With the blessings of morning in Avon, everyone forgot about what happened last night, including the guards that stood in front of Oriana’s door. They failed to remember that the physician who entered never left the room the previous night. Everyone continued with their daily activities; the only new change was the new King and Queen.
Madame Rosalie, who had been in the palace since the previous night, tried her best to meet with Oriana, but the guards didn’t let her in. So, she decided to meet with Freya. On her way to the servants’ quarters, she met the new Queen.
Adelaide paused in her steps when she saw Madame Rosalie. Then she waved the maids off to give her some privacy.
"Madame Rosalie, is it?" Adelaide asked with a small smile. "Brother Adric sent you the letter, right?"
Madame Rosalie chuckled, looking at the young girl who was no older than the girls that worked for her at her demi-monde. "I believe I’m not obliged to answer to you."
"That’s no way to answer to your Queen," Adelaide raised her shoulder, not liking that someone was looking down on her.
Madame Rosalie raised her brows, taking out her smoking pipe from her dress pocket. "My Queen? I am only a merchant here to visit Avon," she said, lighting the pipe and placing it gently on her lips.
"You know I have the power to lock you up right now! Being friends with Oriana won’t help you. She is now my subject. So I demand respect from you!" Adelaide continued, gritting her teeth in anger. She hated to be looked down upon now that she was Queen.
The older woman inhaled deeply before letting out smoke through the pipe. The smell of tobacco filled the air around them, as she watched Adelaide with mirth dancing in her eyes. "Locking me up? Except you no longer want business with the demi-monde. I’m sure Lord Nicholas would disagree. And lastly, Princess Adelaide, respect is not forced but deserved."
Adelaide took a step forward, raising her hand to Madame Rosalie’s face but stopping in the air. "I’m really trying to respect you, Madame Rosalie, for the sake of old times. I don’t know how long I can hold back. I will have you leave the palace immediately."
Madame Rosalie bowed. "I was on my way out of the palace," the woman smiled, looking at the princess one more time before walking away.
Adelaide fumed, gritting her teeth in anger. She couldn’t believe that even with her power, nobody acknowledged her and bowed to her feet. "It’s all because of that girl...Oriana!"
Leaving the angry princess, Madame Rosalie made her way straight to the servants’ quarters. There, she saw Freya packing dirty clothes.
"Freya! Freya!!" Madame Rosalie called the girl over with a low voice to avoid attracting attention.
Freya turned when she heard her name and quickly ran towards the woman. "Madame Rosalie."
"What are you doing here? Have you seen the Queen? I mean Queen Oriana," Madame Rosalie corrected herself, not willing to recognize Adelaide as Queen.
Freya shook her head. "They assigned me to wash dirty clothes because one of the maids told the new lady of the court that I’m close to Queen Oriana."
Madame Rosalie sighed. "We need to get to her any way we can. I’ll be leaving the palace soon. I need to know how she is before I send a letter. They won’t let me in either."
"Kai! Let’s go and play!" Walter’s voice was heard as the two boys ran out of the palace.
In the midst of everything, Freya had almost forgotten that the boys were back in the palace. She turned to Madame Rosalie. "I think I have just the perfect plan."
. . .
Inside the palace, the guards took turns standing in front of Oriana’s door without letting anyone else in.
Kai and Walter walked towards the passage. On reaching the door, they were stopped by the guards.
"Let us in, we want to see Auntie Oriana," Walter started with a small frown on his face.
One of the guards, who didn’t know the boys, turned to ask, "Who are they?"
"Princess Jasmine’s sons," another replied in a whispered tone. Then he turned to the boys, "You’re not allowed here. You can play outside, okay?"
Walter sighed. "I really didn’t want to do this, since you look like a good uncle," he said, turning to look at Kai before continuing, "What do you think will happen to these uncles if I report to Auntie Adelaide that they won’t let me play?"
Kai hummed thoughtfully. "One time, I heard a guard was thrown into the dungeon for not letting me use the royal library. And the guard was forgotten, his skin dried up, his nails got long, and when he came out, his wife was already married to his-"
"Alright, alright...you can go inside, but be quick!" The guards unlocked the door, letting the two boys inside.
Kai gave Walter a subtle wink before both of them ran into the room.
"Auntie Oriana!"
Oriana was surprised to hear the children’s voices. She had been hiding inside the bathroom, waiting for the guards to storm inside looking for the physician.
"Walter? Kai?" she exclaimed. "What are you-" Before she could say anything, the two boys hugged her closely. This was enough to melt her heart, easing all the pressure she had felt for the past few days.
"I missed you, Auntie," Walter muttered, holding Oriana closely. "You promised to come and visit us."
Oriana nodded, trying her best not to cry. "Yes, I did. I was going to come with Uncle Adric." She rubbed the boy’s hair tenderly.
Kai moved away from the hug, taking out a small parchment from his pocket. He handed it over to Oriana. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
"Auntie Freya said to give this to you."
Oriana took hold of the parchment and read the contents. Freya was no longer allowed to serve her, and Madame Rosalie was set to leave the palace soon.
Putting her hand down by her side, Oriana looked at the side of the room where a physician was tied up. She turned to the boys.
"We are going to play a game."
Walter clapped his hands excitedly. "I love games!"
Oriana bit her lip. She needed to know how Fidelis was and at the same time let Adric know about their unborn child.
"Walter," she started, sitting on her heels. "Remember what you told me? I should come out of the room with a little sister you can play with."
The boy nodded. "Yes, yes. You promised."
Oriana inhaled. "Now I want you to tell Auntie Freya that I need to come out of the room. So you will have a little sister to play with. Also, visit Grandfather and tell him the same thing."
"So I am going to have a little sister if you leave the room?" Walter asked, his curious little eyes shining brightly.
Oriana smiled, touching her stomach. She couldn’t believe the children were the first to hear the news. "Yes, I need to leave the room."
"We will tell Auntie Freya and Grandfather to remove the uncles at the door so you can leave," Walter spoke with a firm voice that Oriana found amusing.
As the children turned to leave, she called them back. "And remember, if Grandfather or Auntie Freya is not alone, then don’t tell them. Understood? Kai." She called the older one.
Kai nodded. "Yes, Auntie Oriana."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
