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Chapter10
The double doors opened, finally. But I didn’t know anymore if there’d be anyone to help me. After all, the fae I knew stood by and watched. The staff watched, though I couldn’t blame them. They’d be reprimanded for stepping forward.
Instead of looking at who else was joining this party, I kept my gaze forward, praying it wasn’t Noah. Praying that no one I knew would walk into my line of vision. I had to just push this down, think of other things.
“What is the meaning of this?” The king’s voice boomed and echoed around me in the hall. My head snapped to the side where he walked in, and I gathered my dress as much as I could around me again.
Vanessa took a step like she would approach the king himself, and he held up a hand to her. “You will stand down here.”
Immediately, King Driscoll removed his jacket and stood before me, wrapping it around my shoulders. A tear slipped out from my eye at the kindness of this man. And though I hated that it happened, hated even a small amount of emotion showed, I knew there was a flood waiting to escape, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep it together.
“Your Majesty,” Vanessa said quietly.
He turned and faced her, with a voice so stern that I felt it vibrate in my bones. “You are a guest here. You will never again humiliate someone who is a part of my castle. Do I make myself clear?”
She gasped and brought a hand to her mouth. The duchess looked like she wanted to argue, but instead took a few steps back with her gaze lowered, showing her respect for the king.
“This is not how we do things here, Eleanor. This will never happen again.”
The queen’s vengeance seemed to have faded, but she spoke low and tight-lipped to the king. “She was disrespectful in front of the entire court, Your Grace. That sort of deliberate attitude cannot be tolerated toward me, nor can it be tolerated toward our guest,” she said. “If this feeder wants respect, she must earn it.”
“I’d say she earned it when she saved your life.” The king was not as quiet as the queen had been, obviously not remembering that we were still in the middle of all of the fae and the dinner party. “I know Cora. She is not disrespectful, nor is she capable of anything that would make this okay as punishment. Vanessa has a reputation that is growing here, and mark my words my lady, it is not a kind one.”
Vanessa’s gaze cooled significantly, and the reverent way she had stood lessened as she listened to the king criticize her. The queen’s steely gaze had shifted from me and now rested on her husband. The two stood in a checkmate, neither one backing down.
I was too afraid to move at all, as were many of the fae here, because the room was still as silent as it had been before the king walked in. No one whispered or spoke about what they were watching. Instead, all eyes rested on the tension growing between the king and queen.
Suddenly, the queen turned on her heel, raising her hands in the air. “Now then, this has been quite a difficult evening. Shall we commence with an actual celebration? Music?” she cried out.
The king took my arm, lifting me from the chair and ushering me out of the dining hall quickly. He turned to the right, the opposite direction I normally came from, and we moved around the corner before he realized at all.
“Are you all right, child?” he asked, pausing our retreat. He wouldn't look at me, and I sniffed as more tears finally fell from my face.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” It was all I could say. I knew it wasn’t my fault. This was about the queen and Vanessa and their feelings. My actions didn’t warrant this. No one’s actions would warrant this.
Voices grew closer and King Driscoll gently touched my arm, moving us farther away and continuing our walk through the castle away from others.
“There is nothing for you to apologize for, Coraline. Not a thing. It is I who should apologize. Your relationship with Noah and me has made you a target for the queen’s jealousy.”
We turned another corner, and this time I recognized some of the tapestries hanging on the wall. We were moving toward the center of the castle where the staff hall was, just along a path I’d never known existed before.
“You will be under my personal protection now though. My wife—and especially Vanessa—will not harm you.”
I let out a sob and covered my mouth. “I’m sorry. She’s just, she’s awful. Horrible. She’s cruel. What does Noah see in her?”
The king shook his head. “I believe he’s just distracted by a pretty face and a desperate need for his mother’s approval. Noah confuses duty and what’s right sometimes. A character flaw and one that doesn’t help with his desire to make his mother proud of him. He knows I’m proud of him, but her. It’s different with them because they are always bickering.”
We turned one last corner as a sense of safety and peace came over me. Home. My room. The one sanctuary I had here, now that I hadn’t been to Noah’s library lately. Though with Vanessa here, I wouldn’t want to chance running into her.
“Thank you for walking me back,” I said.
The king took a deep breath in. “The evening isn’t over, Cora. And you’re not finished with what you need to do. You’re going to put that dress on and come back with me.”
I shook my head and started crying harder. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t be crying.”
“Look at me, Cora,” the king said.
When I met his gaze, his eyes were trained on me. He held my shoulders, and I was reminded of all the times I’d seen parents talking to their children in the park. All the guidance and wisdom that was passed along, or lessons learned. Things I'd never had. And the way the king looked at me, it was the same look I’d seen on so many parents' faces. Concern, care, protectiveness.
