The Hathway Kingdom (Book 2)

Twenty-One.

~Twenty-One. ~

"Are you sure that you are well enough to travel, Your Majesty? You still look rather pale..." Elissa asked as she looked at Larissa who was leaning back heavily against the chair within the confines of the carriage in which they sat. Larissa had not completely recovered by the second of the month, but Rosaleen had deemed her fit enough to travel to the Wade Kingdom to be there for the crowning of the prince. Thankfully, the royal palace was not far from Larissa's own home, but it was still, at the very least, a half-day's journey by carriage. Larissa closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath before she let it out slowly.

"I am, Elissa. I promised His Majesty that I would be there. And be there I shall. I will not go back on my word," Larissa said as she glanced at Elissa before she looked back out the window of the carriage, closing her eyes as she winced when the carriage went over a rather large bump in the road, and she sucked in a breath through her teeth.

"I am aware of that, Your Majesty. But..." Elissa began to say before she fell silent once more as Larissa shot her a rather dark frown.

For the rest of the trip, the pair remained silent, with Larissa holding back her winces and curses she sorely wanted to say out loud but would not be considered proper for a queen every time they went over a bump along the road. When she felt the carriage eventually came to a stop, Larissa glanced out the window before she groaned and hid from view at what she saw.

Wade Royal Guards lined the pathway leading up to the palace steps. At the very top of the steps, King Methodios, his wife, Queen Zivah, and their youngest son, Prince Iovianus all stood waiting for her. They were all dressed in a similar coloured clothing, with the two men wearing suits with the royal robes and with the queen wearing a gown that had Larissa wondering whether they had spared any expense in welcoming her to their kingdom.

"Your Majesty?" Elissa called out to her, and Larissa blinked before she looked over at her maid and sighed.

"Let's get this over with. His Majesty has gone out of his way to arrange this greeting. It would be rude of me if I remained in the carriage until nightfall and they all disappeared," she said with a sigh and Elissa nodded her head before she opened the door. She climbed out first before Larissa moved to get out as well with the help of her footman as another of her servants called out to those gathered.

"Her Royal Majesty, Queen Larissa of Hathway!" the servant called out as she climbed out of the carriage and stood up straight, removing the hood from her head. The guards that lined the pathway all dropped to one knee as they bowed to her.

"Welcome, Your Majesty!" they all called out in greeting at the same time and she nodded her head to them before she began to make her way up to where the royal family stood at the top of the stairs.

She reached the top of the steps with Elissa standing behind her and she did her best not to cry out as pain shot through her from the simple act of climbing the stairs. Though her wounds had healed enough for her to travel to the Wade Kingdom for the ceremony, they were not healed enough for her to not feel pain when her body was telling her she was overdoing it. As she came to a stop before Methodios and his wife, Larissa went to bow to them out of respect, only to be stopped by a pair of gentle hands on her arms. She looked up to find herself meeting a pair of blue, almost grey eyes and she froze for a moment.

"There is no need to do that, Your Majesty," Queen Zivah said to her, and the sound of her voice snapped Larissa out of her daze. She stood up again before she gave the older queen a smile.

"Welcome to our kingdom, Your Majesty," Methodios said to her, drawing her attention and she gave him a warm smile in response.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. And thank you for inviting me to the Prince's ceremony," she said to him, and he smiled at her in return.