Free Web NovelChapter 19: The Visit
Arianna couldn’t blink an eye, even though she felt exhausted. It was night already in the north, yet her heart was not at rest. The thought of Ragnar being on his way to the west made her entirely restless.
"I think I am going to pass out soon," Arianna said, picking up the cup of water beside her to take a sip. She had finished at least four cups of water by now. "Things are supposed to get better for me, so why did I end up in this dilemma?"
"My lady, things are not as bad as you think," Maria said.
"How?" Her brows furrowed in confusion as she turned.
Arianna had been sitting on the floor. It was so unprincess-like, but at this minute, she didn’t care what was right or wrong.
"Good things have happened to you, my lady. You are alive and you are not married to Ethan. What more could you have asked for?"
"That’s true." Arianna bit her lower lip slowly.
Just then, the tent flap moved. Arianna quickly sprang up from the floor to face whoever it was.
Selena.
Ever since Arianna found out about the betrayal, she had avoided her like the plague. It wasn’t because she was scared, but rather irritated by what her best friend had done to her after all these years.
Arianna had turned a blind eye to every wrong in the past. Selena was the girl she grew up with, and their friendship would have been twelve years old yesterday if things hadn’t turned into such a mess.
"What are you doing here?" Arianna asked, her jaw clenched and her arms crossed in front of her.
"Hmmm." Selena looked around, as if she was trying to compare two things. "Your tent is much better than mine, Mother-in-law."
"So what? How is that even my problem right now?" Arianna asked. She was still surprised that this crazy friend of hers had the guts to face her after sleeping with her man.
Nah, Arianna shook her head. Ethan was never her man, because her true husband would never hurt her like this.
Selena had betrayed the friendship they shared by hurting her in ways that were terrible and unspeakable.
"You are still holding a grudge against me because Ethan chose me over you," Selena smiled, rubbing her stomach to show that her bump was beginning to form.
Arianna tried not to let it get to her, but it did. She couldn’t hold back the memories that came flooding in from her previous life. The moments when the both of them would lie to her, claiming they had some work to do together and because of how naive she was, she would foolishly go into the kitchen to prepare food for them.
She had no idea back then that they were actually spending lovers’ moments together.
"A grudge?" Arianna was surprised that she would even bring that up. For a second, she wanted to argue, but then she changed her mind. "I rejected that man and married someone better. Ethan wanted to marry me, remember?"
"You are lying."
"You know what, Selena? You are the most foolish person I have ever met in my life. I used to think Ethan was foolish, but you are far beyond him."
The shock that spread across Selena’s face didn’t leave her room to speak. Arianna was a princess who barely spoke up, so what was happening now? Where did she get this sudden confidence from?
"You are pregnant by a man who has yet to marry you, and he won’t until he marries me, because he wants to be the king of the West," Arianna took a step forward, leaving just a few inches between them. "Now that I have refused to marry him, he came running to the north to convince me. And you? You are too blind to see how stupid you have been all these years. How can you not see that he is selfish and cares only about himself?"
"You are a big joker, Princ—"
"You don’t get to call me that over here," Arianna interrupted, her shoulders straightening. "I am your mother-in-law and the Luna. You have to show me some respect."
"W-what?" Selena took a step back, still shocked by how much her friend had changed since the last time they spoke.
"Yes, Selena. If you think you are going to be my problem in this tribe, then you are joking. Ethan has yet to marry you, so I can easily tell the king to throw you out."
"No, you will not!" She shouted in disbelief, taking another step back in fear. "I am carrying Ethan’s child."
"That doesn’t change a thing," Arianna said, remembering how Selena had pushed her off the rooftop in the past. It was a horrible scene to recall. "Get out of my room before I have the guards throw you out."
"I won’t forgive you for this, Arianna," Selena said, tears welling in her eyes. She looked genuinely hurt and seeing it gave her friend a sense of satisfaction.
"I haven’t forgiven you either," Arianna chuckled, pointing at the exit. "Leave, because you are the least of my troubles."
"Please, Lady Selena, do as the Luna said," Maria came forward, speaking politely but firmly.
"And tell your whore of a husband to stop bothering me," Arianna added. She watched Selena’s eyes burn with a mixture of anger and humiliation before she finally turned and left.
"I can’t believe she came to annoy me," Arianna sighed, shaking her head.
"You shouldn’t let what she said get to you, my lady. Lady Selena has always been jealous of you."
"I was too blind to see it in time," Arianna said, turning to Maria. She recalled the countless times her maid had tried to warn her. "I should have listened to you in the past."
"I am glad you finally know what type of people they are. Now, you have to keep Ethan and Ragnar from telling the truth."
"I don’t trust Selena either," Arianna said, biting her nails in fear. "We’ll have to find a way to shut her up for good."
"Why don’t you try winning the king’s favor first?" Maria asked. She was good at plotting. "If you have the king’s back, it will be good for us."
"How can I win him over?" Arianna wondered aloud. Suddenly, a thought struck her. She looked at Maria, who gave her a look that proved they were thinking the exact same thing. "No way. I can’t be a wife to that Barbarian King. He is a liar and a monster."
"Monsters do love, my lady."
"Maria..." Arianna shook her head and chuckled. "No, I am not doing that. We have to find a way to stop Ragnar first."
"To stop Ragnar from what?" a familiar voice asked.
Arianna’s eyes widened in sheer shock because she knew exactly who that voice belonged to.
The king!
Her heart began to beat so fast she feared it might stop altogether and she would drop dead right then and there.
"I am talking to you. Turn and answer me," the king said from behind her. "Leave us, handmaid."
Arianna’s mind raced. She hadn’t expected him to come to her tent, nor had she expected him to send Maria away so abruptly. What was he going to do now? Kill her?
No, he won’t, she tried to reassure herself, because he didn’t listen to our whole conversation.
But if Kane hadn’t been listening the entire time, then how did he know she was talking about Ragnar?
