Free Web NovelChapter 15: Forgiving And Staying Close.
The heavy silence between them stretched on and on, thick with unspoken words, until Aunt Freya interrupted from outside, asking for permission to come in.
Before Kane could open his mouth to send her away, the princess rushed to the entrance and answered, pulling his aunt inside.
"Good morning, my child. I brought you gifts as part of our tradition," Aunt Freya explained with a warm smile, gesturing to the items she carried. "The bride receives gifts from the groom’s mother, and since Kane’s mother is no longer with us, I wanted to fill that space for you."
"Thank you," Arianna said softly, though she could not forget that she had a serious confrontation waiting for this woman as well.
"Are you leaving, Kane?" Aunt Freya asked, her eyes shifting to him with a knowing smile. "It is tradition for the women to share this time."
Kane swallowed hard, his face a cold mask that perfectly matched the suffocating tension in the room. He hesitated, but then turned to exit.
As he walked away, lifting the heavy fabric of the entrance, his wife’s voice drifted after him.
"Since I am going to stay here, you should teach me the customs of the North, Aunt Freya."
Kane froze for a fraction of a second. Did she just say she was staying?
He could hardly believe his ears, but the words were undeniable. As he finally stepped out of the tent and into the crisp air, his mind raced, completely consumed by her.
He kept wondering who this woman truly was, and why she refused to give up on him no matter what.
*********
The tray was offered to her, and Maria took it, placing it carefully on the table in front of the stool.
When it was opened, Arianna barely looked at the glittering gifts staring back at her.
Her mind was entirely somewhere else. Kane had left without saying another word to her. He seemed furious, even though she was the one who had every right to be angry.
"Princess Arianna," Aunt Freya called out, her voice kicking Arianna right out of her looping thoughts.
"Y-yes?" Arianna blinked, looking up at the older woman standing in front of her. Taking a proper look at her now, the horrifying truth clicked. Freya was the exact person who had encouraged her to sleep with the king last night.
Horror settled heavy on her features as she fully understood what this woman had been trying to do. She had been sending her straight to her grave.
"You should..." Aunt Freya started, but she was quickly cut off.
"No, you should listen to me," Arianna interrupted, rising slowly from her seat. She took a few deliberate steps forward, closing the distance between them until she was standing right in the woman’s space. "I know what you did yesterday, and I know exactly what result you were expecting."
"What are you saying, Prin..."
Arianna raised her hand sharply, cutting her off before she could speak further. "You will listen to me first. I am not done talking."
Aunt Freya’s face paled, looking as though she had just seen a ghost. She clearly had never expected the princess to stand up for herself like this.
"Do not ever try this again," Arianna warned, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "I do not want your advice if its true purpose is to eliminate me. Do you understand?"
"I... I have never given you wrong advice, Princess."
"Really?" Arianna chuckled, the sound completely devoid of humor as she crossed her arms tightly over her chest. It seemed the woman was ready to pile on even more lies, and Arianna was losing her patience.
"The tradition demands that you mate with the king before becoming the Luna," Aunt Freya argued, desperately trying to bail herself out. "The only way you can stay on that throne without competition is by bearing his heir!"
"And how am I supposed to carry his heir when he is death himself?" Arianna snapped, her eyes piercing through the older woman. "Did you not know that?"
"I do, but I believe something is going to change now," the older woman said. She lowered her head slightly, leaving the princess to wonder what dark thoughts were racing through her mind. "When I saw you, Arianna, I knew something was different about you. Even Kane knew it, and that is exactly why he married you."
"What is different?" Arianna asked, her brows furrowing deeply. She highly doubted the aunt knew just how icy and unbothered her nephew had acted only moments earlier.
"So many things, my princess. And we truly think you will be the one to break the curse."
"It does not matter," Arianna countered coldly. "You were supposed to tell me about it instead of throwing me blindly into the fire. This must never happen again."
"I promise it won’t. Please, forgive me and my household," Aunt Freya apologized, her voice heavy with regret.
Arianna studied her face. She could see a flicker of sincerity in the woman’s eyes, even though she highly doubted whether someone like Freya could ever truly be trusted. Still, for now, it was better to play along "It is fine. You may leave."
The old woman seemed surprised to be dismissed so easily. However, she simply bowed her head and quietly left the tent.
"I love the way you spoke to her," Maria said, a genuine smile breaking across her face. She usually kept her thoughts to herself, but the princess had impressed her today.
"Really?" Arianna asked, walking back over to where the tray sat.
She looked down at the offerings. The gifts consisted of an array of exquisite, finely crafted jewelry, making her wonder if these people were far more sophisticated than anyone in the West believed.
"They have gold, chests, fine furniture, and so many other things barbarians are not supposed to possess," Arianna murmured.
"Yes, my lady," Maria agreed, watching her closely.
"What do you think is going on here? I feel like they are not really the barbarians we thought they were," Arianna said, running her fingers over the smooth metal and glittering stones of the jewelry.
There was no doubt they would look beautiful on her, but the wealth hidden in this camp only brought more dangerous questions.
"I have no idea, my lady, but I know for a fact that we have to be careful around Aunt Freya."
"We will," Arianna said with a firm nod.
"However, I need to know exactly what she is planning for me, and why she wanted me dead. I need to find out what her true gain is in all of this."
"How are you going to achieve that?" Maria could not help but ask, her brow furrowed in concern.
"By forgiving her and staying close. I will find out the truth soon," Arianna said, turning to walk into the inner room that housed the bathing chamber.
It was quiet and cast in a gentle darkness, though she could still see perfectly well. A line of candle stands and burning incense circled a massive stone tub that could easily hold up to three people.
Confusion flickered across her face as she approached and saw that the bath was already filled.
"It is clean and warm," Maria noted, dipping a finger into the water to check the temperature. "They must have changed it for you while we were occupied."
"Hmmm..." Arianna murmured, sliding the fabric down from her shoulders.
Maria quickly looked away as she noticed how badly torn the gown was from the night before. Left to her own reflections, Arianna stared into the mirror, studying her appearance.
The vivid memories of last night came hitting her all at once, and she could hardly believe she had fallen so easily for the king’s charm.
In bed, he had been a completely different person. At first, he had almost seemed like an innocent teenager who knew nothing about love, only to completely overwhelm her later.
Arianna snapped herself out of her thoughts quickly, shedding the rest of her clothes and stepping down into the deep bath. The warm water felt like an absolute blessing against her aching skin.
She submerged herself quietly for a long moment before speaking. "What do you think I am going to do next, Maria?"
"Let me guess," Maria replied with a small smile. "You are going to stop Ethan and Selena’s upcoming wedding."
"No. What kind of mother-in-law would I be if I did that?" Arianna chuckled softly. She scooped up a handful of the warm water and poured it over her face, wiping the weariness from her eyes. "I am actually going to organize the wedding for them myself. That way, Ethan will finally leave me alone and it will convince the king once and for all that there is absolutely nothing between us."
