“Make preparations for our departure tomorrow.” She threw over her shoulder as she turned around to go to her study. “Yes, Your Highness!”
Alyssa was about to do a curtsy, to receive her master’s order out of habit, but before she could even react, she heard this hoarse voice from behind her, which almost made her scream at the top of her lungs. “Heavens!” Alyssa wanted to scold the culprit for scaring her, but when she turned around, her voice died down immediately, because she saw a burly shifter, sporting this blank expression on his cold face. Just looking at him made shivers run down her spine, not to mention he was wearing the signature armor of the elite royal warriors back from the palace.
“Oh my god, why do you move like a shadow, it’s creepy!” She muttered under her breath, as she tactfully turned around to run after her master when it seemed like the man heard her little petty complaint. However, the man didn’t seem to care enough to settle scores with her for treating him with ‘hostility,’ as he turned around to immerse himself in the preparations for the queen’s departure.
“My Queen, your new guard is like a statue, no, he is a creep!” Alyssa complained to Abby once she realized the man didn’t follow them to Abby’s study.
“Deion?” Abby was surprised. “What did he do to you?”
“He moves so silently, I can’t get used to his stealthiness.” Alyssa looked genuinely annoyed, making Abby laugh.
She thought the man somehow bullied her personal maid, but as it turned out, he was just doing his job.
But then how could Abby think badly of him when he was personally chosen by Micah as her personal guard? She was just overprotective of Alyssa, because after Micah, if there were people who she cared about, that would be Alyssa and Reyna.
Dax could be considered her kindred spirit, while she adored Nadia. If Ezgar didn’t turn out to be a bastard, she could also have had a big brother figure. But she didn’t want to think about him now. She turned to her unhappy maid instead.
“I told you he will be following me around from now on, didn’t I? So he is just doing his job.” Abby said, brushing off Alyssa’s complaints. Stealthy or not, if he did his job right, that was all that mattered to her. When Micah said she needed to have someone following her around, she didn’t think he was talking about allocating a personal warrior to her. However, Micah seemed to have long planned to give her a personal warrior, because just before the king departed, Deion reported to be her security personnel.
Micah then simply said that Deion would follow her around, no matter if Micah was present or had to go away to deal with impromptu obstacles.
Even though Abby believed she could protect herself, she didn’t discourage Micah from having this extra assurity. Moreover, this new guard of hers knew what he was doing, so she didn’t have any complaints. “You are right.” Alyssa could only agree, because following Queen Abby around was not something she or Reyna alone could do anymore, because King Micah made that cold statue called Deion rush here to protect her master from now on. “But, you are not used to this either, right?”
“I’m not, but I don’t find it annoying. It’s only you.” Abby ruthlessly pointed out how her maid was a little scaredy cat. “Why don’t you help me pack my things? After that, go and check if Nadia has everything for our trip back to the capital.”
“Okay.” Alyssa agreed and left to do her things. She had less than a day to make sure Abby’s trip back to the palace would be comfortable enough, now that she was pregnant.
A couple of hours after midnight the next day, Abby left the Silver Moon pack and three days later, because they traveled a little slowly, they finally reached the capital city before the sun could appear on the horizon.
When they reached the palace, the sun was just peeking through the horizon and Abby could feel this tense air around her. But she didn’t let herself spiral into the vortex of negative thoughts first, as she tightened her fists.
“You can do it, Abby!” She patted herself mentally as she looked at the palace gates.
“My Queen.”
Abby heard Alan the moment she stepped out of the carriage, as he led the royal warriors and guards around them to bow to her solemnly.
She nodded as a response, silently allowing him to let them all rise to their feet as Deion approached to stand behind her. Nadia followed behind her with Alyssa in her tow.
“Royal Beta Alan, let’s go to the strategy room first,” Abby said suddenly, surprising all of them.
“Your Highness, you just traveled for three days straight, why don’t you rest for a bit first?”
Alyssa would have dragged the queen to her room if she could because she was that worried about her, and she believed Nadia would support her, but Abby didn’t look like she was ready to listen to anyone right now.
“Alyssa, I’ve rested well enough in the carriage. And I have something to talk about with the royal beta. Why don’t you go and arrange something delicious for breakfast?” She then turned to Nadia. “I believe you will take good care of my health.”
Just like that, Reyna, who had been watching from the door for her turn to persuade the queen to rest, like Alyssa did, had to follow her fellow maid back to the kitchen as the healer left to her tower to prepare the necessary herbs she would need to improve Abby’s health Content
Abby looked at Deion, but the man decisively evaded her eyes, clearly indicating that he would really follow her everywhere, so she could only say. “Let’s go.”
Alan then led Abby to the strategy room, outside where Deion finally stopped following Abby like a shadow, as he assumed a position right before the door after Alan and Abby closed the door behind them. Abby found her new guard truly reliable, because most of the time, she didn’t need to struggle about communicating with him, as he would always know what to do. It had only been four days, but she already got accustomed to his presence, because he was that efficient.
Soon Abby walked to the couch in the strategy room and settled down before asking Alan to take a seat as well.
Once the royal beat took his seat, he could hear Abby talking immediately. “Alan, what is the situation now?”
Alan then briefed her on the overall situation in the capital city. “After the countless attacks by the rogues, people dabbling in various things have been facing a few difficult situations.” Micah already told him to treat Abby as if he would revere his king, so here he was, explaining all the problems in the capital, by extent in the kingdom, when she asked for a report.
“Traders were feeling that the protection around the capital was a little compromised while people were hit by drought.”
The situation didn’t look ideal at all, but before Micah could do anything, he was forced to run around the kingdom because of Calpin.
“What about the rumors?” Abby asked after his report.
The man looked at her deeply, as if to confirm her question and when he saw her serious expression, he answered her truthfully. “Rumors are spreading really fast, My Queen. You should have waited for Micah back in the Silver Moon pack.”
Abby understood why Alan felt that way, because it would have been much easier if Micah announced the pregnancy news, but the queen had a clear goal for declining her mate’s helping hand.
“It will be too late by then.” Abby shook her head when Alan was about to say something. “What else were they saying apart from those nasty things?”
It had been several days already, so Abby thought there would be more bad things to fuel the unhappiness of the civilians, and Alan’s words confirmed it.
Apparently, the elders were ‘reminded’ of her ruined ceremony, and Abby didn’t need to ask who did that.
Arthur’s intentions were as clear as a day! He first tarnished her reputation, now he was insinuating that she shouldn’t really be considered their queen because she didn’t manage to go through the ceremony until the end.
Since he couldn’t persuade Micah to leave her, Arthur was raking his brains to come up with anything that could be used against her and remove her as the queen.
“What do you want to do?” Alan asked after he finished explaining the new revelations regarding this problem.
“I want you to make an
announcement!” Abby said after
thinking for a long moment. And when Alan thought Abby made explosive decision, she said. something totally out of his
expectations. “Tell them to prepare food and meat to distribute to the people upon the return of the Queen with the wolf prince in her womb.”
Alan was quite surprised. “What about the former king?” “There’s no hurry, let’s focus on the dire matters first.”
Abby was really not in a hurry. And Alan could see that. But he didn’t question her, feeling she would have her own reasons for not focusing on fighting Arthur to dispel the bad rumors. Moreover, the drought would become a real headache if they didn’t do anything about it.
Abby really had her own reasons to suggest this; she was aiming to gain people’s trust first.
“The people are struggling, so the rations from the royal reserves would lift their spirits in this time of need.” Abby looked thoughtful when she said it. “And don’t forget to make it clear that Micah and I did it for the Moon Goddess’ blessings.”