I was suddenly woken by a stinging sensation and my eyes shot open. I rolled them round, blinking down at the bed I was lying on until I spotted a white cloth with a red patch wrapped around my belly and I sat up with a fright.
The last and only thing I could remember was Luke catching my body before everything turned pitch black.
I then picked on the cloth, lifting it up to reveal a very bloody wound above my hip and I flinched as I gently ran my finger against it. It was a very deep cut, but fortunately enough, it was only a slash.
Then I remembered.
Alice.
She had been aiming for my stomach to simply let me bleed to death but in my attempt to run out the door, she only managed to bring the blade in contact with my skin and nothing more thankfully.
I then looked round the unfamiliar room I was in, squinting my eyes as a faint memory appeared in my head. I recognised the silver crown that was set on top of a cushion but just as I was about to suspect who it belonged to, the door was quietly opened and Luke stepped in.
"Finally!" he breathed out, shutting the door and he quickly came over. "I was so worried!" he gasped, furrowing his eyebrows to form a crease between them. "How are you feeling?"
"Strange." I mumbled reaching up to rub my eyes. "Luke, what exactly happened?" I asked as he took a seat beside me. "And where am I?"
"You fainted after that maid attacked you last night. The doctor attended to your wound but he said you need rest." he said, staring at my bandage. "Also, you're in my chambers. I was not going to let you out of my sight so I told the doctor to bring you in here."
"I was out all night?" I groaned which made him laugh a little bit. "But where is Alice? I must speak with her." I said, throwing the duvet back but Luke stopped me from getting up.
"That won't be possible." he said shaking his head and I cocked a brow. "My father has already questioned her and she has been accused of treason in trying to murder a member of the royal family."
"She's dead?" I asked with a gulp and he nodded.
"He's also questioned every other maid and servant in this castle and is giving them until tonight to confess about the other spies. If they don't, they'll face the consequences ." he continued, now taking hold of my hand. "But I need you to know that my father has decided to keep this whole thing to ourselves. We won't tell Edmund; he can find out himself. That way he'll know that we've figured out his weak plan."
"I can agree to that." I sighed, reaching over for the cup of water but Luke quickly got up and handed it to me. "Thank you."
"I don't think I've ever been that scared in my whole life." he then thoughtfully said, staring ahead at the wall. "I'm just so glad that you're alright."
"It's going to take more than just a slash to kill me, Luke." I managed a laugh which made him smile.
"I don't doubt that." his deep dimple appeared now as he squeezed on my hand. "I'll go tell the doctor that you're awake and then I'll come sit with you more." he said, bringing my hand to his lips before he got up and walked out the room.
During Lukes surprisingly long absence, the King and Queen had actually visited me to see how I was doing. Andrew explained what had been said between him and all the servants but so far, no one had come forth. He also mentioned that it would be best to avoid telling my mother of this matter which I was most relieved for.
If she found out, then she wouldn't hesitate to send me back to Ocerallia because she would think that my life was in grave danger.
What I couldn't understand, however, was why did Andrew agree to not tell my mother, being as he seemed to want me far away from this castle and Luke. But perhaps he thought that my mother would give him and his family the blame.
"Honestly, that librarian is such a chatterbox!" Luke suddenly walked in, closing the door with his foot as his hands were full of letters and scrolls. "My mother sent me to go collect these for you. Apparently, it's some lists from your mother regarding your party." he said, coming over and dropping them all down on my lap.
"See? I told you. She just finds the need to do everything a month early." I huffed, ruffling through all the papers.
"Well, you have plenty of time to go through them. The next three days actually." he said causing me to scowl at him in reply.
The doctor had informed me that I would have to stay here for three days in order to gain strength and so my wound could heal, much to my dismay.
"I suppose you're right." I said, carefully sitting back against the pillow but the pain was quick build up. "Are you just going to keep on staring at me in hopes that this wound will magically heal?" I asked, noticing the way his eyes were set on me.
"Well, why not?" he chuckled coming over to the other side of the bed, kicking his boots off and crawling over. "Staring at your face is actually my hobby." he said causing me to burst out into a laugh.
"Well, what a boring hobby you have." I giggled as he scooted closer and crossed his long legs.
"It's actually most interesting." he smirked and I rolled my eyes at him. "You better get used to it because I'm not going anywhere." he laughed and I turned to look at him confused. "My father excused me from any royal duties for the day so I could keep you company."
"Oh, then you'll most enjoy helping me with all these lists and invitations." I laughed.
"Alright, fine." he rolled his eyes as he watched tear open the letters. "This ought to be fun." he sarcastically said where I nudged his side with my elbow playfully.
—
Considering Luke and I had been sitting there for the past two hours, we didn't even get round to finishing one list! We quickly got distracted with the delightful conversation we were having which seemed to be never ending. We talked and laughed about almost everything and I couldn't help but feel a lot more energised.
"I can't believe my mother has invited so many people." I tutted, collecting all the papers and getting up. "I don't even know half of them!"
"Are you sure it's not your mothers birthday instead?" Luke laughed, lying back down and placing his arms behind his head. "Maybe she wants you to meet them for a reason."
"I suppose." I sighed going over to the desk and setting them down. I carefully stacked them up on each other just when the door opened and Andrew walked in, dragging a thick cloak behind him.
"Father." Luke shot up and straightened himself out as Andrew nodded back in return. "Any news?"
"Yes, actually. You will both be pleased to know that the other two spies have come forth and are to be executed later on." he said quite triumphantly whilst Luke and I exchanged knowing looks.
"Two other spies? So there was three roaming about under our very noses?" I said going back over to the bed and taking a seat, my hand once again pressed on the bandage from the unbearable pain.
"Unfortunately, yes. But apparently, they would rather be executed then have Edmund deal with them which is why they confessed in the first place."
"Everything is such a mess right now." I heavily sighed. "With the attack on Ocerallia, Jack and now myself. Edmund is making it very clear that he doesn't want me to stay here any longer."
"He's just trying to scare you." Luke argued, ignoring his fathers stare. "Now that the spies are out of the way you don't have anything to worry about. It'll be much harder for them to get through to you."
"Yes, I have to agree. We are still allies after all so we will protect you. If anything happens to you then that will cause problems for almost everyone." Andrew now spoke up, catching Luke and I by surprise.
"Exactly. I told you, you're safe here now." Luke smiled and once again choosing to avoid his fathers thoughtful look.
"Yes, you needn't worry. Anyways, that is it for now. I'll see you two later on." he said before bowing and walking out.
"I'm so relieved those spies are dead." Luke breathed out, jumping back on his bed again and he sat up. "Do you think Edmund knew Alice was going to attack you?" he asked whilst flicking his messy hair back.
"I'm not sure. If he did, he will get suspicious being as she and the other two spies won't be returning."
"Good point. At least we'll be ready for him if he ever dares to show up here."
"I'm sure he won't be doing that just yet. He's got more things planned before he decides to attack here." I sighed, carefully crawling back over and sitting down opposite him. "We'll just have to be cautious."
"The whole castle will be on high alert now which is good." he added. "All that matters now is that you heal quickly and everything will return to normal." he said, reaching up and cupping my cheek in his hand.
He then circled my skin with his thumb, ever so gently and relaxingly which didn't stop me from nuzzling into his palm. A tiny smile formed on his face from my response before he started to lean in. His eyes bore into my own as he neared me and just like that, his soft lips brushed against my own. He pulled away after a few seconds, staring down at the mattress shyly as I didn't fail to notice the way his dimple was about to explode.
"I think I'm starting to like it when you get embarrassed." I laughed, leaving him to stare at me in awe.
"Oh, shut up." he rolled his eyes before he suddenly pulled me back into him and kissed me again deeply.
———————————————————————
Hi!
This was a shorter update than expected but I stayed up writing this until 3am LOL.
Anyways, hope you liked it! Please drop a vote if you did!
Enjoy the rest of your day/night!