Royally F**cked

XVIII:Duodēvīgintī

Where was her mother?

What had the Queen been trying to tell her? Why was she no longer in Vespertine. Lavinia peaked up through her dark eyelashes up to the Prince. Would he know? If there was anyone on this continent that could help her and find out, it would be this man.

She opened her mouth to voice it, but shut it soon after. Would he even care? With one look at the man, she could tell he would. Delvin's mouth was turned down slightly, his eyebrows pinching together in concern. "My err, my mum," She started, unsure of herself. The Prince nodded for her to continue.

"She's been missing for a while now, and erm. I was just wondering because Queen Calandria said she wasn't in Vespertine anymore and I don't know. I don't know what to do, because she's my mother but if i leave this job our farm would go. But right now neither of us can take care of it, so my neighbour Jason is."

Now she started, she couldn't stop. But Delvin sat there, obediently listening to her every word. After she stopped, he placed his head on his hands mulling over her train of thought.

"I'll help," Delvin declared solemnly, intertwining his hands together. After a minutes pause, he downed the cup of tea she'd given him and then promptly down her own cup as well. Lavinia spluttered.

Standing up abruptly, Delvin patted down his uniform, before reaching a hand out towards her. Lavinia gave it an odd look, apprehensively placing her hand in his. Gently he wrapped his fingers around hers. Tugging softly to pull her closer to him. He shot her a quick grin.

"Hold your breath," Delvin ordered, and without question she did so. He squeezed her hand reassuringly and before she knew it there was a sudden lurching. A loud pop bursted her ears temporarily, and it felt like the whole world was tilting sideways.

Lavinia had unconsciously shut her eyes, opening them back up she realised they were standing in a large reception room.

This place was foreign to her, it certainly wasn't in the palace. Small contained fires hovered freely near the ceiling casting the large room in a soft amber glow. The walls were white and barren, the floor cold cobblestone. Glancing around, Lavinia could see a bunch of people in Mage's uniform staring at them openly.

It took her two seconds to realise why they were staring so intently. Looking down to find she was still holding on to Delvin's hand. Quickly, she yanked her hand away as if she'd been burned. Delvin frowned. "Well, this is the place I manage." He announced, gesturing his arms across the room. "Aren't you impressed?"

Lavinia chose to ignore that comment and focused on the former statement. "This is the Magic Tower then?" She muttered, echoing his posture. She couldn't help but notice the looks the other mages were giving Delvin as he led her to a separate room. It was almost like they were frightened. Shocked even.

The room was impossibly larger than the reception, filled to the brim with books, scattered pages and rows of desks lined with bottles of suspicious substances. "This is my room, I do everything here. From managing other mages, teaching new apprentices to monitoring the array of magic across this Kingdom," The Prince introduced, sitting himself atop one of the desks.

There were no seats to be found anywhere, so cautiously she sat beside him on the table. It wobbled slightly under their combined weight but otherwise held strong. The room gave her more of an appreciation for the man. It was clear he was busy, and dedicated to his craft.

"If we're going to find anything about your mother, it would be in this tower somewhere," Delvin announced. She bit her lip, rubbing her hands up her arms anxiously. "Just give me a minute, and i'll find out if there's anything here."

"How are you going to do-" Lavinia was cut off, as the Prince began to mutter something under his breath. His eyes rolled back, and eventually closed. His eyelids twitched for a moment until he eventually opened them back up again.

Delvin's mouth hung open slightly, and he looked to her, eyebrows raised in shock. "There's nothing. No identification forms. No work history, nothing. There's no mention of her anywhere, Lavinia. Apart from your identification form, there's nothing at all."

"It's almost like she doesn't exist."

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Authors Note.:

Hey guys! I hope you liked this chapter, id love to hear from you either way! What do you think about Lavinia's mum, id like to know your theories about her. 

Just to let you guys know, i'm going to be busy with work next week and the week after so i may not be able to publish the chapters then. I will try to remember to do it, but i might be unable too, so just a heads up if there are no chapters then! 

Anyways, i hope you guys are doing well. We're almost at 1k reads on this book now, so thank you a lot! I've really enjoyed writing this so far, so i hope you're enjoying it too. 

Lots of love, 

Sam.E