Olivia’s POV By the time I returned to the palace it was very dark and I was not only tired but very sore. My injury had opened again and I was bleeding. I did my best to avoid everyone as I walked towards my room. I wanted to enter my room when I came face to face with Simeon. At first, he did not recognise me. “What are you doing here? Maids are not allowed on this floor after… Olivia?” He looked at me with wonder and obvious questions on his face. I wanted to push him away, think up a lie but I was too exhausted to do anything. I tried to walk past him but I was in so much pain that I could not move a step forward. “Liv?” He called my name with a warmth that I could barely remember. It had been so long he had called me that way and I was in too much pain to appreciate his warm tone. “What happened to you?” He asked me but I could not answer him. I did not know if it was because he was showing me care or if it was just that the injury had worsened with all my movements. “Here,
Olivia's POV “Oh, is that so?” I asked her, pretending to be intrigued—just because of the money and being intimate with a man from the palace. But the real reason why I was intrigued was very, very different.“Yes. I have no reason to lie to you. Would you like to meet him? I think he would like you because you are beautiful. You are dainty. You look very, very...” She trailed off. “I’m not even sure what words to use. But you are the exact type of woman he likes. And you are even more beautiful than that girl. Everything about your life will change for the better once you meet this man.”I nodded and smiled at her. “Well, I shall think about it. I can’t say yes now. But probably... probably,” I said hastily.She smiled at me. “Now that’s the spirit.”“Thank you,” I said.“Just meet with me here. I’ll be waiting. I’m always around this place,” she said.“Oh, okay. That’s nice.”“Yes.”“All right, then. Goodbye,” I said, smiling, then walking away from her.However, I could not help
Olivia's POV I responded to her greeting with a smile. I watched with a lazy eye as she cleaned my room and sometime after that I fell asleep again due to exhaustion. I was woken up much later by my son who with no regard for my wounded side shook my body until I was wide awake. I groaned in pain as I sat up and Jeremy who was an observant child noticed at once that something was wrong with me. “Mum, are you okay?” he asked me but i covered my pain with a smile and ruffled his hair like I loved to do in the morning. “How are you, big man?” I asked him playfully but the colour of worry on his face had not left his face. “What happened to you?” he asked, his tone almost sounded agitated. “Nothing, nothing, I promise, okay?” I assured him while doing my best to get out of bed without wincing in pain. “You missed breakfast, you never miss breakfast,” he said as though that was evidence that something was wrong with me. “It’s only breakfast, I’ll eat lunch with you,” I wished I co
Simeon's POV I had woken up with a sense of unease. The corridor was too quiet. I adjusted the hem of my robe and walked into the dim hallway that was lit by a few torches here and there. I looked, because I had a strange feeling creeping its way into my gut, something that pulled me to stand up from my bed and jump on Jeremy. I did not know why exactly, for my instincts were barely wrong, so I knew I just had to.I continued walking down the corridor. A cold gust of wind blew by, lifting the hem of my robe and making a shiver crawl down my spine. Just as I slowly began to approach Jeremy's door, I noticed a trail of blood, and my heart skipped several beats. Why had there been blood on the floor? Was Jeremy hurt? Was he alright?I could not fight the intrusive thoughts of worry creeping into my mind. I could see images of me seeing his lifeless body on the bed, mutilated beyond measure and it was a struggle to stop my mind from forming those images. I rushed towards the door and pu
Olivia's POVI was back at Alira’s house the next night about the same time. Instead of the mug in my duffel bag, this time I carried with me the salted cowry that she had requested. It was a rare item and as I boarded the coach and later walked to her house, I carried it with extreme care. It was something I had gotten from the spoils of war. As a warrior, I was allowed to take one personal item whenever we trashed a town and I had taken this from one of the initial wars I had helped Someone fight. Initially, I had thought of trading it in for some gold at one time but it was all worthless to me. Since I was Luna, I did not lack for anything and I saw no point in accumulating wealth. But who knew a day like this would come? A day where I would need such a rarity? This was not the only rare item I owned. There were several that I had stashed in my safe place. As I approached Alira's house, I felt my hair stand on air. This place had been eerie yesterday but even more so today. The
Damien's POVBrielle had somehow been finding ways to get into the palace, which was quite irritating for me. I had no idea how she was doing it, especially since I had instructed the guards not to let her anywhere near me. But somehow, she kept finding her way around it, and it was increasingly frustrating."Can you just let me be?" I said to her with a sigh, meeting her gaze."Damien, please, just hear me out. We can go upstairs to talk... or even talk here," she said, her voice pleading. "I didn’t mean for any of that to happen. I don’t like how you’re angry at me and treating me this way. If you would just give me a moment—or a listening ear—""I’m not interested in giving you a moment or a listening ear. Kindly fuck off. Or should I spell it out for you?" I snapped."Oh dear," she murmured, exhaling. "What do you think I have to say?""Everything was glaringly obvious from the night of the banquet," I said coldly. "When I saw you with that fool.""It might not seem obvious to you
I ruffled his hair playfully and kissed his head. He seemed brighter today. I did not know what Simeon had done but it had worked. The shadows around his eyes seemed to have disappeared. “Why don’t you wash up and come down for dinner, huh?” I told him. “I ate so much today, my stomach is bursting,” he said before bouncing off to have his bath. I only smiled at his statement because I knew that an hour from now he would be requesting even more food. As I went to the dining area to check if our meal was ready, I met Simeon. He looked exhausted but I could not blame him, a full day with Jeremy could do that to anyone. “Thank you for today,” I said. In spite of our differences he remained a good father to Jeremy. “Why thank me? He’s my son,” he said it with an air of possessiveness that betrayed his feelings of insecurity. I did not mind it because I knew it came from a place of love and deep attachment. I had been right about Jeremy. He came back downstairs with a deep hunger and
"Of course your highness," she said with a smile. "I shall get one. She walked towards where a ton of cleaning supplies had been kept and gave me some wipes. Once I was done, she took it from my hand to dispose of it. I smiled at her in appreciation. "Thank you."I continued to supervise their work knowing that they would be more efficient with my presence there. Moreover, I did not necessarily have anything of importance to do since Jeremy and Simeon had gone horse riding or to have some father and son moment. After several hours, the maids were finally done and it was cleaned to my satisfaction. "Keep up the good work," I called out to them, clapping my hands. "You all should get some rest and have a late lunch. Then dinner... You can have the rest of the day off.""Thank you, your highness," they all called out, each one of them bowing slightly."Your highness, will you not be having a meal?" The head maid questioned. "As you have been here with us since morning. You must be hungr
I began looking for her but she seemed to be nowhere to be found. I walked towards a maid carrying a tray to ask. "Where's the person meant to supervise you?" I asked her. She stopped in her tracks immediately and gave me a bow. "She should be in the scullery. I shall get her for you.""Do so as soon as possible," I said firmly. "I shall be waiting here for you two."She nodded and then walked as fast as she could away from me to get the maid. I paced the hallway, my mind pondering over several thoughts. General Thatcher has suggested that the drink has been drugged and the more I thought about it, the more reason I had to think it was possible. I had to find a way to test that mug as possible but before I could, I replayed the events of the banquet again. Reuben had been the one to hand me that drink but he has gotten it from a server. Could it be that he had planned it with the server to give me that drink? I shook my head, suddenly feeling guilty for the thoughts in my mind. Re