Quaintrelle Queen // short story

Part Five

"That trip was intentional," Ashton whispered. "The Council approached me. They told me they needed me gone, so they could isolate your power and eventually overthrow you. I was against the idea, until they threatened to kill you and Lucas. I could not do that, Lilliana. I agreed to it. Two guards escorted me to the forest and I have been surviving out here for months. I cannot tell you how sorry I am for all the heartbreak you went through."

Lilliana looked at Lucas as he slept with his head rested on Ashton's leg. "It is not your fault, Ashton. The Council has always been against me. It is just..." She sighed. "It has been so difficult trying to raise Lucas, my love. He would come to me every morning and ask me if I could play ball, if I could horseback ride, if I could go to the village, just like 'father'. It broke me. I could not. I was so busy being queen I could not be a proper mother." Her legs began to tire so she seated herself beside Ashton. "I have missed you so."

He rubbed her bare arm and lowered his gaze until the only thing in his vision was Lilliana. It was only when he leaned in that she chuckled and pressed her hand on his lips gently. "Darling, Lucas is bound to wake any moment now."

Ashton gently set Lucas' head on the ground and turned his attention back to Lilliana. "Better?"

She smiled and nodded.

The two embraced each other in the middle of the night, sneaking kisses they had missed for the past four treacherous months. In Ashton's arm, Lilliana felt safe and secure, powerful and capable. For once, nothing felt alright, not with her kingdom lost and her title evaporated. But Lilliana was ready for it. She would face it all with the courage she stored in her heart.

The early morning sun began to peek behind its covers of fluffy blue clouds, emitting a golden glow across the horizon.

Lilliana gently shook Lucas from his sleep. "Lucas, Lucas, my love... It is time to get up." She pressed a kiss on his forehead. "Come on, love."

He moaned as he slowly got up from his resting position and looked around, before grabbing his head with his hands. "Mother, my head... It hurts."

She glanced at Ashton panickedly, before turning back to Lucas. "Hopefully it is not severely injured. We will find a healer as soon as we can to get you checked."

Ashton held his hand out for Lucas to hold. He looked at Lilliana. "Let us go."

The trio clambered across the rest of the forest until they realized the thin trail began to leak into a wider and used path. Ashton pushed back branches and helped Lucas over rocks. Lilliana was doing just fine navigating on her own, her dress hanging off her as she hiked the terrain.

They soon reached the entrance to the kingdom of Waterton. It was early noon by then, and Lilliana could smell the aroma of freshly baked bread in the air and hear the sounds of merchants shouting and carts being wheeled around. She looked on amusedly as Lucas stared around in wonder. He had gone to the village with Ashton before, but always with a legion of guards and by carriage. The people always waved at him and bowed to them. Never had he seen it in this perspective, where he was unrecognizable and treated like any other, surrounded with the sounds and smells and sights of a bustling village.

Ashton placed an arm around Lilliana's waist as he sensed the village men's gazes falling on her exposed skin, due in part to her ruined dress. He felt incredibly protective of his wife who had never needed protection. After all the trauma she had gone through, Ashton vowed never to let a man walk away with harrassing her. He would deliver the punch and Lilliana would deliver the insults.

Steering into a nearby shop, Ashton talked to the seamstress and after paying with some money he had on him, he purchased Lilliana a new dress.

Lilliana went in the back to try it on. After some fidgeting and struggle, as she had never dressed herself before, she came out. "What do you think of it?"

"You look pretty, Mother," Lucas exclaimed, clapping his hands together.

"I am glad you think so." Lilliana looked up at Ashton. "What say you?"

"I say I have the most beautiful wife in all the land." Ashton picked her up and spun her around. Lilliana giggled girlishly, making the seamstress in the corner blush and try to cover her smile.

He took Lucas' hand. "There is a healer across the road. I suggest we get Lucas looked at and then get something to eat. Preferably pudding."

"You and your pudding," Lilliana said, swatting him playfully. "You and Lucas go on ahead. I will be there in a moment."

Ashton obliged, leaving Lilliana observing herself in the mirror. It was not a normal thing for her to do. As a queen, her eyes never strayed to her reflection. She remembered a time when she did not care what she thought of herself. Her opinions revolved around what her subjects and advisors thought of her. But now, Lilliana saw herself raw and true.

The dress was a simple light blue color. The waist was not nearly as defined and there were no jewels sewed on for extra shimmer. Lilliana realized she did not need it, for she radiated on her own, in that raw and true moment. Her hair was a mess and the weight of a crown not on her head felt like a missing limb. However, she felt content as she was.

She exited the shop and hurtled herself into the busy street. Lucas and Ashton had just exited the healer's shop.

"What did the healer say?" Lilliana asked, wringing her wrists with worry.

"She said he will be fine, as long as he does not run around in an intense manner for the next two weeks and sticks to a simple diet. Although, I really do not think she had anything against pudding." Ashton winked at Lilliana, sending her guffawing until her stomach ached.

As they bought their food, Lilliana looked around herself.

Everyone was busy and bustling around, a tedious common schedule it appeared they never strayed from. But each person was unique and beautiful in a mysterious manner that enthralled Lilliana. She was an exiled queen, sitting amongst ordinary people, and she blended in with them all. It was an astounding observation on her part.

The sky was clear and a small breeze picked up. Not many noticed the happy family enjoying their pudding, but the melodious sound of Lilliana's laughter joined with Lucas' enthusiastic commentary and Ashton's encouraging remarks brought a vivid new life to the village, whose beauty was long buried under the sounds and actions of the common folk with their endless work and strict scheduled life.

Only one person noticed the difference in the village, and he stood on a balcony overlooking the kingdom. The balcony itself was a grand thing with twisting spirals and designs and was attached to the wall of the royal palace of Waterton. This man was indeed Prince Damian, complete with sleek hair and a magnetic attraction to all things pretty and powerful.

His eyes fell on the small silhouette of Lilliana below. He had failed once, but his determination never failed him. Prince Damian continued to yearn for the presence of Lilliana in his arms. Jealously bubbled and boiled within him when he saw Ashton touching her. He would get her. It was not over. He would know of her every move.

She would not.

But she would never have to.