The King's Bride

What Do You Mean?

They arrive at her little cottage and Everleigh signals Josh to enter, a candle-lit lantern showing him the way in. She quickly starts the fire that lights up the small room, before offering him some wine and pointing to a chair for him to sit on. Josh accepts both the drink and the chair, a sigh escaping his lips as he takes a seat.

The cottage is little, the bed to one side, the little kitchen area to the other and the bathing room in the back, leaving a small open space in the middle that serves as a living room. Everleigh doesn't care that this is the total opposite of how she used to live, she loves this little cottage because it's hers.

Everleigh grabs two mugs and pours the wine in, steeling herself for the conversation that is about to happen. She walks back to where Josh is sitting, handing him one of the mugs and takes a seat across from him.

-"What did you mean by he's not the same?" - She watches Josh take a large sip from his wine, almost as if gathering the courage to answer her.

-"The morning after you left, he dismantled the Private Council, saying that instead of giving him advice when asked, they were trying to control his life. To be honest, we weren't too upset about that decision, since we actually agreed with him in that aspect. But then..." - He lets out a breath, shaking his head.

-"Then... what?"

-"My brother began distancing himself from everyone. We would still see him during our morning meetings, but that would be it. We weren't allowed to talk about anything else other than affairs of the Kingdom and if we would try to see him in his room, he would flat out refuse to see us. He has closed himself off from everyone, including us, spending most of his time either in his study or his room."

"For the last couple of months, we have been doing the best we can to bring him out and to get back to some normalcy, but with no luck. A Kingdom needs its King and right now the King is a shell of who he used to be and we don't know what else to do to bring him out from the dark place he has slipped into." - Everleigh is surprised by this.

-"And how exactly do you think I can help? After all this time, I'm pretty sure I'm the last person Jensen wants to see. Can't you ask his bride? Lady Laila?"

-"Lady Laila??? Lady Laila left the following morning with her father. Jensen never had any intention to marry her and he told her and her father exactly that, that night at the Ball."

-"I thought..." - She lowers her eyes as she speaks, before softly being cut off by him.

-"Let me guess. You thought that he would forge a marriage agreement with her father as soon as you left. Lady..." - Josh cuts himself off, before correcting himself. -"Everleigh, my brother has fallen in love with you harder than I have ever seen anyone fall. He loves you, and we believe that it's that love that is the answer to get him back."

-"I doubt he still loves me, Commander. If anything, after all this time, he probably hates me. Isn't that how it usually goes?"

-"If he hated you, he wouldn't have an orchid in his room to remind him of you."

Everleigh is stunned by this, staying silent for a few moments. She had been so sure that Jensen would hate her by then, that it never crossed her mind that that might not be the truth.

-"How did you even find me?" - She asks, not wanting to deal with the implications of what Josh just revealed.

-"Once Jensen started pushing everyone away and hiding himself, I sent out scouts to look for you. Men I was sure had met you and who knew what you looked like. I knew that if we were to have any chance of bringing Jensen back to who he used to be, we needed you."

"Every week they would return and when I asked them if they had found you, their answers were always the same. A resounding no. My scouts have been all over the Kingdom, and no sign of you."

"Then, yesterday, one of the last scouts to return decided to stop here to get his horse some water and went to the tavern for a quick drink before getting back to the castle. I'm sure you can imagine his surprise when he walks in the tavern and sees you serving pints of brew and bowls of stew. He never made it past the door."

"He immediately turned on his heels, got on his horse and rode as fast as he could back to the Castle to tell me. There we were thinking that you had gone as far away from the Castle as possible and yet here you are, just a couple of hours away." - He chuckles sadly, shaking his head, before taking a swig of his wine.

-"That was the plan. But then I stopped here for the night and never left. Wait... You keep saying 'We'. Who's 'We'?"

-"Mackenzie and I. I should tell you, you didn't just break my brother's heart when you left. You broke Mackenzie's as well." - He gives her a sad smile.

-"It was never my intention. I explained that in my letter to her. Didn't she received it?" - She watches him shift his mug in his hands before answering.

-"She did. But it still broke her heart. You see, it wasn't easy for her growing up. Only daughter, not really being able to join me and Jensen in all the things we did together, it all made for a very lonely childhood for her. Jensen and I always tried to include her as much as possible, but most of the time our mother wouldn't let her, saying that a Princess had no business in joining her brothers in 'manly' activities."

"So when you came along, Mackenzie believed she now had a sister, someone she could talk to about things she can't talk about with us. She doesn't have any friends at Court, not real ones at least. Being the King's Advisor comes with a high price, one that she pays every day and never complains about. You were the first real friend she has had in years."

-"Mackenzie was my only friend in Court as well. From the beginning, she was always so kind to me and never pressured me to be anything other than myself. I knew I could really trust her with everything that was on my mind and my heart, because I knew she would never betray that trust, even if she was the King's Advisor and sister."

-"Soooo... Now what? Will you be willing to come back to the Castle with me and give it a try? Or do I have to grovel?"

Josh is looking back at her, a small smirk on his lips that reminds Everleigh of Jensen, making her heart clench at the sight. She misses him, there's no denying it. She stays silent for a few moments, weighing in all that Josh has just told her.

-"If I do this, and that is a big if, it doesn't mean that I'm going to stay at the Castle, and I don't want anyone to know that I'm there. I don't know what Jensen told people about me leaving..."

-"He told people that you were looking for a long lost relative and that was why you left. I guess, deep down, he was hoping you would change your mind and come back."

-"All the more reason for no one to know that I'm there. I need to make this very clear, Commander. Just because I'm willing to try and help, doesn't mean that I'll be able to do so. It will all depend on him. We don't know how he really feels about me after all this time, so don't expect a miracle. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

-"I know. But I also know that Jensen still loves you and if there's anyone that can help him, is you."

Everleigh lets out a breath, nodding at him and taking a large swig from her wine, needing that bit of liquid courage, thinking that Josh better be right, otherwise this will be a complete disaster. "So much for not getting involved."