Free Web NovelChapter 81: Chapter 81
Iris returned to the room with a long face. The girls were deep in conversation, and they finally started talking rather than fighting or arguing with one another.
"We were wondering where you’d gone," Astrid said as soon as she had opened the door.
"Nothing serious, I wanted to check on Penelope." She said. "She didn’t seem well earlier." fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Selene and Astrid looked at Iris like she’d grown a second pair of legs and another head.
"You...what?!" Astrid was uncertain she had heard correctly.
Iris rolled her eyes and went to sit down on the chair she had vacated. "We’re friends, Astrid," she said. "Well, sort of friends," she murmured to herself. They hadn’t really talked since last week. Things weren’t the same between them any longer.
"Need I remind you, Iris..."
"You don’t need to remind me of anything, I know when my friends are when I see them."
"And you think one of these sisters is fit to be someone’s friend?" Octavia asked. "I was on the battlefield with that monster Octavia. Well, maybe not on the battlefield, but you understand what I mean. I was present, and I saw the kind of carnage she could unleash. Those girls are joined to the hip, you really think Penelope is much different?"
Iris leaned back into her chair and let her head fall backwards so she could loom at the ceiling. I know she is iris thought and sighed.
"Why don’t we just forget about this conversation?" Hera said with a smile, "Besides, you both need to wash up. You’re smelling up the whole place with your stench."
Hera widened her nose playfully to smell the two of them, and then acted disgusted; however, as soon as she sniffed the air around them, she immediately gagged.
"Oh come on, Hera," Astrid scoffed. "It doesn’t have to go that far. I know we stink, but ..."
Hera climbed off the bed and searched around for a bucket. She gagged again and almost vomited on herself, but Iris found a bucket just in time.
Astrid and Selene sat stunned, looking at the scene in front of them.
"Was that really because of us?" Astrid asked quietly.
"We can’t be that dirty now, can we?"
Iris turned to them, "Why don’t you go with Selene to our room and have the servants draw you both a bath? I’ll stay back and help her."
"I think that would be very appropriate," Selene replied in a daze and shook her head.
Hera wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and breathed deeply. "I think you should go," she said with a weak smile.
Astrid and Selene immediately dash out of the room. Iris dropped the bucket by the door, went to the bed and collapse on it, then stared at Hera with narrowed eyes.
"Don’t look at me like that, please don’t." Hera folded her arms and averted her gaze. "I know what you’re thinking, but I can’t bring myself to tell her. It would break her heart."
"It might, but it’s better than lying to her," Iris retorted. "It’s not going to be any different when she finds out about it later."
Hera groaned. "The truth is, I’m still considering this. I might want to terminate the pregnancy in a few days. Why should I tell her now when I am not certain about anything just yet? If I could prevent her from ever finding out, I would."
"This is a dangerous game you’re playing, Hera. I know you’re afraid to disappoint your family, but keeping this a secret could very well work against you later on."
Hera gave her a hard, knowing look and then looked away.
Astrid and Selene finally took a bath, and the exhaustion kicked in. They slept till the skies were devoid of any white clouds, and then the time for dinner came.
"Wake up, girls, or you might miss dinner," Hera said as she shook them awake.
Astrid squinted her sleep-ridden eyes to see who had woken her up, while Selene sat up straight with her eyes closed and her hair ruffled.
Iris and Hera chuckled.
"I’m glad you got all the sleep in the world, girls," Iris said, "but we have to go down for dinner right now, or we’ll be late."
Hera held Astrid’s face in her hand and shook her lightly while Iris proceeded to help Selene straighten out her hair.
When they were finally wide awake, the girls went down the stairs and joined the others for dinner.
It passed uneventfully, and the girls left in pairs.
"I think I would like to see the palace grounds much more properly now since all that war business is over. There’s no need to keep us indoors any longer."
"Would you like me to come with you?" Selene asked.
"No, no, you don’t need to worry. I’d like to be on my own for a while."
The girls headed back up to their rooms while Astrid sauntered through the palace’s main doors and stood completely still as the cold air blew through her. A smile formed on her face.
She looked across the yard and saw soldiers swarming the palace grounds.
She walked down the stairs and followed closely behind a few of the soldiers. They seemed to be returning to their quarters. She followed until they got to a larger building, and she saw soldiers trooping in and out of it. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
She lurked in the shadows till the soldiers who roamed the ground became less and less frequent. She didn’t. Augustus, her heart sank in disappointment, but she decided to turn back and continue on her way.
She headed toward the banquet hall, where the cliff was. After a while of walking, she felt a presence behind her. She refused to react and kept on walking.
She walked down the stairs, which were at the back of the palace, that led to the hall. Whoever it was was still following and still hadn’t said a word.
She clenched her fists tightly, and as soon as she reached the foot of the stairs, she turned back swiftly and threw a punch at whoever it was.
She’d almost hit Augustus.
"Goodness, I’m so sorry," she gasped.
He chuckled, "It’s alright. Besides, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have snuck up behind you like that."
"Why did you do it anyway?!" She chided.
He drew close to her and wrapped his hand around her waist. "Because I missed you."
