The King's Mistress

Chapter 177: Where Have You Been?

Sierra sighed as she leaned back in her seat for a moment. A table filled with different dishes laid out before her. Ida was standing by her side. She was clutching her arm as she looked up at the clock in the distance.

Eventually, Sierra got up from her seat.

"Ida, I’m tired. I’m turning in for the night," Sierra said in defeat.

This was the fifth time Alistair stood her up.

"Your Grace, maybe he’s just bu-"

"Busy? Night after night? Week after week?" Sierra snapped as she turned to face Ida.

The maid was stunned by her response. She took a step back in shock.

Realizing what she had just done, Sierra’s expression softened instantly.

"I... I’m sorry Ida. I didn’t mean to... I..." she let out another sigh as she looked down on the ground, "I’m retiring for the evening. Just throw the food out and you may leave for the night."

In defeat, she returned to her room upstairs.

Ida wanted to say something, to cheer Sierra up. But her words failed her. As she watched her leave the room, she too could not help but sigh. She was beginning to wonder if something might have gone wrong with the King.

It all began a couple of weeks ago. At first, King Alistair would turn up late, which Sierra never minded. But soon enough, no letters came through. If they did, he never showed up.

Sierra had sent letters and invitations to him. She’d had to use a regular messenger to get her letters to Alistair as of late as Bunty, her Silverwing, was sending letters on her behalf to Cair.

Not a single of those letters was returned. Each night, Sierra would prepare a spread and waited, and waited.

She’d tried to go to look for him too. But each time, she was met with resistance. The King was either too busy to see her, or she had just missed him. As much as she yearned to look for him in his private quarters like she had done in the past, the increased security of the King’s Quarters since the last assassination attempt posed more threats too.

Not to mention, Sierra did not want to cause any more trouble than she should.

She changed into her night dress and laid down in bed. Turning to her side, she looked at the empty space next to her.

"What happened between us," she whispered to herself as she closed her eyes.

She refused to cry, she refused to show any sign of weakness.

Opal noticed the change in Sierra’s mood instantly. She slithered onto the bed and nuzzled her nose.

’Don’t overthink it,’ she hissed.

Sierra chuckled, trying her best to fake a smile as she replied telepathically, ’Easy for you to say.’ ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Eventually, she drifted off to sleep but she was not well rested either. Throughout the night, Sierra had remained on alert, hoping that Alistair would turn up at some point in the night.

Soon, the first rays of sunshine shone through her bedroom window. She opened her eyes, allowing them time to adjust to her surroundings. There was no longer a smile on her face, not for some time.

"I can’t keep being like this," she muttered to herself as she brought her arm up to cover her eyes.

She curled her hand into a fist and collected her thoughts.

"I must do something." fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

She got up to her feet and got dressed for the day. As she made her way down to the dining room, the aromatic fragrance of buttered pastries overloaded her senses. A rare smile returned to her face.

Could it be that Alistair had arrived with her favorite pastries? Perhaps to have breakfast with her.

"Good Morning, Your Grace."

It wasn’t Alistair. But it wasn’t Ida either.

"Oh, it’s you," she could not help but say in disappointment when she saw that it was her guard, Steven.

She had specifically asked him to guard the estate, never wanting him to enter the main building unless necessary. She was wary of this man. Though she could not quite pinpoint what was odd about him, her gut reminded her to be cautious.

But with all that had been happening, she had let her guard down around him little by little.

’I need to be vigilant,’ she thought to herself as she took a seat at the table.

"Where’s Ida?"

"Miss Ida went to run some errands. So she instructed me to have the royal kitchens prepare some breakfast for you," Steven explained.

A quick glance at the spread in front of her made her realize he knew exactly what she liked. Perhaps it was just instructions from Ida. Maybe it was something more. But even then, she did not have the appetite.

As such, Sierra reached for the pot of tea to pour herself some. Just as she reached out to get it, Steven did the same, causing their hands to touch. She pulled her hand back at once.

"My apologies, Your Grace, I-"

"You may take your leave, Steven. Return to your duties," Sierra ordered before he could finish speaking.

The guard did not protest. He took two steps back, bowed deeply, and left her side. As the main door of the estate closed behind him, she relaxed in her seat. Opal slithered onto the table and nibbled on some of the food.

’You’ve not been eating well,’ Opal spoke to her through telepathy.

Sierra sighed, ’No appetite.’

Opal slithered over, pushing a small plate of croissants towards her, ’Still, you must eat. For energy.’

She reached out to pet the snake on her head, thanking her for her concern. She did as Opal asked and took a bite of the croissant before sipping on her tea. Once she was done, she got up to leave.

With her swords belted on her waist, she left the main door. She was going to the King’s Quarters in hopes of seeing Alistair. If he did not come to her, she would go to him.

As soon as she made it out of the door, towards the gate, Steven came walking up to her.

"Your Grace, where are you going?"

She did not stop to speak to him, "I’m going to see the King. Let Ida know when she returns."

To her surprise, that did not stop him from following her. In fact, he came up in front of her to block her way. Sierra furrowed her eyebrows.

"What do you think you’re doing?!" She asked, annoyed by his actions.

"Your...your Grace! Paramount Sierra, the King won’t be available to see you at this hour. He’s at his morning court session," he said swiftly, stuttering a little at first but he eventually found his words.