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My mind whirled with scenarios, how things would play out if things went wrongly here. If I could not go through with my plan, if Cyrus somehow knew that I was going to kill him. If things went wrong, what would happen to Gracie? What would happen to my home?
I chewed on the cake until it was nothing but mush, my eyes staring at the owl still perched on the window ledge. His eyes were open again, and he was staring right back at me, as though he knew every thought that was racingthrough my head.
“When you write to him again,” I started as soon as I had finished chewing, “Tell him that you cannot write to him for a while. Tell him what we are doing here.”
Gracie’s eyes went wide.
“Tell him,” I sighed, wringing my hands together, “Tell him, that if things go wrong, or he doesn’t hear from you again by Spring, that he is to tell Emily everything, and they must go to Water. Tell him Hollis knows and she will help them get there with Aepein if the eggs have hatched. If they haven’t, then they will need to find their own way.”
“Are you sure?” Gracie’s voice was timid, as if she could not quite believe what she was hearing. “The letters have not been intercepted yet, but…”
“I’m sure,” I nodded, looking at my best friend’s face and feeling the pit in my stomach start to open. Anxiety flooded my body like a tidal wave, and I sucked in a deep breath. “Tell him everything. If things go according to plan, we’ll be home by Spring. If not, they will be safe in Water.”
Gracie nodded her head, swallowing harshly as she folded the letter back up and placed it inside the small bag she had attached to her dress’s waistband. I had been jealous when I saw that this morning, and I was even more so now.
“Where does Ajax go to stay safe until you send your reply?” I asked, eyeing the bird warily.
“He usually stays in my room.” Gracie blushed, reaching over to scratch his feathers again, and I laughed lightly. “I don’t know how he found us here.”
“Well, we’re lucky he did.” I smiled, stepping forward and giving the bird a scratch of my own. His eyes closed happily. “You need to go to her room now, okay? Stay hidden.”
Ajax squawked unnecessarily loudly, and I winced as he unfurled his wings and leaped from the table, swooping close to the floor before turning to the window and disappearing over the castle roofs.
Rolling my neck, the best I could with my heavy hairdo, I squared my shoulders and gave myself a shake. Gracie did the same, silently agreed that this conversation was over, and I turned towards the door. Lars was still standing outside, his arms crossed over his chest, but his head was dropped, and his eyes were closed. Relief coursed through me as I realised, he had not heard Ajax at all, and we were not caught.
I cleared my throat, and his head snapped upright, his eyes wide.
“Sorry, Your Majesty,” He grumbled, pushing off the wall and righting himself, “I did not sleep very well last night.”
“Is everything alright?” I asked, clasping my hands in front of me.
“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded, gesturing to Gracie and I to walk in front of him. “My wife had a baby girl three weeks ago, and she does not like sleep.”
“Oh!” I gasped, stopping in my tracks, and spinning to face him, “Lars, I did not know! Congratulations!”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” He smiled, and the harsh lines of his face disappeared, revealing the comforting face of a father. “She is wonderful, sleep aversions and all.”
I laughed at his statement, falling back into step beside Gracie as we made our way back through the dark back corridors towards the throne room.
~~~
As the sun began to set outside the castle, the crowd began to diminish.
My stomach growled unhappily as the very last of the visitors piled into the throne room, their faces still full of awe despite how long they had been queuing to get inside. I smiled at each of them as they entered, but even the muscles in my face had begun to get tired. Cyrus had given up niceties’ hours ago and had looked nothing but bored since then.
Cirro stood from his podium by the door, stretching hisarms out above his head and groaning obnoxiously loud as he did so. I rolled my eyes at him, and then caught myself. A young girl near the front of the gaggle of people started giggling, and I caught her eye, lifting my finger to my lips in a shushing motion, which only made her laugh more. I grinned, holding in my own laugh.
As they formed their own orderly queue, I took the brief chance to stretch my back, rolling my shoulders back and wincing as the bones popped loudly.
I could hear Gracie shuffling uncomfortably beside me and felt horrendous. If I felt this awful sitting for so long, I did not want to even imagine how sore her legs were after standing for so long. Cirro had begrudgingly brought her a chair, but she had refused it. I had not been sure why until I saw the bright shade of red Cirro turned, and then I realised she was hell bent on embarrassing him. I had to cover my laugh with a cough.
Cyrus grunted as he readjusted himself, and I took that as my cue to sit upright again, grinning at the first family that had lined up in front of us.
The throne room doors opened behind everyone, and a hush fell over the excited chattering in the room.
I stood from my throne, my eyes widening at the sight of Maeteo standing there.
He had Tarian supporting one side of him, and a twisted, wooden cane that came up to his underarm on the other. His hair was messed, and his shirt untucked, but hegrinned at me from the door regardless. I could see the sweat that beaded along his hairline from here, and my heart ached at the thought of how much effort it had taken him to get here, even with Tarian’s help.
