Acceptance

Chapter 67

Shelton's POV

Looking through the sites and camps took some time, but in the end it was worth it. When we got back we were all tired and eager to sleep in our bed. Drake and I entered the room and saw Nathaniel with a towel around his waist unpacking. "How did it go with Qin," I asked him. He nodded, "It went really well. We had a slight hiccup though. At one of the sights, he was walking in one of the cabins and the floor gave out from under him. One of the boards sliced his arm on his way down as he fell into the basement of it. I got the bleeding to stop and stitched it close though," He shared with us. "Other than that, we had no other issues. How did it go for the two of you?" "Went really well," Drake replied as he sat his bag down. "Where is Qin now," I asked him as I looked around. "He showered, changed, then went to his office," Nathaniel replied. "A King's work is never done." I nodded then went to the bathroom with Drake to shower. 

I had just left the bathroom when I saw Cindy glaring at Nathaniel, "You guys went on some stupid camping trip?" "No," Nathaniel told her. "If it was a camping trip, we would've brought all of you." She crossed her arms, "What important business gets your clothes covered in dirt?" "The kind of important business that takes days of hard work to give our mates peace of mind that we didn't cost any children their lives with the decisions we've made regarding the rebels," He told her. "Before you get pissed we kept it hidden from you, we thought it best to keep it vague, because we didn't know what we were going to find. And if you want to be mad about it fine,but don't you dare point that anger at Qin. He already has enough on his plate." She crossed her arms, "Like what? Not consulting us on more big decisions that affect a lot of people?" Nathaniel shook his head, his eyes red, "I'm so tired of you being so naive. When is the last time you've been to his office? When is the last time you've looked at the amount of work he has to do. It's not easy trying to get your people adjusted to modern times after being frozen in time mentally because of the curse. Even his own memory is a little fuzzy at times, but he pushes through it. Stop and think, when is the last time Qin actually joined us as we were going to bed? When is the last time he actually sat down with us at dinner? He takes those days out of each week to spend with us, because he also wants to balance us, to let us know he thinks about us, and he loves us. However, those days have consequences." Nathaniel then threw a shirt on to the bed that was covered in dried blood. The gash from when Qin fell must've been deep when he fell for the blood to be splattered like that, I thought. 

"I can't tell you the amount of times I've gone to the kitchen to check with the staff to see if he has asked for his lunch to be brought to him, and I've had to bring him something to eat because he was so busy he lost track of time. Or the times I've gone to check on him and found him sleeping at his desk," He told her. "But he took these past few days to help us look through those camps and sights, so he could look you in the eye and confidently tell you that there were no other children. That's all he wanted, was to be able to look you in the eye again. He was even injured in the process. And after spending days of looking and a day long drive to come home, he came home, showered, then went to his office where a mountain of paperwork waited for him. We all did this for you and Alice. Us three don't have to really worry about work. Sure Shelton has some paperwork, but the work gets balanced with the council so it doesn't pile up. Drake and I only have a few responsibilities since we aren't crowned yet, and the only reason Pyrus stayed home, was because we had to force him because of his knee, but also so that you can have help with the twins since we know it's not easy to take care of them by yourself. Qin on the other hand, he is by himself. His work isn't something any of us can help him with because he is King. He has been kicking himself for what happened with you girls, and on top of that, he is worried about Alice. So if you want to keep being mad because we hid something else from you, then so be it, but you will not point that anger at him."