The Monarch

The Halfway Point

The cook smiles as he cooks, excited to see Bridgette's reaction to his little secret. He makes muffins for everyone, making bacon for the guards.

Bridgette is laying against the wall, a few tears rolling down her cheek. She continues thinking about her family.

The guards take their food. Alek places the muffins in the pot, hiding the fact that he made the slaves muffins.

She looks at the cook and sees him hide the muffins. She scowls and turns away.

He stands, putting on his helmet and opening the cart. He smiles under the helmet as he hands them to the slaves and holds out a bowl to Bridgette. Inside were pancakes with berries and preserves.

Bridgette's eyes widen and she wipes them, staring in shock. ".... Y-you.... you said you would tell me.... when we get to the halfway mark... When is that?" She looks up at him.

"It's our next stop. As soon as we take a break for lunch." He bows his head.

Bridgette says nothing and looks at the food. She sighs and takes it, eating some.

He smiles under the helmet. "Thank you." He says, moving out of the cart.

She watches him leave before finishing her food.

The cook takes the bowl and pot from the cart, cleaning them and hoisting them onto his back along with the sack of food.

While Bridgette waits she watches the cook, angry at the wait time.

The guards move at the command and march forward, the cook's hair falling in his face. They march for hours more. At noon, they stop.

Bridgette is anxious and stands up.

The cook makes the guard's lunch, giving the slaves a simple meal. He brings it to them, unlocking the cart and handing it off.

"So?" She says, folding her arms and narrowing her eyes.

He chuckles lightly. "Alright, but please do be quiet about this."

"No promises." She narrows her eyes.

He rolls his eyes and takes off the helmet with a smile. "I'm sorry, my lady, for taking so long."

Bridgette stares at him then gasps. Instead of laughing or scolding him, Bridgette just begins crying, wanting to hug him but not sure if she should or not.

Alek steps back a second and looks to the slaves who looked at him with confusion. Alek places a finger to his lips, telling them to keep quiet. He then pulls her into a hug. "My lady, stop your tears... everything is alright!"

She hugs back tightly and tries to pull him as close as possible. She whimpers through tears "Alek I thought you forgot about me o-or hated m-me or something terrible."

One of the slave's eyes widen. Alek smiles as he places a hand on the back of her head. "Bridgette I could never. I promised to protect you. I'm not leaving your side."

Bridgette smiles a bit and chuckles through tears. "I-im so glad you're here..." She pulls away and looks at him with worried eyes "I-im so sorry! Your food was wonderful and I didn't mean to spit the food! Well... I did but that's when I thought you were a weird cook! I promise!"

He chuckles and kisses her forehead, something he was used to comforting Kogan with. "I understand. I suppose some of my hints were a little misleading."

Her face burns pink and she looks at him with wide eyes. She shakes her head and decides to say nothing about it before hugging him again. "... How long can I hug you?"

He glances toward the guards. "I'd say... three minutes tops."

"Then I'm hugging you for three minutes." She holds tighter "Even if your armor is uncomfortable to hug."

Alek laughs, "Well your hair is in my face!"

He holds to her tightly, glad to be able to hold her after all that time About two minutes later Bridgette Giggles and whispers "This is a long time of hugs. But maybe I can talk to you later tonight." She pulls away from him and smiles.

He uses one of his hands to brush some hair behind her ear. "I'd love to." He smiles as he looks at her.

Bridgette blushes a bit and smiles back at him before sitting down and leaning on the side. Her heart flutters with happiness and she shuts her eyes.

The guard leaves the crate, locking it behind him with a smile.

Bridgette looks at the slaves and her face burns more as she realizes they were watching. "... Please don't tell..."

The one whose eyes were wide stuttered out. "P-p-prince A-a-Alek?! He's-- You're--" The others next to them covered their mouth and nodded to Bridgette.

Bridgette smiles a bit "Thank you... and yes, he's my friend. I'm sure he's going to help us somehow..."

They smile lightly, each to themselves, hoping that he could do something. Alek doesn't stop smiling, even as he carries his things, even as they begin walking once more.

Bridgette lays against the side and smiles to herself. She grabs the key and whispers "He's here Papa... He's here..." Soon, she drifts to sleep.

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A/N: YAYYYYYYYYYYY ALL'S WELL ENDS WELL HAHAHAH YOU THOUGHT IT HASN'T ENDED.

L/N: HEHEHEHEHHE Next up: A GOOD!!