The princess had commanded them both to guard her room tonight. She had also told them to calm themselves before turning and quickly leaving into her room. She needed to clear her head.
She didn't know if Theodore would do as she wished but with Emeric outside as well, she would notice if he tried anything. As soon as she pushed the door closed, she leaned against it.
Why was Theodore here? Did he simply not trust her to come back? And if so to what extent would he go to take her back to Walzenor?
She inhaled deeply.
She quickly realized that he'd been with her this entire time, watching her.
He lied to her, but he also saved her life.
And he saw Parcival die.
Fuck. He heard his last words.
She felt betrayed by her bonded. He followed her even though she'd told him that she needed to go home alone.
How could she look him in the eyes? How could he dare to look her in the eyes?
For a split second she doubted the change Theodore had undergone. Maybe he hadn't changed a bit since they first met.
He was still trying to control her, trying to watch her and trying to manipulate her.
It was like he was the ocean and she was drowning. Only ever giving her a breath of air before pulling her back down to swallow more water.
What was she to do now?
——————————————————-
Emeric and Theodore hadn't spoken a word, once again. Neither of them wanted to blow their own cover, unbeknownst to each other.
Their hate and distrust for one another grew.
Hours later, when the moon had long been shining over the country, Alice opened the door to her chambers. Both Theodore and Emeric seemed surprised, turning their covered heads to her.
She was in her nightgown, revealing her shoulders but she didn't care. She couldn't sleep, not even for a second. She needed someone to talk to, and it certainly won't be Theodore.
She walked passed the two knights and turned a corner.
"Where are you going?" Theodore asked, his voice revealing slight traces of a demand to know.
It frustrated him that she was going to wander about, without asking him to protect her.
"Stay here until I come back." She simply said not looking back.
Theodore tightened his grip into a fist, but he obeyed.
She really needed some space right now.
Her strode soon left her standing in front of his parents chambers. It was never guarded. She didn't even know what she was going to say but she knocked anyways.
As she entered the chambers of her parents bedroom the fireplace which only consisted of burning ashes now, was the only light source. A figure sat up in her parents bed. It was the queen.
The king had always been a deep sleeper.
"Honey? Is that you?"
Alice brushes her hair behind her ears.
"Yeah."
"What's wrong?" Her mother asked while she lifted the warm fur blanket of off herself. Alice was looking for the right words, but not knowing what she should or wanted to say made it difficult.
Her mother soon strode towards her now only child while rubbing her eye.
Before Alice could say anything her mother had already embraced her gently. Alice leaned into her mothers shoulder as they stood in that doorframe for a minute, not ending their hug.
When Queen Leticia finally let go of her daughter both of them felt better. "How about we go to the kitchen for some tea." She smiled.
Soon Alice and her mother sat in the royal kitchen where they had made themselves some tea. No one was awake at this hour making it strangely comforting.
As they talked of old memories and laughed while they drank their tea Alice almost didn't recognize her mother. During her childhood her mother had been kind and caring but she'd also been extremely content to her role as the Queen of her country.
It was important to the Queen that her children and their way of living was to be lived accordingly.
Seeing her now in her nightgown in the kitchen laughing, she seemed more relaxed. Looser then ever before.
"And then we sent a whole troop of knights into the forest to come find you, but in reality you were playing hide and seek in the gardens." Her mother laughed.
Alice giggled at the memory, but her thoughts quickly switched back to her bonded.
Queen Leticia noticed the change of her daughters mood. "Ali, if you wish to speak about something, I've always got an open ear for you." She smiled, making the corners of her eyes look wrinkled.
Alice looked at the cup of tea, turning it.
"I assume that it's about Parcival..." her mother continued and her face turned sad.
"No, well yes, I don't know," Alice mumbled.
She sighed, "It's about King Theodore."
"Oh, well we've never talked about him since your return, I assumed it just wasn't the right time until now." The Queen explained.
It was now or never Alice thought.
"You see, when I arrived in Walzenor, we hated each other. Even though he never knew that I was the enemy's princess."
"He hated me, because I was from Lyria, and I hated him because he was being cruel and cold. He resented me as his mate, because of where I came from, and it took forever for me to understand why he hates Lyrians, and why he started this war."
Alice took a deep breath from talking so fast as her mother listened carefully.
"He thought that Father had the King, meaning his father assassinated, making him become the new King of Walzenor at a young age. He ruled his country with a strong hate towards us."
"That poor soul, were you able to tell him the truth?" The queen asked, very focused on the story.
"No, it would've been to dangerous. But then Parcival ended up in his dungeons and we were caught, so I had to tell him the truth."
Alice left out the beatings, and the brutal situations on purpose. It was all in the past now, or was it something she should tell her mother about?
"I was imprisoned after that, but Theodores little brother freed me, while his uncle tried to kill Theodore to become King. After Parcival and Jaxon, who is the the little brother, were safe I went to save Theodore and I managed to convince him that his uncle was actually the enemy who killed his father."
"Oh Lord, it all sounds like a play from a theater." He mother said as she tried to comprehend, what she'd been told.
"Yes, it was truly a lot that happened." Alice smiled, while scratching the back of her head.
"Would you say it brought the two of you closer?" Her mother asked her while studying her daughters face.
Closer? She remembered their first kiss, making her blush.
"I guess so, but I'd lied to him." She mumbled in thought.
Just like he had lied to her by following her.
"Alice, what exactly is it that's got you so worried? Do you not want to go back to him? You know that you're our daughter and we'll protect you from him if need be. I won't loose another one of my children." Her mother said that last part quietly.
The princess was surprised. Her conservative and traditional mother had always preached that two bonded should marry one another. It certainly wasn't what Alice expected her to say but it gave her comfort.
"No, that's not it, Mommy," she drank some of her tea.
"I know it's only right to go back, but being hated by my bonded was heartbreaking, and I'm not sure if it can be fixed again. I can't really trust him. And-," Alice struggled with her words.
"Parcivals last wish before he died was not to go back to him.."