The Tale of a Princess and Her Journey to Love

Chapter Fifteen

In the matter of a week, the situation in Alluvia had turned critical. It was as if a switch had been flicked and suddenly the once peaceful land was on fire. Lilly and Kiara had told Aurora that more girls, some as young as fourteen, had gone missing, and not just from the town of Dearyshire. It was a national crisis. Aurora had also heard whisperings from guards and maids wondering if the monarchy was collapsing and the King was behind the hardships. There was a lot of unrest as a shipment of food and other necessities mysteriously went missing and never arrived at the docks, inspiring looting and riots outside the castle.

Another cause of the riots was a terrible rumour that some had seen Alluvian Royal Guards dragging away a couple of the kidnapped girls. This sparked whisperings that King Markus was behind the abductions and was selling the girls off to bidders as a way to make money, as he was in debt because of his 'extravagant' lifestyle. It was no secret that the slave trade was one of the biggest illegal markets in the world, and many had earned their dirty millions from it. The whole Royal Family and their Aubriemian visitors were strictly forbidden from going outside as it was just too dangerous, and Queen Genevieve had moved Aurora to a spare bedroom just down the hall from her own, as she wanted to keep her close always. The same was true for Rosilabeth. Aurora had heard her eldest brothers Cassian and Zion worrying that these troubling rumours would spark a civil war.

Aurora was sure that Korian had something to do with all the bad things that were happening, but for the most part, he had been laying low – and was still courting her sister. It angered Aurora every time she saw them together, whispering or giggling in the corner and stealing secret caresses. There was nothing she could do though. She had to settle for watching, seething from afar, and hoping that they did not take things too far.

Theodosius's arrival was what was keeping Aurora going. She received a letter saying he would be there as soon as possible, and received word from Seymour that morning that his ship had crossed into Alluvian waters the previous night, meaning he would be arriving that day. Aurora was so happy and excited to see him, although of course really worried for all the unease and wickedness happening in the land. Her father had hardly slept lately, and had been working hard with her brothers and their advisors to find the missing women and diffuse the situation to restore peace. He seemed to have aged ten years in the last week, and Cassian and Zion's children were complaining that they never got to see their fathers. It was a difficult time for all.

Suddenly there was a gentle knock on the door. Aurora looked up from the painting she was in the middle of, and placed her paintbrush down. She was trying to create a beautiful pink, red and orange sunset, but it had not come out as spellbinding as it was in her mind.

"Come in." Aurora called out, hoping it was a maid coming to tell her that Theo had finally arrived after what felt like forever.

"Good afternoon your highness! There is a visitor in the great hall for you." Dusty winked making joy flutter through her heart.

She had not seen Seymour in a couple of days. She presumed he was helping her father trying to control the situation.

"Oh my!" She squealed, quickly removing her apron and hurrying out the door, desperate to see her Theo.

As she ran in a most unladylike fashion, sudden nerves attacked her stomach like a zoo of animals. Only a month had passed between them but it felt like forever, and she was worried that Theo had changed or their feelings had faded. Aurora was almost scared to enter into the Great Hall. Nevertheless, after checking her hair was still neatly pinned back and there were no paint splodges on her beautiful coral dress, Aurora gathered her courage and with a firm knock entered into the room. Theo was stood with his back to her, but after sensing her presence, he quickly swivelled round.