❝𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒕, 𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒕.❞
(the stars incline us, they do not bind us.)
━━━━━━━━━━
𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔
Born as twins, yet one of them had everything, and the other ha...
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Thethia: Royal Palace, Queen's Bedchamber
• Jason•
"Knight Wayland," Marie greeted him when she saw him waiting outside the Queen's bedchamber.
"Marie," he nodded slightly and requested, "Can I request for an audience from Her Majesty?"
"Definitely." Before opening the doors, Marie sighed a little as she cautioned him, "Her Majesty isn't in her best condition today, please be aware."
"I'll be mindful," Jason assured her before following behind her to enter the Queen's bedchamber.
He looked towards her as she sat in her usual armchair, whilst staring out of the window blankly. Marie mentioned that her condition had worsened lately and she began forgetting things and were confused by many things. At times, she would wake up thinking that she was still back in the Veilstein Manor. Other times, she would wake up afraid of the maidservants that had served her for many years, claiming that she didn't know them. A fear darted through him when he was unsure when she would also erase him from her memories.
"Your Majesty, Knight Wayland is here." Marie leaned close to her, speaking softly to announce Jason's presence.
The Queen had no response. She continued to stare at the window. He continued to glance towards her as he recalled how cheerful, optimistic and full of life she once was. It was absolutely heartbreaking for him to see her spending her days quiet and lost in herself — somewhere too far for him to reach.
Jason looked into her eyes. Those striking amber eyes that complemented her enchanting beauty. His heart ached at how they used to shine brighter than citrine, but they had since lost their light. The amber looked dull and empty, almost without any trace of life.
He lowered himself on one knee, kneeling beside her. He sat close to her but never touching her for the fear that it would startle her and for the fear that he didn't have the rights to even be that close to her. He sighed internally.
Jason was appointed by the Queen to be her knight ever since he turned eighteen. Then, she was only seventeen. She was still Nadia Veilstein, the daughter of the powerful Duke Veilstein. On the other hand, he was an illegitimate child of a Baron. Since he was a child of a commoner woman, the Purdine family was intolerant of his existence. Therefore, when he turned seven, Baron Purdine took the chance to chase him out of the manor when his mother died. If not for Nadia, he would've died in the cold winter night then.
He was forever indebted to the Veilstein family. Not only had they brought him back to the manor, but also gave him food and clothing. Moreover, Nadia begged her father to convince Earl Wayland to adopt him. The Earl was a man faithful to his love. Unfortunately, his wife passed early due to an illness and since then, he remained widowed with no children. There was no heir to the Wayland household and from the first meeting with the Earl, the kind man accepted him immediately at first sight.
