Charmed

Chapter Ten

A/N: Hello my lovelies! I hope you're enjoying this story so far! Just a little warning (even though this book is labelled mature, some people like a pre-warning). Towards the end of this chapter, there's some nudey-rudey stuff. So if it's not your cup of tea, just a warning!

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The King and Queen stayed for three more days before returning to their retirement palace on the outskirts of Glydale. I had never been so relieved; for three days, I'd had to almost ignore Darius and Claude. But now that was over, I was practically skipping to Darius' chambers the next morning.

"Wake up, Darius!" I chimed as I burst the curtains open. A groan sounded from the bed but I ignored it. "Come on, wake up. You've got a council meeting today. And your breakfast is here." I rolled my eyes when he still didn't move and walked around his bed, yanking the sheets from his body.

I screamed, stepping back. In the bed was a woman who looked a few years older than myself. She was completely naked and she was led in Darius' bed. Hurriedly, she pulled the covers over herself and sat up. My hands dropped from my mouth and I shook my head a little.

"Beg your pardon, miss," I said quickly, turning to busy myself with the breakfast tray. "I was expecting Prince Darius."

"As was I," she sighed. I heard her feet drop to the floor and turned around after a moment. She was lacing the back of her dress up, her bright red hair falling around her face in perfect curls. "I waited here all night but the Prince did not return to his chambers."

"Well, surely he would have known you were waiting -"

"His father sent me, actually," she told me. "He said that the Prince needed reminding of something and that I should wait until he comes to his chambers to surprise him. I guess I surprised the wrong person."

I nodded. A nervous but fake smile spread across my lips. The woman strode past me, a note of confidence in her body. She stole a few grapes from Darius' plate, sent me a wink, and then disappeared through the door.

Within seconds of the woman leaving, Claude burst through the door. "Gwen, I heard your scream! Are you alright?"

I nodded, turning to the bed and pulling the sheets off of it. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry if I startled you."

"Hey." Claude's soft voice made me turn around, forcing me to swallow past the lump in my throat. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I shook my head and tried to get rid of the tears, but it wasn't working. A few dropped down my cheeks and I sat on the bed, defeated. "I just discovered a naked woman in Darius' bed. He wasn't here, but..."

"Oh, Gwen." Claude sat down next to me and pulled my head into her shoulder. "Why are you crying if he wasn't here?"

"Because I just keep getting reminded at every turn that Darius and I can never be together," I sobbed. Why was I being so emotional? I knew that we could never work yet here I was, crying about it. I blamed it on the emotional time we'd spent in Bourbon.

"Do you want to be together?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I mean... he -"

"Gwen, he will be king soon," she reminded me. "He can change these awful customs and then the two of you can be together. It just takes a little bit of time."

I spent the rest of the day avoiding Darius as much as possible. I had no idea where he was but I didn't take any risks. His chambers were spotless before lunch, which only left the horses and his clothes for me to clean, as well as walking his dog Dany.

Lisa picked up on my mood at lunch but I played it off as tiredness from the journey and from almost being drowned in the river. She seemed to believe me, which made me feel even worse. I shouldn't be lying to her but I couldn't tell her the truth of why I was upset. Even though she had never had to before, I had a feeling Lisa was the kind of person who would go up to Darius and make him apologise. Which obviously I did not want.