A/N It's here, it's here! Once again, I'm so sorry for the long wait; but I won't hold you back any longer. Here's this week's update!
IT BEGAN WITH A COUGH. JUST ONE, GENTLE AND UNTHREATENING, AND Lady Victoria Arden assumed that it was a result of nothing more than the cold draft that she had felt brush against her whilst she was walking in the palace grounds outside. It was just a cough, once, and she thought nothing of it.
Now she sat, frailer than she was yesterday, in her bed in the palace; the palace physician stood before her and said, "It is the influenza virus, my lady."
Standing at her bedside, Emmett felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach. "Will she be all right?" he asked.
"As I am certain you are aware, the virus has known to be life-threatening, Your Lordship," he replied, "but I would remain rather optimistic. After all, Lady Victoria has access to the very best medical services across the land."
"I see. And...and her baby?"
"Your child should be fine, my lord, as long as she receives sufficient care and rest and recovers soon enough."
"So she will get better, won't she?"
"I am unable to promise anything with such certainty, as a man of science I never can; but she has a moderate chance, Sir," the doctor answered carefully, to his dismay. "As I mentioned earlier, influenza has been known to be fatal in some cases, but she is in a good position."
Emmett nodded, swallowing. He had been looking for reassurance from the physician, and he supposed he had gotten some. He looked over at his fiancée beside him. She was dressed in a nightgown, her face pale, her hair more unkempt than either of them were accustomed to. The doctor's words were almost hard to believe, she looked so ill – but she had to get better. She had to – for the child and for herself.
"I will prescribe her some medication, and convey the instructions for its preparation to one of the maids. Make sure she gets plenty of sleep, and does not exert herself." He scribbled something illegible on a slip of paper before starting to pack up his briefcase.
"Yes. Of course. You will see her again?"
"Tomorrow afternoon, Sir."
"Thank you." Emmett nodded. He could not find it in himself to smile.
Neither, it seemed, could the doctor, and his expression remained grave. "No mention, Your Lordship. Take care, my lady."
He left with a curt bow, and Victoria did her best to nod her thanks.
Emmett sat then, in the chair he had placed beside her, and took her hand. "Do not worry yourself, you will recover soon enough."
"I...the baby. If I..." A tear streaked down her cheek, and though she had hardly managed to form a coherent sentence, he understood immediately.
"You will get better, I promise. Do you not remember that the doctor said to remain optimistic?"
"Yes, but..." As if to prove her point, she started to cough. When she had finally recovered, "Please – water."
"Of course." He rushed to attend to her request, and brought a cup of warm water to her lips. She drank gratefully, and when she turned her head away slightly to signal that she had had enough he set the water down on the bedside dresser. "You will be all right, I promise. And the baby will be just fine."
"But the wedding...What if I cannot...recover in time?"
"Then we shall postpone it, my dear, do not let such a detail bother you."
"And you...The virus is...contagious. What if you..."
He shook his head gently, smiling down at her with a gaze more loving than she had ever known. "I will be just fine – I have an excellent immune system. I have seen plenty of disease in my travels, and have never been affected by any of it. Besides, someone shall have to care for you, and if you will be my wife soon enough then I would hope that that someone is me."
She smiled at his words, feeble but no less appreciative. "Thank you. I...I am so lucky...so lucky to be loved by a man like you."
"Well, I am glad that you know it," he jested, chuckling. "Well, Victoria, I advise you rest now. I will send for Prince Javier – I imagine he would be concerned about you...and that seeing him might lift your mood some."
At his words she immediately struggled to sit up, and she winced at the exertion of it. "Wait – Emmett, you...you do not have to—"
He smiled gently, though with an almost unnoticeable hint of sadness in his eyes. "Do not worry yourself over this; I promise I do not mind it at all. You cannot help who you love...and neither can I." He paused. "Speaking of Prince Javier, I will discuss you with him. Perhaps you could still be convinced to marry you – you would be so much happier with him, and I only want what is best for you."
"Emmett, no, I—"
He cleared his throat to clear his mind, standing before she could explain her situation with Javier to him properly. "Victoria, it is fine, really. There is no need to fret over me. I will return as soon as I can. Ring for a maid if you need anything in the meantime."
With that he left the bedroom. She tried to call after him, but her voice caught in her throat, and she slumped back in her pillows, defeated.
Things between Javier and I are over, Emmett, she wanted to tell him. You, on the other hand...you love me so deeply. You would give your life up for me, and I will never be able to thank you enough for it...
And I would never have known that this would happen to me, but perhaps it might be said that I am catching feelings for you too.
***
"EMMELINE!" HE SAW HER IN THE HALLWAY. HE HADN'T MEANT TO FIND her; he was merely looking for Prince Javier, but chanced upon his sister instead.
"What do you want?" she asked glacially.
"Nothing, nothing," he said. "Only to ask if you have seen Prince Javier?"
"And why would you be looking for him?"
"I need to talk to him about Victoria," he answered. "I plan to ask him to marry her."
"Of course this is about her again," she grumbled. "But what makes you think he will say anything different from what he has said all this time?—What makes you think he will have her now?"
"She is sick," he replied. "I do not know if this will work, but I think that perhaps the prospect of losing her forever might awaken something within him."
"Are you not hopelessly in love with her? Why would you try to help her marry him?"
"I am," he answered, "and that is why I must do my best to help her spend the rest of her life with her true love. She does not love me, Emmeline, and I cannot force her to, no matter how much I love her. If she is not happy, I could not be either." He paused. "I know this now, Emmeline. I will not make the mistake I made with you again. I would never forgive myself if I did."
She looked at him for a while, and he wished he could read her thoughts. The ice in her eyes seemed to have melted, but he could not be sure.
Eventually she sighed. "To my knowledge at least, Javier is riding with Alexander. You might catch him by the stables if you are fast enough."
He grinned at her. "Thank you, Linnie."
She nodded in acknowledgement, though she still refused to do so much as crack a smile, before turning and continuing on her way down the hall. Emmett stood where he was and watched her go for a moment, sinking into deep thought. Then he turned and went on his way to the stables.
Meanwhile, however, the princes had already saddled up their horses and started on their way, riding across a field and already a distance away from the stables. Emmett would find the stables empty shortly after, save for the boy cleaning up the recently vacated loose boxes.
"I suppose that what you have to consider, Javier, is whether or not you still love her," Alexander said, as their horses eased into a slow trot. A handful of palace guards lagged a distance behind them for privacy.
"I know your alliance is to your wife these days, Brother, but I pray you remember – she would have married Freddie. Freddie." He sighed. "How can I trust her to love me anymore?"
"Firstly, Javier, you are still my brother," Alexander replied. The two kept moving forward, further and further away from the palace and toward the patch of wood nearby. "Regardless of my relationship with Emmeline – your interests remain one of my greatest priorities." He turned to look at him now. "But this is not about whether she loves you. The question is really whether you love her. If you do, perhaps you should consider giving her a second chance."
"How should I know that she was not only with me for her own gains?—How do I know that she would not have left me the minute Frederick had taken a shine to her, if only he had done so? How could I possibly trust her the way I let myself trust her before?" He shook his head. "I was a fool. High society is full of snakes like her. I should have known better, especially with a set of parents like ours. I of all people ought to be aware that the people we are surrounded by care more for money and power than anything else."
"My question remains the same; do you love her?" Alexander was insistent. "It does not matter if you trust her just yet. Do you love her?"
"She has broken my heart, Alexander, rather irreversibly, and I am quickly losing my affections for her. I do not love her, not as I used to at least, and I shall only care for her less every day."
He looked ahead and quickly changed the subject. "Come, Brother, the wood is in sight now. It's a race!"
And so he sped off, leaving behind a trail of dust and rambunctious laughter; for a brief moment Alexander just watched him go, brow furrowed. Then he pressed his calves against his horse's sides, beginning his chase after his younger brother.
***
WHEN THE ROYAL BROTHERS RETURNED TO THE STABLE THE BOY WHO had helped them ready the horses was still there, and the boxes were clean. Alexander thanked him as he jumped off the horse and the princes handed their steeds over to the boy.
"No mention, Your Highnesses," the young chap answered courteously. He had a muddy face and a lanky frame; he must have not been more than ten. One of the cooks' son, if Alexander remembered correctly; a hardworking lad.
"Oh, yes, do wait a moment, Your Highnesses," he called out, just as the two had passed him by on their way back inside. They turned their heads to look at him and he continued speaking, shouting slightly. "Prince Javier, Earl Portsmouth was lookin' for ya. Said it was urgent – somethin' 'bout a lady, Victoria I think her name was, sick. Very ill, he told me, m'afraid I don't remember what exactly he said about it but it sounded bad to me, Sir."
"Very ill?" he exclaimed; then composed himself quickly. "Thank you, lad. Take this and buy something for yourself when you go shopping for your mother next." He tossed him a coin from his pocket.
"Thank you, Your Highness," the boy cheered, his face lighting up immediately. Javier smiled at him, and though it was barely noticeable, he seemed even more delighted, bowing hurriedly.
The princes left the stables then, and made their way back into the palace. They were silent mostly, except for some light conversation about their horses and the ride they had just enjoyed. Alexander did not pester him about Victoria.
When they arrived at the stairway that would lead to their chambers however, Javier spoke. "I have an errand to run, Brother, I will see you at dinner."
Alexander chuckled. "Off to see her, aren't you?"
"No," he said, all too quickly. "Of course not."
"All right, if you say so." His eyes sparkled mischievously, but he spoke no more of his skepticism. "Till dinner." He ascended the steps and Javier walked toward the guest rooms.
The younger prince would never have expected what he saw. Perhaps if he had, he would not have gone to visit with Victoria to begin with.
***
Hi everyone! It's me :)
Firstly, deepest apologies for the long wait once again. I put this out as soon as I could.
Secondly, I'd just like to say a word about the Wattys. As you may or may not know, neither Artemis nor Apollo got picked for the shortlist; but only about 100 stories were chosen in all of Wattpad, and of those only a couple were historical fiction. The stories that are in there, though, are all really really great, some of them I have read and loved, and I'm really glad they got to be recognised as they deserved to be.
Nonetheless, the Lockhart series remains one of my greatest prides. It's been my first successful dabble in historical fiction and my first project uploaded online, as well as my first series (before this I leaned towards solo novels), and I've found it to have taken courage, perseverance and lots of hard work. I remember the feeling of uploading the blurb of Artemis, and while I was excited and hopeful, I was also terrified. To everyone else who didn't get shortlisted, I hope you keep writing as I will do because the worth of your art is not measured against those of others but rather by the amount of heart you've put into it :)
Okay, cheers everyone, till next time! And a very happy Eid al-Adha to all our Muslim friends :)
Do vote, comment and share! It really does mean a lot to hear back from you guys <3
x Leanne