Guarded ✔️

Chapter 16

"Oh look," Lauren's voice sounded as I opened my eyes. "They're up."

"Good morning," I said, sleep still evident in my voice. Maddon's arms were wrapped around my stomach, the sheets pulled up high to cover us.

"Indeed it is," Holly said, smiling.

"Did you two have a nice night?" Lauren smirked. Did they know? I pulled the covers up higher.

"Yes," I said slowly.

"Was it good?" Lauren asked, her eyes expectant.

"It was alright?"

"Just alright?  I thought you would have a different reaction for your first time," Holly said. They must know.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on, we know what you two did last night," she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

"You do?" I said, panicked. How could they possibly know what we did. Our bodies were completely covered.

"Of course! I mean, we saw his clothes thrown around the room, and yours in the bathroom. Then you two are all wrapped up in the bed..." Holly squealed. "Lauren thinks it was a little soon, but I think it's romantic."

If I was drinking water, I would have spit it all over them.

"No! No, no, no! We didn't do that," I assured

"But...why were your clothes on the floor then?  Are you two naked?"

"No! No," I said, pulling the covers down to reveal last night's village clothes. "See?"

"Why are you... Braelynn, did you go outside the castle?"  Holly whispered the last part.

I said nothing, and that said everything.

"Oh my gosh you did!  What did you see?" Lauren asked.

"Enough," I said. "I'm working on it."

"I knew it," Holly said. "I knew you would find out the truth. And I knew you would do something to change it."

"We have to get you cleaned up before someone else comes in here," Lauren said, motioning for me to get up. Maddon woke up too, sitting up and stretching.

Holly and Lauren got me ready and Maddon changed back into his uniform. Our dirty clothes were stuffed in a laundry bag to disguise them.

"I need to talk to my mother about what we saw," I said.

She was sitting in her lounge room, sewing a quilt.

I had to go about this a specific way. Mother could not know that we left the castle, or I don't know what she would do to me.

"Mother, there are a couple issues I would like to discuss with you," I began.  She looked up, but returned to her sewing.  "The people of Thanes are uneducated.  Their schools have been shut down for a while now.  I believe that in order to have a skilled kingdom, the people need to be literate.  We should school teachers and send them out to the village children.  Second, most people are starving.  We should send out food to the poorer towns so they can make it through the winter."

"Where are you hearing this?" she demanded.

"In the letters people from the villages send me," I said calmly.