The King's Mistress

Chapter 35: How Would Things Be Different?

"I grew up in the forest with my mother and hunting was how we survived. After she died, I was found by the royal guards and brought into the castle. I never knew who my father was, and I sure did not expect him to be the King."

Sierra bit her inner lip and waited for a response. If she could, she would have pat herself on the back for her own amazing performance. She had never attempted something like this and hoped she would never have to do so ever again.

Alistair sat down next to Sierra. He had not expected her to share her past so candidly. He knew Sierra’s past was a mystery. At the Ball, Sierra was introduced as King Frederick’s adopted daughter. Nothing more was said.

Naturally, everyone had their version of the story and Alistair had heard them all. Some believed Sierra was an orphan the King had picked off the streets just to play the role of a princess so that his blood daughter, Princess Felicity, could remain in Cair.

She was his only child after all.

In truth, Alistair did not care where Sierra came from. Fate brought them together and initiated their first meeting. Time and time again, it brought them together and pushed them in each other’s direction.

There was something about her that Alistair could not deny. He could not take his mind off her. She filled his thoughts day and night. He was always left wondering when they would meet again.

Every meeting they had was fleeting.

All he wanted was a little more time to get to know Sierra a little better.

"I’m sorry, Your Majesty," Sierra spoke, breaking the air of silence, "If you wish for me to withdraw..."

"Withdraw? Why would I ever want that?" he replied so candidly, that it even caught him off guard.

Alistair looked over at the flickering light emitted from the lit torch on the wall.

"What do you want, Sierra? What do you wish to do?" he asked, curious to know her thoughts.

"What do I want? What do you mean?" ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

"You don’t sound like you came willingly, I can only assume you were forced to be here against your will. So if you were given a chance to do it all over again, what would you do?"

Sierra pondered over his question for a while. She lifted her hands and looked down at her palms. If the hands of time could rewind, she would slay General Cedric where he stood.

A fire might kindle in her to convince her father to overthrow the crown. But the more likely scenario would be that they were beheaded for treason.

That was not the outcome Sierra wanted.

Even if her plan worked and they toppled the monarchy, that would mean she would have never gotten to meet Alistair. The King had left a deep impression on her. Just like him, she knew their fates had to be connected somehow.

They had met one another time after time, seemingly under impossible circumstances.

"I would not change a single thing," she replied carefully as she turned to face Alistair.

He smiled back at her.

Though part of his face was covered by his mask, she could still vaguely recall how he looked beneath it. Under the light of the flickering torches, it almost mimicked the lighting conditions of their fateful first encounter.

~

"She’s released? Just like that?!" Princess Agnes exclaimed in disbelief when she heard the news of Sierra’s release.

For three days, she was locked in the dungeon for three days and that was it. No torture, no whips, no other punishment. The Princess of Cair was locked in a cell and told to reflect on her actions.

When Agnes saw Sierra injuring the King, she could not believe it. It was as if her prayers had been answered, one less competition. But it would seem like things was back to normal.

The plan Cassandra and she had put together previously failed miserably. The two men were supposed to defile Sierra and ruin her reputation. One less rival to worry about. They did not expect Sierra to be able to overwhelm the men they had sent.

The two men were also supposed to disappear into the night, never to be seen or caught by the guards. Now, they were both in custody and were subjected to questioning. Lucky for them, the one who fell out of the window succumbed to his injuries.

One less to worry about.

"What if he let it slip..." Agnes muttered to herself anxiously as she tightened her grip on her teacup.

She was holding it so tight, that it felt as if the teacup might just shatter under the pressure. Cassandra had already reassured her during their previous conversation that he would be taken care of.

However, the dungeon’s security was tighter than expected. Executing an assassination was more difficult than they had expected.

After much thought, she decided to go and speak to Cassandra again. The other princess had asked to meet her less after the incident.

But Agnes could not wait any longer.

Unsurprisingly, when she was allowed into Cassandra’s room, her expression was one of annoyance.

"What do you want," Cassandra asked without lifting her eyes from the book she was reading.

The princess exuded class and an unmatched aura. It forced almost everyone around to cower or bend to her will. Agnes, on the other hand, pretended to ignore it and brush it off.

"We need to talk," she said cryptically while looking at the maids and servants in the room.

Cassandra glanced up from her book and narrowed her eyes. She closed the book and waved the maids and servants away. Only one maid remained, apart from Agnes and her personal maid.

"Speak. I don’t have all day," she snapped.

Agnes clenched her jaw. She tried her best to keep her calm as she sat opposite from Cassandra. Under the flickering candlelight, she explained her worries.

"Your impatience will be the death of you, Agnes. Do not drag me down together with you," Cassandra spat, almost in disgust as she got up from her seat and looked out of the window.

"Aren’t you worried? You have a hand in this too!" Agnes could not keep it in any longer as she got up from her seat and slammed her hands on the table.

Cassandra shot her a glare. She walked up to Agnes, who instinctively took a few steps back and hunched her shoulders like a prey cornered by the predator. Cassandra was only barely a few inches away from her. They were so close that Agnes could hear her breathing through her flared nostrils.

"Are you threatening me?"

Agnes gulped, she could hear the menace seeping from Cassandra’s voice, "No, of course not! Why would I do that?"