A Queen Conflicted (Alys Book #3)

Chapter 24

Ezan followed the queen into her chambers when they arrived, moving without hesitation to the open balcony. Endolynn felt her heart sink a little lower than it already was as she watched her guard closed the doors and secure them shut.
She knew he was doing it for her own protection, but it made her feel trapped like an animal.
Without a word, Ezan moved into the bedchamber where Esme and the wetnurse were with the twins, and then the bathing chamber to make sure any windows were properly shuttered.
Endolynn sighed deeply, moving towards the sofa. Ezan returned before she had fully sat down, a more relaxed look on his face.
"Everything is in order," Ezan reported tightly, "I will be outside the door if you need me."
Endolynn nodded and murmured a soft "thank you" to her guard.
Though the balcony doors were firmly shut, faint yelling and metal hitting metal could be heard. The longer it went on, the more and more sick Endolynn felt.
It should not have come to this. Was she really hated so much that Dastrehan's people would turn against their king?
It is not all of them, the queen reminded herself firmly, it is not even the majority. This is a small number of his people making their voices heard.

Despite knowing these facts, Endolynn did not feel any better.
The wait for Dastrehan to return was agony, and without anyone to distract her, all Endolynn could do was anxiously wait.

***

It was hours before Dastrehan returned, shoulders slumped and head low.
He stood in the doorframe for a few moments, looking at where his wife sat on the sofa, his eyes dark and unreadable.
"Are you okay?" Endolynn asked anxiously, standing slowly.
He only nodded, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.
Endolynn moved towards him, meeting him at the halfway point between the door and the sofa she had been sitting on.
Wordlessly, they embraced each other. The king's weight pressed into Endolynn, betraying how exhausted and upset he was.
"It is done," he said sadly, his voice catching a little.
Endolynn said nothing. She ran her hands up and down his back in an attempt to comfort him, and his arms tightened around her in response.

"Do you know yet of the specifics?"
She hated to ask, knowing it would upset him more, but she had to know.

"Not as many died as I had feared," Dastrehan replied, his words partially muffled from his mouth being pressed into her left shoulder, "No guards died, but several are injured. Three townsfolk dead, another 20 or so wounded. The majority fled after the first fatality."

Endolynn took a deep breath and let it out as she continued to rub her hands on Dastrehan's back.
"Sir Willem has guards out patrolling the streets of the city to make sure nothing more is stirred up."
Endolynn knew this was the wisest choice, but it felt so extreme. How had things come to this? Until now, no one had died in these protests.

"You should eat and take a hot bath," Endolynn said softly, giving Dastrehan one last squeeze before she pulled away to look into his eyes.
He did not say anything as their eyes met, but she could see everything he was not saying in the haunted look on his face.
He had suffered a lot that afternoon and early evening; fighting against his own people would stay with him for the rest of his life.
Their foreheads met, and Endolynn closed her eyes, trying to figure out what to say to encourage and comfort him.
Finding nothing that she found fitting, she rubbed her hands up and down his arms a few times before stepping back and looking at his face again.
"I will call for Krea and have her fill the bathing pool," Endolynn said firmly, "There is food waiting for you."
She gestured to the table in front of the sofa and grasped Dastrehan's hand to lead him to it.
He sat down hard on the sofa, giving no attention to how his body moved. He stared blankly at the plate, but too it in his hands when his wife handed it to him.