W.I.T.C.H.: The Bloody Throne

Part 21

               The next morning, Phobos shook Will awake well before the light of dawn peeked over the horizon. Will groaned and tried to crawl deeper into the covers and she regretted not going to bed sooner as her husband suggested. She knew she had to get out of bed but hated the thought of crawling out of warm and comfortable bed and trade the comforts of her home for that of one she knew nothing about. With a tired voice, Will poked a hand out from under the covers and said, "Just five more minutes."

"Wilhelmina, the carriage will arrive in half an hour. The luggage is packed, and everyone is ready, I have already let you sleep well into the day and I want you to have breakfast before we have to go. Now, either get up or I'll force you to eat some toast; you know I have the power to do that to you." At her husband's words, Will groaned even louder before lifting the blanket off her and shooting her husband a look that was supposed to be angry but looked more like a grumpy toddler losing an argument with its' parent. Instead of dignifying the look, she was giving him with a response, he simply pulled the covers further away from her body with a grin and patted her head; at this point, Will had no choice but to get out of bed and prepare for the journey before them. Begrudgingly, Will crawled out of bed and got herself dressed in her favorite red dress, making sure to wear the broach her husband gave her a few days ago. Lovingly, Will stroked the tiny metal frog on her chest and sighed; he had managed to remember that she liked frogs and was happy he accepted that quirk of hers since was teased for liking those little amphibians.

After getting fully dressed and forcing a few slices of toast into her barely awake stomach, she joined her husband, Elyon, Orube, and Cedric in the courtyard where their back luggage sat as well. The courtyard was lit by several torches that bathed the snowy ground in a warm, orange glow; sadly, the torches offered no heat, as the air was biting cold and their breaths were visible as though each was smoking. Miranda had agreed to govern the castle while the group was gone, so she was there to see the group off. Suppressing a yawn, Will walked up to her husband and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"If our ride isn't here soon, I'll go back to bed. It should be illegal to get up this early and in the Winter no less." Muttered Will and Phobos simply rubbed her back to comfort her. Will lazily surveyed the boxes containing their clothes that they would need for the trip and was stumped when she counted one more than there were people. "Is someone else coming with us or is there another reason there are six crates instead of five?"

"The sixth one contains a little present for Princess Elizabeth. I know the invitation told us not to bring anything, but it is something that might be of great use for Isabella and Victor to help to raise a growing toddler." Replied Phobos. Will wanted to keep needling her husband about the contents of the box but dropped the subject; she'd find out tomorrow at the party anyway. Will sighed and straightened her back herself before asking, "So, what is the seating arrangement?"

Quickly and carefully, so no one would notice, Elyon pinched her brother's arm to remind him of her demands; she hadn't forgiven the royal couple yet and she planned on talking with her brother and sister-in-law about the secret they had promised not to keep from her. Her brother suppressed a hiss of pain and replied, "Orube and Cedric in one. You, Elyon, and I will share the other. You and Elyon still need to know a few things about Ero and I am sure Cedric can do the same for Orube."

Cedric wanted to interject since he could imagine a better journey to Ero than spending hours with Will's new bodyguard in closed quarters; however, he was too tired to interject. He had spent another night racked with nightmares that roused him from his sleep; each nightmare being worse than the last. In his last nightmare, he was trapped in a dark void with Will's maniacal laughter chasing like a dog would chase a rabbit. Then again, maybe he could get away with telling Orube the most important information and then napping the rest of the way until they reached Ero. Just as he was thinking about returning inside the Castle and giving Miranda a proper goodbye, he heard the sound of roaring shrieks that signaled the arrival of the wind stallions, so he gave up on that idea just as fast as he had it.