Her Crown

XXXXVIII

Victoria stood on the doorway of Gulliver's old home. Alessandra and Johnathan had already run inside without a care in the world. All they wanted to do was run about anyway so it was the best moment for them. Taking a deep breathe Victoria closed her eyes for a second. 

"ma'am you don't have to come in if you don't want. We can move you to a different house." Mr Alrak explains as Victoria shook her head biting the inside of her lip almost drawing blood she was biting down so hard. 

She listened for the wind outside rustling the tree leaves as she tried to tune out her thoughts. The way he looked that day , angry. So angry he almost had her killed. The man that played with her emotions. Made her feel so safe yet so unsure of herself. Her skills to reign over everyone. A man who allowed her into his home after Francis died. A man who acted like a father to her children all the while he was planning on taking her down. Pretending everything was fine. Everything she was doing was perfect. 

But it didn't stop every night when she closed her eyes she saw his face as they plunged the sword into his chest. The way his eyes glassed over and collapsed to the floor in a pile. Flashes of blood still haunting her. Scrunching her hands into little fists her nails dug into the skin piercing it enough to make a dent. A light hand touched her shoulder. 

"Ma'am are you sure you are ok. There are many homes this one was just the closest." Mr Alrak presses further. 

Victoria lay on the bed her bulging belly sticking up into the air as she dug into a punnet of fresh strawberries Gulliver and Johnathan had picked earlier on in the morning. It was a treat to get fresh fruits from the garden. Since it had gotten hard to move about as this pregnancy wore on. Victoria welcomed anything reminiscent of the outside. Noticing a page on the bedside table Victoria reached over as best she could to look at it. A drawing of a girl , boy and another man. Above the man's head was a golden circle like mark. A sob echoed through Victoria as she touched it gently. 

"Always with me. Francis is always with me." Victoria mumbles to herself  as a sharp shooting pain ripples through her body. Screaming out in pain Victoria held her stomach waiting for it to pass. 

Victoria opened her eyes still biting her lip she actually looked at the door way of the home. Sort of expecting Gulliver to poke his head out from somewhere pretending Jonathan was flying through the air like a bird. But he didn't. Glancing down at her stomach she had a moment. Forgetting she wasn't in fact heavily pregnant walking into this house. One of her daughters still ran round her like her life depended on it. Noticing the markings on the wall next to the door where they would mark off Johnathan's height growth. While also marking how big Victoria's bump had gotten. So Johnathan didn't feel like he was being singled out for being little.

Touching the wall delicately she smiled at the markings even if this house held some horrible memories it also held some of the best times. To have someone by her side in the days following Francis' death. The darkest days she had ever experienced up until that point. 

"This is fine. Can you please just find out if everyone is well and hurry." Victoria demands and Mr Alark nods leaving her be with the children. As a few other guards took post outside just in case anything happened still. it was better to stay on guard. 

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Victoria's heart rate started to quicken as she ordered the children under the bed. Exclaiming there was a monster on the loose and that they had to hide. The pair squealing with excitement as they squished under the bed. Victoria cautiously walked over to the door taking a deep breathe she opened the door. Breathing a sigh of relief when she saw who it was. Opening her arms out to him she squeezed him tightly tears flowing freely down her face as he hissed in pain. Immediately she let go of him her arms still gently touching his arms just to make sure he was real and not a figment of her imagination. 

"You are ok. Thank god. I ... I was worried." Victoria sobs as he nods his head. 

"I managed. A few of the others are still there but I knew I had to get to you any way I could. Having a close brush with death twice now I have to say this." Mr Warwick starts as Victoria ushers him in almost forgetting she had told the children to hide under the master bed. 

"Oh sorry ... one moment Mr Warwick." Victoria states cutting him off she headed into the master bedroom. 

"The monster is gone you can get out now." Victoria explains as Alessandra and Johnathan stick their heads out from the blanket just to check she wasn't pretending. A loud growl coming from the door way making them scream and start to giggle as they hid back under the covers. Victoria turned to see Mr Warwick also laughing despite the clear amount of pain he was in on his face. 

"It seems the monster is still here." Victoria remarked smiling at him as he lent on the wall as best he could smirking at her. Until he lost his balance and almost face planted the cabinet sat just in front of the bedroom door. 

"NOw... back to what I had to say to you before the evil monster took over." Mr Warwick returns back to the conversation. He had something to say and was going to say it however he could from his own mouth to Victoria before it was much too late. After having two brushes with death in the last twenty four hours anything could happen next. But he had an idea for what he wanted to happen whether Victoria would agree was a different story.