Blue's POV
Fluttering my eyes opened, a contented smile graced my lips, as I stared at Wilder's face. I listened for a minute to his chest rising and falling like the tide of a subtle sea. I watched his face up close for a few more minutes before deciding to exit his bedroom. I need to start investigating the tax issue, and I can't lay in bed with Wilder all day. Although I really wish I could, but for that to happen, I have to trash my sense of justice. With a little heaviness in my chest, I pulled myself out of bed and sat still for a second, because I had suddenly felt dizzy. Then I attempted to stand up once more, but my tired self wasn't in my way this time— Wilder was. "Leaving my bed so soon?" He questioned, and I could feel myself twitch almost immediately. I rolled my eyes and turned back to face him. "You were asleep the last time I checked." He rested his head on my shoulder, then slowly planted kisses on the blade of my shoulder and I found myself falling into his arms. My gaze swept downward and so did his. Our eyes took in the other and I smiled sheepishly, burying myself in his arms. "I have to leave though, there are important things for me to do," I muttered. "More important than being with me here?" As he spoke, it came with a kiss to the side of my face before gliding down the nape of my neck. "Yeah, I have to kick off the investigation for the tax payment." I passed across, managing to wiggle myself out of his arms. I stood in front of the mirror in his room, and adjusted myself. I took a deep breath while trying to convince myself that I could do this. I could get away from Wilder Reagan. "Fine. Because I know how much this matters to my queen, I won't stand in your way. But if you do need any help, do let me know. I am your partner after all." Did he just say we are partners?? Really!! I smiled at him happily, "of course. I will do well to inform you, partner." I winked at him playfully and then walked out of his room. HE CALLED ME HIS PARTNER!! I AM WILDER'S REAGAN PARTNER!! The door creaked open as I walked into my own room. "A beautiful night I must say." Sarah teased as I walked into the room, staring at me knowingly, and Rose wasn't left out of it. "Why are both of you in my room?" I asked, keeping a straight face as I walked over to my bed. "Because it is our duty to wake the queen and prepare her for the day, your majesty." Rose bowed teasingly. "Ohh." I let out, "I see." "Of course you do!" Sarah exclaimed, then she clapped her hands and asked, "so... did you really spend the night in the king's quarter?" I stayed silent for a while, teasing both of them back. Then, after a minute of silence, I said... "YES!" "Yessssssssssssssss." Sarah screamed, rushing over to hug me, "I am so happy. And tell me, should I be expecting a little niece or nephew soon?" "Oh stop it, Sarah!" I tried my best to sound serious, but my happiness failed me, as I smiled like never before. "All I can say is— congratulations in advance, your majesty." "Ohh come on, not you too Rose." I chided playfully, my mouth producing ripples of laughter. "Okay. Even though I love the conversation we are having, it is time to get serious. Where is the ledger?" "Right here, your majesty." Rose stood up, walked over to my wardrobe and within a minute she was back with the ledgers. "I will go through this, and both you and Sarah should go through this. Report anything suspicious." I instructed Rose, and she bowed, then walked back to the couch she was sitting on and Sarah shifted closer to her real quick. I focused on the Ledger before me, and read it slowly, taking in every tiny detail. **** Three hours, it'd been three hectic hours and still it didn't look like we were going to find any evidence against the lords. They had meticulously recorded all the transactions, and I could see that the money collected had been accurately and brought to the king's treasury, also the food too. "It looks like the king really did receive all forms of tax payment." Rose muttered, looking up from the ledger. "I think so too. Probably the king isn't a hundred percent honest with you," Sarah voiced. "I might not know the king very well, but I do know that there is no reason for him to withhold the truth from me." I responded, closing the ledger. "Okay... so what are you going to do now? We have no proof that the lords collected a ninety percent tax without the king's knowledge." Rose shrugged, relaxing back on the couch. "Why do I have the feeling that you do believe the king is responsible for the hefty tax?" I questioned while glaring at her. "Forgive my queen, but I just don't think it's possible for a ruler not to know the suffering of the people, he claims to rule." She answered, still maintaining her respectful tone. "That would have been the case if the ruler was actually ruling. But fine— I will just have to prove to you and the rest of the pack, that the king is innocent." "Now, I just have to think of how..." I stood up from the bed, and moved around slowly, as I pondered on what to do next. Then it hit me! "Do you know one thing ledgers do not reveal?" I asked, grinning from ear to ear. "I don't know. What is it?" Sarah asked, with eager ears. "The actual records." "I do not follow." Rose said, staring at me with confused eyes. "I'm saying, I have to see for myself that everything recorded in this book is actually in their allocated spaces." I elaborated on my idea more. "Wait— you want to check the king's treasury and the store room?" Rose voiced in shock, standing up abruptly. "Exactly!" I clapped my hands for effect, then walked out of the room without getting a reply from her. Sarah and Rose followed hastily behind me, as I hurried over the king's treasury. "Your highness." The guards greeted him, bowing. "Open it." I instructed, my eyes staring straight at the gigantic door standing in between me and the king's treasury. "Yes, your highness." The guard held the door knob and was about to push the door open when an overweight middle middle-man, holding a big black book, ran with all his might towards us. "I am sorry, your highness, but you can't go in there," he said, in-between heavy breathes. "And who are you?" I asked, my eyes taking in his entire body features. "I am the accountant in charge of the King's treasury." He introduced himself, still panting hard. "Okay... now tell me why can't I go in?" "Because nobody is allowed in there, without the permission of the king, or mine. Even though that nobody is the queen." "Hmm." I hummed, "I see." "I also have the records of everything stored inside the treasury. You can look at it if you want." "So I can look at the records, but I can't go in?" "Yes, your majesty." The man dared answer. Okay, I will play his game then. "And I see you have the records with you." I muttered, encircling him... taking very slow steps. "Yes... yes... yes, my queen." He stuttered. "So somehow... you had the knowledge that I would be here, at the king's treasury and thought to come, with the ledger of the treasury?" I questioned, halting right in front of him, my eyes staring down at him in an intimidating manner. "Yes... yes... my... your majesty." "Hmm. Okay." I shrugged, "hand it over." "What.." "The ledger, hand it over." The man handed the ledger over, and I signaled to Rose to open one of the ledgers. I cross-checked some of the records in the Tax Ledger with the records in the accountant's ledger, and they all corresponded. "I have seen enough, now open it." I instructed in a loud voice, staring at the guards. The accountant rushed over to the front of the gigantic doors, "I really cannot let you in, your highness." He voiced, but his attitude of desperation made me want to go in there even more. "Without the king's permission, I can't let you in." "How dare you block my queen's path?" I heard Wilder's voice from behind me, and a broad smile graced my lips. I had sent Sarah to Wilder, knowing fully well that I might not be able to have access into the treasury without his help. After all, he did say that we were partners and that if I needed his help, I should ask. So I did. The accountant shifted to the side, and the guards opened the gigantic doors. I didn't even need to go in, to confirm the suspicion I had. Rosemary gasped in shock, as we all stood before the treasury room. "This can't be possible." Rose muttered, her eyes staring at the room in disbelief. "How can it be empty?"Blue's Pov;"Why... why is this empty? Not even a single gold or silver coin? This, it can't be right." Rose mumbled, walking around the big store room crazily. She just can't believe that the lords she trusted so much are actually snakes in disguise. "I guess the lords have been busy filling up their pockets," Wilder voiced, standing right beside me."I guess so." I nodded in agreement, "but what I do not understand, is why they need to fill up their pockets with such an amount of money." "The tax ledger had so much money recorded on it, enough to be distributed among thousands if not millions of men." Sarah chipped in. What she said gave me an instant idea... one that was still forming up a little in my head. But first...I turned to stare at the accountant, but he wasn't in the room, neither was he anywhere to be found. When did he leave?"What is it?" Wilder asked. "The accountant, he is gone." I pointed out, walking out of the treasury room, but I still couldn't find the acc
Blue's POV"I found them, Blue." I heard Wilder say, grinning from ear to ear, and oozing with so much pride and enthusiasm. Not that I was bothered about the army, but I knew we had to do something about them. We have to play this game of chess properly, or we will be kicked right out of it."Okay. Give me some minutes to think of the next step." I uttered. And as if I had said something completely bad, I watched as Wilder's enthusiastic expression sank at once. He suddenly looked confused. Like there was something about this situation he wanted me to address. Something I was not doing."What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow."Er, think? I thought we were just supposed to like kill them all, to avoid them being a threat to us later. Then maybe we can keep about two or three alive to tell the tale of their survival to the rest." He paused and walked towards me. It was a bad time to flirt, but the way his eyes stared into the depths of my soul made me shiver in excitement. I wanted to
Wilder's POVI fixed my gaze on Blue, with a lot of thoughts running through my head. I stared at her with concentrated gaze, as I watched her munch delightfully on the pears.I asked her what she wanted, that I would give anything to her... anything she asked for— ironically, Blue only wanted me to get her some pears. "Why pear? A fruit? How could it be the only thing you could ask for?" I asked, my voice slicing through the quiet atmosphere that was only filled with Blue's happy humming.She shrugged, picking up another pear from the silverware. "Pear was my favorite fruit as a child, but since I was locked up... I never had the chance to have it again. Simply because it was too big of a fruit for Sarah to sneak into my cage." "Then I shall ask the kitchen to bring you a whole sack." Her eyes grew wider in complete astonishment, "Really?""What no. I was... would you really eat a sack of pear?" I asked with bewildered eyes. She stared at me for a second long, then laughed. "Of
Blue's POV"Say hi to your mother for me, Francis, and also, take this money, in case she ever needs more medicine." I offered him some coins, crouching down before him, while smiling lovingly at him. "I can't accept your generosity, My Lady." Francis responded, refusing to accept the coins. "Because of your kindness, my mother has much more drugs than she could finish." He smiled at me gratefully, then wrapped his arms around my neck."Thank you, your highness. You are the best queen ever!" He pecked me lightly on the cheeks, before taking his arms off my neck. "And you are the best gentleman ever." "Francis!! Francis! Francis!" At first the calling of Francis' name was distant, but soon it sounded louder and much louder. "Mother!" Francis exclaimed, running off to hug his mother. I stood up, and watched as she scolded him for staying out too long. "Sorry, it's all my fault. He was with me." I apologized, walking closer to her. Francis' mother stared at me intensely, and her on
Blue's POV"The air was filled with romance, the stars in the skies were endless, and I was in Wilder's arms, both of us staring at the beautiful lit-up skies. Everything was just so perfect and right, that I didn't know when I confessed my feelings to him." "What? You confessed? How? What did you say?" Sarah asked rapidly, with much interest. "I said the three words." I nearly choked on my words, as the memories of last night sneaked its way into my head. Sarah gasped in shock, while Rose stared at both of us, confused... "What are the three words, and why is it shocking she said them?" She asked, staring at Sarah."You don't know the famous three words?" Sarah asked her, now more shocked that Rose had no idea what my words meant. "If I knew it, I would not be asking." Rose rolled her eyes, frowning upon the fact that Sarah now sees her as a lesser knowledgeable person."I told the king that I love him." I said, clearing the air for Rose."Awwwn, that's a good thing. That is wond
Blue's POV;"He is coming, he is coming to get me. I don't know who he is or what he is. But I know, he would come get me. You should leave Sarah, run as far as you can get. If you don't, he would burn you together with this temple." I whispered, my voice hoarse. "And why does this powerful stranger want to rescue you?" Sarah asked, wiping my hands clean with a towel. She doesn't believe me. I can't blame her for that. What possibly could a blind chained girl know?"I don't know. I don't know why he needs or wants to rescue me, but what I do know is that he would come. My flames can sense him." "Do you know what I think?" She sighed. I could picture her frowning as she said her next words, "I think spending thirteen years in a cage, with no one to talk to has messed up with your head, and your flames." She exhaled even more, her hands reaching out to cup my cheeks... but sadly the metallic helmet covering every bit of my face, stood in the way of her affectionate hands. "I feel sa
Wilder's POV;"How do you know my name?" I asked, shocked that she knows my identity. "My flames, they told me." She answered, her eyes staring into mine. Then I had a realization, "you can't see me?""She's blind. And.. you are the man she's been talking about. You are real." The screaming lady said, standing right outside the cage. "I thought she was going mad.""What? You didn't tell me that she is blind." I uttered, staring at Hershel ignoring the lady."I had no idea, sire." He responded, bowing slightly. "Someone is coming, we should leave." Blue muttered, and I carried her up in my arms immediately, and together we walked out of the cage. We were about leaving the dungeon when the screaming lady said... "I'm coming too." "No, Sarah. You can't. Go live your life. Be happy." Blue countered, as I turned around to face Sarah."No princess, I'm coming with you. How can I live my life, without knowing how you are faring or if you are being treated well. Besides, I do not trust hi
Blue's POV:"I don't like him. Princess. He is dangerous and I can tell." Sarah expressed worriedly, pacing around restlessly.Wilder had taken us to his pack, Night Shade Pack. And a maid led us to the room, that Wilder prepared for me. "How many stairs did we had to climb down, before getting to this room?" I asked, sitting up on the bed, ignoring her restless chants. She halted, "About four. Why do you ask?" "Does this mean our bedroom is like— underground?" "Yes it is." She answered, unsure of where I was headed."What! We are underground???" "Yes we are,. What's wrong with that?" "I don't want to be hidden, Sarah. I have been hidden all my life, and I am not about to continue living that way. I want to be out there in the open!" I declared frowning, folding my hands below my chest. "Are you not listening to me, Blue? We have been taking by a man who we don't even know, what he wants with you, and he has a freaking black hole in his chest!" She paused, "And if he's truly the