Searching For Answers~
The look on the king's face made Elizabeth hold her breath, as she wasn't sure what he must be thinking. Irrespective of this fact, it was already too late to regret her words, and all she could now do was pray she hadn't ended her reign as king.
After what felt like eternity, King Arthur stood up from his pouch, showing no emotion, and he had yet to respond to what Elizabeth had said.
He turned to leave, but Elizabeth wasn't ready to end the conversation just yet. "I'm pregnant!" She shouted at the top of her voice, which only she and the king could hear, as the room was soundproof.
"I heard you the first time," King Arthur said, narrowing his eyes to look at Elizabeth, who was shaken by how bold she had become to raise her voice at the king. "I will see you tomorrow when we leave for Austro," and then left.
Elizabeth felt a hole in her chest. What kind of response was that? Elizabeth expected King Arthur to shower her with affection and love, but he turned cold instantly. She fell on her bed, wishing she wasn't left with the option of informing the king about her pregnancy, would he treat me any less?
Elizabeth remained still and numb on her bed until she fell asleep. When morning arrived, King Derick had already set up breakfast for King Arthur and his wives to spare himself some more time with the royal family. Still, King Arthur sent a messenger to inform him that they would be leaving that very morning without having breakfast.
"But it's about a 5-hour journey, so it won't be advisable to embark on a journey with an empty stomach." King Derick knew this would be a rare chance for him and the king to discuss, because the king hardly honoured his invitation, as he was busy with all other things concerning the kingdom.
"The king insists on leaving, but will send an Invitation to the palace where you can have a meeting with him." The servant bowed and left immediately.
It took a while to arrange the carriage. Queen Victoria's mother and twin sister bestowed many gifts and magical protection on Queen Anna. Everyone sent their blessings to her as she boarded the carriage, followed by Queen Elizabeth into her own carriage, and, lastly, it was the turn of Queen Victoria.
Victoria turned around to face her mother and sister, who were behind her. She didn't look into their eyes; instead, she kept her gaze on their foot. Princess Christiania walked towards her, lifted her face to meet her eyes, and tears gathered as Christiania leaned forward to hug her.
This was the first time since Queen Victoria left her parents to live with her husband, the king, that they had seen her cry. The two sisters whispered something to each other before leaving each other's embrace. Victoria then took a step towards her mother and stretched out her hands as if to gather something, before bowing into them. Her mother did the same, though slightly, while her father just watched without responding.
Finally, Victoria turned back to enter her carriage. The carriage began to move, and little by little they left the palace and headed out of the kingdom of LYDIA and towards the kingdom of AUSTRO.
On their way, Elizabeth kept her mind on the many strangers who had been coming to her. First, it was Natasha, who claimed to be her guardian; then the high priestess, who told her she would give birth to a son and wouldn't be able to protect him, among other things; and the stranger who was said to be monitoring her in the palace garden.
Who would go through all that stress to sneak past the palace soldier to monitor her? Even if the person was a shape-shifter, it still wasn't easy to sneak past the palace guard. As if that was not enough, the handsome stranger in the mask offered to dance with her. Why were so many new things happening to her?
Elizabeth felt the need to find out exactly what was going on and why these people were coming to her. She decided to call on Natasha, the spirit who claimed to be her guardian angel, but she would have to wait till she reached the palace.
But something in her told her it had to do with her unborn son. Who really was this child, and why were bad things and suspicious things surrounding her just because of her one unborn child? Could it be a coincidence that the king's degree had something to do with her son? Was that the reason for his reaction last night?
The journey back home seemed forever, as Elizabeth couldn't wait to return. There and then will she find answers.