Lady Laila

Chapter 52: PRESENT FOR LAILA

"Lady Garnet? Lady Amice?" Laila calls in shock. The two women glance at her, before staring at her large belly.

"Laila!" Amice says with a smile, moving to embrace her.

"It's been a while," she says, returning her smile and embrace.

Breaking the hug, Garnet beams at her friend.

"Why don't we stay in the saloon?" Laila asks.

The women seated themselves down inside the saloon, Sandra joining them after much hesitation. The young woman didn't feel like she belonged there.

"I must admit, when Stephan said he had a surprise, I never expected it to be the both of you."

"Stephan? I see you are on a first-name basis," the copper blonde says with a smirk.

"He sort of threatened me into doing it, Lady Garnet," Laila replies with a nervous laugh.

"Threat? What sort of threat?" Amice asks, furrowing her eyebrows. Both women see Laila turning red and immediately gasp.

"Oh," they trail off, before bursting out into laughter.

"It's not funny," Laila says, running her hand through her chestnut locks.

"I can't believe you were pregnant all this time," goes Amice with a sympathetic look.

"It must have been hard trying to hide it all this time. What happened, Laila? Why actually happened that night?" Garnet asks.

Taking a deep breath, Laila narrates the entire story for them. Beginning from when she met the king and told her about her pregnancy to now, of course, leaving out the fact that she's the Witch of the West's daughter, and her sister, Oma is alive and even wrote the king a letter.

***

"She is dead, and did not write me that letter," Stephan says to his brother.

Both kings had met along the way with their armies and began traveling together.

"Explain," Xerxes says, keeping his eyes forward, his knuckles tightening around his horse's leash. He needs to be sure because he will kill her if she steps into Moore grounds talkless of entering the castle. His wife and son have gone through so much.

"That woman cannot read or write, there is no way she was the one who wrote the letter."

"Someone else could have done it for her."

"I know, but who in their right mind would want to help Oma?"

"Not everyone knows how she looks."

"You saw her too, she's mad."

"Apparently not anymore."

Sighing he says, "So long as she's not making her way to Moore, everything should be fine. I have men watching Laila."

Nodding, Xerxes moves forward, on his horse, their destination a long way from where they are.

Stephan looks back signaling for Arthur to come forward.

The commander moves, both of them advancing.

"Are you sure we can trust this woman?"

He nods, "With my life. If Clarice turns out to be a fraud, I will personally have her head, and you mine."

Stephan takes a deep breath. Their strategy is to invade Amaris, but they need Clarice to be their mouthpiece to the slaves and those who oppose slavery. King Xerxes has instructed his men at Moore to search for information regarding the selling of slaves. If it is not from Sheath, it is certainly from Moore.