The Kingdom of Belmar

Chapter 22

I must have let out a gasp when trying to contain my shock. I didn't mean to, one simply slipped out. That must be why the two of them stop. That must be why they push away from each other and begin putting on the clothes they so hastily tore off. That must be why Tristen looks so upset, his face turning shades of red that I didn't know were possible.

Garrison turns away from the door, covering himself from whoever it is that may have witnessed the two. How will he react when he sees that that person is his baby sister.

"I told you I did not want to be disturbed!" Tristen yells at the door. He must not have yet realized who I am, thinking I'm a lowly maid or servant. He wouldn't have yelled so freely had he known I was the Lady at the top of high society. "State your business before I relinquish you of your position."

Before speaking, I shake my head a bit to clear my thoughts. No matter what I've seen, I can't show any weakness to Tristen. But I have so many questions that I'm not sure Garrison is ready to answer. "I don't believe you have the authority to do that, Your Royal Highness. I do not serve under your jurisdiction."

Garrison must recognize my voice, he must have for he turns to look at me, shame and vulnerability plaguing his expressions. "Amy?" He whispers, still buttoning his shirt, "Amy what are you doing here?" Is that all he can say? He's speaking so informally to me now, though I'm sure it's nothing compared to the things he said to the Second Prince just moments before.

"I was given instructions to hand deliver these documents to His Royal Highness Prince Tristen on behalf of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." I slam the papers on the desk that Tristen was pressed against, and the Prince flinches a bit. "Glory to the Kingdom of Belmar," I bow before I leave, and shift my eyes between the two once more, "Carry on, I'd hate to be seen as a disturbance."

I'm shocked by how calm I must have seemed, when the inside of my mind is running rampant with unanswered questions. My pace quicken without me realizing. Every servant I see moves away to allow me a path, and I'm almost sprinting as I try to leave the palace when a hand grabs my wrist from behind.

It was Garrison's hand.

His shirt is untucked, his hair's a mess, and his eyes shift wildly like a crazed animal. I've never seen my brother look so...ordinary. "Amalie," he says, and I'm expecting an explanation, a few answers at least, but all he says is "Don't tell Father."

My eyes falls towards the ground. There are so many reasons not to look at him right now but none because of what he's trying to hide. "Garrison, you are to inherent the dukedom one day. Father will be expecting a duchess, of course, and a leveled head caring for our people. Yet you're here, wiling away the hours with a Prince you know little about."

"I know him well enough to believe he'd bring me more joy than any duchess or noble lady ever could. Even if our society doesn't understand that, even if they chastise us for simply being who we are, and doing what feels right. I would trade a thousand dukedoms for Tristen because he is the one I love, even if he is a man."

"My God Garrison do you not understand?" I pull my hand away from his, leaving his arm hanging in the air with nothing to hold. "I couldn't care less if the one you cared for was a man, but why must it be him? Why did it have to be that loathsome, traitorous thing whose only purpose in the world is to play lapdog to the Queen."

My brother looks at me, hands clenched but with enough sense not to hurt me when I now know his darkest secret, and maybe even his darkest shame. "He might be her son but my lover would never hurt a fly. He simply wants to be free from the shackles of society, as do I, and we can find that freedom together. You don't know him the way I do, see him the way I've seen him, and if you did you'd understand why I care so deeply for this man."