Right to the Night

Chapter Eight

Elisabete pushed past the crowd and hurried towards the doors of the throne room. Iona ran towards her and gripped her wrist tightly. She turned Elisabete to face her and furrowed her brow upon seeing the tears welling in her eyes.

"Where are you going? You have to stay and clean up." Iona inquired.

"I'm sorry but I must leave right now. Please, do not let my king know of my absence." Elisabete replied.

Elisabete took a deep breath before pulling her arm from Iona's grasp and rushing out of the room. Iona watched through the crack in the door as Elisabete ran down the hall to the maid's quarters. The doors slammed shut and this time, Elisabete did not jump. She had not heard the noise, nor did she hear the crowd of guests clapping after hearing the news. She held her dress up and ran down the hallway, tears falling from her eyes.

When she entered the maid's quarters, she practically ripped off the dress she was wearing and changed into her regular clothes. She could not understand why she was crying over such delightful news. Once she had finished changing, she packed up her belongings and went on her way home, never once looking back towards the palace. She took her time walking back home in the night. The moonlight illuminated her path and she told herself to stop crying before she returned home. Elisabete knew that if Edric or Tadeus saw her crying, they would assault her with questions, wanting to know every little detail of what took place at the feast. However, Elisabete could not help but think about the news she had just heard. Sanit had become pregnant with Loki's heir. She was well aware of the fact that Loki would have to marry her to protect his child's legitimacy. Soon enough, Sanit would become his wife and he'd have the perfect life, living with his one true love and their child all together. Elisabete wanted what he had. She wanted the perfect life. She wanted a happy family, a loving spouse, and to birth their children. She wanted the love he had in his life, yet she would never find it.

Elisabete dragged her feet along the dirt path, not caring if she'd mess up her shoes in the process. When she reached her village, she took a deep breath as she surveyed the area. Much to her liking, Edric was not in her view and she continued on her way to her home. She entered the house and furrowed her brow when she saw that all the candles had been blown out and everything was already cleaned up. She checked on her parents and saw that they were fast asleep. Elisabete smiled to herself as she softly closed the door and walked into her bedroom. There, Lianna and Capriana were asleep as well and she slowly changed into her night dress. When she had stripped herself of all the clothes she had on, she quickly glanced at herself in the mirror and did a double take. She turned slightly so that she was facing the mirror. She made out her silhouette in the moonlight from her window and placed her hands on her hips and touched her breasts, feeling the shape of her body. She then quickly put the night dress on and pulled back the covers to her bed.

Before she could get in the bed, the door to her bedroom opened, and Tadeus quickly entered. He rushed towards Elisabete and she furrowed her brow at him, wondering what it was he wanted. He held a candlestick in his hand tightly and held it close to his face so that Elisabete could make out the worry and urgency in his face.

"What's wrong? Has something happened while I was away?" Elisabete asked.

"I have been advised not to tell you anything, but this news cannot be hidden." Tadeus replied.

"Well, what is it?" Elisabete scoffed.

"This morning, after you left, Edric arrived to speak to mom and dad," Tadeus spoke, seeing Elisabete's frightened. "He had asked for their blessing, Elisabete."
"Why would he do that?" Elisabete asked, the tears forming in her eyes yet again.

"Because he loves you, Elisabete, that's why, and you know he does. I told him to come by for dinner tomorrow so ask you to be his wife. I wanted to let you know so you wouldn't be taken by surprise. Good night." Tadeus explained.