hurts. She removes her hand and gives me a sideways look accentuating his point.

–You need a doctor.Tomorrow we will call the doctor, it will be a morning check-up, as for the other, you can no longer hide it.

I play with my fingers like a little baby and look back at her, feeling somewhat guilty at first.

–I'll tell them to bring you some tea– she propose

–It's quite late now, tell them to go to sleep. It is not necessary for them to stay awake anymore– this time I am the one who rubs their eyes hard trying to keep away the crying that wants to arise again.

–I thought you would like some tea– she says, looking back questioningly.

I shake my head. –My parents will arrive at any moment, I just want to finish today

My only nanny, sits next to me and waits for me to have the courage to speak. I lie down on his lap and I wait for my voice to regain the liveliness and humor that characterizes me when talking about something, but it does not arrive, instead a melancholic tone far from what it really is, it almost settles in my throat. making me drop uneven words by the trembling of my voice; so it takes longer than expected to confess what I want to convey.

–At the party, the same thing happened that happens in all the social gatherings I go to with Travis; we introduce ourselves and he then leaves with the princess of Grinzem– I murmur with a crushed cheek on her lap –today was no exception, but it climbed higher; they did their indecencies in the back of the balcony. I had so much anger, I know I shouldn't care because I never liked Travis, but at least I think my image should be respected, right?– I say

Glenda shakes her head in disapproval, her lips flat and her chocolate cheeks slightly puffed up.

–Elijah, you should talk to your parents, if Travis continues to be your fiancé ... too much permissiveness may end up putting you in a difficult position– advises

Out of inertia, I got up from lying on her legs and stared at her with my recriminating eyes; my hair falls to one side like a reddish curtain.

–Father doesn't believe me! He had the audacity to say "it must be your jealousy"– I recite –it seems that he is on the side of that jerk. I hinted at him today about his behavior and that's what he answered me.

–Maybe today was not the option to tell him– insists Glenda raising her eyebrows

I roll my eyes, if that wasn't the moment, then when will it be?

–After the princess got away from both of them, she got so enraged that she tried to take me by force on that balcony– I squeeze my hands, my blood boils again

Glenda's serene expression quickly changes to one of irrevocable disapproval.

–Elijah, you can't hide that, what if they got married, he decided to treat you like that just because? Will you be able to bear it?– she takes me by the shoulders with some force, his hazel eyes intensely detail me waiting for my answer

I look away with a tired gesture, but if I don't find anyone who believes me, at least my parents, breaking the engagement will be very hard.

–Majesty I take it off with a punch– I answer lowering my face

–The new king, you say?– she repeats astonished.

I Seat. Glenda is never a woman to be disturbed by the smallest things, nor what to say about things that are too scandalous, she always stays calm and knows what to say and what to do on each occasion; But apparently what I just said was exorbitant for her because her eyes look as if they want to get out of their socket when hearing me talk about what happened.

–I was being suffocated by Travis! I flap my hands still feeling the suffocation in my throat. He didn't want to take me. He wanted to kill me! I was so furious; However, getting Travis off my back was of course being too complicated. It was there that Majesty hit Travis in the face with the handle of his rapier, I fell to the ground and finally could breathe– I put my hands to my neck remembering the unpleasant sensation

Glenda is just listening carefully; her hands are clasped in her lap and she is looking somewhere in the splendid room. Between so much silk and tulle, I could not distinguish which of them had caught her attention and that is why I stop talking to kneel in front of her, I take her hand and when I am about to ask what is happening, she presses my fingers between hers with a fierce stare and crystallized eyes.

–I still firmly believe that Lord Montgomery was the one who paid those mercenaries to attack the Camelia Palace– she whispers with pain

I am speechless, I press my lips together too tightly, so much that I feel like they melt together; the condor festival, the parties, the nobles, the smiles, five days after the festival ended, the castle found itself under attack; It was a massacre, the most traumatic day of my life, the day I killed the first person; and I was also accused, myself, along with my family. According to the remaining noble families, negligence of duty, but the evidence was so ephemeral that anyone would have realized that someone had paid for it, the Supreme Council, found no accusation other than the unfounded and therefore did not agree to continue with the trial if not, our parents would have been removed from office, and I, debased as a murderer, when in fact it was in self-defense. Then I realized that this event was an excuse to segregate the family of Lords of Eldinne from the entire society of nobles.

The four of us knew why, but of course, it was not fair to any of us. The commotion and attack caused by theirs discrimination against my adoptive brother, Mika.

–I won't let that happen again, Glenda. Not again– I say with a broken voice

She nods, but then collapses in tears on my lap, despite her big size and tough appearance, my nanny was someone with sensitive feelings, and the loss of her husband four years ago is not something of less value. We both stayed in bed together, embraced, like mother and daughter, perhaps the closeness that I never had with mother, I have with my nanny; what my parents wouldn't understand, Glenda would. I remain in bed on my back like a rag doll looking up at the ceiling of the place with reliefs and plaster finishes, with extravagant shapes and figures that would enchant anyone's vision, but not my impatient and hyperactive imagination that ran its eyes over and over again. I looked around the place with fear that if I slept, I would find the man I want to flee from and my thoughts would only drift to the consequences of tonight.

•Currently; Real Castle of Saizen•

•Nathaniel's POV •

I am distracted from the guests for a long time, when out of urgency, Kalied already scurried behind my chair, whispering in my ear what he had been avoiding for several weeks; even cleaning up Saizen's capital, Kian, was no easy feat.

–What should we do, sir?– he mutters

Both disassociated from the shrinking crowd of people, we spoke in low voices, for the second time that night my calm was truncated by the occasional illegal merchant.

–What are they bringing this time?

–Hallucinogenic plants– he answers

I almost choke on the contents of the glass in my hand, I cover my mouth with my hand to clean the rest of the drink that I have spilled. My frown immediately sinks and my mouth exhales the held breath.

–That the knights make a barricade on the mercantile border, we will monitor them from these days, why do they bring hallucinogens illegally?– I say –all the merchants who bring medicinal substances with them have an order to enter the country, do they You say he didn't have it?– express

Kalied denies. –Not only that, Your Majesty. It is false, it seems that someone is bringing it from abroad to trade with it, I have begun to think that they are drug dealers– he answers

–Drug?– I taste the word on my lips

The drug is an extremely dangerous substance not only because of its addiction, but because it is used to attract people who live in small villages in order to make them think that they will earn money with it; no matter how hard a king tries to eradicate the plague, he cannot see everything, and even himself could become corrupt, was my father like that?

I shake my head. However my father was, I cannot afford to be like that; what I should be doing is preventing the disease from spreading and spreading to the other kingdoms, however, everything that is bought in the stationary territory from abroad, must go through the Saizen toll, it is mandatory and if it is not well, then we have to watch every step they take.

–Can you make a tracker go after him?

Kalied frowns, his eyes in the gloom lighting up with knowing but still questioning.

–Will you let him go?

–Have a tracker go after him, take a carrier bird. Someone trades drugs, and it seems that they bring it through illegal tolls, if we capture them immediately we will not be able to reach the person behind, so we will take care of it from afar, we will attack when the time is right– I push myself out of my place behind the great table where I am at the head, beyond us the party is losing its momentum and the moon rises above the sky increasingly bright

That glow reminds me of something or someone, but I can't remember it exactly.

I look away from it, my heart clenching at that thought, as if I've forgotten something. I address the crowd for the first time to speak to them all night that I have been attacking what is happening. Kalied has disappeared with his assignment already assigned, while I try to get along with who is still in the room, the Duke of Grinzem continues to chatter with the Lord of the Spring Country while his family is pushed aside, which strikes me.

–I hope the evening was to your liking tonight– I say as courteously as possible

"Better go talk somewhere else"

What I hear from the current Duke of Grinzem catches my attention, the more I decide to let it pass as I address the parents of the young red-haired princess.

–The lady, is she okay?– I express

The so-called Lords of Eldinne turn to me asking permission from the chancellor of the frozen country, with a courteous smile the man with the striped eyes and red but gray hair opens his mouth to speak, but his wife is right ahead.

–Yes. Although she decided to leave soon for personal reasons– explains her mother

Lord Ibell claps his wife's hand before addressing me.

–Alcila, we should retire for today. His Majesty must be exhausted for this is the first time that there have been so many people in the castle.

I come to my senses, not being able to understand why I remembered that memory, I turn to them again.

–That's right, besides you have a long way to go tomorrow, you should come back and rest at the hotel– I say

–It has been an honor, Your Majesty– after having dismissed the Lords of Eldinne, I come to wonder how hypocritical are the nobles that I met today out of pure commitment

The rest bow and lose themselves at the boundary in their respective carriages; the doors close and the servants come out of the back corridors to take care of everything else.

Benhard arrives with me immediately, I pass the table, leaving the room to reach the stairs, I begin to feel exhausted after a month of preparation for the celebration, not everything has been a failure, in fact the idea of holding the celebration was not It was a presentation for young women, but rather, an excuse to rub shoulders with the deepest thoughts that the nobility has in their hearts, and I could easily verify that some are indeed involved in illicit business.

–Let the servants take what is left over from the meal. Rest up and take care of cleaning tomorrow, host the musicians, it's too late to go back. I order it– I order taking off the belt where I carry the rapier

Benhard opens the door for me, his yellow eyes assuring me of my late-night mood.

–I'll bring tea for you, Majesty– warn

–Tea?– I frown at him.

–I know it, will take a long time to sleep for you and that you are having strange dreams again, that will relax you– he answers

I lick my lips without being able to oppose myself, I bite my lip where the cleft in my lower lip is found playing with it, since Benhard knows everything about me it is impossible to lie to him; defeated, nod. With a bow, he closes the door behind him leaving me in the solitude of my room, although my eyelids are heavy, I open a history book and begin to leaf through it until I reach the part that interests me, however, what Kalied limited with regarding the drug, it bubbles in my mind like boiling water. I pinch the bridge of my nose once I have finished reading the book, every time my shoulders feel heavier and my anxiety increases with each crime that is dismantled in Saizen, if so here .. How corrupt are the nations neighbors?