The Princess And Her Alpha Bodyguard

44~ FEELING BLUE

"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.

Lydia shook her head and sighed. "There you go again. Didn't I tell you to take it slow?"

"But I'm dying to know. It'd never crossed my mind that I got to meet you again so soon. Not to mention right here at this place. It's a secret kingdom. And outsiders couldn't get in without getting attacked by the tree roots."

"It's true that outsiders can't trespass in the forest. But that was because they went in without help," said Lydia.

"Help?" I frowned in confusion.

"Did you think tree roots could attack me when the king was my personal escort?" She smiled.

"Really? Valdemir went to get you in person?"

"Hmm." She nodded. "He sprayed a white powder on me and held my hands when we walked into the forest."

"Just like that?" I tilted my head to the side in bewilderment.

“Just like that.” She nodded.

“I thought the tree roots were enchanted, and they attacked people who had no Ascian's blood running through their veins."

"I thought so, too. But King Valdemir said the powder could hide my scent for a while, so I'd be safe. Plus, he held my hand and stayed close until we were out of the forest. Oh, I almost forgot. He also cut his palm and let his blood drip on the ground at the entrance."

"Maybe the key lies in his blood," I murmured. My head was putting all the puzzles together. “Didn’t his blood get on your hand when he was holding you?”

“Yes, it did. Now that you mention it, I think it made sense.”

"Hold on." A thought just occurred to me. "Didn't you say he cut his palm? How is he now? I don't seem to see him dressing the wound."

Lydia remained silent as she looked at me with a teasing smile.

"Sister-in-law, why are you looking at me like that?" I gulped, wondering what was the meaning behind that smile.

"Are you worried about him?" she asked.

"Of course—." I bit my lips, stopping myself from blurting out the truth. Then I cleared my throat and corrected myself. "Well, I mean… I'm only asking. He took care of you, so I guessed we should show our gratitude."

Lydia let out a soft pearl of laughter and hit the tip of my nose gently with the back of her index finger. "It's just you and me. We're all women. Why do you need to put your guard up? Do you like him?"

I looked down at the fidgeting fingers on my laps, hoping to hide the red face that resulted from the heat. "I… I don't dislike him."

"Come on. Let's be honest. I'm a married woman. That means I have experience of falling in love. Do you think you can hide it from me?"

I was about to argue and said that I'd known about love, too, because I was engaged to Iory. Thankfully, I held back in time. I'd bring nothing but a tragic memory that I was dying to forget if talking about this.

"Sister-in-law." I sighed and looked into her hazel brown eyes. "I'm conflicted. I don't know my own feelings anymore."

"What do you mean?" She held my hands to comfort me.

"I thought I had a feeling for Valdemir since he’d saved my life. He brought me here and even went against the council members to let me stay in Ascian. And now…" I trailed off. I lifted my head and looked around the greenhouse before continuing, "there is this beautiful garden. Not to mention he brought you here so we can reunite. Even a blind person knows how much effort he put in for my sake. I was grateful, of course. But the problem is my heart. It seemed half-empty. It was as if I am only having half of it right now."

"Are you saying that another half of your heart belongs to someone else?" asked Lydia in a soft voice.

I knew she’d said that she had experience with love. Still, it was surprising to see how she could look through my mind like this. "Yes." I nodded. "I felt guilty. I don't want to be ungrateful after all the things he'd done for me. But… but…"

"But the matter of the heart is not something you can control." She finished my sentence, taking the words right out of my mouth.

"Yes." I nodded again. "I don't know what to do. I find it hard to look at him now because I don't know how to face him."

"Lae. Listen to me." She patted my hands. "I'm grateful for what King Valdemir had done for you and us, too. Without him, I'd still be living in hiding in our friend's secret room. A dark room that I couldn’t tell if it was day or night. I thought my child might not even get to see the sunlight when s/he was born. King Valdemir saved us from that misery. So, we'll repay his kindness one day. We'll do our best to help him if he ever asks. But when it comes to love, it can't be forced. Remember the popular saying that you'd always made a joke of it?"

My eyes looked up at the roof as my brain tried to recall what my sister had said. "Oh. Are you referring to the saying that if a guy saves you, you need to marry him in return?" I asked.

"Yes. That one. You always joked that it was complete nonsense. If a man saves a girl's life, a girl should show her gratitude by helping him back if he ever needs it. Not selling her body to him."

"I was twelve back then, sister-in-law. I spoke on a whim. Don’t take it seriously."

"No. I think you said it correctly. It should be the same in your case. Gratitude and love are two different things. King Valdemir is a decent person. He's a wise ruler. I believe he won't force you if you're not willing to. Just tell him how you feel. Lying will only hurt him afterward. There is nothing as secret in this world. A lie is bound to get exposed one day. So, it's better to be honest with each other."

Lydia was right. Valdemir had done so much for me. The last thing I needed was to hurt him. But again, I didn't know what to tell him. My heart couldn't decide between him and Edward. Right now, I was selfishly torn between the two.

"But I don't think it'll be as easy as that. I'm Valdemir's mate. Besides, I've read in the book that rejection can hurt a wer—" I held my tongue, preventing myself from finishing the word werewolf. Although I trusted my sister-in-law, I was reluctant to tell her everything.

After all, it wasn't my place to do so.

Ascian was Valdemir's kingdom. His ancestor kept it hidden from the world to hide their werewolf lineage. It was to keep them safe. Even if Lydia was here, I didn't know how much Valdemir had let on.

"A wer?" Lydia's brow furrowed in confusion. "What's a wer?"

"Per. I meant, a person. It wasn't a wer, sister-in-law." I cleared my throat. "My bad. a slip of the tongue." Before she could ask anything further, I changed the topic. "I can't believe this. I was the one who asked, but I ended up answering your question again. We need to stop talking about me. Please tell me more about your side of the story. You haven't answered all my questions yet. How did you leave without drawing the attention of Iory's men?"

"Oh, that? Isn't this an explanation?" She looked down at herself.

My eyes followed her gaze to see she was looking at her attire. "Dressing like a man?" I asked.

"That's just part of it. I'm referring to my overweight body," she chuckled.

"Isn't this another common syndrome of pregnancy?"

"Silly girl. Women indeed put on weight when she’s pregnant. But it can't be to this extent."

"Then…"

"Wait and see." She took off her belt and vest. When she was about to take off her tunic, I stopped her.

"Wait. Why are you undressing in front of me?" I held her hands, stopping her from taking off the white tunic.

"To answer your question." She laughed. "Don't worry. I'm not naked. If you want the answer, let me show you."

I let go of her hand and watched. When Lydia took off her tunic, I widened my eyes in shock. "What is this?" I asked, wondering why was there another tunic inside. Staying silent, she took off another tunic only to reveal another one.

"See it now?" she asked after taking off the third tunic. "There are more, but I think this is enough. Oh, the same goes with my pants."

"How many layers of clothes are you putting on?"

"I forgot to count them. But I'm pretty sure it was more than five."

"But why?"

"It's King Valdemir's advice. He knew I'd be noticeable during a journey because I was pregnant. Besides, he was concerned about my health, so he didn't want me to travel in a rush. That was when he came up with a clever disguise to make me into an obese man. Since I'm in the early second trimester and this is my first pregnancy, my belly doesn't show too much. It can be covered up like this."

"That's a smart move," I said, finding Valdemir's meticulous plan really impressive. He was a wise leader. No wonder everyone here admired and respected him so much.

"Now that I've answered all your questions. It's my turn to ask. Who is the other guy that steals half of your heart?" asked Lydia.

"No, sister-in-law. There's still one more question that you haven't answered."

"Really? I thought I had them all covered." She tucked the hair behind her ear.

I frowned at the gesture. Lydia had always done this subconsciously whenever she lied. Besides, her hair was already tucked. Why did she need to do it?

Feigning ignorance, I continued as if nothing was wrong. "Yes. There's one more question. You haven't told me where my brother is yet. Didn't he come with you? We've been talking for a while, but he still hasn't come out. What kind of game is he playing? Is he hiding behind that tree and listening to our conversation? Let me check." I stood on my feet, wanting to head in the direction of the tree behind where we sat.

However, Lydia grabbed my hand and pulled me to sit down. "Don't bother, Lae. He's not here." She said in a low tone that was barely audible to the ears. And if I wasn't mistaken, her voice cracked just now.

My body tensed as I could sense something was wrong. Still, I didn't want to admit it. "You mean he isn't in this greenhouse? Is he outside with Valdemir? Maybe he is waiting for us to finish our girls' talk. Let me go and call him in." I stood up again, but I never got to take the first step.

"Don't bother. He isn't in this greenhouse. He isn't in Ascian." Lydia's hazel brown eyes turned blurry as they were filled with tears.

"What do you mean he's not in Ascian? It makes no sense. You're here, aren't you? As a husband, he's supposed to be here with you. How could he leave his pregnant wife alone? It isn't like him." I shook my head in denial. "He must be pulling my leg, right? He always loves to tease me. Even on my birthday, he kept saying that he'd forgotten my present. Or that he broke it along the way. But it turned out that he waited until the last minute to give it to me. And every time, it was always the best gift that I loved the most. Sister-in-law, this must be it. He asked you to join his pranks, didn't he?"

"No." Lydia shook her head. "It isn't a prank. Ralph really isn't here. He is not in Ascian. He… He…"

"He what? Tell me, sister-in-law! Where is my brother?! Where is Ralph?!" I yelled as the emotion got the best of me.

Lydia said nothing as she looked up at me. Tears rolled down her cheeks even though she didn't blink. And before I knew it, I sensed something warm wetting my cheeks as well.

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©️StellaKMary | The Princess And Her Alpha Bodyguard

A/N: Do you think a girl must marry a guy who saves her life to return the favor? I wonder…is it necessary to love your savior? I'd like to hear your opinions. Thanks in advance. xD