Two Thousand Years | The Empire Saga #1

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Alex dismissed everyone who had once been close to her.

Or, at least, she tried.

The only one who refused to listen to her was Mallia, who insisted that, as her lead Mistress and her friend, she would not leave her alone in a time of great need.

The knock on the door that announced her arrival one such afternoon was purposefully ignored, and because there was no lock on the bedroom door, Mallia let herself in as if nothing was astray. "If you think for one moment I'm going to stand around while you're wasting away to absolutely nothing, you're entirely incorrect, Empress," she said while Alex continued to lie in bed.

Alex wanted to both believe her and hate her for it.

Every day she would come in, pull back the heavy curtains, draw her bath and lay out her clothes.

Alex had fought the efforts for some time, but she knew Mallia had done her no wrong, merely wanted to help her when she could barely help herself, so Alex allowed her access to her quarters.

Mallia, however, did not overstep those freedoms Alex authorized, leaving the Empress to bathe and dress herself in silence. Often, when she thought the Mistress wasn't watching, Alex would observe her slowly expanding belly with both a silent admiration and bitter hatred.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, she would run her hands lightly over the warm skin, knowing that within grew the next generation of the Empire's royal line.

Or she was incubating monsters.

"There's a lotion the healer once gave me, to help the skin grow more supple," Mallia casually offered one day as she pulled back the curtains. "I'll bring you a bottle when I come back tomorrow."

Alex didn't answer. Instead, she closed her eyes tight at the memory, wanting to cry but tears no longer came. They had run out long before she left Reylor's castle. There were no more to cry.

Despite the dried tears, however, there still remained an Empire that needed her attention, and she used whatever energy lingered to focus on that.

As if sensing her determination, Mallia continued to offer unsolicited advice and information.

"Treyan and Jamison are heading to the northern villages later this week." She worked her way around the bed, pulling the duvet up to the headboard and fluffing pillows as she talked. "They're hoping to increase the efforts to secure the tree line between us and the Borderlands to ensure no one passes through. From either side."

Maybe Mallia knew it would capture her attention. Whether or not she was aware of Treyan's promise not to venture near the tree line for his own safety didn't matter. And whether or not Mallia knew how hard Alex's heart pounded in her chest at the news, the Mistress' information was more than enough to make Alex want to ask questions.

But not to her. And not yet.

***

The day she decided to venture from her room seemed to surprise the Councillor as much as it had her. But she took advantage of Treyan's absence, despite the distress it caused her, and was not going to allow Mallia's information to go to waste.

"Why did you allow Treyan to travel north?" she demanded of the advisor once she made her presence known upon entering his chambers.

The Councillor cleared his throat, as though remembering himself and to whom he was speaking before he responded. "They need to make sure the Borderlands are being monitored, Empress, and Prince Treyan's first order upon your return was to set up patrolled outposts whose permanent responsibility it was to ensure no one crossed through the tree line unnoticed."

That Treyan would go so far as to instill a royal decree...

"If they do?" she inquired carefully.

"Any minion or mage would be questioned and detained," he informed her. And then hesitated before he added, "If the Betrayer dared, he would be brought directly to the palace, immediately placing the Empire on high alert."

An involuntary shudder traveled through her. "And should anyone from the Empire choose to visit the Borderlands?"

"He's also made it known that anyone who ventured beyond the tree line into the Borderlands would be deemed a traitor to the Empire, deserving of the severest punishment."

She didn't know if anyone challenged the decrees or not, but she didn't care either way.

Just so long as Reylor stayed as far away from her as possible.

***

With the prince gone, it was one less harsh reality Alex would need to face when there were still so many she needed to work through. But the Councillor was kind enough, and knew what not to discuss, and Alex was slowly able to return to a somewhat normal routine of lessons and diplomacy, even when her nights were still riddled with nightmares.

She met with the Councillor regularly, maintaining a handle on the daily activities of the Empire, ate her meals, and finally saw the healer. Her weight began to return, and when she was certain the healer wouldn't admonish her for it, she would visit to ensure the babies were growing as they needed to be. They were the future of the Empire, after all, and through them, and whatever curse Reylor summoned upon her, she was either going to be the savior the Prophecy wanted her to be, or she was going to raze it to the ground.

She kept to her routine.

But once those meetings came to a close, her food was consumed, and her health properly monitored, she returned to her rooms, continuing to refuse any visitors.

Especially when Treyan returned home.

She didn't want him to touch her.

Didn't want him to judge her.

Didn't want him to ask her if she was okay.

She wasn't okay. She didn't know when she would again be okay.

And being near him would be a constant reminder of how not okay she was.

***

It was soon apparent, however, through her meetings with the Councillor, that Mallia's constant presence was a double-edged sword. While she assisted Alex where she needed it, it also became obvious she was reporting back to the Councillor regularly, updating him on her status and the well-being of the unborn twins.

Alex became increasingly suspicious once the Councillor began asking specific questions that only Mallia would have known the answers to, such as how well the healer's ointment was working, and with an even heavier heart Alex took it upon herself to dismiss her friend once and for all.

Betrayal, once again, from someone she thought she could trust.

Now she had no one.