The Prince's Maid.

Chapter23

The journey home was uneventful and I spent the majority of it in my room, pretending to be recovering from days of lost sleep. In reality, I just didn't want to go out there and face Tristan with his constant happy-go-lucky attitude. It was almost as if it were an act he did because he'd found out about the kisses exchanged between Adrian and I; to be honest, if I didn't know that he was such a terrible actor, that's the first assumption I would have made.

I spent several nights just staring at my ceiling, unable to sleep, my mind filled with thoughts of Tristan and Adrian. Adrian meant something to me, but was it little more than friendship?

And Tristan...

Tristan is brilliant to me, everything I could ever want in a man and everything that any decent woman would want in a man. But since the time apart, all he's done is made me feel extremely claustraphobic. Every time I'm out my room, he treats me as though I'd been kidnapped or like I could break at any second. He bombards me with questions; not ones that make me look guilty, but checking if I want him to do something and if I refuse, am I sure? Recently, I've just been answering rather bluntly or getting annoyed. It doesn't seem to bother him and he just carries on acting like an excited little puppy.

The day we arrived was the first day that any proper emotion was drawn from me; nerves kicked in and then worry over my mother's condition. She'd also stayed in her room throughout the journey home, but that had been an order due to her illness. Caden had spent the majority of his time in her room to keep her company, and from what Tristan had passed on to me, she was making a gradual recovery. News of my mother's well-being was the only time Tristan would get a decent answer even uttered from my lips. I just hoped that he hadn't been saying it just to comfort me.

Standing in front of the entrance gates to the palace felt like I was about to walk into Hell; I'd been fired for a reason and I doubt that I could just walk in like nothing had ever happened.

Like he'd read my mind, Caden nudged my arm gently and said, "I've spoken to my father. You're welcome back here if you wish."

I just nodded. It seemed such a simple thing; all Caden had to do was persuade his father to let me stay and that was it. It seemed too easy. But then again, maybe that's what happens in a life like the one Caden has; no effort, no real ambition or motivation to try hard tasks because they all just get done.

Tristan looked at me and took in the expression of obvious discomfort on my face, turned back and out a hand under my arm to steady me if I should fall. It irritated me and I pulled my arm from his grasp.

"I'm not going to fall," I snapped.

Tristan held his hands up. "You just looked like you could, that's all. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Falling would do little more than graze an elbow. I am perfectly capable of walking," I argued.

"Grazing an elbow seems like nothing, but why would I want such an ugly thing upon the skin of my princess?" Tristan's eyes gave out the same emotion that used to make my knees weak, melt my heart, take my breath away. But now, I just felt trapped; his words were clinging to the inside of my ears, working their way into my throat and tightening. I stepped away from him.

"I'm fine," I said.

Tristan nodded and didn't touch me again.

***

I'd forgotten how big the palace truly was until I'd stepped inside it and immediately felt like I was two inches tall. Yet it wasn't intimidating; it felt like home. The nerves vanished and I calmed.

Two men came immediately to collect my mother from us and carried her away. I wanted to go with her, but I wouldn't be allowed; the doctors would need space to be able to concentrate, not an anxious daughter watching with a worried eye and panicking over anything that (to her) looked out of place.