The Lonely Warrior Queen

{Chapter 78}

Catheline's POV:

I woke up to the sound of birds chirping. For a while, I lay there in bed as my eyes began to feel less heavy. The parakeets I was gifted were on my nightstand. I named them a while ago.

The male was to be called Ryner and the female was Floria.

There were several other names I skipped over as I made a long lost. But at last, I chose them. My head still felt heavy as I made myself sit.

It had been a week since I began taking sleep draughts. Ever since then, I stopped having nightmares. It was much needed because what I saw was something that traumatized me.

"Karra," I called, rubbing my eyes gently.

After a few moments, the door opened and she entered. Soon, she folded the curtains in a roll and tied them. I kept on watching my birds and tapped their cage. Their antics made me smile. Soon, I wanted to have them trained so I could let them out of their confinement.

"Any news for me?" I asked and turned to her.

For a talkative girl, she was as silent as the walls. She shuddered at my question before turning to me and greeting me with a nervous smile.

"N-Nothing that is important enough to be told, Your Grace..." she replied.

My eyes narrowed at her suspicious behavior. But I kept that as a reminder for later and glanced at the other side of the bed. To my surprise, it was cold to the touch.

"Did the King wake up early?" I asked her, feeling something strange.

Karra moved more nervously as she heard that question. She turned around, once again donning that uneasy grin.

"Yes, His Majesty had some important work to finish,"

I left it at that and glanced at the birds once more. Both of them were producing soft noises and were cuddled together. They were so adorable.

"Help me dress, Karra," I said, as I pushed off the duvet covering me.
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After breakfast was finished, I walked through the hallways and watched the gardens. For the past few days, the snow had been falling heavily. Even the cold had increased and the castle has been demanding more firewood lately.

Every day, a thick layer of snow would cover the land, making it difficult to maintain the gardens. I did not wish for the precious blue rose garden Xander gifted me to be ruined.

Karra had left for the kitchens for some of her duties and would return later. I kept on staring at the skies, observing their dim glow. The sun had been covered by the clouds and the sound of the wind rang in my ears. I sighed and turned my head away and just then, I caught the sight of Sir Vincent.

"Good morning, Your Grace," he greeted with a jubilant smile.

"You seem rather happy," I smiled softly in return.

"Yes indeed," he punctuated before pulling a crumpled paper from his pocket. "The men you ordered will arrive in a week or so,"

That made me happy too. I had been waiting for them to appear. Sir Vincent, although had no children, took in students who had no other family and raised them as his own. Among them, were a couple of talented boys. Twins, they were, that he named Carlos and Zian. I knew them but not that much.

He informed me that they did not join the royal army of Peliasse but roamed around the nearby villages and caught criminals. Vincent told me that he was disappointed in his vagabond pupils, but I told him otherwise. Such men were excellent for my plans. For now, only the two were arriving at Anthreal.