Last nights party ended well after midnight and I was quite surprised with myself for waking up as early as I did, considering I had been very exhausted.
Despite my exhaustion, I had a wonderful time and so did all other guests. My ladies and I spent most of the night whispering, drinking and laughing at almost everything and everyone, much like Luke and his own friends.
I slowly sat up and rubbed my stiff shoulders as I crawled out of bed and headed towards the window. Positioning one of the pillows against the sill, I sat down on it and brought my knees up to my chest.
I leaned closer to the window and gazed up at the few fluffy clouds in the sky before I directed my eyes down to the dirt path and I spotted King and and William, the Duke of Avantia walking together.
With the party being just yesterday, the noblemen that Ben had invited from far away kingdoms were to stay here at Cadeiric for a few days, making it the perfect opportunity for me to join a few of their meetings and talk politics with them.
I decided to go freshen up first so I walked into the bathroom and ran the bath myself, not expecting any servants to come in at this time of morning.
About forty minutes later, I was all dried and changed into a long lavender coloured dress which was decorated with a jewelled belt at my waist. I had also successfully managed to pin my hair up in a bun and I had wrapped a gold band wrapped around it to keep it in place. Looking in the mirror, I was quite impressed with myself.
As I opened the door and strolled out of my bedchambers, I wondered if any of the girls were awake and after I earned a good morning from the guards, I went over to Louise's door which chambers were closest to my own.
"Good morning, your Grace," I heard Luke suddenly say just as I was about to knock on Louises door and I turned to see him at the top of the stairs.
"Good morning, Luke. I'm surprised to see you up so early." I said with a laugh as made his way over.
"Well I could say the same for you." he chuckled. "I was actually just heading down to the kitchens in hopes that the cooks would help cure my hunger." he said which made me laugh. "But what are you doing up at this time?" he curiously asked just as another door was opened and Mari and Clara stuck their heads out.
"Oh, good morning your Majesties. We apologise for interrupting." they both gasped as they dipped their head for a bow.
"No, no, it's quite alright." Luke insisted, waving his hand about and stepping away from me. "I best be going anyways as I'm well awaited in the kitchens."
"Yes, I'm sure you always are." I laughed, watched him go over to the staircase but as he grabbed the wooden railing he turned and grinned.
"Well what can I say, a man like me has to eat." he said with a flat smile. "But don't worry, I'll be around after if you need entertainment" he winked before he ran down the stairs.
"Look at him flirting with you already!" Mari exclaimed as her and Clara ran over and they grabbed on to my arms excitedly. "If you need entertainment? Yes please." she scoffed, making me slap her arm playfully.
"Did you see how he just winked at me?" I blankly asked and their eyes widened. "I didn't mean it like that! He does not like me... He's just in high spirits today." I argued, placing my hands on my hips, well knowing that there was no point in trying to get them to stop.
"Yes and he's not flirting with you at all." Clara sarcastically said, a smirk forming on her lips as she walked past me to knock on Louise's door and my jaw dropped slightly from at loss for words, causing Mari to laugh.
--
A few hours later of mostly just sitting around with the girls in my room, I overheard one of the guards talking about a meeting taking place in the throne room at around midday and it was the perfect opportunity for me to go have a listen.
Just before the clock struck twelve, I had a quick look in the mirror to make sure I looked appropriate before saying goodbye to the girls and I left to go downstairs to the throne room.
The hallway was fairly quiet but I could faintly hear male voices coming from inside the throne room. Just as I turned the corner, I noticed three men crowded around a table with a map and pawns on it and those men were indeed Jack, Ben and William, the Duke of Avantia. King Andrew was on his throne at the very end of the room, consulting with a servant and writing something down on a piece of parchment.
I also gathered that they were having this meeting now that Ben was still here because he had planned to leave the kingdom for two weeks with his new wife.
"Ah, your Grace." the Duke said, raising his head and a smile appeared on his lips, exposing the wrinkles on his cheeks and I couldn't help but widely grin back.
The Kingdom of Avantia and my own had always been good allies and I had known the Duke ever since I was an infant! Many could say that he was the father I never had.
"M'lords." I pinched the side of my skirt for a slight curtsy. "I overheard that a meeting was to take place at this time? Surely you wouldn't mind if I joined you?" I asked, now folding my hands at my front.
"Of course not! Your presence is much appreciated." he added so I bowed my head appreciably. "We're just waiting for the King to finish over there." he said before looking down again and I watched him move a few of the pawns around.
"Now how did I know that you weren't going to miss out on joining this meeting?" Luke suddenly appeared next to me and I nearly jumped out of my skin as his shoulder nudged into my own.
"What is that supposed to mean exactly?" I asked with a scoff.
"I don't mean it to offend you, your Grace. I only meant that it's not at all surprising that you've joined us today." he awkwardly said and I cocked a brow at the childish smile he was giving me.
"Oh good, the Queen has joined us too." Andrew now came over, throwing the cloak he was dragging over his one shoulder and both Luke and I turned our attention to him. "So then, back to our conversation.What is the situation in Avantia?" he asked, earning a sigh from William.
"Not brilliant. Keit is still refusing to put an end to their threats. They are starting to scare our people and it is all becoming very worrying." he said and my eyes widened.
"I apologise for cutting in but did you say Keit?" I now stepped closer to them with Luke following. "Keit is threatening other kingdoms as well?"
"They have been for some time now. My guess is that they are trying to get through to weaker kingdoms," Ben answered thoughtfully whilst rubbing his chin and I looked down at the map and dragged my fingers against it.
"Yes but we still do not know what their plan is. Every time we take a step closer to finding out, they pull something to complicate it all again." Luke sighed as he crossed his arms against his chest, making the buttons on his green shirt strain against his chest.
"But what if they are using these smaller kingdoms to get through to you? That could be a reason as to why they try to keep their plans hidden from you." I mumbled, bringing my fingers to my lips. "Keit knows you have many trusted allies all over the country but the question is how did they obtain this information? The business between Cadeiric and other kingdoms is a private matter and Keit has never been involved. They somehow found this out and-" I stopped, only to see all of the men staring at me and I soon remembered that it wasn't just Luke and myself in the room. "What's the matter? Am I going too far?"
"Not at all, do go on. This is news to some of us." William said eagerly, leaning on the table and Andrew nodded in agreement. "How do you think they obtained this information?"
"The only thing that comes to mind is that there might be someone in this very castle who works for the King of Keit. We live in times where anything like this is very likely." I said stopping beside Luke who was looking at me quite astonished. "Perhaps a spy of some sort?"
"If a spy does indeed exist then he would have been sent straight from Keit. We do not have that many other enemies that pressure us like Keit does." Andrew said, rubbing his chin.
"But if this is true, then the information they have obtained is valuable. They possess the power to use it against us in any way imaginable." Luke spoke. "I agree with the Queen; they are terrorising smaller kingdoms, knowing that they will turn to us for help. They must think that we are more vulnerable that way." he added, waving his hand about.
"A strategic plan for sure but we won't let this happen." Andrew said looking around at us all. "I do believe your theory on this but we cannot jump to conclusions just yet. We must remain cautious with our actions, however."
"I agree, this must stay between us for now and we can only hope that we will find our the truth soon...Enough of that. I would like to discuss where you sent those two companies last week." William said, picking up one of the pawns and examining it.
--
"You seemed very informed back there." Luke called as he caught up with me. "So, I'm now convinced that you're the one behind this. I've also convinced Jack," he smirked, only needing to take a step in front of me to make me stop in my tracks. "I'm only joking."
"I wouldn't tease if I were you. Not if you want my opinion on you to change for the worse." I laughed and his face fell. "I thought so." I smiled, pushing past him but only for him to stop me again.
"Well, what is your opinion on me now?" he asked with a pout.
"Well, you gave me the impression that you are a Prince that knows his way around politics and his kingdom as well as caring for it."
"You're just being modest. I'm quite certain I'm not the only Prince who makes you think that," he said, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck and I let out a scoff.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Luke. I've been in the company of countless of Princes who haven't got the slightest idea about politics. So yes, you are the only Prince who has impressed me in that way."
"I should be honoured then." he span his wrist around and dramatically bowed, causing me to giggle slightly and he raised his head with a grin. "In my defence, the good thing is that I've given you a good first impression." he chuckled.
"Yes well, it'll be interesting to see what you will be like once you are King," I replied, cautiously awaiting his response.
"Now let's see... smart as you said, strategic, a charmer, a flirt, a jokester-" he counted them off his fingers as I listened in amusement. "Need I go on?"
"No no, that's quite enough for now." I laughed making him smile again. "Now if you excuse me, the library awaits me."
"Would you like my wonderful company with you?" he asked now folding his arms behind his back.
"If you wish to join me in looking for information about the history of Keit, then you are more than welcome," I said but he quickly gave me a look of horror. "I didn't think so." I laughed. "I'll see you at dinner then." I nodded at him before walking past.
"You will." I heard him reply and I quietly continued down the corridor towards the library, leaving him to watch me with a sigh...
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Yay, here's chapter 6! Please drop a vote or a comment if you enjoyed. I'm enjoying the flow of this book so far so hopefully more people will soon🥺Have a good day everyone!