Anya

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

   "I have had enough of crying, the waiting, the not knowing, I want my daughter found!" Katerina yelled at the line of guards who stood in the King's room, pacing up and down the line, her face thunderous.

   She had been up in her room and crying her eyes out but she knew that she needed to get her act together, all of this crying was not going to do anything and she knew that it was not fair on her husband to be the only one dealing with it all. Anya had two parents and both of them were going to get her found. Katerina only had to remind herself that Anya was HER daughter and that she was like her, had the same instincts and was not stupid enough to get killed but then with the unrest she was not too sure...

   One guard who was stood near the middle stepped forward. "Princess Katerina, we did find her." He announced.

   Her eyes snapped to his. "And how come I have not been informed of this? Where is she?" Her head swivelled around the room like her daughter was just going to appear out of thin air but when she did not, her eyes landed accusingly back on the guard who spoke up. "Well?"

   We did find her but... but we lost her." He gulped. "She was taken by a man who dressed as one of us. He knocked out two of my guards and stupidly duped me into believing he was one of us. I have not seen someone as strong as that in a long time, you know that all guards are trained in fighting, so to be able to knock not one but two of us out is a feat in itself."

   Katerina looked at them incredulously, she could not believe what she was hearing, not only had they lost her daughter but he was talking about this man with awe... awe, she was dumbfounded. "When you found her, where was she?" 

   "In the woods with her friend, they tried to run but we caught up with them and kept them apart so that they could not strategise together but it seemed futile as they obviously had an ally in the mysterious man."

   "Did she look well? Was she thin? Did you feed her?" Katerina's motherly instincts came out, she had to ask. These people were proof that her daughter was okay, the fact that she had friends to help her out only made her smile more. Her daughter was fine, she could calm down now, she would arrive back at the palace when she was ready.

   The thought gave her some comfort, though she was not too sure about this man she was with, he may be nice but if he had an ulterior motive then things would quickly go sour and she would be in danger again. Plus she did have duties to uphold, he would know who she is so that would obviously be a factor as to why he was staying with her and that meant only trouble.

   She turned back towards the guards and let out a huge breath, she needed to keep calm. Letting her thoughts wander off like that was not good for her mental health. She was with someone who was obviously looking after her and she had Darya so things were okay, she did not have to read into everything.

   The door in the corner of the huge, blue, beige and silver room opened and Demyan stepped inside, he gave a small bow to introduce himself and made his way straight to Katerina. Wrapping an arm around her, she smiled up at him and turned to the guards. "Do not search for my daughter anymore, just go about your usual duties." She told them and turned around with Demyan but he stalled.

   "What? You are calling off the search for Anya?" He frowned and held a hand up to the guards to tell them to stay right where they were.

   She pulled his arm away from her and nodded her head, "I am." She stated simply.

      "But you cannot, I want her brought back here where she belongs." She replied. "The quicker, the better."

   She lovingly placed both of her soft hands on either side of his face and tilted his head so that she was looking into his blue eyes, "Demyan, our daughter had been found and the guards assured me that she was okay, she looked healthy and she was with Darya and another friend, she will come back when she is ready." Katerina told her husband.