Duty

Chapter 23 Parting is such sweet sorrow

It was a rather cloudy day. Ariane pulled up the hood of her cloak. She was glad for the carriage that would protect her against the rain that would undoubtedly fall. Time had gone by so fast. Soon she would be in Tireze again.

Her eyes moved over the people that had gathered in front of the palace. Vara was standing next to the king with lady Eurydice and lord Caius.

Vara's friend Ophelia was saying goodbye to Iolaus.

"Are you ready?"

Ariane looked up at Torcan who smiled at her encouraging. She nodded. "Yes, I am ready."

He held out his arm for her to take. "Time to say goodbye then." He guided her towards the king.

"Lady Ariane." King Marcos smiled at her. "I wish you a safe journey and a pleasant stay in Tireze. Please give my regards to your father and brother."

Ariane curtsied deeply. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

It seemed as if he was going to say more, but in the end he only smiled and nodded at Torcan. "Make sure your prince receives the documents I put up. I will expect his answer soon."

Torcan bowed deeply. "Yes, Your Majesty. I thank you for your hospitality. I assure you Tireze will repay your generosity."

Cyrus walked up to Vara and held her close. "I wish you would come or that I could stay here," he whispered in her ear.

Vara sighed. "You will be back soon enough. Behave while you're there, will you? Don't give them a reason to pull back their men." His breath was against her ear and she felt his lips brush her cheek when he let her go. She suppressed a shiver. She still remembered the feel of his mouth on hers.

Their gazes locked for a moment, but then Iolaus slapped Cyrus' shoulder. "We need to go," he said playfully, but his eyes held a warning. He offered Vara a grin. "Behave while we're gone, Vee, and keep my fiancée out of trouble."

"Oh!" Ophelia gasped, "I take offense to that!"

Iolaus only chuckled and climbed his horse.

Torcan bowed to Vara. "Thank you, my lady, for all you have done. I do hope we will meet again someday."

"As do I," Vara answered, "have a safe journey."

He nodded at her and Vara looked at Ariane. "I hope your stay here so far has been pleasant."

"Yes," Ariane nodded, "thank you. I will look forward to my return and my duties to my husband. I am honored to be part of your family."

"Come, my lady," Cyrus called, "we should go."

Ariane curtsied and stepped into the carriage. In a matter of minutes they were gone, a large entourage following them.

Vara sighed. She wished she could have gone with them. She looked up when the king cleared his throat. He looked at her with a mixture of amusement and annoyance. "It has come to my attention that you have made a promise to young Cicero."

Vara smiled wryly. "I assure you, my king, it is quite innocent."

"Be as it may," the king spoke, "rumors are already spreading. This needs to be handled with care." He gave her a stern look. "I stand by what I said before. With both Cyrus and Iolaus gone, I will assign a guard to you who will go with you wherever you go. Until then, I want you to stay within the palace grounds. You are free to visit Ophelia, but no meeting with the Horas heir until I found you a suitable guard. Or any of the other young men for that matter."