Red Riding Hood | BoyxBoy | COMPLETED

Second Chance

Garrison Fawkes' POV

Beyond their rooms, there was much more going on, of course. Even though Duke Kellen was now human, he remained the Spymaster of Lupus. No one really talked about that, but Queen Annabelle had discreetly shared that piece of information with me.

And there was more to Princess Seffrin's and Duke Kellen's relationship now. His newfound humanity was something that the Princess and he were bonding over. It certainly helped that the Princess had found out about the Duke's motivations, which was to save her life and position as future Queen of Lupus. The attacks on Prince Alexander and Cassidy's lives had been arranged to remove them from being LuPur's potential allies.

It was a misguided endeavour and when Duke Kellen had learnt the truth of their political beliefs and affiliations, he'd brought them to Lupus instead. Neither Queen Annabelle nor Lord Winters were amused.

There had also apparently been prior attempts at Princess Seffrin's life since King Olcan's announcement that he intended to groom her for the throne. No one but the King and Duke had known of these attempts and they had elected to remove the threat quicker by keeping it quiet and not telling the Princess. Queen Tasha had not been very pleased either, I gathered.

It was a calculated risk and I understood that. Either way, Princess Seffrin was no longer as unfriendly as she was with the Duke. On top of that, King Olcan had provided ample reason for the two of them to work together.

The King of Lupus remained in power since he still had a wolf. It wasn't necessarily his wolf, but it was still an Alpha wolf—that had once belonged to Duke Kellen. King Olcan's new wolf was allegedly dark brown in fur and not the midnight black he'd once been. His temperament as a wolf was also milder apparently; he was more quietly self-confident as opposed to being the so-called life-of-the-party. I had no doubt that was Duke Kellen's doing.

In light of the recent revelations, King Olcan had also published a few new laws. Humans were now allowed to become the sovereign of Lupus if they had a valid claim to the throne. That was obviously done for Princess Seffrin, but all that could oppose him were no longer able to. The other law was that the Council of Lupus needed to reflect the diversity of the kingdom's population, meaning that there would be more minority representation in their court now. That one, I secretly approved. My travels had shown me the folly in a group keeping to themselves. One ought to remember that building a wall didn't simply keep others out, it also kept one locked in.

For that law, the Duke and Princess had been tasked with researching and finding the new council members. They were to ensure that the list of people they suggested would undergo a level of scrutiny to check their capability of doing the job. It wasn't going to be easy, but between the two of them, I rather thought they would get it done right.

Let's just say that I wasn't too worried for the future of this kingdom.

~

It was from one of these council meetings that I walked away from now. I had been asked as a frequent traveller and messenger to provide my own insight. Queen Annabelle had volunteered my services and I readily agreed to help.

I made my way to the kitchens for a snack and to check if Alex and Cassidy had eaten yet. And I was being followed by a maid with a trolley of food when a pageboy approached me.

"Captain Fawkes," he said anxiously. "There is someone here to see you."

Surprised, I asked, "who is it?"

"My apologies, Captain. I am not sure. She calls herself 'Madame'."

"Oh," I gestured down the corridor. "Yes, please me to see them," I said. "Leave the trolley outside the door, I'll take it in myself," I told the maid waiting behind me. She nodded and left, leaving me to follow the pageboy.