The Royal Decision (Book 1 of The Royal Series)

Chapter 10

The Truth I Tried to Deny

Third Person’s POV

A roar of fury erupted sending chills and alarm throughout Wilhem Forest. The Earl of Wiltshire had never thought that he possessed such frightening voice until he met her, his Princess, his Aurelia. He had doubted his own feelings to her but when he saw her wounded, all hell broke loose. He felt as if his soul was ripped apart. All because of a grey wolf lounged at her.

He felt immense hatred towards the wolf and with a bang; he pushed a bullet through the carnivore heart. He was too caught up by his own hatred that he did not realize that the force of the wolf pushed Aurelia into the river. Aurelia was struggling to swim for she did know how to. However, her clothing weighed like a boulder. Slowly, she was losing all the oxygen in her heart. Though she knew that death was just a doorstep from her, she believed that she would not die for she had faith in Daniel. With a desperate heart, she called on his name, the name which had the power to calm her. As soon as the voice left her, she blackened out.

After hearing her voice, Daniel plunged into the water to retrieve her. Everything was his fault, he decided. If only he kept his attention on her, none of this would have happened. He had left Aurelia to collect his own thoughts and to clear his mind. Never in his wildest dream had he imagined a wolf would have attacked Aurelia right in front of his eyes. Damn, he cursed. All his thoughts were all excuses. If anything happened to Aurelia, he would never forgive himself.

While the Earl of Wiltshire was saving his princess, King Tyreus, Prince Dominique, the Duke of Hastings and his sister had arrived. It seemed that Princess Aurelia’s scream reached them. The King was worried as well as furious. Before this hunting, he had especially ordered his son to keep an eye on her and this was how his instruction turned out?! He practically shouted and demanded for an explanation from his son. However, he stopped in the middle when he saw his son’s torn face. Without him scolding him, his son was already blaming himself for what had happened, he realized. He thought of giving comfort to his son but decided otherwise for he believed that his son needs to figure this out himself. The soldiers jumped into the river to help but instead of helping, their armor dragged them and they ended up to be a hindrance.

After it seemed like ages, Daniel appeared, carrying Aurelia’s limp body. The time seemed to stop. The king’s face was anguish when he saw her daughter’s wound. Fortunately, it had stopped bleeding but none of them knew that she had bled a lot when she was struggling down in the river. The King immediately ordered his guards to prepare for leaving. Prince Dominique stopped blaming himself and used his cloak to warm his sister’s body while the Duke handed a towel for Daniel to dry himself.

Aurelia, sensing that she was going to be pulled apart from her sanctuary, felt threatened and wiggled in Daniel’s arms. From the beginning, Daniel had no intention of handing her to anyone, even if her father demanded it. Knowing that Dominique had seen the whole scene, he decided he did not need to explain further. Moreover, he was too tired to say anything. His perseverance could not last forever. On the back of his mind, he knew that he was shivering but he did not want to let her go. As if reading his thought, Aurelia snuggled closer to Daniel’s chest and he felt warmer when he held her tighter.

On the corner of King Tyreus’s eye, he saw his daughter behavior and found it peculiar. However, there was no point in asking anyone of them what had happened. Everyone was not in their own mind as their only concern was Aurelia’s safety. Finally, the preparation was complete and they marched to the castle in full speed.

Daniel put Aurelia gently in her bed. Servants were going in and out bringing new basin of hot water. All the doctors were summoned to the princess’s bedchamber. At this point, etiquette and reputation were placed last. The Duke of Hastings and The Earl of Wiltshire refused to leave the chamber. One for his childhood friend and another one for his beloved. Anastasia was praying while weeping silently, hoping earnestly that her dear friend would awaken.