Chapter 111: Chapter 111 - Unwanted
Solomon led the horse through the gates, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings. The marchioness’s home wasn’t safe for him. She might hold Thalia near and dear to her heart, but he was disposable.
The silence of the grounds unsettling, broken only by the faint creak of the gate behind them.
"She must be here," Thalia said, her spirits lifted, her voice trembling with hope. "I can just feel it. See, this is why you shouldn’t have thought of abandoning me. I am going to see that you are rewarded for bringing me here."
"I don’t need a reward, Your Highness. It was my duty to bring you here," Solomon replied.
He didn’t like how quiet the land was, though he suspected it was deliberate, meant to avoid suspicion. Unfortunately for the marchioness, whispers had already spread of the queen being seen in this direction.
Thalia and Solomon were led to the manor.
One of the guards ushered them inside while the other slipped away.
"Are you familiar with the marchioness, Your Highness?" Solomon asked, his hand instinctively returning to the hilt of his sword.
"She’s visited the castle from time to time, and my mother often speaks of her. She is a respectable woman, and now I see just how loyal she can be to me. You can take your hand off your sword," Thalia said, noticing his guarded stance. "We are not in any danger."
"How certain are you that she wouldn’t capture us and deliver us to the castle to place herself in good favour with Lilith?" Solomon pressed, his eyes narrowing.
"That much isn’t going to happen. I know she doesn’t like Lilith, or bastards in general, because her husband once had a bastard who nearly ruined her family. I believe she is loyal. After all, my mother was good to her," Thalia said, glancing around the manor.
Solomon’s suspicions grew as the guard swiftly returned, and he wasn’t alone.
"The marchioness will see the princess, but she must go alone. The guard will escort you to where you can sit," the butler informed Solomon.
Thalia hesitated, her heart pounding, but she clung to the hope that the marchioness would remember all the kindness her mother had shown her.
"Serve him some water and food. We’ve taken a long journey to get here," Thalia instructed the butler.
She followed the butler, playing with her fingers, uncertain of what awaited her.
"Is my mother here?" Thalia demanded, but no answer came.
Instead of being taken to a drawing room, she was led down a stairwell. She assumed it was a cellar she was being taken to.
Thalia looked back, her heart racing, contemplating running to Solomon for help.
Before she could move, the butler stopped before a door and knocked, then opened it.
"Her Majesty awaits you," he said, stepping aside.
Thalia cautiously entered the room, which turned out to be a bedchamber. A figure stood by the window, and Thalia instantly recognised her mother.
"Mother!" Thalia cried cheerfully, rushing forward. For the first time in days, Thalia felt relieved.
Athena Beaufort, her mother, turned, irritation flashing across her face. "Don’t you know how to be quiet when entering someone’s home? Haven’t you been taught better than this?"
Thalia slowed, her steps faltering. "I’m sorry," she whispered. "I am happy to see that you’re well, mother. I travelled far to find you."
Athena looked away, her expression cold.
It wasn’t her daughter she wanted to see, but the crown prince.
"Your brother should have been the one standing here," Athena said, her voice heavy with grief. Her heart broke at the loss of her son.
"What?" Thalia asked, almost certain she had misheard. "I don’t understand."
"Arthur needed to get away. He was the crown prince. I could have used him to influence the other nobles or your father’s peers to go against the castle. What am I to do with a young son who is not ready to be king and a princess?" Athena demanded, furious at losing her most important child.
Thalia’s eyes filled with tears. "It is not my fault that they killed Arthur or father. I was lucky to escape. Why won’t you greet me with a hug and be happy that I am here?"
Athena didn’t try to look at Thalia. "If I had to lose a child, it should not have been the crown prince. Arthur was our chance to rally the others. They will not put their faith in us when all I have is a young son."
"Why don’t you wish that neither of us had to die? Did you think my time in the castle was pretty? I witnessed my father lose his head, and then the news of Arthur’s death. I had to listen to the dungeon guards speak of Lilith becoming queen," Thalia ranted.
She didn’t recognise this version of her mother, who seemed to care only for her sons.
"Can you care about me, mother?" Thalia yelled, her frustration spilling over as she was desperate for affection.
"I care about returning to the castle to get what was mine. I cannot convince anyone to go to battle with a son too young to sit still on the throne and a princess. I cannot help thinking that you stole Arthur’s place. You should have switched places and died instead of him-"
"Mother!" Thalia cried out, her voice breaking just like her heart. "I am your child too."
"A useless one," Athena said, pacing the chamber, her mind consumed with schemes. "If you were wise, you wouldn’t have come searching for me. Didn’t you stop to think for one moment that they might be following you? You could place your brother and my life in danger."
Thalia stared at her mother, her heart shattered by the welcome she had received. Her mother had once loved and cherished her, so why wasn’t her life important now?
"Mother, I was in the dungeon and had to sleep outside to get to you," Thalia said, hoping it would mean something.
"That doesn’t compare to what I have endured, losing a son and husband in so little time," Athena snapped.
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