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👑 N I K O L A I 👑
Although the riding exercise had been fun, Nikolai was exhausted when they returned to the Grande Palace. In the past, he could have fought in a battle or return from a long journey at sea and be just fine, but now he was ... tired. So very tired. If he could have, he would have slept for the next three days, trying to recharge his batteries.
Maybe the demon inside him had kept him going through all the troubles and terrors over the past years. With it gone, there was no source of powering through without thinking. Now he was just exhausted, wishing for all of this to end. Wanting to stay in bed without any tasks for work, problems considering the country or ... courting season.
Aneela was the shining light that kept him going during this dreadful period. Whenever he saw her at one of the events, it gave him the energy he needed for the day. It was hard to leave her and as soon as she was out of his sight, the tiredness came over him like the monster that had been inside him once upon a time.
Lifting his feet to walk through the long corridors became insufferable as he made his way towards Zoya's salon, with Tamar at his side, reporting to the others what had occurred today. He had sent word to Genya who had been watching them this morning as they got onto the horses, she had seen the incident with Aneela falling. Surely, she had told Zoya and hopefully, they had already started their investigation towards the causer of this ill happening.
"You look awful," Zoya stated when he entered the room. "You are supposed to gleam with life and joy and not look miserable."
"Thank you for your warm words as always," Nikolai mumbled as he let himself drop onto the couch across from her, spreading out and resting his head against a cushion. "You would look like death, too, if you had to do these draining events for days on end."
"Was the ride at least pleasant?" Genya wanted to know. "Or did the problems continue?"
"No, the ride was quiet. And everybody stayed away from Aneela."
Tamar sat down next to the tailor. "Did you already learn something?"
Genya nodded. "A guard saw a member of Brigitta's entourage near the stables right before Nikolai led the bachelorettes over, but the stableboys didn't see anybody while they were working. They must have slipped in when the horses were being brushed before they got the gear, the room is on the other side of the stable and while everybody was with the horses, nobody paid attention to it."
"So, we're pretty sure it was them," Tamar stated. "But we can't pin them because they will claim that it was a gear malfunction."
"Exactly. And we can't say who exactly gave the order, it could be Brigitta or any member of her entourage."
