Chapter 110


    CAMILLA’S P.O.V


    I read over the words a few times wondering if I was reading properly and I couldn’t believe my eyes


    when I saw it. It was just a few sentences but it had shifted the trajectory of everything that we had


    been working on. They read: I met stair in the woods today and I was almost caught. We have to be


    more careful next time. If anyone finds out what we are doing, it could cost us our lives.


    I couldn’t believe that my father knew stair and they were friends of some sort. I almostughed. It


    seemed like every single problem we had tied back to my father and his actions. In that moment, I


    couldn’t help but wish that the man was alive so that he could deal with the consequences of his own


    actions instead of leaving them up for me to handle.


    “I can’t believe it,” Ryker muttered as he flipped through the pages. “There are no other mentions of


    stair on this page but I know there has to be something else. What were they doing? What is it that


    he didn’t want anyone to know.”


    “My father was smart apparently. He may not have put it out directly but it will be there. It has to be


    somewhere.”


    We were almost done with the books. We had finished half of the pile. If we didn’t find anything then we


    were ultimately back to square one. Ryker tried to convince me to go to bed but after that discovery, I


    couldn’t even force myself to feel tired anymore. We read straight into the early hours of the morning. I


    didn’t realize the sun hade up until light began peeking through our curtains.


    I was exhausted- we both were- and we hadn’t found anything else which put a damper on our spirits. I


    was practically a walking corpse as I made my way out of the room. There was no hiding the tiredness


    in my eyes despite washing my face a few times in the hopes that it would make me look better.


    I got to the dining room with Ryker in tow. and stopped in my tracks when I noticed that ra was


    already there. It wasn’t her presence that took me off guard but the fact that she was seated in my chair


    which was directly next to Audrey and on the other side of where Ryker would sit. She was locked in a


    conversation with my daughter so she didn’t immediately realize when we walked in.


    “Mummy,” Audrey squealed when she saw us and that was what made ra notice. Audrey nced


    between me and ra before dropping her voice to whisper. “You’re in my mummy’s seat.”


    Her


    eyes widened. “Your majesty, I am so sorry. I had no idea. Please forgive me.”


    ?


    O


    She started to rise but I waved her off. She was having fun with Audrey and it was just a chair. There


    was no reason for anyone to make a fuss over a piece of furniture. I could always sit somewhere. It


    wasn’t the end of the world.


    “It is fine,” I assured her as I took another seat. She didn’t look convinced but she didn’t say anything


    else. “How was your first night here? I hope you slept well.”


    “Like a baby, your majesty. I have never felt so refreshed in my life. Also, thank you for the clothes.


    Someone gave them to me this morning and said that they were from you. I could never thank you


    enough for all of this.”


    “You don’t have to worry about it. It is what any decent person would do.”


    I stopped talking after that and focused on my food. It took everything not to fall face first into my bowl a


    few times but no one seemed to notice except Ryker who kept ncing at me every other second to


    make sure I was fine. I knew if he had his way, he would have dragged me back into the room and


    forced me to go to bed but there were a lot of things that demanded our attention today and for once,


    he had something else to worry about that wasn’t me.


    After breakfast, Christine came to take Audrey for her lessons. ra tried to be friendly with her but


    Christine practically ignored her. I was taken aback by her actions because I was used to her being


    kind and amodating. I made a men tal note to talk to her about itter. I saw ra’s face fall and


    as much as I wanted tofort her, I couldn’t make it seem like my cousin had done anything wrong


    so I forced myself to stay still.


    She left within minutes after that interaction and as soon as she was gone, Ryker turned


    to me.


    “Are you sure that you don’t want to take a day off?”


    “Would you be taking one with me?” I asked and to my surprise, he nodded. “Are you joking or did you


    actually mean that?”


    “We are both exhausted, Cami. If we both need rest then we should take it. We aren’t of any use to


    the pce or the people when we aren’t at our best. At this point, I wouldn’t notice if a man was


    attacking until he got very close. I haven’t slept properly in over two weeks.”


    I felt bad instantly. I was part of the reason he was so tired and sleep deprived. Instead of dragging on


    the conversation for longer than necessary, I stood to my feet and stretched out my hand to him. He


    wasted no time in intertwining our fingers and we walked out of the dining room together. We had


    barely gone a few feet when one of the elders approached us. I looked at him with a raised brow


    wondering what he was doing standing there alone without his usual team behind him.


    “Your majesties,” he bowed but it felt more mocking than anything. “We were expecting


    a meeting today with you.”


    “We didn’t n a meeting with you,” I deadpanned and I saw his jaw tick. “Is there a reason that you


    wanted this meeting? Is it important?”


    “I would believe so. There are matters of the state that need to be discussed. Surely you would realize


    the importance of that.”


    I was exhausted and I was annoyed. I had to breathe deeply through my nose before I responded. “We


    spend over an hour in there talking every day and nothinges out of it. Forgive me if I would rather


    spend my time in a more productive manner that is more viable to produce results. There is nothing


    you can give to me that I cannot give to myself. I see no need for meetings with the elders every day. I


    will only call for them when I feel they are important.”


    “Your majesty, it is tradition,” he practically hissed. “Every king and queen before you has done the


    same and they have been able to rule the kingdom the right way. We know best.”


    “You knew best, maybe, but there is a big difference between leading a kingdom during a time of peace


    and during a time of war. Every second counts and right now, you are wasting my seconds.”


    eyes


    He was shocked, it was evident all over his face but there was something else in his that was a little


    harder to decipher. It looked like pride but that didn’t make sense considering I had just insulted him


    and thrown away everything he had said. I waited patiently to hear what he would say in response to


    that but instead of speaking, he just bowed.


    “Perhaps you are right,” I had to blink twice to be sure that he wasn’t an apparition. “The daily meetings


    do not have to be a thing but we would prefer to be informed about things happening, your majesty. We


    were unaware that a guard was attacked and a girl was now living in the pce.”


    “Those things do not concern the elders,” it was Ryker who spoke. “Your business is the well being of


    the pce and the royal family. Your job begins and ends with advising the ruling family- nothing more.”


    “That might be true but we cannot give urate advice if we are unaware of what is happening,” he


    sighed. “I do not want to be your enemy. We can work together and do this but there needs to be trust.”


    “Are you speaking for yourself or for the entire team of elders?”


    “I cannot speak for my colleagues. Everyone has their ns and intentions. I just want peace. I have


    grandchildren in this pack and I do not want them to be victims of this. That is all I am asking,


    your majesty.”


    |||


    I nced at Ryker in a silent question. He was better at reading people’s intentions and honesty. It took


    him a second but he nodded discreetly. He trusted what he was seeing and hearing so I did too.


    “Okay, I will keep you informed,” he bowed and began to leave but I stopped him. “What is your name


    elder?”


    Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org.


    The


    “No one has referred to me by my name in a long time,” he smiled softly to himself. “My name is


    Caius.”


    He walked away after that leaving Ryker and I in silence. Once again, all traces of tiredness had


    vanished from my eyes but I still found myself going up the steps towards the room. The least I could


    do was sneak in an hour long nap and then get back into my work. I didn’t even bother changing out of


    my clothes as Inded face first into my bed. Ryker chuckled from behind me and leaned over to ce


    a soft kiss on the spot between my shoulder and neck.


    I turned over so I could watch him undo his buttons and ce his shirt gently on the chair. He took a


    much calmer approach as he got into bed and I couldn’t stop myself from crawling over to him and


    cing my head on his chest. He wasted no time in pulling me close. I could hear his heartbeat from


    my spot on top of him.


    “I should be training right now,” I mumbled to which heughed. “Loris wouldn’t mind if Ie in an


    hourter, right?”


    “He definitely will but the question is if there is anything he can do about it,” he quipped and I couldn’t


    stop myself from smiling. “You deserve this. Forget about everything else.”


    “I will. It is just weird for us to have an entire hour to ourselves. I ampletely shocked.”


    “Don’t jinx it then. Take what you’ve been given and enjoy it.” As if on cue, someone knocked on our


    door and I let out a groan. “Ignore it. If it isn’t important, they will go away.”


    We ignored it hoping they would leave but the knocking only became more frantic.