"My Queen, I do not know why" said Nora as she bowed her head, she did not know what to say not at all, it was not a crime for a husband to call his wife over to his room, it was only normal, only that in Wura's case it was not.
"He did not tell you what he wants to see me for?" asked Wura.
"No my Queen, I was not informed of the reason" replied Nora.
"Well then, I am not going anywhere" said Wura as she scoffed, she had not seen him all day, and the first thing he does was to ask her to come to his room? She was not going anywhere not at all.
"My Queen I do not think that…" said Nora as she was cut off.
"If he was not so kind as to tell me the reason why he called me, then I am not going anywhere at all, I am just so tired" said Wura as she shook her head and Nora could not say anything, Wura had more than enough right to refuse Liam's call for her, her only duty as a Wura's personal maid was only to inform Wura of what Liam had said and nothing more.
Wura wondered why Nora was so quiet, usually she would put her point across, but she was quiet now, which made Wura wonder if there was something more that she did not know about.
"You know why his Majesty called for me do you not?" asked Wura.
"Umm…" said Nora as she did not know what to say, she did not want to be a gossip, besides, she was not sure of the reason herself.
"Nora… I am sure that you know what all this is about, so please tell me" said Wura as she sighed, it was better that she knew what was truly going on, she could not be left in the dark.
"My Queen, I do not really know the reason" said Nora as she replied.
"But you must know something" said Wura as Nora was quiet.
"It is alright Nora, you can tell me what you know, I will not get upset at all" said Wura as she smiled and Nora had no other choice than to tell Wura what she asked for.
"Well my Queen, I believe that his Majesty's call for you has something to do with the rumours going around in the Castle" said Nora.
"And those rumours are about??" asked Wura.
"My Queen… they are concerning the intimacy between you and his Majesty" said Nora as she cleared her throat and her voice reduced to nothing but a whisper, but Wura was still able to hear her as her face scrunched up, just what was this??
"Intimacy?" asked Wura as she wanted to know if she had heard right.
"Yes my Queen" said Nora as she nodded her head but she kept her gaze low, she could not bare to face Wura.
"And you believe that is why his Majesty has called for me?" asked Wura as Nora nodded her head and realization dawned on her, all her sleepiness was gone now, how could she have been so stupid, why else would Liam call her to his room at this time of the night if not to do the things that adults do in the night time.
"My Queen, are you alright??" asked Nora as she looked up once she noticed that Wura had gone very quiet.
"No Nora, I am not alright… his Majesty called me to his room, because of these rumours" said Wura as she suddenly became scared, she had been able to keep herself for so long, but now, she could see no way out of this.
She could not refuse to go to Liam's room after he had called her or else that would raise some more suspicion on why she refused to go, and if she went, she knew that only one thing would happen.
"My Queen, we cannot be sure of that, I only told you what I thought, I may be false" said Nora.
"No, Nora, you are not false, not at all, it makes perfect sense, I mean for one, why else would a man call a woman to his room" said Wura as she covered her face with her hands, she did not know what to do.
"My Queen, will you go to his Majesty?" asked Nora.
"I have no other choice Nora" said Wura as she turned to look at Nora.
"If I do not go, I will only raise more suspicion, and If I do go, I know the only thing that is going to happen and… I… I am not ready for it, not at all" said Wura as she sighed, this was unfair, why her? How could she have been so naïve as to believe that Liam would just leave her be like that, he was a man after all, and she was his wife under law, even if she did not love him.
"My Queen I… I do not know what to say to console you" said Nora sadly, Wura had spoken the truth, either she went to Liam, or she added more kindling to the already burning fire of rumours.
"Do not say anything Nora" said Wura as she forced a smile and Nora felt even worse.
"I know what I have to do" said Wura as she sighed and she took a deep breath.
"My Queen, are you going to…" asked Nora as she was cut off.
"Yes Nora, I am" replied Wura as she knew that she had no other choice than to do this.
"Alright my Queen" said Nora as she sighed.
"Shall I prepare you a bath before you go?" asked Nora as she looked at Wura.
"No Nora, that will not be necessary" said Wura as she got out of bed, she had already taken a bath earlier, all she wanted to do was get this over with.
"I will just go" said Wura as she walked to where Nora was standing.
"Shall I get you your cloak my Queen?" asked Nora.
"Yes Nora" said Wura as Nora walked to Wura's closet, Wura saw no point in changing her clothes, she would go and come back, she was just so tired of everything, she had many things to think on.
"Here it is my Queen" said Nora as she handed Wura a black cloak.
"Thank you Nora" said Wura as she took the cloak and she put it on.
"Let us go now Nora" said Wura as she covered the hood of her cloak as she walked ahead.
"Yes my Queen" said Nora as she nodded her head and she followed after Wura as she closed the door behind her.
…
"My Queen, we have arrived at his Majesty's chambers" said Nora as she stood in front of two doors that Wura had seen once before as she snapped out of her thoughts.
The entire way here, Wura had been silent, she had been silently thinking on what she should do, a part of her was scared, while another part of her was sad, she was both scared and sad.
"I see" said Wura as her voice was laced with hesitation.
"My Queen, shall I accompany your further?" asked Nora as she really wanted Wura to feel more at ease, even though she knew that there was nothing she could do that could make Wura feel better right now.
"No Nora, there is no need for that, I will go now" said Wura as she did not want Nora to worry any more, so she just walked ahead as she opened the door, Wura knew that there were guards standing by, they had passed by them on their way here, and it was clear that the Castle or more specifically, those who worked in the Castle had many ears.
"As you wish my Queen" said Nora as she bowed her head.
"Goodnight Nora, I will see you in the morning" said Wura as she paused and she looked at Nora.
"Goodnight my Queen" said Nora as she bowed her head, what she really wanted to say was 'Good luck my Queen', but she could not say that without raising suspicion from anyone that could have been listening to them.
Wura gave a small smile before she closed the doors and she was left all alone as she walked to Liam's room.
"This is it Wura, get a hold of yourself" said Wura to herself as she sighed and she hesitated as she stood in front of the door, she knew that she was going to have to knock, but she wanted to turn around and run back to her own room.
Wura gave a sigh as she gave herself a final push as she reluctantly knocked on the door of Liam's room.
To her surprise, she received no reply, so she knocked again, and still yet no reply.
"Your Majesty?" called Wura as she knocked.
"Could he be sleeping?" asked Wura to herself as she heard no reply.
She could not be left standing here, so she just decided to open the door, she opened the door as it made a light clicking sound and she closed the door as she was now standing in Liam's room.
She had been here once before, on their supposed wedding night, she had managed to get herself out of that one, but not now, it would seem that she was trapped, she really did not like Liam's room at all, it would seem that she had nothing but unpleasant memories here.
Wura looked around, Liam's bed was empty, she wondered where he was, she could not see him anywhere, but she could see that a candle was lit on his desk and there were some documents there, which could only mean that he truly was here but he left.
"Oh just great, he calls me to his room and he is nowhere to be found" said Wura as she sighed in annoyance, but wait, was that not a good thing, if he did not return to his room this night, then she could save herself the explanations and excuses.
"Do not jump to conclusions Wura, you never know what might happen" said Wura to herself as she did not want to give herself false hope.
"Of course he does not expect me to stand here waiting for him" said Wura in annoyance as she walked to the couch and she sat down on it as she removed the hood of her cloak, the only reason she was wearing a cloak was because she was already in her nightwear, which was a white chemise gown, and it was nightwear, she could not go parading around the Castle in it.
Wura sighed, she wondered just how long she would have to wait here, but regardless, she started to use this time to think and mentally prepare herself for whatever would happen… she had to really think.
Wura was nervous, she was panicky, she was thankful that Nora had weaved her hair or else she would have pulled out all her hair already, she was just tired.
Wura did not know when she began to doze, and before she knew it, she was already asleep.
The door to the room opened as Liam walked into the room, he had a serious look on his face, but the serious look was replaced with a smile as he saw Wura sleeping soundly on his couch, he turned back to close the door gently in order not to wake her up.
"Your Majesty?" asked Wura as she sounded sleepy and she opened her eyes and she rubbed them as she looked at Liam.
"I did not mean to wake you up" said Liam as he smiled and he turned to look at her as he could see that she was still sleepy.
"I was waiting for you" said Wura as she yawned.
"Yes, sorry, I had to take care of a few things" said Liam as he smiled, he had sent away all the guards in this part of the Castle, and that was why he took so long.
"I see" said Wura as she was waking herself up slowly.
"Yes" said Liam as he smiled.
"You called for me your Majesty" said Wura as it sounded like a fact.
"Yes I did" said Liam as he smiled.
"And why was that?" asked Wura as she wanted to hear it from him.
"Well why do you think that is?" asked Liam as he smiled.
"Nora told me about the rumours" said Wura as she wanted to make sure that she knew what he was talking about.
"Which rumours?" asked Liam as he feigned ignorance.
"Well, Nora said that there were some rumours surfacing about…" said Wura as she hesitated.
"About what Wura?" asked Liam as he smiled.
"Well about our intimacy" said Wura as she avoided his gaze.
"Ahh I see" said Liam.
"Was that not the reason why you called me here your Majesty?" asked Wura as she looked at Liam.
"Well not quite" said Liam as he smiled.
"What do you mean not quite your Majesty?" asked Wura as she was surprised.
"Well sure there may be some rumours, but that is already being taken care of" said Liam as he smiled, that was why he had called Wura to his room this evening, the walls had ears, or more like the people who lived in them did, and he did not need such rumours of him and his wife's intimacy right now, which was why he was giving them something to chew on, he sent away all the guards, so what happened tonight should be enough to hold them down for some few weeks.
"I see…" said Wura as she was confused, when why was she here? She had already prepared herself and now, it did not seem like anything was happening.
"I have no intention whatsoever to do what you are thinking of" said Liam as he could read Wura like an open book.
"Ahh… I see your Majesty…" said Wura as she looked away from him, she was not that dirty minded, but they both knew what each other meant.
"You did clearly tell me on our wedding night that in your family, the bride and groom did nothing till Spring, and I have nothing against upholding that tradition of yours" said Liam as he smiled and Wura could not help but feel some way.
"Then why am I here your Majesty?" asked Wura as if he had no intention of doing that at all.
"Well just to let the rumours die down, if you give the people what they want, they will be content" said Liam as he smiled.
"Hmm" said Wura as she could not hide her disappointment, she had been thinking and she had come to the conclusion that everyone was right, they were right, Lilia, Uncle Nigel, and Lady Marli, they were all right.
It was not about what she wanted or how she felt, not at all, she was Liam's wife, and she was also Queen, she would have to bear him a child, give him an heir sooner or later, whether she liked it or not, so him subtly rejecting her mad feel bad, it made her think that maybe he had another woman.
"Well I will take my leave now Goodnight" said Liam as he smiled and he turned to walk away.
"Your Majesty…" called Wura as Liam turned around.
"Yes Wura?" asked Liam as he smiled and he turned to look at Wura.
"Your Majesty do…" said Wura as she hesitated and Liam waited patiently for her to speak.
"Do… do you have another woman?" asked Wura as she herself did not know how she got the courage to ask such a question, even Liam had a surprise look on his face as well.
Wura took a deep breath as she waited for his reply, he was the King after all, it would make sense if he had another woman that would fulfil as his needs, he was handsome, he was rich, he was everything and anything that many women would want to have as a husband, or as a lover, so Wura could not help but think that maybe he had a lover.
Liam snapped out of his surprise reaction, and he smiled and he walked closer to Wura.
"Wura, I am not that type of man that has extramarital affairs, You are my wife, and also the only woman in my life, I made a promise in front of man and God, to be loyal and true to you and you alone, and I have no intention of breaking that promise" replied Liam as he smiled and he looked at Wura as she could not look away from him, did he not know the levity of those words to a woman, it was like he was declaring his love for her.
"Does that answer your question?" asked Liam as he smiled and Wura could not speak as all she could do was nod her head.
"Good" said Liam as he smiled.
"Goodnight Wura, sweet dreams" said Liam as he smiled and he turned to walk away.
"Goo… Good…night… your… Majesty" said Wura as she could not speak clearly, as Liam closed the door and she was left all alone in his room.