Warrior Protect

-20- Cade de Hanivel

"That snake." I hissed, as I paced in front of Queen Dima. She only laughed at my aggravation. She sat on a chair wearing some odd combination of a dress and pants similar to what she wore while training. She polished each blade on her fan, a smirk on her face as if taunting my aggravation. My own wife snuck out while I slept. After she told me to relax for the day. I should have never trusted her.

"Look, she took Karas with her this time. It is not like she completely ignored what you said," Queen Dima added.

"Your Maj–" Her hand went up, and I froze.

"I gave you two options. You may call me Dima or mother. Seeing as the last one would embarrass a man like you, Dima is all I want to hear from your mouth." I growled at her words and scowled, but the look didn't faze the graying woman. Especially not with that deadly fan in her hand. She shut the metal fan, the weapon sounding as sharp as it looked.

"How can I trust her if she does things like this, Dima?" I barely said her name as I collapsed into a chair. I knew I could trust her, knew that she didn't go alone this time. But, I couldn't help the worry I felt.

"She is meant to protect you, not the other way around." She said with a raised brow. I let out a frustrated sigh as my head fell back. "But, I do appreciate you caring for her. Just understand that she will do things like this because she is a warrior before a princess. Just like me and Inguar. He handles the politics, and I handle the security around the castle. Though we do run everything by each other before taking action." Dima's casual demeanor didn't make me feel any better about the situation.

"Can she not just help me run the kingdom from inside the castle, instead of running around the slums?" I knew it was impossible to keep her tucked safely in the castle, though. Even I was already thinking about giving her troops because I knew that was where she belonged.

"She will take time to adjust. It was hard enough to teach her how to run our kingdom in case anything happened to Eloy.

Learning more about Cavix's political policies, well, it will take time for her." Dima picked up her second fan opening it and inspecting each blade. She shut the fan with a heavy snap of sliding metal before setting it down on the table beside the first one. "I sent Inguar to see if she has returned so just relax or do whatever you must to calm down. If you stress over things this much, your life will be shortened. She can't save you from a tired heart."

I took one deep breath before sitting up again, gaze shooting to the window. It was late afternoon already. I had fallen asleep after breakfast with her. I didn't wake until lunch. How much longer would I have to wait and worry? I picked up the report I had been reading before, eyes narrowing on the paper. Father still ran most things and I did little more than sorting the reports and accessing the threats around the borders. I wanted more but father was giving me time with Aurora since I would take the throne in three months. I used to do more before she came here, so now it felt as if I had too much time on my hands. When Aurora wasn't around, and I was not training, I really had nothing to do.

The door opened and Karas entered. I scanned his cloak and saw nothing that signified a fight. My body relaxed and my worry left for a moment. If Karas was fine, then Aurora was fine. At least that was one positive thing.

"Where is she?" I asked, standing up and glaring at him. Karas bowed to Dima before raising his brown eyes and locking with mine.

"King Inguar sent me here to tell you she is back but in a meeting. He stayed behind to listen in." I was heading for the door before Karas even finished speaking. My impatient movement apparent, like a child.

"They are in the war room," Karas called out as I entered the hall, a hint of amusement dancing in his voice. He could tell I was rushing to go check on her. I couldn't stop the smile that curled the corners of my mouth in return.