The Knight Queen

Chapitre Trois: Le Voyage à Clermont

Would you let me, see beneath your beautiful?
Would you let me, see beneath your perfect?
¶Labrinth––Beneath Your Beautiful ft. Emeli Sandé¶

  "N̤̈Ö̤Ṳ̈M̤̈Ä̤Ï̤R̤̈, go wake up His Highness at his quarters and help him get ready for our journey to Clermont," the Queen ordered the foreign Prince's valet and with a curt nod of his head, the valet made his way to the Prince's suite.

   Estelle made her way to the dining room and took a seat with quite an audible sigh. She was having sleepless nights lately ever since she received the letter from Emperor Joffrey. In her mind, she would twist and turn the events, try to see their endings but still end up nowhere. Even then, she was so absorbed, once more, in the letter, that she didn't notice the maid placing her plate of croissants and a cup of piping hot tea in front of her. Only the aroma drew her out of her reverie since she was also lacking appetite lately and now the hunger had just built up.

   With a groan, Rafael sat himself on his seat, his eyes bleary and his vision clouded. His plate was already there, his cutlery already set. He blinked a couple of times to clear his vision and with a wobbly arm, took the fork and knife in his hand and tried to eat . . . only for the fork to fall moments later when his eyes shut momentarily.

   Groaning once more, he picked the fork again and made another attempt at breaking his fast. Only this time, not only did the fork fall with a clang, again, but his entire face fell into his plate as he started to snore. The maids and knights standing on guard found it to be a comical sight as they tried to hide their laughter with coughs. Estelle wished she could see the humour in his stupidity.

   "Would you get up?" It was more of a command than a request and it breached through Rafael's short lived sleep.

   "Aye, aye," he said unconsciously and resumed his breakfast, nodding off every once in a while. Estelle finished her meal and didn't hesitate to head towards the stables to get the horses ready. Anything to stay away from him.

   After about half an hour, Rafael came stumbling through the palatial gate and hopped on his horse clumsily. It was a wonder to Estelle as to how his drowsiness had not worn off yet.

   "Why on Earth do we have to get up at such an ungodly hour in the morrow? Is it even morning yet, or is it just few hours past midnight? Couldn't we just wake up and start the journey earlier in the day like normal people do-"

   "Keep. Quiet," Estelle silenced him in a cold manner, annoyed by his unremetting ramble. However, he did keep his silence, that somehow, he became too quiet. After the two days she spent with the man, she found out that he was a man of many, many words. Who would natter nineteen to the dozen about nothing at all. Growing shockingly worried, she snapped her head to look at him and at that moment, she wished she hadn't looked.

   Rafael was almost falling off of his steed with his horse moving from side to side and neighing constantly. She pulled in the reigns to her mare and jumped off to his side before he really did fall off face first.

   "Get off," she ordered him and he jumped off clumsily to stand wobbly next to her. After climbing her mare again, she motioned for him to climb as well, but, the man was fast sleep . . . while standing. How is that even possible?

   "Would you just get on the horse so we can be on our way," she said harshly, her patience running very, very thin. Her voice knocked him off of his sleep temporarily as he got on the mare in semblance to that of a toddler.

   After calling one of the two knights––who had come along to protect them if the need arose––to take the unoccupied steed, she grabbed the reigns once more and they began their journey once more. Unknowingly, Rafael slipped his arms round her waist for support, but, not event a moment had passed when he felt Estelle's back go rigid and her backbone straight in discomfort.