The song for this chapter is actually going to be the main song for this entire book, so you'll see it be the song for a lot of the chapters <3 it fits perfectly!! Okay, read on!
Isabella's POV:
Today was such a long day. The Queen of Spain ended up trying to make a deal that would only benefit Spain and not England, and Phillipa was having none of that. It took them four hours of debating and throwing new deals out before they finally agreed.
But since I had to hand write every single deal thrown out, my hands were now stiff and very very sore.
I rubbed my hands with a sigh, seeing people bustle around to clean up after the meeting with both Queens. It's not like everything got messy or anything, but they still felt as if they needed to clean up. As I sat, Queen Phillipa joined me on the floor, letting out a sigh as she did so.
"That was an interesting meeting." She murmurs and I nod my head, raising one of my eyebrows at her. "Should you really be sitting on the ground?" I ask her and she begins to laugh.
"I don't care where I sit! Just because I'm Queen doesn't make me a different type of person." she says with a wink and I giggle, shaking my head at her. "I suppose that's true." I agree and she smiles at me.
"You did really good work today, Isabella. That wasn't easy writing all that down, I know." she says and I smile, proud of my work. "Well, at least we finally came to an agreement." I say and she rolls her eyes.
"It only took four hours." she says dryly and I chuckle. "And I really didn't like the Queen's attendant." she says with a frown and I smile softly. "He just didn't like me, that's all." I say and she gives me a look. "I don't care what he thinks. Thinking he can call you incompetent and not knowing the problems of the real world because you're a woman that isn't the Queen..." she trails off angrily and I put a hand on her shoulder.
"He doesn't know who I am." I say gently and she huffs. "You know more about the pains of this world than anyone else does. You know how things work, and yet he has the audacity to say that you don't." she grumbles and a pang of hurt hits my heart, but I don't let it show.
"Well, that's okay. He can stay clueless and be of no use to his Queen, while I can be of great help to mine." I say with a wink and a grin comes to her face. "That does make me feel better." she says and I laugh, pulling her in for a side hug.
"That's what I'm here for." I tease and she chuckles, hugging me back before a content smile comes to her smile. "You're here for a lot more." she says, putting her hands in her lap and I smile. "I suppose." I say and she shakes her head.
"I wouldn't have been able to do all of this without you. Granted Edward would've been much better at this than me..." she trails off, before shaking her head and giving me a soft smile. "I'm glad you're here." she says and I smile back, although a small sadness takes over me.
"I'm glad I could help you through your tough time." I whisper and she frowns. "I just wish I could say the same for you. It seems like the only thing that's helped you is Layla." she murmurs and I shake my head.
"You've helped. It's just..." I trail off with a sigh and she puts a hand on my shoulder comfortingly. "It's different because your husband didn't die. He left you and blamed you for what happened." she finishes for me and I nod my head to her slowly.
"So did you really mean that promise to Layla? That you'll marry Wesly when she's eight?" she asks and I shrug my shoulders.
"To be honest I don't want to let go of the chance that Harry will come back, but at the same time, Layla needs a father. And she adores Wesly. Maybe waiting six years should be my sign that he isn't coming back. I've waited for too long, right? And she'll be eight in two years, so I guess that still leaves a small window of hope that he'll come back...although I'm starting to think he won't." I murmur and she looks at me sadly.
"I'm sorry Isabella. I wish I could tell you something that could make this easier for you, but I honestly can't. Sometimes we just don't know the answers and it pains us to admit it...but we have to let time do it's work now, and wait to see what happens." she says and I let out a sigh, nodding my head before giving her a smile.
"Then I'll just wait. I can't just think about it forever." I say, trying to sound positive and she gives me a sad smile. "It amazes me the strength you have, Isabella. It's truly amazing to see you carry on." she says and I give her a smile. "Thank you." I whisper honestly and she pats my shoulder before getting up.
"Well, it's about time for us to head to bed. The meeting started at two and it's already seven by now, knowing how long we've been talking and how much it's taken them to clean up. Will you grab the kids to eat and then we'll head off to bed? I know you're travelling back home early tomorrow." she says and I smile, standing up and nodding to her.
"I'll go get them." I say, parting ways with her and heading up the stairs, hoping to find the three little munchkins not destroying anything. I opened up the office door and smiled, seeing all three of them playing with their toys together, laughing and having a good time.
"Who's ready for dinner?" I ask in an excited tone, all three heads snapping up with grins on their faces. "Me!!" they all three chorus, scampering over towards me and I laugh, leading them down towards the dining room where we were going to eat.
"Aunt Bella! I'm growing again." Edward tells me with a bright smile, his green eyes shining and I smile down at him. "That's great! You sure are hitting a growth spurt!" I encourage and he beams at me, looking proud of himself.
"I'm growing too!" Elizabeth says, her brown eyes looking for acceptance in my eyes and I smile. "I can tell! You're not that much shorter than Edward." I say and Edward still grins at her while she smiles. "You won't get me though." he teases and I roll my eyes. Sibling rivalry at it's best.
"Momma, am I growing?" Layla asks me and I smile. "Not yet, darling. But you aren't as old as your cousins. Just wait a little longer and I'm sure you'll grow just like them." I say encouragingly and she smiles, looking at her two cousins.
"One day I will catch you!" she promises, pointing at them and Edward laughs while Elizabeth grins. "We'll see!" Elizabeth says and the three begin to argue about who would be the tallest and the shortest.
"My Dad was tall! So I'm going to be tall like him!" Edward says confidently and I smile sadly at him, while Layla frowns before looking at me. "Is Daddy tall?" she asks and I swallow hard before nodding my head. "He is. Tall and strong." I say lowly and she grins, turning back to the cousins. "I'll be just like my Daddy!!" she says and Elizabeth huffs.
"Well I'll be tall like my Dad too!" she whines and I let out a sigh, shaking my head as we reached the dining room. As Layla grew older, the more questions she asked about her father. I don't blame her, of course, I just wish it didn't bring me such grief to talk about him.
But I guess that was one thing I just couldn't change.
I open up the doors and let the three starving children run past me, Queen Phillipa smiling at them as they sit down in their spots, eagerly asking what they were about to eat. I continued to stay at the door, my mind brewing in thought. I needed to answer all of Layla's questions...I knew that. But at the same time...
I didn't want to.
***
"Layla get down from the carriage." I scold my child and she pouts. "I don't want to. I want to go back and play with Eddy and Lizzy." she whines and I let out a sigh. "We'll be going back soon, I promise. But for now we're going to go see Grandma, okay?" I ask and her eyes light up, despite the fact that she was trying to pout.
"Come on." I say, trying to hide the smile on my face from my little girl's actions, knowing that the stubborn side of her didn't want to give in, although she really wanted to go see her Grandmother. "Listen to your mother. I'm sure your Grandma is dying to see you." Wesly adds in, holding the carriage door open and Layla finally huffs.
"Fine." she whines, Wesly grabbing her hand to help her jump down, and I thank him for it as she takes my hand.
"Thank you for taking us, Wesly." I say and he gives me a broad smile. "Anytime, Miss." he says with a small bow and I smile at him. "Take care. I'll see you next week." I say and he nods to me. "Stay safe, Miss. I've heard some rumors about some unfriendly ships coming to harbor here." he says and I just nod my head.
"I promise I'll stay safe." I say and he nods. "If you need me, you know how to contact me." he says and I smile. "I'll get you if I need you." I say and he nods. "Goodbye, Wesly." I say and he returns my farewell, hopping back in the carriage as I turn around and begin to walk, keeping Layla's hand firmly in mine so she wouldn't get lost in the crowd.
"How do you contact Mister Wesly?" she asks curiously and I laugh, stopping and pointing to a station about thirty feet from us. "You see that building? That's where Wesly works. He draws carriages for the palace, and that's where they're based. He's always in there unless he's out on a job." I say and she nods, smiling at me.
"So he's never too far away." she says as we start walking again and I nod. "No, he's not. It's a little reassuring." I smile and she nods her head to me.
We reached my mother's house without any problems and as soon as I knocked, Darla opened the door, smiling broadly at me. "Welcome back, Miss. Please, come in." she says and I thank her, both of us walking inside and I let go of Layla's hand, letting her run off to go to my mother.
"How is she?" I ask Darla and she sighs. "She's doing well, although her health is still declining a little. It's because she can't be as active anymore, I'm afraid." she says sadly and my heart sinks. I knew my mother wasn't doing as well, but to know her health is continuing to fail makes me incredibly sad.
"She's still strong though, right? Still able to do things?" I ask and Darla nods. "Yes. I think she just feels a little helpless. She hates it, so she tries to push herself harder to prove she isn't, but it only tires her out." she says dejected and I frown. "Stubborn woman." I mutter and Darla laughs.
"I'm afraid you're just like her, dear." she says and I chuckle, nodding my head. "I guess I am." I say before she pats my shoulder. "I'll be upstairs cleaning. I was waiting until you arrived to do so." she says and I nod.
"I'll take care of her." I say and Darla smiles in gratitude, heading off up the stairs and into one of the rooms, the door closing behind her. With a sigh, I walked to where my mother would be, the door already open from Layla's entrance.
"How was work?" my mother asks me with a smile and I return it. "Very tiring, but good. The Queen of Spain was very difficult to negotiate with, but Phillipa finally got to her." I report and she nods, smiling. "Spain is always a difficult country to barter with. They love having their own ways of life and don't like trying to change it." she says with a chuckle and I smile.
"Some of them are extremely nice, though. And they're one of our best trade partners, so it's definitely worth the debating." I say with a giggle and she nods. Layla was on her lap, playing with the wedding band around her finger. She had never taken it off, even after my father died.
I swallow hard, reaching for my own finger, feeling my band on my finger, cold from me not playing with it.
"Well it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. Are you at liberty to tell me what you agreed on?" my mother asks but I shake my head. "Sadly no. Phillipa wants us all to wait until she officially announces it to the Kingdom about the changes. So I can't say anything." I say and she nods her head.
"That's completely understandable." she says and I smile, about to say something when a loud knock sounds at the door, making me jump slightly.
Layla jumps out of my mother's lap, heading towards the door, but I stop her, an uneasy feeling settling in on my stomach. No one ever comes here besides me.
"Stay with Grandma, I'll go get the door." I say to Layla, seeing her smile before clambering back up on my mother's lap, talking to her about seashells this time, not at all bothered that I sent her back. I smiled softly before going out of the office and to the door, opening it again.
Two men stood before me with grins on their faces, and my eyes widened as they took a threatening step forward, a menacing look in their eyes.
"Can we come in?"
Haha cliffhanger #1 of this book!! :D I'm updating a lot more than I expected too, so that's also cool!! I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it has a lot of information in it!
Also, here are the names for the official Captain Alcott book:
Harry is staying Harry, his last name is changing though :)
Louis-Damon
Niall-Asher
Liam-Ian
Zayn-Kyle
Tell me what you think about the name changes!! I'd love to hear your opinions!