The Princess And Her Alpha Bodyguard

43~ FLASHBACK: THE LETTERS

I hadn't seen the person in front of me for more than a year. We were supposed to meet on my eighteenth birthday, but we didn't because of unexpected events and Iory's betrayal. 

Given how I was under hot water right now, I'd never thought we get to see each other again so soon. Still, there she was, standing before me with her signature warm smile. It was the very smile that captured my brother's heart. 

"Lydia, is that you?" I asked, swallowing a lump in my throat. 

"I know I am chubbier than before because of the pregnancy. Still, are you sure you can't recognize your sister-in-law?" she chuckled.

To be honest, chubby was an understatement. She gained too much weight that I could barely recognize her. And it wasn't only her weight but also her style that was changed. Her long, silky brunette hair that used to brush against her waist was no longer there. Instead, it was cut short, making its end resting on her shoulders. Not only that, she was wearing a man's clothes instead of a dress. 

"Sister-in-law!" I exclaimed. Tears escaped my eyes as I ran toward her. I wished I could squeeze her into a tight hug and make up for all the lost time. Still, the baby bumps stopped me from doing what I had planned. Instead of hugging her, I reached out for her hands and clasped them. It was as if I wanted to confirm if she was real. Only when I felt her flesh and blood did I get convinced that all of this wasn't a hallucination. "I can't believe you are here with me. If I weren't holding your hands now, I'd have thought this was a dream."

"It's not a dream, my dear Lae." She squeezed my hands. It was as if to assure me that she was here in person. The pairs of brown hazels eyes fixated at me from the downturned frames, emanating the air of gentleness. Her thin lips spread widely on her V-triangle face as she smiled at me.  

"Why are your hands so cold?" I looked down at her icy hands in worried. "Are you sick?" 

"No. I'm in perfect shape. It's just a common syndrome for pregnant women." She took out her hands and placed them on top of mine, where she patted the back of my hands gently. "Don't worry." 

"How could I not worry? You're not alone anymore. Your body carries the lives of two people. And s/he is my future niece or nephew." 

She let out a pearl of laughter and said, "Come on. I know how to take care of my health. It's you who should learn to take good care of yourself. Lift your face and let me look at you."

I did as I was told. Lydia's face became blurry again as tears formed in my eyes. 

"Look at you. You're getting thinner." She sighs. Her palm traced my cheek up and down slowly. "I know you've been through a lot. Still, you shouldn't neglect your health like this." 

I caught her hand and rubbed my cheek against her palm. "Sister-in-law, I-I… I miss you so much." I choked on my tears.

"I miss you, too," she said in a gentle tone. 

And this was where I couldn't hold it in anymore. I dropped to my knees and hugged her as much as the baby bump allowed me. Tears burst out like a broken dam as I wailed like a kid. 

"Silly girl. Our meeting should be a joyous occasion. Why are you crying?" She patted my head. "You're not a kid anymore. Don't be like this. Besides, aren't you embarrassed to let King Valdemir see your snots?"

"I don't care." I shook my head, caring not about my appearance. 

"Seriously…" 

"It's okay, Lady Lydia. Lae is still beautiful no matter what she does," said Valdemir. "I think the two of you need time to catch up with each other. I'll excuse myself for now. Call me if you need anything. I'll be outside." 

"Thank you, King Valdemir," said Lydia. 

"Please. Don't mention it," he said. His footsteps receded as he made his way out of the greenhouse. And finally, I heard the sound of the door closing. 

I didn't know how long I'd been crying. All I knew what that I cried until I couldn't cry anymore. That was when Lydia and I went to sit down on the chairs next to each other. 

"Sister-in-law, what exactly happened? How did you end up here? Did you receive the letters I sent? There were two of them. Oh, where is brother? Why isn't he here with you? How is—" A series of questions escaped my lips once I regained my composure. 

"Woah. Wait, Lae," Lydia cut me off as she raised her hand. It was a sign for me to stop. "I don't know which one to answer first when you bombarded me with tons of questions like these." 

"Sorry." I looked down at my hand that was resting on my lap. "I was just curious." 

"I know you are. But take it easy, okay?" she chuckled. 

"Okay." I nodded. 

"Now, let's begin with the letters. Yes. We received both of them. The first one was when you used Zariya's messenger to send us an urgent message. We were shocked to hear about the accident. Iory hid the news so well that none of us knew about the tragedy. Ralph took a heavy blow to lose both his parents and younger siblings all at once. But he was more worried about you. You told us you managed to run away, and that you were coming to us. You warned us that Iory would attack us if he found out about your escape, so we needed to be prepared. You told us to evacuate and hid somewhere so that Iory wouldn't find us." 

"Yes. I'm glad that the letter reached you. I was confident since that was Zariya's fastest horse. I knew I was half a step ahead of Iory. I knew you'd get the message before his men arrived. That was why I dared to run away. Did you do as I'd said?" I asked.  

"Yes." Lydia nodded. "We hid at one of our friend's houses. Since you told us you were coming, your brother left signs for you so that you could find us when you arrived. But you never did. We grew concerned, thinking that something bad had befallen you. Your brother sent people to check the situation, but we got no news from you. We knew only that Iory's men had come to town. They went to our house and asked for us, but we'd already instructed the servants to tell them a made-up story."  

"It's a relief that they buy the story." 

"Well, we told everyone to act as normal so that we didn't alert them. Your brother is a merchant. It isn't uncommon for us to travel. Since we lied that we only went to the nearby kingdom, it didn't raise any suspicion. Although I'm pregnant, it's still early. Traveling such a short distance isn't a problem." 

"Did Iory's men leave after that? They should've gone to search for you." 

"They left, but a few remained. They dressed up as locals and snooped around our house. It was as if they wanted to spy on us." 

My hands balled up into fists as Lydia retold the story. It seemed Iory's words were no jokes. He said he'd go after Ralph's family if I dared to disobey him. Although I made an arrangement, it was still a risky move. I couldn't help but feel guilty for putting my brother's family in danger. I got up from the chairs and knelt on the ground. 

"What are you doing, Lae?" Lydia looked at me in shock. "Get up." She stood on her feet and tried to pull me up. 

"I'm sorry for bringing trouble to you, sister-in-law. I knew the risk but I was still selfish enough to involve you. I'm really sorry." I lowered my head until it touched the ground.     

"Don't be like this. Family helps each other. Now get up." 

I shook my head, wanting to atone for my sin by kneeling. Lydia must have seen through my stubbornness because she sighed and said something that left me no room to disobey. 

"If you refuse to get up, then I'll kneel, too. However, you should know that it isn't a good thing for a pregnant woman to do so," she said in a firm voice. "Now, will you get up or not?" 

I had no choice but to get up. I helped Lydia sit down before settling down next to her, resuming our last positions. 

"Sister-in-law, since you don't allow me to say sorry. Then let me say that I'm glad you and brother make it out in time," I said, thinking about the evacuation.  

"It was all thanks to your warning. We wouldn't have made it if you didn't send the message. We were totally left in the dark."  

"No. There's nothing to thank for, sisters-in-law." I shook my head. "In fact, I'm the one to blame. I brought this to you and my brother. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't suffer like this. After all, Iory is my fiance."

Lydia placed her hand on my shoulder and said, "Don't say it like this. Even if Iory is your fiance, he is he, and you are you. You didn't know what was inside his head. You had no idea he'd planned this. How could you blame yourself?" 

"But…" 

"Shh." She put her finger on my lips, stopping me from saying more. "There's no use dwelling on the past. Let's focus on the present. Besides, you just asked me tons of questions. Don't you want to know anymore?" She retracted her hand and waited for my answer.  

"Alright. Please continue." 

"As for the second letter, King Valdemir had his men deliver it to us. I was surprised, though. We were still hiding, but he knew where to find us."

"Well, there are a lot of mysteries surrounding that man," I murmured to myself. 

"Did you say something?" asked Lydia. 

"No. Nothing." I shook my head. "Please continue." 

"Your brother was relieved to hear that you're doing fine. He was even happier to know that you're in King Valdemir's care. Though he was a little taken aback by your choice. Still, I remembered that smile on his face when he told me, 'my sister has finally grown up.' He was referring to how you decided to accept King Valdemir's offer and committed to join the training."

"I know I've been spoiled since I was young. But that was all in the past. Time changes, people change. I hope I can be a better queen for the people of Zariya. I hope I can end their suffering as quickly as possible." 

"Spoken like a real queen." She smiled. 

"That's enough about the letters. I'd like to know the answer to the other questions as well. What brought you here? And how? Where is my brother, anyway? How come you are alone?" I asked. 

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©️StellaKMary | The Princess And Her Alpha Bodyguard

A/N: This is the explanation of the letter I have mentioned in chapter 33. xD