The Lady Archer (Completed)

XXIII

"To the Coldante Dynasty."

The man said to the coachman as he stepped into the carriage. He didn't know what to expect when he entered the Coldante walls. The family was hard to bargain with, but he would be more persuasive. It would be easier to convince the queen because she would always give in so easily. 

It had been long since he had visited the Coldante's, and he didn't know what to expect.

Ever since King Coldante refused to keep his end of the deal, he left not wanting to associate himself with the backstabbing liars and the hypocrite. Slowly, he built his empire, but the source of all his income had escaped, leaving him to suffer miserably for quite some time.

He dreaded the trip, but he needed to find Lady Archer. He missed her; he missed torturing her, he missed her screams and her pleas for forgiveness. He sighed, he was going to make sure she never escaped again, and that was a promise.

As the carriage neared the Coldante gates, the man couldn't help but shift in his position. He told the coachman to stop. "I'll walk from here."

The man stepped out of the carriage and walked to the castle doors. He knocked once and stayed until someone came to open.

The door opened, revealing a servant girl, "Good morning sir, how may we help you today ?" the girl asked.

"I am here to see Queen Coldante. Tell him it's Francisco DeValez."

The servant's eyes widened in realisation. She opened the door wide and led him to the lounge.

"Please make yourself comfortable, Mr DeValez.  I'll inform the Queen of your arrival."

The servant girl said as she scurried off into another direction.

Francisco couldn't help but let his eyes roam around the lounge. There were few family photos, but most photos consisted of various forms of nature.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" The queen said as he took a seat next to Francisco.

"Is that how you greet your long-time friend Barbara?"

"I'm sorry,  I just never expected you to come back after you had ditched John and I, to carry on with your plans. What are you doing here? Do you still do those awful things that you do?"

"From time to time, but not all the time."

"Why are you here?"

"How's John?"

"Like you care."

"Of course I do, I always have."

"He is in a coma. The doctors do not know when he will recover, but we can only hope it's soon."

Francisco was devastated by the news; he had always thought of John to be his best friend. Just as they were continuing to talk, they heard voices.

"Who are those people?" Francisco asked.

The Queen rolled her eyes, "most likely my son and his nuisance of a girlfriend." She replied.

Just as they were both walking passed, both of them happened to cast their eyes to the lounge area.

Both Daniel and Avery stopped their conversation. Avery's eyes landed on the man, she thought, she would never see again after ten years of really living. She was panicking on the inside, but her outside facade was calm.

"Hello, mother." Daniel greeted. "Mr DeValez."

Avery's tongue was tied, she didn't know what to say, she was frightened for her life, and for the first time, she felt helpless.