Laurel watched Basil turn paler as she made a note on her parchment about looking further into what Basil’s budget was going towards. She had a feeling that Gavin might be benefiting from his relationship with Basil.“What is the purpose of the gate on the main entrance to the orchard?” Basil blinked, staring at her and not speaking. “Prince Basil, are you listening?”He shook his head, “Y-Yes. I… What?”She pursed her lips, “The gates, Prince Basil. For what reason was the orchard gated?”Basil frowned, “It’s useless.”“What do you mean by it’s useless?”“We don’t need an orchard because we have all the farmland around the city,” Basil lifted his head and met her gaze. “It was a waste of money when you had it planted. The ministry has proposed to uproot it and turn it into a leisure area for the castle.”Delia took in a sharp breath, staring at him in horror. Laurel froze in the middle of editing her plans for the orchard. What? What kind of nonsense was that? She frowned, eyeing hi
Basil left Adolph’s office, empty-handed and shocked. He knows Delia won’t be happy, but what was he supposed to do? He supposed he could just give a portion of his budget to her, but that wouldn’t solve the problem.He knocked on her door. A few moments passed before she called out.“Come in.”He opened the door and walked in to see her sitting on her couch. Delia sat up and bade him sit with her. She held herself rigidly as she drank her tea. She clinked the cup against the plate in a way that made him almost flinch. Didn’t she know basic etiquette? He frowned, thinking about it. Had Laura taken etiquette? He didn’t think Laurel had or would, but Laura had always given him a sense that she knew enough. It had irritated him a bit that she seemed to blend in with nobility so easily.“Well, what did your father say?“… He changed her plan.”Delia sat up straight, “well?”“… He cut our budgets in half.”Delia dropped her teacup with a little gasp of shock.“What do you mean?”“He sa
Delia woke up early, dressed quickly, and skipped breakfast. Basil hadn’t returned to her room the night before and the servants said he hadn’t returned to his room by morning. She left her room hoping to run into him and found him standing in the doorway of her office, simply staring inside the room with a complicated look on his face. He didn’t react as she walked towards him, but when she touched him, he turned his head and looked down at her. The shimmering attention had faded from his eyes. They seemed almost hollow and glossy in the early morning light. “Were you looking for me?”“… no,” he said and frowned, turning from her. “I’m… late for breakfast.”“We should go together.”“No,” Basil said, shaking his head. “I’m having breakfast with my father.”Delia watched him walk away from her before looking back into the room. She hadn’t changed anything in the room since she’d been given the key because she didn’t spend much time in it. She hadn’t even changed the way the desk was
Laurel returned to her room after lunch to get the last dose of the antidote. The priestess smiled at her and bowed politely, whispering a blessing over her before she left. Eden was packing things up in a large trunk and the bottle she was supposed to drink was sitting on the table. She wrinkled her nose at the thought of taking it. “Isn’t there a way to make it taste better?”Eden laughed, “No, there isn’t. We’ve been over this.”It didn’t hurt to keep asking. She took the little cup and tossed it into the back of her mouth before swallowing swiftly. She coughed and sputtered, reaching out for a glass of water. Eden handed it to her, and she was pleasantly surprised to find it full of juice.Eden smiled, “I thought you deserved a treat to celebrate the end of your treatment.”“Thank you, Eden.”He took the glass and set it aside before looking at her, “Have you… decided to stay?”Her heart lurched at the question. A spike of fear went through her at the thought. Having Adolph com
He knew it was pointless, but he had to say it. Didn’t she realize that she was meant to be resting for a reason? He watched her enter his office the way she had for the past few days and stood. She froze in the doorway. “What’s wrong?”He lifted an eyebrow at him and came around the desk, plucking the pages from her hands and placing them on his desk. He ushered her out of his office and locked the door to his office behind him before lifting her off the ground. She squeaked and floundered in his arms, “Your Majesty!”“We had a deal, didn’t we?” Adolph said, descending the stairs as she tried to get out of his arms. “Stop struggling, precious. You won’t get free.”Laurel turned bright red and turned her face into his shoulder, “Your Majesty, it’s embarrassing.”“Perhaps it will be punishment enough for you to hold up your side of the deal,” Adolph admonished gently, pressing a kiss to her temple as he reached the correct floor and walked towards her room.“B-But Your Majesty… I ca
The roses were beautiful and vibrant in the dreary graveyard. The headstone had been polished and the grave had been refilled with fresh dirt and made to look neat. The sight eased something in Basil, but he still didn’t know why he was there looking at Laura’s grave. Grief? Guilt? Some misplaced sense of regret? Wasn’t he happy? Hadn’t he told her that she meant nothing to him? His chest felt tight at the memory. Her shocked expression, the tears in her eyes. *“You are nothing,” he’d told her.* *She lowered her head. Her jaw trembled. Resignation and confusion rippled across her expression. Her shoulders began to relax into a defeated slump. He’d been a little thrilled to see it.* He winced thinking back to that night and rubbing the back of his neck. He’d felt powerful and on top of the world with Delia on his arm and looking down at Laura in her plain dress. *“I care not what happens to you after our divorce.”*He knew now it was a lie, but he turned away from the grave and k
Laurel was nervous. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t shared a private meal with Adolph before, but this was the first time they would be alone together for a meal since she woke up. Sarah was beside herself, bustling around to help her get ready as Laurel tried to figure out why she was so nervous. She hadn’t been this nervous the day they were supposed to get married. Her hands trembled as she fidgeted. “All done!” Sarah cried and froze seeing how pale Laurel had become. Sarah worried her lip and placed a hand on her shoulder, “Miss Laurel?”Laurel looked up then away, “I-I’m fine. I don’t…”Sarah wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close, “Should I send word that you aren’t feeling well?”“No,” she said, taking her hand. “I-I’m just… I’m just being silly. I’ll be fine.”Sarah eyed her suspiciously, but nodded and followed her out of the room to where Sam and Lynn were waiting. Sam nodded politely and they led them down the corridor towards the first floor. Rather than turning to
Laurel woke up, curled up to Adolph underneath the early morning sun. She blinked blearily up at him and smiled at how peaceful he seemed in the early morning light. Birds twittered nearby. The sun was just starting to warm the air. “Adolph?”One of his eyes opened and focused on her before he threw his arm over his face and turned to bury his face in her shoulder.“Go back to sleep before Chasel comes out to interrupt us with castle nonsense.”She snickered, “Oh no, Your Majesty… all the petal jam is gone.”He narrowed his eyes at her and seized her by her waist, tickling her until she shrieked. “You find such an event funny, do you?”She twisted, trying to get away from him and shrieking, “Forgive me, Your Majesty! I was merely joking!”He grinned, watching her laugh and squirm around beneath him. “Oh? Were you? I’m not sure if you’re being sincere in your remorse!”Chasel walked towards the guards he’d set up to keep a guard over Adolph and Laurel’s dinner the night before. The