Chapter 22

Queen Delia

Her fingers twisted together, the rock from her wedding ring glinting in the faint light. She had reread the letters she had received a thousand times. She was worried that someone would try to attack her home and poison her father. Now, the good thing was that he was still alive, but for how long?

The following letter she had received had been from Genevieve. Glidonia was under attack, and Derek was facing a trial for killing King Laurent and possibly trying to kill his own father-in-law. Genevieve had written and said that there was a note at the end of the letter, left by the now King Levi, Courtney's husband.

He threatened Courtney if Genevieve and Derek did not meet his demands. She had mulled the information many times; she had come up with a hundred theories on who was pulling the strings and who tried to murder her father.

She came up with the same conclusion each time, Levi... he was the one who tried to kill her father, and now her sweet, gentle, older sister was being held as a hostage in his courts.

Her husband, King Edmond, entered the chamber. Edmond was older than her by a few years, but it made no difference to them. He was a good man and a fair ruler, and being gentle on the eyes didn't diminish him in any way either.

On the day of their wedding, he had given her an equal place in their marriage. She would attend small council meetings.

He wouldn't pass any laws without coming to her first. He had told her that his mother and father ruled as equal partners, and he planned to rule the same way with his wife.

"You're still reading those letters," he said, throwing off his fur-lined cape. "How many times must you torture yourself?" he said.

"I know who tried to kill my father and who our enemy is." She said as her husband wondered.

"I think we have more than one enemy," he grumbled.

"Edmond, it's Levi. Levi, he tried to kill my father," she said. "How else would he whisk Courtney out of the country? He came into Glidonia intending to marry her and kill my father." She clenched her fists.

"But I still don't know why; King Laurent and my father were close friends, and Glidonia and Thraas have always been on good terms. It makes no sense." She wondered.

"War often never does," Edmond said, eyes flashing. "You should write to your sister. Queen Genevieve needs to know every possible plot there is." Said Edmond.

"Genevieve is too far away, and we can't be sure that the message won't be intercepted. As you said, we may have more enemies, and if Thraas can't be trusted, then no one can be," she said.

She sighed, and he wrapped his arms around her from behind. Despite all the treachery, she smiled beside herself.

She ended up going over many of her theories and ideas with Edmond, but in the end, she was no closer to finding a solution to their problem. It wasn't enough to know who was behind all this. She needed to act, but how would she go about that?

Her new country, Edmond's country, would be put in danger no matter what she did. But that was war, wasn't it? She couldn't leave her sisters to rot, and she needed to avenge her father. She wanted justice.

Throughout the week, she and her husband still came up with nothing, and she wondered if there had been any more attacks. Word traveled slowly when it was something beneficial and yet quickly when it was a dangerous secret. To help cope with the stress, she and Edmond had played croquet to pass the time and clear their heads.

Delia clutching the mallet handle reminded her of playing croquet with Edaline, her twin sister, back at the castle while their father watched them. Their mother had taught them the proper grip, and they rarely lost a match.

Edaline was her greatest rival because she was so good. She pulled her arms back and struck the ball. It went flying.

"Nice shot," Edmond said, wrinkling his nose. He hit his own ball, but it wasn't as good as hers.

"Why do I play this with you? Losing gets exhausting, you know." She ignored his teasing and hit the ball even further across the lawn.

The game had been doing an excellent job keeping the stress at bay, but it was starting to bubble up again. That night she snuggled up against her husband in their bed. He ran his fingers through her blonde hair and kissed her gently.

"I know what I want to do," she said suddenly.

"And what's that?" He asked.

"I want to visit my sister Blair. She's much closer than Glidonia, and we can combine our countries and get protection for our nation and my homeland," Delia said.

When Edmond's eyes widened, she continued. "I can't trust a letter not to be intercepted. It will be safer than traveling all the way to Glidonia, but it's still not foolproof. Nothing is." She said.

"Delia, you can't be serious," Edmond said. "Do you have any idea how dangerous this is? A queen traveling across the land to meet up with another future queen. There have to be hundreds of people out there wanting to ransom you!" Her eyes flashed.

"It's a risk I have to take. I won't be traveling as a queen, though. I'd go in disguise, and I'd only take our most trusted advisors and ladies." She said.

"I understand you want to help your sister, but this…" he trailed off. She reached up, touching his face.

"If your younger brothers were endangered, what would you do to get them back? What lengths would you go to ensure their protection?" When he didn't answer, she said.

"Don't you see? I can't turn my back on them. Genevieve is my younger sister, and she's drowning in these politics. She should have never become queen so early, but we can do nothing about it now. And Courtney…she was supposed to marry you, remember? Perhaps she'd have never been forced to marry Levi if she had. Perhaps our father would still be ruler, and little Kathleen would be gone. No one has even heard from them. I have to protect my family." She said.

"And our country? You can't expect me to let you go alone," he said. "You'll have to. The people need you here," she said.

"I promise I'll return. We can't hope to fight back until we are stronger, and the only way to do that is to make alliances. You'll rally the people here, and I'll work with Blair to rally the people there. I won't be gone long. When we're strong enough, we'll travel to Glidonia to help them." She said.

"I expect you to write me," he said.

"We'll have to use alliances, and I will look over each of your companions to make sure they are suitable to accompany you. You must keep your theories a complete secret until you look your sister straight in the eye. Don't even trust her servants." He told her sternly.

"I'll be safe. I promise you nothing will happen to me. I will return as soon as possible," Delia swore. Edmond gathered her in his arms again and kissed her deeply.