Nora was walking through the Castle halls as she made her way to Liam's office, her mind and heart were not at rest at all, she was so worried that maybe Wura had gotten hurt, she could not bear the thought, no not at all, the Queen was too delicate to get hurt.
Nora walked past a few guards, as she finally made it to the where Liam's office was located. She was about to knock on the door, when a guard stopped her out of nowhere.
"What are you doing?" came the voice of the guard as he was walking down the hall and he caught sight of Nora.
"Ahh well, his Majesty called for me" said Nora as she turned to look at the guard and she bowed her head.
"And who are you?" asked the guard as he was being very cautious, that was why he was here after all, not just anyone could enter the King's office whenever they wanted.
"Ahh, I am just a humble maid, the maid of her Majesty" said Nora as she bowed her head.
"And what brings you here?" asked the guard.
"Well his Majesty sent a guard to me, requesting for my presence" said Nora as she raised her head and she explained again.
"Sorry to say, but his Majesty is in an important meeting with Duke Williams at this moment, so he will not be able to see you, I suggest you go and return later" said the guard.
"Ahh, well alright then… thank you for informing me" said Nora as she bowed her head and she walked away.
She found this weird, if the King knew that he was currently in an important meeting with Duke Williams, then why would he call her here?? Well at least now Nora knew that maybe what he wanted to discuss with her, was not about Wura, and maybe Wura was safe and sound, and waiting for her back in her room.
Nora still could not understand why Liam would call her, but she decided that she would not think about it too much now, she would just return here later, just like the guard had suggested.
…
Wura looked up from her table once she heard the door of her room open, and her face lit up with a smile once she saw who it was.
"Nora, where have you been? I was looking for you everywhere when I did not find you here" said Wura as she smiled and she looked at Nora.
"Ahh my Queen, I stepped out for a moment, but I have returned now" said Nora as she smiled and she nodded her head, she was relieved that Wura seemed to be fine, there were no bruises or injuries on her at all, and that made Nora feel more at ease.
"Oh alright then" said Wura as she smiled.
"Yes my Queen" said Nora as she smiled and she bowed her head.
"My Queen, how was your horse riding lesson with his Majesty?" asked Nora as she raised her head and she smiled.
"Ahh well it was good Nora, would you believe me if I say that I now know how to mount and dismount off a horse with no help at all"?" asked Wura as she laughed.
"I do believe you my Queen, and that is wonderful" said Nora as she smiled.
"Yes it is Nora" said Wura as she smiled.
"His Majesty even invited me to come along with him on one of his early morning strolls as soon as I know how to ride properly" said Wura as she smiled.
"That sounds nice my Queen" said Nora as she smiled, she was happy that Wura was happy.
"Oh Nora, come over here, I need to tell you something" said Wura as she smiled and she stood up from her dining table as she walked over to her bed and she smiled as she patted on the side of her bed.
Nora was hesitant, but she knew that with Wura looking and smiling at her like that, there would be no room for refusal at all, so Nora sighed as she sat down beside Wura on the edge of her bed.
"So Nora, you were right, I did as you advised me, and I called his Majesty by his name and well… he seemed to like it, we did not argue at all, everything went smoothly" said Wura as she smiled.
"That is good news my Queen" said Nora as she smiled, even though she was in her own thoughts, Liam and Wura had finished with their lessons, and then Liam had called for her, but he was busy in a meeting, now Nora was curious as to what Liam wanted to discuss with her.
"Yes it is, although, it still annoys me that in a way, he got what he wanted" said Wura as she sighed and she shook her head.
"And I do not know why but… but when I call him by his name, and then looks at me and he smiles, I just feel so… I do not know how to explain it, but… I get a very weird feeling" said Wura as she sighed, she could not explain what she felt, and she did not know if it was a good feeling or a bad feeling, I was a very weird one.
"Weird how my Queen?" asked Nora.
"I do not know Nora, just weird" said Wura.
"Weird good, or weird bad my Queen?" asked Nora.
"I myself do not even know Nora" said Wura as she sighed.
"But you do not feel uncomfortable my Queen?" asked Nora.
"No, I do not… quite the opposite, I feel somewhat… safer when he is around, I do not know why, maybe it is because of what happened yesterday with Ayo, but I feel safer when he is there with me" said Wura as Nora just listened to her.
"Nora, you do not understand what I am saying do you?" asked Wura as she took a pause.
"I understand you my Queen" said Nora.
"You feel a sense of security when his Majesty is around?" asked Nora very carefully.
"Well yes, like that, but the thing is I do not know if it is only that sense of security I feel, I mean, everything is just so confusing Nora" said Wura as she shook her head.
"My Queen… maybe you like his Majesty??" asked Nora.
"No, Nora, I doubt that, I do not like him" said Wura as she laughed and she shook her head.
"How come my Queen?" asked Nora.
"Well Nora, it is not like I do not like him, of course I like him, he can be nice when he wants to be, and well he is… different I guess, but I do not love him, I am only fond of him" said Wura as she laughed.
"I see my Queen" said Nora as she was in no place to speak any further, after all, she was only a maid here.
"Yes Nora" said Wura as she smiled.
"Oh Nora, I must be boring you, the only person I speak about is his Majesty, you must think I am insensitive" said Wura as she laughed.
"No my Queen, not at all, you are only saying what is on your mind, and I am more than happy to listen" said Nora as she smiled.
"Thank you Nora" said Wura as she smiled at Nora.
"But I still feel bad that all you hear me talk about is his Majesty" said Wura as she laughed.
"So Nora, how would you like to see my horse Ayo?" asked Wura as she smiled.
"I really want you to meet him, he is such a good boy, only for that one time where he was startled by the poor dead mouse in the snow" said Wura as she smiled.
"If you want me to meet him my Queen, I will" said Nora as she smiled and she nodded her head.
"Thank you Nora, I cannot wait for you to meet him" said Wura as she smiled.
"You are welcome my Queen" said Nora as she smiled and she bowed her head as Wura smiled at her.
"So what did you do while I was away Nora?" asked Wura as she smiled, she often wondered what Nora did while she was busy doing other things.
"Ahh well my Queen, I was dusting the corners of your room, and then I would clean the floors" said Nora as she explained.
"Ahh I see" said Wura as she smiled.
"Yes my Queen" said Nora as she smiled and she nodded her head.
"Nora, do you know how to ride a horse?" asked Wura as she smiled.
"Ahh no my Queen, I do not know how to ride a horse" said Nora as she shook her head.
"How about I teach you then? So we can ride together?" asked Wura as she smiled.
"Ahh well no my Queen, that is not necessary, not at all" said Nora as she shook her head, she was afraid of horses, she did not want to ride on one, she was not necessarily afraid of the horses themselves, but of the towering height above the ground once you were on top of one.
"Why not?" asked Wura.
"My Queen, I would prefer to walk on the ground" said Nora as she shook her head, her greatest fear was falling off a horse, she was afraid to death of heights, she preferred staying on the ground, where she could not fall.
"Is something wrong Nora?" asked Wura as she could sense that Nora sounded scared.
"My Queen, I am terrified of heights, so, I do not like horses, they are too tall" said Nora as she explained.
"Ahh I see" said Wura as now that made sense.
"Yes my Queen" said Nora as she nodded her head.
"Well Nora, there is nothing to be ashamed off, you should have just said so from the beginning, I will never force you to do anything that you are not comfortable with" said Wura as she smiled.
"Thank you my Queen" said Nora as she smiled and she nodded her head, she had to know that by now, Wura would never, ever force her to do something that she was not comfortable with, and she was very grateful for that.
"Do you know what I am afraid of?" asked Wura as she smiled, since Nora had told her what she was afraid of, she would tell her what she was afraid of as well.
"No my Queen" said Nora as she shook her head.
"I am afraid of spiders, they terrify me" said Wura as she laughed and Nora could not help but laugh.
"Spiders are very scary my Queen" said Nora as she laughed, even though she was not afraid of spiders, back when she was just a casual maid in the Castle, she would often dust unused rooms, that were havens for many spiders, she would often kill them easily.
"Oh I just get shivers when I think about them, their eight legs, many eyes, if you wanted to chase me away from here, just send a spider" said Wura as she laughed.
"You will be alright my Queen, there are no spiders close by at all" said Nora as she smiled.
"Oh I really hope so Nora" said Wura as she laughed.
"There, now we are even, you told me what you are afraid of, and I told you what I am afraid of" said Wura as she laughed.
"Thank you my Queen" said Nora as she smiled, Wura was always so nice to her.
"There is no need to thank me at all Nora" said Wura as she smiled, she felt like she could tell Nora everything.
…
Later that Day.
The Sun had set and the Castle was as quiet as ever as everyone was getting ready for bed, to wake up the next day and start all their duties again.
"Come in" said Liam as he looked up from his desk, there were some matters he had to attend to, and solve immediately, so he had not been able to join Nigel and Wura for dinner.
"Good Evening Liam" said Mero as he walked into Liam's office and he closed the door behind him.
"Good Evening Mero, I did not expect you this evening" said Liam as he smiled and Mero sat down across him at his desk.
"Well I also did not expect myself this evening, but well here I am" said Mero as Liam laughed.
"I see, so tell me what brings you here this evening Mero?" said Liam as he laughed.
"I heard that Duke Williams came here earlier in the day" said Mero.
"Ahh well yes he did" said Liam as he placed his quill on his desk.
"Is all well?" asked Mero.
"Well all Is well, or at least now it is" said Liam.
"Duke Williams has been receiving threats as well" said Liam.
"How so?" asked Mero as he sounded surprised.
"Well it may probably be because he only has two children, his daughter Rosie, and her younger brother, and well her younger brother is not old enough to take over his Father's estate, and she cannot take over seeing as she is a woman" said Liam as he explained.
"I see" said Mero.
"Yes" said Liam.
"So what did you suggest be done?" asked Mero.
"Well I assured Duke Williams of his safety and that of his family" said Liam.
"Which reminds me, now that you are here, please ensure that the borders of the Kingdom be heavily guarded, we cannot risk any sort of loss at this moment" said Liam as he explained.
"Consider it done, I will increase the troops who are guarding the borders" said Mero as he nodded her his.
"Alright then" said Liam as he smiled and Mero nodded his head.
"But in other news, there is something not related to the Kingdom that I would like to discuss with you Mero" said Liam as he smiled.
"And that is?" asked Mero.
"Well I started teaching Wura how to ride a horse, since I bought a horse for her" said Liam.
"I heard" replied Mero as there was no such thing as a secret in this Castle.
"Well yesterday, her horse was startled, and it took off running fast towards the forest, at that moment, I was so anxious, that I did not think at all, I followed after her" said Liam.
"Is she alright?" asked Mero.
"Yes, she is, luckily I was able to catch up to her in time" said Liam.
"But what surprised me was that she stopped calling me your Majesty when she was holding on tightly to her horse, she called me Liam, and she asked me to save" said Liam as he smiled.
"And that is what makes you smile?" asked Mero.
"That she was in danger, and she called your name?" asked Mero in confusion, this was not like Liam, not at all.
"I know it might sound foolish, but yes, I was not happy that she was in danger, but rather that she called me when she was in danger" said Liam as he smiled, he did not know if Mero could understand what he was trying to say.
"I see" said Mero.
"After she had calmed down and gotten over the prior shock, she wanted to go back to calling me your Majesty, but I refused, and I insisted that she call me Liam" said Liam.
"And yes, I know that it sounds childish, but I do not regret asking her to do so" said Liam as he could see the confused, in disbelief look on Mero's face as he spoke.
"But it is childish Liam" said Mero.
"I know, and she ended up getting upset with me, but I was not going to budge, I wanted her to call me Liam" said Liam as he smiled.
"Since when did you begin to act so irrational Liam?" asked Mero as he did not think that Liam was the one speaking with her.
"I do not know when… or how, but when Wura is involved, I do become irrational, she makes me irrational, her pride, her stubbornness, they make me act like a child" said Liam.
"So I insisted that she call me Liam, and even though she did so out of spite, it still made me feel happy" said Liam as he smiled.
"And to my surprise, this morning, she called me Liam, and she no longer seemed to be upset with me" said Liam as he smiled.
"You like her?" asked Mero as he did not sound sure himself.
"I do… she is my wife and I… I do like her, and I want her to be closer to me, but she does not want to" said Liam as he smiled.
"You do know that you can avoid playing like a child" said Mero as if Liam was telling him all this, he needed his advice.
"She might not take you seriously if all you do is act as if you are just playing a game with her, and that will end up hurting both you and her" said Mero as he gave his honest opinion.
"Yes I do know that Mero" said Liam.
"But I know her, she has told me many times that she is fine with the way things are between us" said Liam.
"And I am afraid that if I come out outrightly with her, she will end up running away, and she will refuse to see or have anything to do with me" said Liam.
"So your best bid is to play games like a child?" asked Mero.
"With Wura, yes, that is my best bid" said Liam as he laughed, he knew that he sounded very foolish right now, but he did not care at all, he did not know just how much he cared for her.
"So you plan to keep on going in this back and forth for how long?" asked Mero.
"For as long as it takes" said Liam as he could see that Mero was wondering if he was alright, and the answer was yes, he was alright, perfectly fine.
"You worry too much Mero" said Liam as he laughed.
"Well alright Liam, if you say so" said Mero in calmness.
"Yes, all I need to do now is find out, how she feels about me" said Liam as he smiled.
"And how exactly will you do that? Did you not say that she would run away?" asked Mero.
"I have my ways Mero, I have my ways" said Liam as he smiled and Mero just sat there, wondering if Liam would be successful in any of this, that he was putting so much effort into.