The King's Mistress

Chapter 134: It’s Time For Me To Go

Vy could see her hesitating. Sierra probably did not want to say anything to Alistair about it, knowing well it would hurt his feelings. She knew he had done this for her own good, but she was also worried about how this would affect things.

"You’re your own woman, Sierra. You can make decisions for yourself and even if they differ from what he wants for you, you should make it known," Vy advised.

Though both women had only known the other for a short period of time, they were becoming fast friends. They understood each other well.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it," Sierra replied with a smile, feeling a little more relaxed than she was before.

"You’re most welcome," switching gears, Vy decided to change the subject of their conversation, "I heard from Alistair that you tried some ice cream recently, did you like it?"

Sierra was caught off guard by her question. Realizing the question might have seemed out of place without proper context, Vy quickly explained. As it turned out, she was the owner of the ice cream shop that Alistair and her visited.

In fact, that was how Alistair came to know Vyrena and Dygo.

"You... you own the shop?" Sierra gasped in surprise.

"Yes," Vy smiled.

"The ice cream was delicious. Rock melon... I think that’s the one I tried. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever eaten," she praised as she recalled.

Sierra remembered the moment she shared with Alistair at the store. He had moved in close to her, eyes focused on her as he wiped away the smudge of ice cream she had on her lip.

Her cheeks were flushed from reliving the memory. Alistair, who’d been looking over every so often at Sierra, noticed the flush in her cheeks. Out of concern, he walked over to check on her.

He placed his hand on her cheeks, then on her forehead without much thought, startling her in the process.

"Are you alright, sweetling? Your cheeks feel warm, are you running a fever?" He asked, his voice filled with concern.

"Wha... no no, I’m alright, I..." She was flustered as she tried to find a suitable response.

Vy grinned, "She just happened to remember something sweet, that’s all."

"Something sweet?" Alistair asked, a little confused.

Vy and Sierra exchanged a look.

"Yes.. yes, that’s exactly it," Sierra tried her best to laugh it off, hoping Alistair would not suspect anything more.

Seeing how they interacted reminded Vy a little of herself and Dygo. They too shared similar moments in their relationship.

"I think it’s time we took our leave. Dygo, my love, shall we make a move?" Vy asked as she looked over at him.

Dygo nodded, "Yes, perhaps we should."

Vy turned back to give Sierra a hug, which caught her by surprise. It was not customary in Drakin or Cair for that, but for Vy, it was the norm. When she realized how uncomfortable she seemed to have made Sierra, she quickly apologized.

Dygo chuckled as he placed his hands on Vy’s shoulders and apologized on her behalf too, "Sorry about that. In our custom when we’ve enjoyed someone’s company, we hug them."

It was the best explanation he could come up with and Vy honestly could not think of a better one so she nodded in agreement too.

"No worries, Vy, no harm done," Sierra replied with a smile.

She wanted to get out of bed to properly see them off, but Alistair insisted she remained in bed. Vy and Sierra exchanged a few words, promising each other to keep in touch before leaving.

Once they had disappeared through the secret passageway, Alistair turned back to Sierra. Against his advice, she was getting out of bed.

"Where are you going?" He asked as he came to her side immediately to hold her hand as she stabilized herself.

"I..." Sierra hesitated for a moment, knowing how much he cared for her.

She could not bear to leave him now. But if she didn’t, she knew she would never leave. Alistair was now standing right in front of her. He reached out his hands and wrapped them around her waist.

"What’s wrong?" He asked caringly as he pulled her closer to his chest.

"Alistair, I need to go," she muttered as she buried her face in his chest.

She could hear his heartbeat. She could hear it quicken its pace as soon as she finished speaking. She closed her eyes as she curled her hand into a fist, wishing the moment would last longer.

Alistair tightened his arms around her, he didn’t want to let her go. He worried the moment he did, he would never see her again. But even so, he knew he had to let her go.

He was going to be there for her, no matter what decision she chose to make.

"Can I change your mind?" He whispered to her.

Sierra bit her lip. She paused for a moment, wondering what it would be like if she let him. She shook her head.

"I have to do this. For us," she said as she looked up into his eyes.

Sierra leaned forward and kissed Alistair on the lips. At that moment, she did not know what was going to happen next. Even with all the help she had, and the advice Vy gave, things could still go horribly wrong.

As they deepened their kiss, Sierra wrapped her arms around Alistair too. They pulled closer to each other, clearly not wanting to let go anytime soon. When they finally parted lips, both of them were a little breathless. ƒrēewebnovel.com

"It’s not the end, and yet we’re parting like it’s the last time we’ll ever see each other," Sierra joked, trying to keep things light-hearted.

Alistair caressed her cheek, feeling the warmth of her skin against his.

"At least it teaches us to cherish the time we have together," he said quietly.

She could see the sorrow in his eye, the sadness he kept buried deep in his heart. It pained her to see it, but she knew what she must do.

"I’ll call for the guards... then they’ll come in and..."

"No. If they catch me here, it’ll just be more trouble for the both of us," Sierra quickly explained.

Alistair bit his lip, he had not thought of that.

"Yes, you’re right. How do you want to do this then? How can I help?"

Sierra smiled as she straightened his collar, hoping it would help keep her mind off her other thoughts.

"You’ve already done more than I could ever wish for. I’ll leave the King’s Quarters in secret and turn myself in. That way, no one would suspect a thing. They would assume I’ve just come forward on my own after hiding for a couple of days."