Saving Her Kingdom

♡ Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Louis and I were eventually found by a royal guard sometime later. Or rather, Louis' wounded body, and me in a crying and bloodied mess. He immediately went to get the king, who arrived shortly after.

The king, upon seeing the scene, didn't lose his composure at all, unlike me and Jacob. He took a look at the gun and nodded his head, with a hint of relief in his eyes when he noticed that the gun came from the Rutherford family. Then, he stared at me, at my eyes particularly, and didn't comment anything other than announcing a suicide. After that, he made a semi-conscious me go back to the palace through a back door, to quickly freshen up before I was seen by anyone in my bloody cavalry outfit.

The next day, I was 'made aware' about Louis' suicide by Lola, and she informed me that his body would be buried next to the tombstone of his father, in his land. I spent the entire day grieving, and mostly stayed in my room.

But I did go to the meeting with Thomas, Gaby and Elisa to explain to them what had really happened. Their reaction had been quite different. When I told them about my encounter with Jacob, Thomas had looked ready to murder someone, Gaby had been dumbfounded and outraged, and Elisa had squeezed me in her arms as hard as she could. Then, when I told them about Louis' real death, they were all quite shocked, and then had mourned him along with me. 'He did save your life after all.', Thomas had said, while squeezing my hand.

The next day, I resumed to my training in the instrument room, since I would be playing at dinner that night. After playing the pieces a first time, I was beginning to replay them, when someone knocked on the door. Thomas entered when I called, with a worried expression on his face.

"What is it?", I asked, immediately concerned.

"My father. He has called for you after our regular meeting ended and has sent me to get you," he replied, opening the door wider for me to get through.

"Oh," I said, tensing up. I began wondering, while standing up and walking to Thomas into the hallway. What does he want to talk about? Maybe he knows who I am...

"I have really no idea. But I'll stay there too in case something happens," he said, walking beside me.

I turned towards him, a bit surprised, "Did I speak aloud?"

He smiled a little. "You did."

"Oh," I smiled sheepishly, "And thank you. Any support there is welcome."

He nodded in acknowledgment, before taking my hand in his and stroking his thumb on the back of it. "And I think it would be a good time to announce our engagement to him too. You have nothing to hide anymore, so it would be better if he knows who you are."

I pressed my lips together in resolution, and agreed, "Yes, you're right about that. He will more likely accept our engagement too if he knows my real position."

"I'm sure he won't have a problem with it anyway. Our parents have always been allies, so my father and yours will be happy with our marriage," he said in a reassuring voice.

I nodded, smiling up at him and squeezing his hand lightly. "If only our situation was easier...", I murmured.

He shrugged slightly, turning his head to meet my eyes. "If any of this hadn't happened, we wouldn't have met the same way, and our relationship would surely be different."

"That's possible too," I conceded, paused for a second, and continued with a small smile, "But I'm glad we met the way we did because I quite like the relationship we have right now."

"Me too," he replied with a loving tone, a soft smile on his lips.

We reached the door of the king's office and Thomas kissed my cheek, whispering me good luck, before opening the door, letting me walk through it.