-HER-
Dear Vittoria,
I'm at Cromeria, living with Alexandros, and he has claimed me as his mate.
I groaned and struck everything before crumbling the parchment and tossing it away. I whipped out another piece of parchment, dipped my quill in the ink and tried again.
My Dearest Vittoria...
Nope. That sounded phoney. Vittoria could be anything but not dear to me. She'd end up doubting me even more if I started it like that. I needed to be more serious.
Vittoria, I'm writing from Cromeria to inform you that I, Theresa, formed a pact with the werewolf king...
No. No. That sounded too assertive, and she wouldn't like that. She'd think I'm asking for trouble by challenging my priestess title.
I tried a couple more times, feeling increasingly frustrated with each try. My hands were shaking, and my heart was pounding in my chest. I could have never guessed that writing a letter could be such a daunting task. Well, it wasn't just any letter.
I was writing to Vittoria to let her know about the special agreement that I had had with Alex. I didn't want to make it seem like I did it behind her back. Leaving that kind of impression would get me in a whole lot of trouble.
I'll choose to betray family over betraying Vittoria and the shrine any day. I needed to set things straight with her. I needed to do this and let her know about this as soon as possible. I'd be in major trouble if she found out about this from anyone or anywhere else but me.
I dipped the quill in the ink for the last time and took a fresh piece of parchment. I looked at the blank thing and took a deep breath.
HH V GEL M,
An alliance was formed of both kinds. Send word and forgiveness.
- T
[HH V GEL M— Her Holiness Vittoria, 1000th Guardian of the Eternal Lagrifiri. Any letter addressed in this manner, sealed in the bottle and tossed in the sea, reaches the shrine on its own. As long as it's written by a priestess, of course. ]
I stared at my words for a couple of seconds. That looked sufficient. Crisp and vague enough. Before I could change my mind, I sealed it and left the study to give it to the messenger. I exited my suite and headed towards one of the central courtyard gardens to find the messenger there.
I eyed him first, vetting him silently. Alex had chosen him for me, but I still had doubts. I had made him promise not to snoop into my letters. After making sure, I could trust him; I finally gave him the letter.
"Where shall this be delivered and to whom?" He asked me.
"Put it in a bottle and toss it in the Southern Sea," I replied. He looked baffled but didn't say anything and left. Even after delivering the letter to the messenger, I felt slightly uneasy and uncertain about it.
How would Vittoria take the message? What would she do? Would she take me from here? Even though I hadn't mentioned my whereabouts in the letter, I knew she'd know where I was. I had a feeling she already knew, but I didn't want to make it seem like I was keeping her in the dark. The last thing I wanted to do in this situation was to piss off Vittoria.
"There she is," A voice snapped me out of my train of thought. I straightened up and glanced above my shoulder to find Celsa approaching me with a couple of her ladies in waiting. I rolled my eyes and turned around to face her.
A stern expression covered her face while her eyes gleamed with murder.
"I heard about the shit you stirred in the court today," She told me, her chin tipped high and fire blazing in her eyes.
"Then you must have found out who I must be," I smiled, and she narrowed her eyes on me, scanning me from head to toe scrutinisingly.
"Of course, you're worse than I thought. A Somerian princess and that too the fated mate of our King. How does it feel like to betray your family?" She asked. She had spoken softly, but her words were heavy enough to have briefly knocked the smile off my lips.
Not that I cared much about what Celsa thought about me or not. No. It was the first time I heard someone call me a traitor out loud. I knew what I was doing and what it would cost, but I couldn't have imagined being called a traitor would feel like being slapped across the face. Even though technically I wasn't betraying my brother, but at the same time, I was betraying my people in some way.
I pressed my lips in a thin line and shot her a glare as she continued, "Are you dreaming of becoming the queen of this land someday? Trying to claim something of your own after your brother kicked you out of your house? Poor you..." She pouted, her words mocking, "Don't worry, it's not going to happen. No one in the court would accept a traitor as their queen,"
I clenched my teeth as her words pricked my skin. I didn't care about these things, but still, her words were surprisingly stinging me. I wasn't ready for this yet.
"Are you afraid?" I asked. Her eyes widened slightly, my question taking her aback. She laughed and exchanged looks with her ladies-in-waiting.
"Why would I be afraid?" She asked, rubbing her round belly, "I have nothing to be afraid of. I know what is going to happen. Even if you become the queen, it'll be for a short time. I'm carrying the future King, remember?" She asked me. For once, I wanted to ask her why she thought her baby would become the King even though there was a possibility that Alex might have heirs of his own, but I decided against it. I'll find out some other way. Not from her.
I stalked towards her and gently touched her belly. My actions shocked her, and she stepped away almost instantly. Her eyes were wide with shock and anger. She was looking at me as if I was the nastiest thing walking on the face of the planet. I wanted to laugh at her reaction but bit it back.
"W-what are you doing?" She asked defensively. "Have you gone mad?"
"I was curious about the baby," I smiled at her, puzzling her further, but she regained her calm immediately and shot me a glare.
"If you dare cast the evil eye on my son—"
"It's a beautiful and healthy girl," I chirped before she lost it.
~
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