Chapter 13

Lady Reed

Princess Ashlyn desperately rocked the screaming baby in her arms, but nothing worked. Her son just wailed and wailed and wailed.

"Adam! Please!" Ashlyn moaned.

He still would not quit his cries, so she brought her face close to his ear and began shushing him. The sound of his mother's voice was something the child recognized, and he calmed down and just stared up at her. She sighed and noticed that he had his father's brown eyes like she always did.

"Thank goodness," she whispered to herself and kissed his forehead. She had left her daughter, Emily, in the nursery, but she didn't want to have a maid raise her son…at least for the first year.

She'd been the same way with Emily; she remembered how her mother had been and strived to be the same kind of mother to her children. Ashlyn had not gone back home since her wedding; she communicated with her family through letters, and she did miss them, but she was also very content living with Lord Atticus Reed.

Since marrying him, her title as princess lost all power, and she was mostly referred to as Lady Reed, but everyone knew she was King Randolph's eldest daughter. She was still treated with respect. She couldn't have been happier with any other man than Atticus.

When they'd first met, she thought he was stuffy, but she learned he was a fine man after getting to know him. He came to Glidonia and courted her for a few months before they were married and went to the countryside.

He treated her with nothing but respect, and after a year of marriage, they welcomed their first child, Emily, and nearly two years later, she gave birth to Adam. Motherhood suited Ashlyn well.

Ashlyn lowered Adam, preparing to feed him, but the door opened. When she saw it was just her husband, she proceeded to feed Adam.

"How are you?" She asked him conversationally.

"You should have seen your son earlier. I couldn't get him to calm down." She said.

"I… I… I don't know what to say, Ash." Lord Atticus Reed was a tall man with a square jaw and a plain face. His hair was thick and brown, and he sported large sideburns. However, there was a warmth in his eyes that made Ashlyn constantly fall in love with him.

"Why the long face?" Ashlyn asked her husband. "You look like you just saw a rabbit hit by a carriage."

She chuckled a bit, remembering when a hare had, in fact, been hit by a carriage. Atticus had lost it and insisted on nursing it back to health. When the rabbit was better, they gave it to their daughter as a gift.

"Ashlyn… This is serious," Atticus said slowly. "I just received a letter from the Queen of Glidonia. "he said.

"Queen?" Ashlyn repeated, puzzled. "I don't understand. Genevieve is not queen yet –" He handed over a scroll, and she fumbled a bit to take it and unroll it with one hand.

Atticus went behind her and wrapped his arms around her. Her eyes scanned the parchment, and a horrible moan ripped from her throat. She dropped the letter.

"My father!" She cried. "But how can this be? Who would do this?" she exclaimed.

"I don't know who did it. No one knows, but your country is in danger," Atticus answered. "We must send aid to your sister to help her prepare for any possible threats –" He stopped when he realized his wife was in tears.

He crushed it into a hug, and she wept in his arms. It was a while before Ashlyn could compose herself. At first, she didn't want to see Emily, but in the evening, when Emily came to her and presented some flowers she'd ripped out of the courtyard, Ashlyn felt her heart melt and swept her daughter into an embrace.

The Reed family ate together that night, Atticus making all the servants leave them. Ashlyn wasn't very hungry, but she knew she needed to eat…at least to be able to feed Adam.

"My sister and her husband are now queen and king of a nation they weren't prepared to rule," Ashlyn said. "Derek wasn't finished with his training. They could be in danger." Said Ashlyn.

"Ash, please, this isn't the time," Atticus said, peering over at Emily, who was playing with her food. He reached over and helped her to mash up her potato.

"Our daughter can hear you," he said.

"I can't let her lose her aunt and uncle either. We need to send help, just as you said. I've cried, and now I must act." She said.

"You only just learned today!" Atticus said loudly as Emily looked up from her food.

"And how long did it take for that letter to arrive? It could have been a month, and Genevieve is back at Glidonia and in trouble. Then there's Kathleen, who was taken hostage –we have no idea if she's still alive! I can't just sit here!" Ashlyn said.

"I want to go to Glidonia. My sister needs me." She argued.

"We can't just go to Glidonia," Atticus reasoned.

"It's too dangerous. If someone really is threatening your country, they may be expecting you and your sisters to come running to Glidonia. We will send some of my men, and we will wait for word from the King and Queen. It's the smartest plan." He said.

She wished she could argue, but she knew he was right. She'd never understood things such as threats before. She remembered when Duchess Rowena came to live with them and tried to usurp the throne. It seemed so long ago and like such a minor threat.

Her father had been poisoned that time too… But he had made it thanks to the magic, she thought tightly.

The conversation about Glidonia's future halted, and Ashlyn lovingly spoke to Emily; she didn't speak much, though Ashlyn knew how. She was a shy child and liked to show her affections through gestures, such as painting pictures and giving homemade gifts.

Later, when Emily and Adam were both asleep, Ashlyn cuddled against her husband, and he kissed her cheek.

She liked to believe she didn't need to mourn, but she couldn't help herself.

"My father poisoned again; even though some had tried to poison him again, he's not dead! Kathleen was kidnapped, and there was no news on Courtney." She said as she continued to cry.

She remembered when they were all together; she was closer to Blair and Courtney since they were almost the same age, her sister Courtney had no experience in the world, but she did love reading more than anything; I hope she's doing well.

"We need to send help; we can't leave them alone." She said, sobbing.

"And we won't, Ash, I promise." He said.

As she cried again, but luckily for her, Atticus was there to hold her throughout the night.