The King's Mistress

Chapter 27: You’re More Valuable Than You Think

When Captain Gillard and his guards saw him, they immediately got down to their knees and lowered their heads. Sierra followed suit. But instead of getting down on her knees, she curtsied instead while keeping her eyes on the ground.

"Your Majesty, King Alistair," Captain Gillard addressed him.

"Rise," the King’s voice was a little raspy, "Where are you taking Princess Sierra to?"

Captain Gillard immediately began to explain what had been found and how Sierra had volunteered to provide information. As soon as he finished, Alistair waved the captain aside and walked up to Sierra.

He was wearing his mask, which covered part of his face. Under the glow of moonlight, Sierra confirmed her suspicions. She would never mistake this pair of eyes ever again. This was the man she had saved that night in the forest.

He was also Silas.

"Are you alright, Princess Sierra?" he asked softly, almost with a strain of pain in his voice.

"I’m fine, Your Majesty. Thank you for your concern," she replied without much emotion.

Alistair gave her a small smile. She almost heard what she thought was a sigh of relief as the King turned to face the captain.

"I will personally oversee this investigation. I will get Princess Sierra’s first-hand testimony of the incident."

"But Your Majesty-"

"Did I make myself clear?" Alistair spoke curtly.

"Of course... yes, of course, Your Majesty," Gillard quickly said in response.

Alistair did not seek permission, he simply took Sierra’s hand into his own and guided her along the path. He walked her back towards a portion of the Vargos Castle grounds she had never been to before.

Sierra was too stunned to process what was happening. Her mind was swirling with confusion. Had the King just taken her by the hand and walked off into the night?

Where were they heading to?

Despite realizing how strange the situation was, Sierra did not feel uncomfortable. This was the same man she had spoken to on multiple occasions before. On some level, she almost felt as if they were friends.

At the same time, it felt as if there was an invisible barricade that separated them.

"How are you liking the castle so far, Sierra?" Alistair asked, breaking the silence and pulling her out of her thoughts.

"It’s lovely," she replied quickly, not wanting to be rude.

"Lovely? I see," he chuckled a little.

"Your Majesty..."

"You can call me Silas if you wish, sweetling," he teased while glancing over to her, confirming her suspicions yet again.

Remembering the conversation they had at the ball, Sierra blushed beet red. She had said a few things during that ball about Alistair. Though she could not quite remember the exact details at that moment, she was sure she must have offended him.

"My apologies, Your Majesty, I did not know-"

They stopped in their tracks. Sierra almost fell forward because of the sudden stop but Alistair held on to her. She turned to look at him, surprised to see him with furrowed eyebrows.

"I thought we were friends, why are you speaking to me so formally?" he asked.

Sierra’s mouth was agape. She did not know how else to reply.

"I...We...friends?" she could no longer speak in proper sentences.

To see her fluster like this brought a smile to Alistair’s face. If he knew it was this easy to get her all confused, he would have done it sooner. She looked adorable when she was trying to process things. The look of confusion on her face was priceless.

"Anyways, let’s put that aside for now. We’ve arrived," he said to her as he gestured over to the building before them.

They had arrived at the King’s Quarters. Alistair held out his hand, gently tapping the forcefield that covered his compound. Then he gently tugged on Sierra’s hand and together they entered the forcefield.

Sierra had never seen anything like it before. She noticed only some of the attendants, who were following them all the way back, entered the forcefield.

"Is this a protection charm?" she wondered out loud. freewёbnoνel.com

Alistair was surprised she knew, "It is. My own creation. Only people I allow can enter and exit freely."

Sierra nodded as he led her into his private quarters. A table with two chairs, drinks, and snacks were already prepared for them. He gestured her to take a seat opposite from him and she did so.

As soon as she sat down, a maid came forward to pour both of them a glass of wine each. After that, Alistair waved her away. All the maids in the room left, only leaving behind two guards.

The room quietened down. All Sierra could hear was the crackling fireplace and her palpitating heart.

"So tell me, Sierra. What happened?"

She began to reiterate everything that had occurred. From the moment she sensed the intruders entering her room, to the moment the guards found the body laying on the ground.

When he heard that the intruders were targeting Sierra and only her, he asked how she knew. The answer was simple, none of the other princesses were harmed. None of them had intruders enter their room.

Though it was just a hunch, Sierra was fairly certain about one more detail.

"And what would that be?"

"It was no random attack, they came for me specifically."

If the intruders had randomly picked a target, they would not have picked Sierra’s room. Not only was it one of the most difficult ones to pick, but she also was not of great value.

"Unlike the other princesses who mostly come from larger kingdoms, my home kingdom is nothing fancy. Why target me to ruin my chances when others have better odds?" she explained.

Alistair raised an eyebrow. He leaned in close to Sierra, their faces were barely inches apart. He was looking deep into his eyes as he reached out his hand to tuck a loose lock of her hair behind her ear.

"What makes you think you’re not valuable? Don’t underestimate yourself, Sierra. You might be more important than you think."