Hi all ! Now that Alden is here, it's clear that time is running short... What should our royal rulers do ?...
Welcome to Soul'sPenumbra, your beautiful comment touched my heart. I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story.
This chapter is a little short, but there will be plenty to unpack soon !
CHAPTER 63
"Careful, lads, put him down gently," the Captain instructed Pete and Stan as they rushed to his side to give him and the King a hand.
The music had stopped once again, and of course the dancers had stopped dancing. The whole crowd was holding their collective breath as they waited. The Duke was standing right behind the King, at a loss what to do and internally giving up the hope that this party would ever be back to normal.
"Easy, Alden, we've got you," Frederic soothed as he held Alden's arm close to his body, sounding more like a concerned friend than a King.
Alden let a moan pass his lips as he felt the hard floor under him. No matter how carefully everyone was trying to lay him down, the long ride in the night with his wounded arm was taking its toll and it seemed to him that everything was hurting.
Catherine and her daughter Emma joined the small group that had gathered around the injured man and stopped behind Arianna's back. The Queen was standing unnaturally still, as if time had stopped. Thinking quickly, the Duchess spoke for everyone.
"Back up, all of you. Give him some air. Someone get the physician, hurry !"
"Who is this man, Your Majesty ?" inquired Emma, tugging the Queen's wrist gently to get her attention.
Arianna didn't respond. Her mind was reeling fast. Why would Alden be here ? Why did he ride for several hours with only the moonlight to show him the way ? How did he keep going with his injured arm ? Her brain was shooting multiple questions at once, none of them answered, although the common denominator was clear. But for some reason, she wouldn't, she couldn't let the truth she was dreading cross the threshold of her conscious mind.
"Your Majesty ?", the little girl tried again, slightly afraid of her sovereign's blank look.
"Alden ? Alden, talk to me," the Captain tried, and with that he patted the man's pale cheek softly with his gloved hand in an attempt to make him open his eyes. "What happened ?"
"… Hans…", Alden moaned from under his moustache. "He…". A pause for breath before he whispered one last word before his world turned black. "…Varian…"
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Varian's eyes wouldn't shut.
Even blinking was a dangerous thing to do.
What if they came, what if they entered his cell, while he wasn't on his guard ?
In the cold, in the dark and alone, the teenager's mind was on overdrive, terrified and hypervigilant at every second, leaving no room for any kind of logical thinking. Those feelings of terror and loneliness weren't so different from what he had experienced continuously for endless months after the day of the storm. But all they were condensed now, hitting him and hurting him ruthlessly, more than any physical torture.
His body remembered too, and in the dim moonlight, the boy was shaking hard. Maybe the icy water that still soaked his hair and clothes was the reason. Or maybe he was just one inch from losing his mind completely.
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That did it.
The sound of Varian's name sent a jolt through Arianna's body, and she gasped for air as if she had been underwater and had now reached the surface, fresh air forcing its way into her lungs.
Her hands clenched into fists, and Emma let go of the arm she was holding, taken aback by the sudden tension.
Frederic turned his head and looked up to see Arianna's pale and shocked face. He stood up to take her by the shoulders, but she raised both arms defensively in front of her before he could actually touch her.
"Don't even… You're not talking me out of it. Don't even try. I know what you're going to say, I know we have our duties, but I'm leaving. Right now." Breaking eye contact with her husband, she lowered her gaze to the guards kneeling on the ground. "Find a horse for me, Stan. Please."
"Arianna…", Frederic started.
"Stop ! I don't know, any more than you do, what happened between Hans and Varian. But Alden didn't come all this way for nothing. You can argue all you want…"
"Actually,", he cut in, now resting his large hands on her shoulders to make her look into his eyes, "I was just going to say : please be careful. And let the Captain go with you."
Arianna froze as the words sank in. She had expected Frederic to be mad at her, at the way she was ready to give up her duties for the boy, at how attached to him she was (and she couldn't even hide it). She hadn't expected his full support in the least.
"I….", she stammered, her eyes watering. "I never should have left him…"
"Go, my darling. I have faith in you. You're the only one who can help him."
Unable to bear it anymore, Arianna flung herself into his arms. She let a few tears fall, and then, collecting herself like the true Queen she was, pulled away and held her head high.
"Thank you," she breathed. Then she turned around, eyes searching for her friend.
"Catherine ? I'm sorry… I'm enjoying your and Emma's company beyond words, but…"
"I will give you our finest horse, Arianna", Catherine replied confidently, barely containing her emotion. "Go to him. You said so yourself, children need to be loved and supported. He needs you now."
Brief as her time with Arianna was, she could feel the strength of the bond between her and that boy who wasn't even her son. Yet tonight, she had witnessed what pure love and devotion looked like. It brought her to the verge of tears, and for the first time, bent down to grab her daughter's hand.
"Emma ? Why don't you come with me and show me you favorite food on the tables ? And after that, we should have a dance together."
Emma's jaw dropped, quickly replaced by the biggest, brightest smile that had ever been seen in all Epoisses.
"All right, Mum," she said, beaming. "But only if Mr. Giggles comes along."
"Fine, sweetie. You'll have to hold him yourself, though."
"Fair deal !"
Emma clutched her mother's hand tenderly, and before she let her lead her to the buffet, she looked at Arianna over her shoulder and mouthed a very sincere "thank you", before skipping along.
Arianna smiled, sweet relief and genuine joy for having helped a mother and her daughter reunite washing over her.
Moments later, Alden was taken inside the palace so the Duke's physician could tend to him, and Arianna was meeting the mare that would take her back to her castle.
"Her name is Freya," said the Duke as he petted her flank. "She's fast and brave. I trust that she will take you home safely."
"Your Grace, I don't know how I can apologize…"
"No offense taken, Your Majesty," he assured. "I'm the one who should thank you, actually. Tonight, you have shown me that the things we carefully plan can go astray, and it's not the end of the world. Especially when there are more important matters at hand." He cast a glance towards his daughter and wife, hand in hand, and how the guests were looking at them with admiration and tenderness.
"We've tried so hard to be dedicated to our duties that we wouldn't allow ourselves to spend time with our only daughter. Obviously, we were wrong. So, thank you. For reminding us where our most important duty lies."
Arianna nodded, and her eyes slid from the Duke to her husband. One look was all it took for them to understand each other. She hauled herself onto the back of the mare, full skirt and flowing sleeves undulating and swishing with her movements, checked that the Captain was ready on his own horse, and spurred her mount as she whispered a desperate plea :
"Take me to him, Freya."
