The Hathway Kingdom (Book 2)

Thirty-One.

~Thirty-One. ~

Akira was restless.

She hated the fact that she had been caught unawares. Though, given that she wasn't old enough to understand what had happened exactly, she knew why it had happened. The prince, Iovianus, had seen to her care the moment that they had returned to the palace, having made sure that Rosaleen had come and healed her, and she had. Her bruises were gone, her cuts and wounds non-existent but it wasn't the physical wounds that hurt her now.

She sighed as she once again looked out the window of the room, she sat in. It overlooked the courtyard that sat at the entrance to the palace, searching for some sign of her cousin. Or Tristan. Akira knew that he, General Xun and His Imperial Majesty had stayed behind to search the rubble that had been left behind when...when...

Akira hugged her blanket she had taken from her room around herself tighter. The sight of her cousin being covered in blood and then being buried underneath all that earth...That would stay with Akira for the rest of her days.

A sudden shout came from the courtyard and Akira's head shot up from where it had fallen. She watched as a carriage pulled out of the courtyard and disappeared through the palace gates and she gasped before she ran away from the windows and over to where Lizbeth and Iovianus sat, watching over her.

"Lizzie! Via!" Akira exclaimed and Lizbeth looked up from her book with a frown.

"Whatever has made you so flustered, Kira? You can't do that. Lady Cooper will have our heads if she saw you so worked up," Lizbeth said as she placed her book to the side and took Akira's hands in her own to stop her from bouncing around.

"Just tell her that I wasn't listening to you. But never mind that, Lizzie! A carriage just left the palace!" Akira exclaimed as she jumped up and down on the spot and both Lizbeth and Iovianus froze before Lizbeth looked over at Iovianus and met his gaze.

"They've found her," he said before he got to his feet. Lizbeth got up as well before she picked Akira up and all three of them ran to the palace entrance.

When they reached the palace courtyard, everyone was running around in a panic. Elissa had come out just after the trio and, upon looking at the chaos that was in front of her, began barking orders and getting everything back under control. She sighed before she turned to the others and bowed to them politely.

"Forgive me for that, Your Highness, my ladies," she said, and Lizbeth glanced at Iovianus before she spoke to Elissa as Akira tightened her hold on her slightly.

"What has happened, Elissa?" Lizbeth asked her cautiously as Akira looked at Elissa with wide, hopeful eyes.

"If one of the footmen is correct, then they have found Her Majesty. I don't know anything more than that, Lady Akira. I'm sorry," Elissa said when Akira went to say something before, she pouted and then began to cry into Lizbeth's shoulder. She stroked her hair gently to soothe her before they both looked up as they heard horses and the sound of a carriage being drawn into the palace grounds.

Elissa, Iovianus, and Lizbeth, who still carried Akira, raced down the palace steps to see who was driving the carriage. Lizbeth's eyes widened when she saw that Tristan was driving the carriage and not a footman. He gave a sharp tug on the reins, causing the horses to make their displeasure known but they came to a stop anyway. Once they were mostly still, Tristan leapt down as a stableboy hurried over and soothed the horses as Tristan ran around to the carriage door. He wrenched it open before he helped the occupants of the carriage out and all the people gathered in the courtyard gasped as one.

The sight that they were greeted with was going to be engrained into their memories for the rest of their lives. Theodoras came out first, covered in dust, dirt and God only knew what else. He was carrying something in his arms before Tristan helped the next person from the carriage. Romulus was next, covered in the same dust, dirt, and grime as Theodoras but something crimson also glistened on his arms and torso. They were both carrying something out of the carriage and, when she saw it, Akira gave a wail of despair.

Larissa, who was normally so full of life and energy, was now hanging limply within the gentle grasps of Romulus and Theodoras, his best friend and personal guard. She was covered in dirt, dust, and blood, with a large amount of it on her back and on her left shoulder at her front. Her red hair, which normally shone brighter than a ruby, had gone all but black after everything that had happened.

"Get Lady Cooper!" Tristan yelled as he helped Theodoras, and Romulus take Larissa towards the palace. Elissa, being the efficient maid and person that she was, began barking out orders again for the rest of the servants to do as Tristan had asked, and to help Romulus and Theodoras. Elissa then turned to the trio behind her and spoke to Lizbeth as Akira continued to sob into her shoulder.

"I am sorry, Lady Ayers, but could I trouble both you and His Highness by asking you both to take Lady Akira to her room and have her maid take care of her? She will argue but tell her that I will personal come and get her as soon as everything is settled," Elissa asked as she bowed, and Lizbeth nodded her head.

"Leave her with us, Elissa. If you can spare her, could you send Silvia to her room as well? She is an excellent maid, and I shall need her help," Lizbeth said and, once Elissa had agreed and told her she would send Silvia to her as soon as she found her, she took off with Iovianus to Akira's room. Elissa sighed before she turned to Romulus and Theodoras as they reached her.

"Where is Her Majesty's room?" Theodoras asked and both Tristan and Elissa looked at one another before they shook their heads at the same time.

"Her room is too far. The Falcon Wing where His Imperial Majesty and Lady Ayers stayed when you were all here last is much closer," Elissa said before she moved ahead of them. "Follow me. And be as quick as you can, gentlemen," Elissa said, and all three men nodded their heads before hurrying after her as she led them through the palace.

They arrived at the Falcon Wing, the same time as Rosaleen, who stood waiting in front of a room Romulus hadn't set foot in the last time he was here. There were servants rushing about inside and out, but he paid them no mind as he looked at Rosaleen.

"There is a medical bed inside. Put her there and then I will need everyone but my staff to leave the room and not come inside until I say so," she said sternly, her tone leaving no room for discussion.

"But I..." Romulus began to say before he silenced himself as Rosaleen shot him a look that could have silenced the Fates themselves.

"As much as I respect the fact that you are the emperor and that you are attempting to court Her Majesty, I must remind you...Your Imperial Majesty, that I outrank you when it comes to situations such as this. Now, do as I have instructed, or I will have you removed by my staff instead," Rosaleen said in as calm a voice as she could manage. Romulus scowled at her but did as he was told. He knew better than to argue with the Healers when they got that tone in their voices.

So, he and Theodoras carried Larissa into the room. Rosaleen had been right as there was a medical bed inside and they carried her over to it. They placed her down on the bed gently and, upon releasing his hold on her, Theodoras had left the room quickly. Romulus had lingered, sitting down on the bed beside her still form as he took her hand in his delicately.

"I don't know if you can hear me, Larissa, but if you were to ever obey a command from your Emperor then I want it to be this one," he began to say to her in a whisper before he leant down and rested his forehead against hers as he placed her limp hand against his chest, above where his heart sat in his chest.

"But don't you dare die on me. Do you hear me? Don't you dare leave me alone in this world with no chance of seeing your face ever again," he whispered to her before he got up as quickly as he could before anyone saw the tears rolling down his face. The second that he was gone, Rosaleen and her staff entered the room, locked the doors, and got to work on saving Larissa.