Mahnu, An Immortal's Journey

Chapter 14

King Richard didn't get more details out of Mahnu, but they had made love again before she got out and said, "I'll be back soon."

The King watched her as she went to leave but she stopped and turned back. "Oh, the Queen."

"The Queen?" He interrupted.

Mahnu pointed towards his bed chamber, "She is still waiting for you."

King Richard wondered how she would know! No one told him! Can you read minds? He asked her silently.

"Yes." She said and was gone before he could answer.

He was speechless.

He had been right! It made a lot of sense, with her look when he woke up that time near Havlish, with the Princess, with the guards, with the assassins...

His thoughts stopped there. Does she...Does she know who are behind the assassins?

But wouldn't she tell me if she knew?

The King shook his head. Too much, it's been a long day and...

He was suddenly depressed...

...She's gone...

King Richard sighed unhappily.

By the time he got back to his bed chamber, he had forgotten that the Queen was there waiting for him.

Mahnu, he thought, come back soon.

Having come to a new low in his life, the King sat there in a daze, not even remembering that the Queen was right there in front of him...

"...Don't you think...Your Majesty?"

The King looked up to the Queen stunned, he had no idea what she had been talking about. "I'm sorry...What?"

Already, he felt like a part of him was missing.

***

The King's absentmindedness was seen by not just the Queen but everybody else around him. The days were slow and he found himself often looking out into the horizon, wondering where his Mahnu would be.

How could someone become so dear to me in such a short amount of time...And then leave me!

He knew that he was mad at her and that he missed her, all at the same time, but he couldn't do anything about it.

As much as I want to lock her in my chambers, I know I can't! King Richard sighs loudly.

All he could do, was find some nice flowers that he could pick for her for when she returns. It was not as easy as he thought, as flowers had different meanings and the first two that he picked had to be discarded!

His daughter had gone as far as getting someone to make her a special dress and when she had shown her father, he had agreed to play with her when the maiden returns, but fell into a daze afterwards...

There was even a special order of clothes to be made, only now waiting for the person to measure, as the materials and seamstress was already been taken care off.

It was all a sighing matter, as King Richard thought of the mean and cruel...But all so wonderful and beautiful woman...

The rumour of a consort coming into the palace was brought up in front of the King by the Queen's father, as he visited the capital the next day. But, King Richard flatly refused the rumours coldly, saying that the subject of having a consort was not a subject to discuss...At least not until the one being discussed returned!

Without anyone knowing where the woman was that he had apparently bedded, some people started to believe that it was not real and was in fact just a rumour. Yet, some knew for certain that it was real, but had to agree to stating that the woman seemed to no longer appear within His Majesty's chambers...