WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE; Get Out!!!

*Future daughter-in-law? now I see why this is Darren's family. Turning around to find who addressed her like that, she saw a beautiful young lady who looked as old as Clarisse, dressed in royal apparel and she looked so much like the King, *I guess she is the Princess* Adriele thought to herself. Merlia had not attended King Norman's birthday party nor the festival of dance because she was not in good condition.

" Hey, have manners okay" Delia cautioned her daughter and then later said " Welcome Lady Adriele, it's a pleasure to be your host for the next few days"

" Don't embarrass me, your highness, the pleasure is all mine" she responded as she bowed to Queen Delia.

" You don't have to be so courteous, soon enough you'll be a princess of this Kingdom," she said with a smile. Adriele's cheeks were red from anger but everyone else in the room thought she was just shy. " This is my daughter Princes Merlia, I'm sure you didn't see her at the party" Adriele nodded " Well that's because she was not feeling well"

" Greetings Princess Merlia" Adriele bowed to her

" It's okay you don't have to do that" Merlia stopped her from bowing. She might be angry at her brother but she had always wanted a sister and she wouldn't miss this chance, from what her mom had told her about the girl, she was a good person. *Finally, Darren has done one reasonable thing in his life, and when they get married I'll ask her to do some slight things to annoy him as payback* Merlia thought and laughed within herself.

Adriele on the other hand kept looking every which way to see if there was any sign of Darren and why is he not here yet.

" Okay, you must be tired after the trip, go on to your room and refresh yourself if you need anything just ask, I'll send your personal maid up to your room later, Gilbert will take you to your room, dinner will be served in an hour, I'm sure Darren will be here by then" Delia added sensing her anxiousness.

" This way Lady Adriele," Gilbert, the Butler said motioning to the staircase and Adriele followed him until they arrived at a door, which he opened and he said " This is your room, have a look, and if you have any displeasure with it tell me immediately," the Butler said

" Thank you, but the room is perfectly ok," Adriele said not wanting to get too much attention, and the Butler sensing her thoughts and worries didn't ask about it again and just bowed and left.

Getting into the room Adriele was amazed, it was big, bigger than her rooms both at her home and the Silverland Palace, there was a beautiful bed, a large window by it where one could enjoy the scenery outside, and the bathroom which already had hot water in the tub. She quickly went to close the door, so as not to allow someone she doesn't know to walk in while she was taking a bath then she hurried back took off her clothes, and got into the tub of hot water, it was so comfortable and it even made her forget her worries for a while. She felt dizzy so she leaned on the tub to be more comfortable and not drawn in the water and closed her eyes for a while.

*********

* Cough*

" Veronica, you're getting worse, isn't there anything you can do? Why did you have to save me?..." A man said to his wife who laid on the bed with his arms wrapped around her, she looked pale and white like her blood had been sucked out of her body

"'shh, if I have the will and strength in me to live today? It is because you're here with me, I don't know what I'd have done if you left me. And even if the situation puts its self in front of us again, then I will do it again. Anyway, Adriele will be safer with you than I" Veronica said, and just then a little girl and a woman walked in

" Mama, mama, I got it right this time, I made the medicine myself today. Though Nanny Cynthia helped with the fire I was the one who put in all of the ingredients" the girl said in an excited tone, like she had won some sort of price.

" My Princess is a fast learner, isn't she? "

*hahaha haha* the girl laughed

" If you made it then it's going to work faster, no offense Cynthia," Veronica said looking at the nanny

" No qualms ma'am," Cynthia said.

The woman gulped down the medicine from the bowl " There, I feel much better already " the woman said with a tinge of hope in her voice

" That's not how drugs work, mama, " the child corrected in a playful tease

" hmmm, so how does it work?" Adrian asked

" You have to give it time to settle in"

" It's called instant relief" Veronica defended

" In a second? I'm not a kid" she said

" Oh, really?" Adrian teased

" Dad!!" the child said as she hid her face in shame, causing everyone in the room to laugh. Yes, she was physically seven but her mental age was older than her actual age.

" Ok, ok, you're not a kid, and drugs don't work so fast, but I say they do or they can, do you know why?"

" No mama," the little girl her head in response

" Remember, Adriele, it's not only the drug that heals the person"

" But also the love, care, and devotion you put into it, how you feel about the person, your belief, and your ability to make that person believe he or she is going to be well again," Adrian said completing his wife's statement

So always remember Adriele, whatever you do, always put your heart into it.....

*KNOCK*

Adriele was awakened from her trance, she quickly got out of the tub, tied a towel around her, left the bathroom, and asked "Who's there?"

" My lady, I'm Naina, your personal maid sent by her Majesty " Then the girl called Naina continued "It's time for dinner, her Majesty asked me to call you out"

" You can go on, I'll be there in a few minutes" she yelled loud enough for the girl at the other side of the door to hear, after that she got herself ready and when she opened the door she saw a girl " My Lady," the girl said with her head bowed to the ground and immediately Adriele knew who it was. It was Naina, the maid sent by Queen Delia

" You didn't have to wait for me though," She said to the girl not feeling comfortable with the fact that she waited for her for so long.

" As your personal maid, I have to be with you wherever you go and be ready to wait on you and it's my pleasure to be at your service, My Lady," the girl said with her still facing the floor

Adriele wanted to stop her or ask the Queen to relieve her of her duties but she was scared if she said so it might come out as a complaint against the girl's mode of service and she didn't want to trouble the girl.

" Well, it is ok, let's go," Adriele said as she walked away

" Yes, my lady" and she followed

In the dining room, the little family sat at the table but were not eating yet * were they waiting for her? No, it can't be me, it should be that man* she thought, there was still no sign of Darren in the Palace, but that was a good thing, right? she didn't want to see him anyway. Looking at the table, her mouth watered, so much food for just the five of them, when the Khan's table was this full it was understandable, they have six kids anyway, * Many say King Norman had so many kids because he was looking for another male kid, that after the outbreak of the disease, it killed so many he was scared to lose his only son, so he planned to have another but was blessed with girls only until Dennis was born*

Reaching the others at the table she bowed and said " I sincerely apologize for my tardiness your Majesties." it was considered rude to come after the King and even more disrespectful to make him wait

" It's ok, have a seat," King said and she took a seat beside Merlia and when she sat down Killian smiled and gave her a curtsy now to welcome her and she returned it.

" We're the ones to apologize for Darren's absence," Queen Delia said regrettably

" May God forbid you ever have to apologize to me, your Majesty" Adriele said

" Oh don't be so courteous dear"

" Well, the food is getting cold, dig in, " Jerome said, and everyone started to eat.

" Is it good?" Merlia asked Adriele

" Yes, your Highness"

---------------

*CLANK, CLANK*

Swords clashed in the air, in the forest. Darren and his partner Michael had gone on a mission to get some information and on their way back they were ambushed

" Why do I always run into problems when I am with you? " Michael asked as he dodged an attack

" What can I say? my fans are really aggressive " Darren replied in the same tone.

After a while of swords swinging in the air and blood splashing every was, Darren and Michael had successfully killed them all

" This batch was skilled," Michael remarked,

" Yes, what a waste of manpower"

" Hey, you didn't tell me you had a girl you liked," Michael asked. After Killian, Darren's only other trusted friend was Michael he is the son of Elder Vince, they had been friends forever. Well, they were actually competitors during their childhood, they both wanted to be the best and the competition grew even more when they started training together, but all in all, they respected each other's capability.

"Well now you know" putting a sword across Michael's throat he said " I know we compete with everything, but she's out of the equation, don't mess with her, she is my WOMAN," Darren said yelling out the last word

" Okay, someone being a paranoid future husband, but anyway tell me the truth"

" She can cure Killian"

" Is that so, how?"

" With the help of plants"

" Oh, like the herbs he used to take from his previous healer?"

" Hmmm,"

" Didn't she die, she was the only one who knew enough about plants to be able to heal him, I remember when you guys searched for other healers but they couldn't do much*

" Yes that's correct, but just like that healer, her herbs also work on him."

" Wait, a minute, that healer had a daughter right? Is she that daughter?"

"Yes"

" How sure are you?"

"Well at first I couldn't say for sure, but after I heard her parents, names my doubts were confirmed"

" Oh, but didn't her mon say, he wouldn't make it?"

" Yes she did but maybe she had found out the cure but couldn't tell us because of her untimely passing " Darren shrugged " Let's get home now, it's getting late" and both men rode their horses to the palace. Michael was also considered part of the family and he could sleep in the Palace anytime he wanted.

Arriving at the Palace at around eleven at night they were heading to their different rooms when Killian stopped them in the sitting room with a lamp in his hands. "I see you boys had fun," he said looking at the bloodstains on their clothes.

" We're hardworking, we deserve it don't you think? Michael answers with a smirk

" Hmmm," Killian just shook his head, as if Darren wasn't enough for him, Michael was there too. *I know I was a bit mischievous growing up but these two are just over the top* Killian thought to himself. "Well did you get it?"

" Yes, we did" and Darren took out a parchment paper from his pocket and gave her. Killian opened it and read it and then his expression changed to one of disgust "These people are inhumane and are backstabbers, I can't believe they tried to poison the water supply".

This was a plan put in place by Lakewiston to weaken Kleevland before the war but were caught in time. Though because of Killian's illness, he had been restricted from moving around too much and going to war, but he was an intellectual who was more in the know of the kingdom's affairs even more than those in charge of it and during the war, he would annually send some of his friends who are skilled warriors from different Kingdoms and he was also very good at negotiating with other people and Kingdoms.

" Have you stationed guards at the mouth of the water supply?"

" Yes"

" Ok, I will talk with someone tomorrow and everything is going to be okay"

" Ok, good night, some of us are tired and sleepy you know," Michael said in a bored tone

" Yes, we are" Darren supported before he added, "How's Adriele?"

" She seems fine, she is comfortable with mom and dad and I think that Merlia is taking a liking to her"

" Ok"

" Her name is Adriele, hmmm" and after a while, the three men went to their different rooms to have some rest.

Early the next morning Adriele was sound asleep on the bed and when she turned to stretch her body in her sleep she touched something hard which had a pulse. At first, she thought it was Cynthia and grabbed the arm-like body and held it in her sleep then on second thought she remembered she was in Kleevland and she abruptly woke up to find a pair of hazel eyes staring at her, it was that man. Realizing he is not supposed to be in her room, she steadied herself and said " What are you doing here?!!"

" I came to see my future wife," Darren said with a grin.

" Well, your Highness, single men, and women are not supposed to be so close, not talk about being in a room together,. Please, Get out " she might have sounded calm but he knew inside of her she was screaming* GET OUT!!!!