Chapter 103: Chapter 103

103 Chapter 103 : Busted

“All done my lady..” the maid spoke, “would you like to have your meal now?”

“No it’s alright, I’m not quite hungry just yet.”

“Very well.” The maid curtsied and turned to leave the room, “please do call for me when you’re ready for your meal.”

Julia watched the maid walk out of the room and sat down on the sofa near her window. “How long has it been?” She spoke to herself.

After the dwarve princess Julia came to know the truth of her identity and awakened, she triggered the full awakening of her people as well, an event that Elric used to his advantage to subdue the kingdom of Meria and the kingdoms around it. When the king left to retrieve his wife and the elven prince, Julia remained in the Merian capital to assist Theo in looking after the newly established monarchy. It was the least she could do after the trouble she had caused for Elric, and besides, he was working hard to reclaim the lands of their people so they could all live in peace again. And maybe after he got back, she could tell him how she felt?

Julia shook her head and sighed. “Who am I kidding,” she muttered to herself, “this little crush I have on king Elric will bare no fruit. The reason he’s out there is because he is in love with her...”

What was with her and falling for the wrong man? She stood up and walked to the window, it was a beautiful sunny day outside so she decided to go for a walk in the gardens to clear her mind. Julia walked out of her room, down hallway towards the palace exist. As she approached the study she heard voices of several men, was there some sort of meeting? And how come she didn’t know about it?

The woman slowed her pace and ducked out of sight, she peeked into the room and saw some of the council members gathered around a tabled.

“How far have they gone?”

.....

“The letter we received says they crossed the wandering woods some days ago, they should be in Lenora as we speak.”

“Have they conquered the dwarves?”

Julia gasped and ducked away. Conquer the dwarves? Why would Elric want to conquer the dwarve kingdom, wasn’t this an alliance mission?

“If they waged war against the dwarves their proceeding to Ervelon will be delayed. First the king plans to secure his wife and then crush the elves and the dwarves.”

“And the elven prince?”

“Held prisoner of course, that’s the only way king Elric will have total rule over all. He already has the dwarve princess so after he captures the elf prince no one will go against him.”

Julia gasped, prisoner?! Was that true? Was she just some prisoner to Elric? Was everything he had told her about working together all a lie? The green eyed woman began to slowly back away from the study entrance as realization dawned on her, Elric wasn’t her ally, he was a tyrant who was using her for his own personal gain. The only person he remotely cared about was his wife. Tears stung Julia’s eyes and a lamp formed on her throat.

“How could I be so stupid?” She whimpered. She turned to run back to her room but bumped into someone and the impact sent her falling to the ground. She groaned and rubbed her head as she cocked her head up to see who had blocked her way and immediately gasped when she saw his face.

“King Elric?!”

*

Maria walked to the edge of the cliff and studied it carefully, it was going to be tough but she had to do it, they had to retrieve the princess and take her back home.

Maria had magical abilities to manipulate earth in addition to her wings that allowed her to fly. Though her magic was not as strong as Vivian’s, she still had to try. She was going to create a bridge to join the two cliffs so the group could get across.

She got down to her knees, took a deep breath and placed her hands on the ground. Moments later the ground began to rumble. Ivan went wide eyed when part of the cliff began to stretch out. Maria gnashed her teeth together, trying hard to focus on her task at hand, she tried not to pay too much attention to the amount of energy she was losing.

“Argh...”

“Maria...”

“No I can do this!” Maria responded, making Vivian stop in her tracks. The bridge slowly began to take form, elongating further and further across the gorge. Maria could feel her heart pounding and her vision getting hazy, but she refused to give up. She had to do this for her people and for her mother.

Vivian got down to her knees and put a gentle hand over her friend’s shoulder, “you’ve got this, just a little further.”

The woman groaned and squeezed her eyes shut, trying her best not to pass out from exhaustion.

“Almost there Maria..” Vivian cheered her on, she could see that she was using every ounce of energy that she had and Vivian admired her for it.

When the bridge merged with the edge of the cliff on the other side, Maria sighed heavily and her body swayed forward. Vivian grabbed her friend but gravity pulled her forward as well, she was about to flare her wings open when a hand grabbed her cloak and yanked them both backwards. The two women crushed onto the person who had pulled them back with a heavy impact.

When Vivian opened her eyes she found herself leaning against Zander’s chest who was looking down at her. “Are you alright?” The man questioned the woman. Vivian face flashed red in an instant, she quickly got to her feet and turned away from Zander.

“I can fly you know, you didn’t have to do that!” She yelled.

Zander got to his feet and dusted his clothes, “I wasn’t about to let my teammates fall over a cliff without me doing something about it.” The blonde elf then turned to Ivan who was holding a weak worn out Maria in his arms. “Is she okay?”

“She’s weak but she’ll live,” Ivan responded.

“Let me go elf..” Maria whispered weakly.

“Are the nosferatu all this high strung and ungrateful?” Ozias commented with a chuckle. The big man hopped onto his horse and the rest of the team did the same. Ivan tied Maria’s horse to his and placed the now unconscious woman against his chest.

“Must be,” Ivan added on, “saying thank you must not be very common in the snowlands.”

“Hey shut up our race isn’t like that!” Vivian yelled at Ivan.

“Oh so it’s just you two?” Zander asked with a sheepish smile that made Vivian’s heart stop.

“Well I... you didn’t..,” the woman pursed her lips and pouted before looking up at the blonde elf. “Thank you.” The curtness in her tone made Zander smile in amusement.

The blond elf nodded and moved his horse forward towards the bridge, “let’s keep moving, we need to reach Ervelon as soon as possible!”

*

After making love in the warm water for the second time, Gareth helped Melissa clean up and then placed her against his chest as they soaked. His mind was filled with nothing but bliss, he couldn’t remember the last time he felt this happy and content.

The eleven prince wrapped his arms tightly around the redhead and kissed the back of her head. The feeling of the water and her naked body against his was mind numbing, he wished he could remain in this position forever.

“Gary...”

“Yes my love?” The man answered the woman, his head leaned back and his eyes closed.

“We should get out now..” she turned around to face him and giggled upon looking at his relaxed face that was plastered with a large smile.

The man opened his eyes, leaned forward and put his forehead against Melissa’s. “But I like having you naked in my arms.”

The woman blushed and began trailing her fingers on his firm chest. “As do I but we’ll end up getting caught if we don’t-”

Before the blue eyed woman could complete her statement there was a knock at the door. Gareth and Melissa turned to look at each other nervously before another loud knock echoed throughout the room.

“Err just a moment!” Gareth called out before making his way out of the bath.

Melissa grabbed his hand and pulled him back into the water, “what if it’s your mother?!” She whispered.

“Don’t worry I’ll get rid of her..” the man whispered with a smile. He kissed Melissa’s temple and grabbed a robe that he secured tightly around his perfect body before making his way out of the bathroom to the door.

When he opened the door it was indeed queen Tauriel who was standing there. She turned to look at her son, eyeing him suspiciously from head to toe. “Still taking your bath?” She questioned him, “I sent Ronda here to warm your water over an hour ago.”

“Umh yes, well with the long journey and all, I needed to soak for a while,” Gareth responded nervously.

The queen peeked over Gareth’s shoulder and knitted her brows together, “is that a woman’s shirt I see on your floor Gareth? Do you have a woman in here?”

Gareth’s eyes bulged in fear, how could he forget about Melissa’s clothes?! “Well I umm..”

“Step aside Gareth,” the queen spoke.

When her son did not budge, the queen lifted her hand and whipped her index and middle finger to the side. That subtle motion moved Gareth the across the room and planted him in a chair not too far behind. Queen Tauriel walked into the room, picked up Melissa’s blouse with her fingers and inspected it.

“Gareth...”

“Yes...”