The Hathway Kingdom (Book 2)

Twenty-Five.

~Twenty-Five. ~

They were packed and left in a matter of hours.

Iovianus had surprised his mother and father with his decision to escort Larissa back to Hathway but bit them all farewell with smiles on their faces. The day was still sunny and the weather delightful, so Larissa had instructed her coachman to leave the top of the carriage down, enabling both her and Elissa the chance to enjoy the happy weather as they went along.

They stopped around midday to enjoy the picnic that Elissa had packed with the help of the Wade's cook, settling down in a field just off the main road. They were back in Hathway now, Larissa could feel it and she was happy to be back within her own kingdom. Only...Something didn't feel right. Despite the relief she felt at being home, a sense of unease had settled over Larissa, becoming worse the longer that they remained stationary.

"Whatever is wrong, Your Majesty? You look wound tighter than an eight-day clock," Professor Strickland asked as Larissa stood and began pacing in front of him and Iovianus, who was watching her intently with a frown on his face. She bit down on her lip and looked over her shoulder in the direction of the palace as Iovianus got to his feet and walked over to her, taking her hands in his and making her stop her pacing.

"Larissa? What is it?" he asked her, his eyes searching for hers as they darted about before finally settling on his.

"I...I can't shake the feeling that something has happened. That...That something has gone terribly wrong..." she said, the raw fear that they all heard in her voice causing everyone stop and for Iovianus and the Professor to share a look. The Professor nodded his head before he turned to the servants and began barking orders, the tone of his voice giving them all the impression that there was no room for argument. Iovianus turned back to Larissa, who was looking at him with increasing worry on her face and in her eyes and he gently stroked the back of her hands with his thumbs.

"Don't worry, Lissy. We'll be packed up and back on the road before you know it," he said to her before he turned to Elissa and his own butler, Mr Burling, as they hurried over.

"Help me get her into the carriage," he said, and they both nodded before they all stopped as she shook her head and turned to Iovianus.

"Give me your horse," she said to him, and he frowned at her.

"What?" he asked, and she made a noise of exacerbation.

"For Gods' sake, Iovianus! Lend me your horse!" she all but shouted at him and he frowned. He looked at Mr Burling who nodded his head once and went to fetch Iovianus' horse. When he returned with it, Larissa snatched the reins from him, earning herself a slight scowl from the quiet man before she all but leapt into the saddle with cries of dismay at her actions from Elissa. She looked down at Iovianus as she righted herself in the saddle and found him watching her curiously.

"I will meet you all there," she said before she gave the horse a sharp rap in the side with her heels and flicked the reins, urging the horse on and leaving behind her party of companions despite their cries for her to wait for them.

She raced along the road, her hair flying about her face as her cloak billowed out behind her with the skirt of her dress gathered up about her thighs. She knew she must have looked a complete mess to anyone that managed to catch a glimpse of her, but she didn't care. She had to get back to the palace as soon as possible so that she could get rid of the sinking feeling that she had in her stomach. Her heart raced as she felt as though something had gone terribly wrong between her receiving of the letter from her aunt and them leaving Wade Palace. Now, she urged Iovianus' horse to go as fast as it possibly could, desperate to be proven wrong.