Royal On The Run (unedited)

Chapter Forty-Five

Naomi

As I talked with Brooklyn, catching up on the things that had happened since we last saw the other, I stroked the edge of the sword I now held in my hands. Sleepily, my fingers trailed the jeweled edges. Caressed the silver of the handle, smiled at the hilt, grinned at the tip of the blade.

"I think this belonged to someone in my family." I said quietly. Brooklyn looked up from tending to my shoulder. "I wonder which one."

"Are you going to make it your own?"

My eyes slid from the sword, meeting her crinkled eyes. "What?"

She pressed against the wound, dabbing at it with a fresh cloth. "If it belonged to someone in your family before you, why can't it belong to you now."

"Queens haven't had use for swords before."

"They do now though, don't they?" she questioned softly. "I mean, look around Naomi. With all the shit that has gone down here, why can't you have a sword of your own? Why can't you be prepared for an attack. There's nothing wrong with protecting yourself."

Her words hit me. They were practically the same ones that Sebastian had told me when we were in the bunker under the tree. He'd told me that self defense would come in handy.

"Bas said the same thing a while ago," I breathed, "I don't think a sword was what he had in mind though."

With a bit of tape, Brooklyn backed away from me. She rocked on her heels as she put the medical stuff back into a bag that had been hidden in between the relics in here.

When I'd asked her how they got down here, she'd only said that the nurse had wanted to take every precaution and stashed a bunch of things here when the Red Guard and Anthony had their backs turned. She'd known something could happen. Whether that meant knowing Brooklyn would end up down here alone or me with her, I was grateful either way.

She'd truly be rewarded for her bravery and courage once I got my throne back. If I got my throne back.

We hadn't heard anything while we'd been down here. It was as if the room had been sealed off from the rest of the palace.

I'd slept for an hour earlier, only waking up when Brooklyn had prodded my shoulder, saying it was at risk of being infected from the dirt on my clothes. And there weren't any other clothes down here, though it had warmed up enough that I'd taken off the jacket and now remained in my hoodie and jeans. The shoes had come off only, so my feet didn't become waterlogged.

"You should sleep now." She spoke. "And be sure to sleep with the thought that just because you're Queen now, Nai, it doesn't mean our friendship changes. Whatever you need, I'll be there just as I've always been."

"Nothing will come between us." I murmured as I held the sword closer. "Now, tell me about you and Amara." Her eyes widened and I let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I know. You aren't good at hiding your blushes. And your eyes, they tell everything you want to keep hidden."

Brooklyn debated on telling me. She was fighting with herself. And she was winning. "Not yet. Sleep first, and then story time."

"Story time is supposed to help a person sleep."

She laughed, tucking a blanket around me. "Yeah well, we're not a conventional monarchy. Now sleep."