The Priestess' Affair [Books 1 &2]

Book 2: Chapter 11

-HER-

I woke up in my room the next day, not remembering much about what happened last night after Alexandros took me into the garden in the dark. I had faint memories of what we had talked about, but I didn't remember much apart from that.

When I woke up this morning, I found a note he delivered. It was an invitation from Alexandros, asking me to come to court that morning. It baffled me a bit. Why did he want me in the court? I wasn't his subject or any official. I was merely a guest, and gusts were seldom invited to the court for the daily sessions.

He had also instructed my servants to get me ready in time. I wanted to stay back and sleep a bit more, but I got dressed and went to the court instead. It wasn't like I had any choice.

I could tell he had been waiting for me because his eyes lit up as soon as I entered the court. Meanwhile, the nobles present in the court looked quite surprised to see me there. I hated being present there almost instantly. Having all the eyes on me always made me uncomfortable, especially since they didn't know who I was.

Even though the nobles were shocked to see me there, they said nothing. I noticed that Dervis was there too. His eyes lingered on me for a few seconds before he looked away.

"I wanted to have a guest at court today," Alex announced. I sat in my place feeling anxious. I didn't know why exactly he had me here. Was he going to announce something? He better not. It wouldn't end well.

I relaxed as soon as the session began, and everyone got busy with the discussions, forgetting me for a few moments. I sighed and sat back in my seat, watching everything. It reminded me of the time when my mother was ruling. She always used to have me in court with her, making me watch and learn everything.

She took me everywhere with her, and sometimes, she made me help her do paperwork in her study while no one was watching. I always knew she was doing this to train me for the future, but little did she know how things would end.

I almost instantly felt the pain of losing her and the things that happened to me after that. It had been a long time since I had thought about those things. I always chose not to think about it because it was the darkest period of my life. But now and then, something would remind me about everything, making me go down the dreaded memory lane.

The five years I spent in captivity were harrowing—the things I had to endure. The way I was treated— I was almost forgotten. Everyone thought I was dead while I lived in solitude in a small cell with a tiny window. I got one meal a day and no visitors ever. Even the guards there had forgotten who I was. I had forgotten who I was. It was such a cruel time. I wanted to kill myself, but there was no means to do so... until I found a way one day.

I had decided to end it all that day. But fates seemed to have another plan. The gate of my cell opened that day for the first time in years, and Vittoria had stepped in, telling me that she conceived me in her dream and that I had to either go with her to serve the shrine or die.

She had given me an option I had been craving for a long time— death. But no. I never chose it. It was odd. Even after all that time, I was surprised that I wanted to live again.

At this point, I wasn't paying attention to what was happening in the court. I was tuning in and out of their discussion. Once in a while, Alex would glance at me to ensure I was still there before he'd focus on the debate again.

It all went along like this for a while. I watched them bicker about state affairs while I remembered my days in confinement. Suddenly, I snapped out of it all and sat up. The discussions at the court had stopped.

Instead, a grim silence shrouded the place. A messenger had come to meet the king.

Not just any messenger.

A Messenger from Somirea.

A Royal Messenger.

Alex glanced towards me briefly before he nodded at the messenger to read the message out loud. I sat up straight, my heart pounding in my chest and a lump building in my throat. The messenger didn't have to read the message for me to know why he was there.

I could already tell. I knew what it was. It was something I had feared the most all this time. The courtroom fell silent, holding their breaths as the messenger read the message out loud.

"This message is for the King of Cromirea, Alexandros, from the King of Somirea, Theoron. I invited you to my kingdom in the hopes of forging friendship and alliance, but you took advantage of my goodwill and created chaos in my court. You not only conspired against me with the other attending kings from the neighbour kingdom, but you are responsible for the death of my many warriors. You crossed all the limits by harming my Advisor, Herran and kidnapping my sister, Theresa—" As soon as the messenger took my name, several gasps erupted, and everyone's eyes were on me.

I clenched my teeth and kept my eyes fixed on the messenger as he continued reading the message out loud. "I hereby declare war against Cromirea. I will reconsider this decision only if you return my sister safely within a week,"

Everyone was shocked when the messenger was done reading the message. I could tell that everyone was shocked, not because of the war declaration but because of the fact that I was Theoron's sister— the princess everyone believed to be dead long ago.

"You kidnapped a princess?" Dervis roared; that was all it took for chaos to take over the courtroom.

~

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