Queensmen

Chapter 28

~Reconciliation~

"Mikeal!" Oris woke up with a start, the Knight's name leaving her lips before her dream had even faded to nothingness.

She didn't know why she had dreamt of him dying in her arms; she didn't know why she had assumed it was him in the first place. She could not remember the features of the man that had been stabbed to death protecting her in the dream-world.

It could as well have been Bren that had taken the blow for her, but it hadn't been his name on the tip of her tongue. Instead, she had mourned, however short the duration might have been, for a man she knew next to nothing about.

I must be loosing my mind, she shook her head. Mikeal was charming, there was no doubt about, and they shared a strange sense of familiarity but that was all. The fact that he happened to be the only man in the palace that had seen what she looked like didn't help things.

Now she had a loose end she had no idea how to take care of.

He had witnessed her buy food and medicine to attract the lower class, and he was smart enough to know what she had been up to.

So, why didn't he turn me in? He had even been afraid of something untoward happening to her and so decided to watch over her as she slept.

What sort of person does that?

Oris knew that she had done nothing to win his favor. In total, they had only met thrice, and till now he did not even know her name.

She was not the most beautiful candidate, she knew, and she was far from the most influential. An alliance with her at this point was not only meaninglessness, it could also be detrimental.

Oris subconsciously scanned the room for a trace of the Knight despite her senses telling her that he was long gone.

She wanted him to make his intentions clear once and for all. What exactly did he want from her?

She knew from his behavior that Mikeal did not love her-at best he was just curious-so the only reason that remained to explain his actions was that the Emperor had asked him to observe her.

That would mean that since Inqa, Hermes had known of her existence and suspected her identity. All the events that gave her no way out would then simply be tests to see if she truly was who she said she was.

Oris felt her blood run cold, her heart thumping hard against her ribs. No, she forced herself to remain calm, I must be overthinking.

Even Marcka and Tristan had no idea who she was. How could Hermes, who was weeks' away from Orse, know that she had been disguising as a stable boy in an inn by the border?

How could he have predicted that she would be captured and used to replace one of his beauties?

How could he have known that she was the last candidate?

"Mistress?"

Oris stiffened on hearing Seline's voice through the door. She did not turn to it.

Her gaze had rested on where Mikeal would have been had he stayed, so she hadn't had time to examine the room she had slept in.

Now that she did, she realized that it was as luxurious as it was plain. The blatant lack of color made her wince. The beige walls and curtains were paired along with cheap furniture bearing upholstery the color of straw. Even the bedsheets were the same color.

It seems like I'll need to redecorate soon.

She reached to her face and wiped at the stiff spots where her tears had dried before answering, "Come in."