Life of a Nomad

Chapter 10 - Marks of Fate

---Christina's POV---

It was strange to see everyone staring at me as I walked alongside Collin and the King. Those who'd seen what happened stared at me as one would stare when they found a long lost treasure, others simply glanced because I was walking beside their King without the slightest presence of nerves.

When the king opened the door and motioned us in, I almost expected the people to gather up to his quarters but then again, most people would be slightly intimidated by him, especially when he made it as clear as day that he wanted to keep this conversation private by shutting the doors behind us.

I looked around, still quite hesitant to stay in an enclosed space but I guess my past had something to do with that. My eyes were trained on the king as he paced back and forth between the fireplace in the center of the room and the window on our right.

"That was your former pride, I take it."

The way he said that, without hesitation and announced instead of questioned made me sigh and nod, knowing it was impossible to lie when the truth had revealed itself. "Yes sir. A fairly large part of it."

He nodded as his pace continued before he suddenly stopped in the middle of the room and stared past me. "You knew about this abuse and you didn't inform me...why?"

The cool tone made me flinch slightly, which in turn made the king look at me before his gaze turned apologetic before returning his gaze on his eldest son. Collin sighed and squinted his eyes shut as he rubbed a hand over his face.

"You know why dad; she was still in their hands. Yes, I could have told you but by doing so, you would have gone over there. Your arrival would have preceded you and they would have erased any evidence, possibly even blaming Christina and harming her, or worse."

Collin's father sighed as he understood what his son meant before he slowly made his way to a seat and sat down, closing his eyes for a moment. Collin looked from me to his dad before rolling his eyes and thumped himself on his head.

"Sorry Christina, never really introduced you. Dad obviously knows who you are but you constantly have to refer to him as King. Christina, Richard. Richard, Christina." He said with a small gesture, making me smile before I nodded to Richard as he peered through one eye.

Richard sat up again and rubbed his two hands vigorously through his face before sighing and perking up a bit. "Can't wait till I can get some sleep..." He murmured under his breath, making me realize how tired the King actually looked.

His brownish hair was disheveled, dark rims edging closer to his eyes and his whole posture just showed that he was tired, yet his inner strength was pulsing through his body.

Richard leaned forwards slightly and looked at me from over his fingertips. "Your kin is very rare in our world. Very few have seen them and even fewer can claim that they know an Amor leopard. Your community is so small that they're all considered as part of the Royal family."

My eyes widened dramatically while Collin slowly dropped his arms from their previously crossed position. "C-come again?" I whispered breathlessly, even Eve didn't move a muscle, as she too was too stunned to react to this news.