After conversing with her brother, Raelynn reluctantly took her leave from him. It was not every day that she got the opportunity to speak to him and now that she had found a chance, it had ended sooner than the siblings had expected. Eldrick too was not ready to see his sister depart. But he knew that she had her responsibilities and he could not stop her, even if he wanted.
Lord Eldrick's chambers were in the far interiors of the palace and other than his trusted servants, nobody else was allowed to enter this part of the palace. So, Raelynn did not have to worry about getting caught wandering in the private quarters of the Lord. Everybody she came across knew who she was as well as her relationship with their Lord. So, they bowed to her and greeted her respectfully.
However, the knights guarding the other locations did not know about it and as soon as Raelynn appeared from inside, they gave her one scrutinizing look before they averted their gazes. Raelynn too did not mind them as she had been well versed with their attitude towards her. So, she walked towards where Laurier was patiently waiting for her.
Every other commander and minister had left the courtroom and Laurier was the only one standing in front of the entrance door. Raelynn could not help but feel apologetic seeing his state. The man sure was patient with her and her heart wavered slightly seeing him.
Raelynn had no idea when her heart was getting pulled towards the man who stood with one of his feet inclined on the wall behind him. He was the only one in the entire army who had trusted her capabilities, more so than her brother, and had encouraged her to continue with her training. If not for his motivation and help, Raelynn would have returned home long ago.
Raelynn could still remember the day when she had first met the man. They had joined the new training batch together. Since she was the first woman ever to apply for the army, people had condemned her and the knights had looked down upon her. But, Laurier was the only one who had never spoken ill about her. Although he was no better than Raelynn when it came to fighting skills, he always had an encouraging smile on his face and that was enough for her to keep going.
When Raelynn had finally passed the training and was posted in the East Battalion, he had appreciated her wholeheartedly and that was the first time, she had seen him smile brightly. It was as though the man was genuinely happy on seeing her reap the fruits of her struggle.
But what was etched in her brain was the moment when Raelynn was announced the Commander and Laurier was given the position of Knight Commander. The man had been delighted for her more than for himself, unlike the other men who looked at her in jealousy. She knew that at that instant, the man who had been her compeer had gained a special place in her heart which nobody would ever replace. He had become the guy she fell in love with.
Raelynn smiled seeing the man tapping his foot. 'So what if the man is dense or hesitant to take the first step, I'll approach him myself.' Making a firm decision, Raelynn approached Laurier and the man finally heaved a breath of relief on seeing her.
"Finally, you are here. I was wondering if you had lost your way in the palace." The man teased even though he had more or less guessed that it would not happen.
"If that was the case, then I wonder if you would come for my rescue," Raelynn replied, her eyes looking at him in anticipation. Now, she was not the Commander she was in front of the other knights. She was just a maiden in love who was sending the man she liked some subtle signals to tell him her feelings.
Laurier noticed Raelynn's unusually soft behavior and he narrowed his eyes slightly. "Is everything alright with you?" There was nobody around them. So, they had dropped the honorifics with each other. "You are behaving weird."
His words made Raelynn to grit her teeth. As she had expected, the man was as dense as ever. She would have to come up with another approach to convey her thoughts. But this was not the place to do so. Many people would walk around the palace and she could not risk confessing her feelings in front of an audience. "I am fine. Shall we leave?"
"Yes."
The duo then left the palace with Raelynn darting one look around her, making sure that nobody had heard her conversation with Laurier. But to their dismay, they met the man who had created a commotion in the courtroom a few hours back. It was none other than Cathal Bringe. "Commander Rosevelt." He greeted her with a sickeningly sweet smile on his face.
Although Raelynn was in no mood to entertain him, she had to return the courtesy. So, she greeted him back. "Minister Bringe."
"I never expected you to be this beautiful and moreover, you are a Commander. Beauty, brains and bravery, I must say I am impressed." The man was clearly trying to flatter Raeylnn and even the woman in question felt it, let alone Laurier who had had his guards up as soon Cathal had stopped. He had noticed the way the man had looked at her in the courtroom and his male instincts had kicked in right away. It was not just a look of appreciation, there was something more in it. And Laurier was having a bad premonition about it.
"I am thankful for your sweet words. But let me tell you one thing, I am here to impress no one." Raelynn's blunt words stunned Cathal for a second and he looked taken aback. But the next instant, he recovered himself and put on a charming smile on his face.
"I think there is a misunderstanding here. I was only praising you for your esteemed skills and beauty."
'Such a glib tongue you have here.' Raelynn shouted in her mind while her face did not reveal a thing. She was unsure as to why the man had even approached her in the first place. "If that is the case, then I can say I was born beautiful and I trained hard to perfect my skills. So, I deserve the praise."
Raelynn did not try to be humble with man, not when she knew that the man had come to her with her reason. Also, it was true that she had sacrificed a lot to reach the position she was in right now.
"Definitely, My Lady."
"It's Commander Rosevelt." Raelynn interrupted him immediately. Although she did not hate it when people addressed her this way, she preferred to be called Commander Rosevelt. It made her heart swell with pride and she found it more respectful.
Her unexpected intervention surprised Cathal once again. "My apologies, Commander Rosevelt. It was a slip of tongue." He bowed slightly to show his sincerity while Raelynn did not comment about it further.
"Minister Bringe, if there is nothing else, I would like to take my leave."
"Just a second, Commander. I would like to speak to you about something." Now, Cathal's face turned serious and he stared at Raelynn. There was something in the way the man looked at her which made Laurier uneasy. He could not stop the ominous feeling he was starting to have.
"Definitely. I am all ears."
"Commander Rosevelt, as you already know that I have been chosen as the messenger for the treaty of peace." Raelynn nodded at him. "Although I know self-defense, I am not that proficient at it. So, I was wondering if you or Knight Commander Laurier would accompany me to meet the enemy..." Cathal stopped halfway when he noticed the change in Raelynn's expressions. There was a frown on her beautiful face and she seemed to be in deep thought.
"I apologize, Minister Cathal. As I have already said in the courtroom, I cannot leave my Batallion unattended, nor can Knight Commander Laurier. I can arrange for some knights to accompany you. I promise you that you will not face any troubles with them around."
Her words made the hope in the man's eyes vanish completely and he did not pester her more about it. "That would be of great help. I can be assured with the knights." Yet, he tried to put on a brave front. "I would have to leave now. I still need to discuss a few things with the other ministers."
"Sure." Raelynn smiled at him while Laurier just gave him a curt nod. The man had not spoken a word during the entire time. He had been observing Cathal all the time.
As soon as Cathal left them, the smile on Raelynn's face disappeared. "The man is planning something malicious. Send someone trustworthy to keep an eye on him."
"The man is planning something malicious. Send someone trustworthy to keep an eye on him." Raelynn ordered, her gaze cold and indifferent. Laurier could even sense her unhappiness from where he was and he looked at her wondering if she had found something."Did you get that vibe too?""Totally. He does not seem like a good man. There is something running in his mind and he approached us with some other intentions which I am unable to comprehend." Raeylnn answered, making sure to keep her voice as low as possible. The palace was not a secure place, especially when there were many who wanted to take over Eldrick's throne. So, she had to be careful about what she spoke even if it was something that meant no harm to anybody."He seems to be over-friendly at our first meeting and that is something not sitting well with me," Laurier added, his lips quirking up with a smile. 'As expected, Raelynn was not that easy to fool.'Raelynn's thoughts evaporated when she
"In that case, what if I say that I like you?" Raelynn shot her question, her eyes fixed on Laurier. She observed the changes in his expressions from confusion to shock and finally, it settled on surprise. He looked utterly flabbergasted and his jaws dropped seeing Raelynn's expecting gaze. Nobody said a word for a long time.While Laurier did not know what to say, Raelynn was waiting for him to speak something. Minutes passed and Raelynn could not take the silence any longer. "Say something." Her voice broke Laurier's stupor and he blinked twice to see if he was hallucinating. He wondered if it was just a dream, a beautiful dream that would end right after his sleep broke. Raelynn could sense his dilemma and giggled. "It's not a dream. I am real, we are real."Only then did Laurier speak, "How? Whe-When? Really?" His tone changed from shock to joy in a few seconds and Raelynn too could hear it."Yes. Laurier, I like you." Seeing Laurier's positive reactions, Ra
The new couple returned to their battalion after spending some more time with each other. Laurier could not believe that he had got the love of his life and that she too felt the same way towards him. Everything felt surreal to him. Moreover, what was highly shocking was that the Lord knew about them and he was happy for them. What more did he need?The knights at the arena saw their Commander and the Knight Commander return. They could feel something to be different about them with the way they were smiling and exchanging glances. But they could not point out what. Raelynn immediately went to her study as she had to prepare a strategy in case a war broke out between the two kingdoms. While Laurier stayed back to convey the information they had discussed during the meeting. The two people had decided to keep their relationship a secret for now until the issue was resolved, although Eldrick already knew about it.Meanwhile, at the palace.After all the commanders
Minister Oakley immediately got to action trying to sort the issue that had popped up out of nowhere. He first contacted the head of merchants who he was all too familiar with. The man was in his fifties and he had been trading and selling his goods in the Kingdom of Volar for quite some time now. The man was well known around the kingdom and all the merchants had unanimously voted him as their leader so that he could put forth their requests before the Lord when needed."Sir Fergus, how is the trade surplus this month? I wonder if there is any improvement or has it been stable like the last few months." Minister Oakley questioned as he took a sip of his tea. Oakley was with the head of merchants, Sir Fergus. The man seemed to have the built of a knight and just by his stance alone, anybody could make out how trained his body was. However, not many people knew that the man was actually a knight and had served Lord Eldrick's father once upon a time."Minister Oakley, there
Meanwhile, in the kingdom of Hollis.A courtroom session was in full progress and the ministers were in deep discussion. And, the king of the land, Dimitri Vegus looked at everybody with a bored expression. He had no idea why they were even trying to complicate things when he had the easiest solution. His wicked eyes ran around trying to read through the people's minds. After a long time, silence ensued in the hall and Dimitri raised his eyebrows wondering what his genius ministers had come up with."My King, after a lot of discussion and suggestions we have decided to attack the kingdom of Volar when they would have lowered their guards against us." One of the men with a small white beard stood up and started to put forth his words before the evil man.Dimitri smiled suddenly and it was one filled with mystery. Nobody knew what was running in his mind, not that they ever did. The man was the most enigmatic creature anybody had ever seen. His mind functioned in
"I hate it when people betray me," Dimitri bellowed and the next second, the man's head rolled to the floor. There were blotches of blood on Dimitri's face as well as his clothes. But the man did not care. He liked the smell of blood, especially when it belonged to someone who he did not like. It gave him a bestial ecstasy like no other and it made him feel all the more powerful.Dimitri did not even care to wipe the blood off the sword. He dragged his weapon with its tip scratching the floor while blood dripped from it, leaving a trail behind him. Although some of the older men could not tolerate the gruesome scene, they sat still lest they should anger their king. They did not want to be the next in line to get their heads chopped off.Dimitri's back was towards his audience. So, nobody could see him, especially the demonic form that had taken over him. He was nothing less than the devil reincarnated and the men in the hall hoped that he would calm down soon. But who
Dimitri had a doting smile on his face as soon as he reminisced Zaina's face. It was only her who could bring a feeling so foreign to him. Since the first time he had seen her, he had been infatuated by her and as time progressed, his heart had fallen for her completely. The prolonged wait was making him anxious. All he wanted to do was to drag her to his room and fuck her senseless.Her beautiful face was enough to send his heart thundering and his body was already getting warm. He wanted to see her and he wanted to see her now. Without further delay, he decided to give her a surprise and his sudden enthusiasm scared the guards who were guarding the courtroom. But what was more frightening was Dimitri's face that was painted with streaks of blood.The two guards had not ventured inside the room when the session was in progress. So, they had no idea what had transpired. Seeing their King's face now, they were relieved that their job was to guard the courtro
'Lord Eldrick...'Zaina poured out all that she felt for him in her letter, hoping against hope that he would come to save her. The girl could only wish for the man to be considerate enough to help her escape the marriage, even if he did not reciprocate her feelings. She had an inkling that Eldrick might not remember her as it was a long time ago when they had met.Zaina wiped her tears that were now staining the letter and dropped her quill to calm herself down. Her mind went back to the day when she had first met the man she had come to love eventually.It had been the season of the spring and the kingdom of Volar had organized the annual Spring Festival. People from far and wide had traveled over just to see this amazing festival. Moreover, that year's Spring Festival had been quite special as the main event day fell on the day of the lunar eclipse. And according to ancient belief the folks followed, the lunar eclipse was a day of blessings and happiness. So,