The King's Mistress

Chapter 59: A Threat

Sierra could not hide her emotions from her father, especially from those who were closest to her. She had always worn her heart on her sleeve. She averted her gaze and bit her lip, leading Leon to grin.

"If the King chose you to be his concubine, he would be the smartest man in the world. And if that were to happen, you can still inherit the Bancroft family. I am sure if he loves you, your status would not... should no longer matter."

After chatting for some time, a knock on the door startled them. Time flies by quickly when you’re with someone you cherish. It could not be further from the truth for Sierra and General Leon.

They bid each other farewell before Miss Marionne leads General Leon out of the room through another secret passageway. As they watched them leave, Queen Roxine reassured Sierra that he would be escorted safely back to Cair.

"He will not be harmed. You have my word," Roxine reassured her.

"I can only place my trust in you, Your Highness, should you lie to me... know that I will not treat you so kindly," Sierra warned.

"Is that a threat?"

"It is."

Roxine smirked as she hid her face behind her lace fan as she spoke, "My my, I did not expect Princess Sierra to be so straightforward. I will keep the threat in mind. I must say, I am quite surprised by the shift in your demeanor."

She chuckled in response, "I was brought up in an army camp. Being in Drakin made me feel... like I was a caged bird being released for the first time. I can finally be myself and not worry so much about decorum."

"Well, we still have our rules here. I hope you’ll abide by them."

"You need not worry about that, Your Highness," Sierra drew them back to where their conversation had previously left off, "So, what is it that Queen Roxine requires of me? It must be of great value and importance if you went through all the trouble of reuniting me with my father."

"Nothing ever escapes you, isn’t it?"

In the coming weeks, Queen Roxine was going to make a trip out of Vargos Castle. She was going to meet someone at a secret location. Due to the nature of the meeting, it has to be kept under wraps.

"I cannot bring Marionne with me, it would be too dangerous," she explained, "Besides, Marionne staying in my quarters would give the best illusion that I am in as well." freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

Sierra listened carefully to the Queen’s plan. When the day arrived, she would accompany Queen Roxine to meet the mysterious stranger in the chosen location. Her duty would be to protect the Queen for the entire course of their journey, to and fro.

"You will be greatly rewarded for your efforts, and I guess you’ll learn about a secret of mine as well. So we each have some dirt on one another."

"Why don’t you hire bodyguards to protect you? Or have one of the King’s personal guards protect you."

"Hired guards are too risky," Marionne pointed out.

"As for the second part of your argument... this is something Alistair cannot know," Roxine sighed.

Sierra leaned back in her seat. She furrowed her eyebrows as she deep dived into her own thoughts. She looked back up at the Queen a few moments later with the most important question of them all.

"Why me?"

"Because I trust my gut," the Queen said without skipping a beat, "And it tells me that I can trust you."

"Can your gut be trusted?"

"It has never failed me, and I don’t see it starting to do so now."

"What if I refuse? What then?" Sierra could not help but wonder.

"Then I will expose your identity and have you locked and chained. You will not leave Drakin alive." Roxine replied coldly.

Every word she spoke was a sharpened dagger. Sierra could hear the animosity in the tone of her voice. She knew it wasn’t an empty threat. But she was not one to back down from a fight either.

"Nothing is stopping me from killing you where you seat, Your Highness. What about that?"

The air in the room instantly grew cold. Marionne felt a shiver down her spine as she looked over at Roxine and Sierra. A single droplet of sweat trickled down her brow as she swallowed hard. She knew Sierra was a knightess. A warrior of sorts.

The cold look in her eyes said it all. Sierra was a trained killer. She could easily end their lives in the blink of an eye. But that did not strike fear in Marionne’s heart. She was loyal to the queen. She was willing to sacrifice her life if need be to protect Queen Roxine.

The Queen’s maid slowly stretched out her hand, hoping to reach for the candlestick just a short distance away from her. Should things go south, it was the closest thing she could use as a weapon.

Sierra did not need to look over to know what she was doing, "Trust me, Miss Marionne. Before you even lay a finger on that candlestick, your Queen would already be lying in a pull of blood on the ground. And you’ll join her swiftly."

"I am not a weak dove either, Sierra. Let that be known," Roxine reminded her.

"Neither am I, Your Highness."

"Should anything happen to me, Your father would not live to see the sunrise, let alone return to Cair."

Silence hung in the air. The atmosphere was tense. They were glaring at one another with a steeled expression.

"Ah, that’s the threat I was looking for," Sierra grinned as she threw up her hands laughing as she lightened up.

Roxine laughed with her too. In an instant, the air in the room returned to normal. Marionne wanted to relax a little but she can’t. What if something bad was still going to happen?

"So, Sierra," Roxine brought them back on topic, "Will you help me?"

"I will do my best."