AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Alzerion held Aironell, nodded to the king and queen, and then left their bed chambers. He walked to the East Wing corridor and entered Aironell’s room, which was the second door. Alzerion went straight for the washroom to bathe Aironell. He used lavender body wash and shampoo on her. When he was done, he ruffled through her drawers and found a light pink chiffon nightgown with red lacing, then changed Aironell into her new clothes for bed.
Alzerion sat her down and waved his hand, and crackers appeared. He gave the crackers to Aironell and watched her while he ate his own. While Aironell was still occupied with her snack, Alzerion decided to take a brief shower in the washroom. He finished quickly, then snapped his fingers and he was in a navy-blue shirt and dark gray flannel pants for bed. He came back out and saw that Aironell was playing with some of her crackers. She smiled as the cracker pile fell over, and Alzerion laughed.
Then Aironell said, “Alz-on.”
That made his lips curl into a wide smile. In the past few months, Aironell had started talking, babbling mostly, but she always had trouble saying his name. It probably had something to do with the ‘z’.
“It’s time for bed,” he told her.
Her curls bounced about as she shook her head and continued eating her cracker. Then Alzerion cleaned up the mess and picked her up.
“Alz-on, bed.”
He walked over to her crib and laid her down, placed her light pink blanket with red roses embroidered over her, and then read her a book. At the end of the story, Aironell was fast asleep.
As he kissed her on the cheek, he said, “I’m sorry, sweet little princess. I hope someday you can forgive me.”
Alzerion was not usually this emotional, but as he said those words, a tear formed in his eye. Then he wiped his eyes, walked to the door, turned off the light, shut the door, and headed up East Wing corridor. As he walked down the corridor, he realized what he needed to do. Then he turned right and opened his bedroom door. He shut the door and started piecing together part of a plan, and when the night waned a bit, he decided to go to sleep.
* * *
The king and queen were still distraught from what transpired the day before. They readied for the day and walked down West Wing corridor toward the Royal Dining Room. They entered and sat at the table. The cook maids brought the queen her tea and the king his coffee. They both ate the delicious food in silence waiting for Alzerion to come and explain himself.
Meanwhile, as he was extremely tired from the night before, Alzerion wished he could keep sleeping. Instead he woke up and heard the birds chirping. He went straight to the washroom. When he got back, he put on his black and red royal robes and left his room. He started making his way down East Wing corridor and came to Aironell’s door. With a quick motion of his hand, the door opened instantly, and he walked into the princess’s room.
He came right up to her bed to see her sweet little face. She sat up in her crib and smiled at Alzerion. She started clapping her hands and said, “Alz-on, Alz-on,” in a happy tone.
Alzerion went straight to work and undressed her, putting a pretty floral cerulean blue dress on her. Then he brushed her dirty blonde hair and put a blue ribbon in it. Finally, he was done getting Aironell ready, so he carried her down East Wing corridor toward the West Wing corridor and the grand staircase, putting her down once they were outside the doors to the Royal Dining Room. Alzerion stood in front of those doors and was worried, more about what he was going to say than anything. All he knew was that the king and queen should never know what sinister plans were against them and their daughter. Then he put his hands on the door, hesitated a moment, and then pushed it open.
Aironell bolted in her tottering manner, toward Queen Evalyn, who picked her up as her long, willowy trumpet-shaped sleeves cascaded downward, and she gave Aironell a big embrace. She made certain to position Aironell away from the black necklace that draped over her open neckline. Instead, Aironell sat contentedly on the queen’s lap. Then he watched the king, bend over and kiss Aironell’s little cheeks, and as he did so, his family pendant brushed against her hair. Then Alzerion strolled over and sat down at the table.
The queen gave Alzerion a small smile and said, “Good morning.”
“Thank you,” he swallowed. “Good morning to you both.” Alzerion looked to both of them.
“What’s the matter?” The king inquired while Aironell started to bounce on the queen’s knee.
“Nothing, sir.”
King Francisco’s eyebrow raised a bit. “Alzerion, we may be annoyed, but we don’t want to be rude. However, we have some questions.”
“Of course,” Alzerion moved his hands to his lap, so that they could not see him picking at the skin around his fingers. He took a few slow breaths in through his nose. “It wasn’t planned, Your Majesty.”
“We didn’t think it was,” King Francisco admitted. “Alzerion, we only want to know where you were.”
This was the moment that Alzerion was dreading. He gulped as he stared at the king who was currently standing behind the queen. He had no idea what to say.What could possibly explain their absence from the last day?What could seem convincing and then it hit him.The story flowed through his mind faster than he ever could have expected.
“Well, the other day, when I looked so upset, I decided to go for a stroll around the town. I took Aironell with me so that I wouldn’t feel so alone. We just finished our walk and were starting to head back when this fight took place. It started as a mild disruption that turned forceful. It was dangerous as anyone near was being sucked in. A nice married couple saw us, pulled us out of the way, and allowed us to stay with them until it all was better and there was peace on the streets.”
“Aironell and I were very tired and fell asleep. It turns out that we slept most of the day away. The people fed us, and when we were ready, I decided to continue our journey back to the palace. That is when the Royal Army found us and escorted us the rest of the way back.”
When he was finished he could not believe the words that came out of his mouth. Alzerion never knew why, but he was always able to tell a believable lie, when it mattered most. However, this particular story was his best yet, and if he did not know any better, he probably would have believed it.
“Well, it seems like you two had quite the adventure. But next time go to sleep instead of wandering off,” insisted the queen sternly, handing Aironell to King Francisco to hold for a bit.
“Of course, Your Majesty,” answered Alzerion. With those words, he strode toward the door.
“Wait, Alzerion,” said the king. “Where are you going?”
