Chereads / Thrones and Treachery / Chapter 38 - Fire

Chapter 38 - Fire

I quickly head back to the hall and find the slumber party in full swing. "Where have you been?" asks Flavia.

"Out for a walk," I say, trying to sound as vague as possible.

"Alone?" she asks.

"Of course," I lie to her. She quickly leaves me and goes to talk to another princess, as if frustrated. I head to the table and pick up some banana wine and nuts.

"Well," says a voice from behind me, "this is entertaining." I turn around to meet Lady Nabile. We had arrived together, but I wasn't able to see her again after that. I think the royal advisors and senior ladies had their own set of events for the day.

"Lady Nabile," I say, "long time."

"It has been quite long," she says as she searches the table, "which of these wines will knock me out fast?"

I laugh softly, picking up a bottle and handing it to her. "This one should do the trick. It's a strong vintage."

She takes it, examining the label. "Excellent choice," she says with a wink. "So, how has your evening been? Any interesting encounters?"

I hesitate, not wanting to delve into the complicated events of the day. "It's been eventful, to say the least."

Lady Nabile raises an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "Eventful, you say? Well, I hope it was at least a bit enjoyable."

I smile, taking a sip of my wine. "There were some enjoyable moments, yes."

She pours herself a generous glass and takes a sip. "Good to hear. You know, these gatherings can be so tedious sometimes. It's nice to have a bit of excitement."

I nod in agreement. "You're right about that. Though sometimes, a bit too much excitement can be overwhelming."

Lady Nabile chuckles, a knowing look in her eyes. "I suppose that's true. But you, my dear, seem to handle it all quite well."

I smile, feeling a bit more at ease. "Thank you, Lady Nabile. I try my best."

She clinks her glass against mine. "To handling excitement with grace," she toasts.

"To handling excitement with grace," I echo, feeling a bit more relaxed in her company. Lady Nabile exits the premises with a bottle of wine, and I look around to see the ladies playing different games. Thank goodness the wedding is tomorrow evening—hopefully people have slept off their hangovers by then. I find a mattress in the corner of the ballroom and lie on it. My eyes search the room for Flora, and I spot her, covered in gold jewels thanks to all the gifts she received for her wedding. As I lie there, my body slowly gives up, and I fall asleep.

I wake up moments later to ladies screaming and running. "Fire! Fire! Fire!" I hear people yell. I get up and look around, seeing no fire but smelling smoke. I quickly join the ladies in exiting. Turning around, I see what everyone was freaking out about: a white and blue fire outside. That type of fire doesn't occur naturally. The fire was touching the windows of the ballroom, causing heat to rise. This kind of fire can't be put out by normal water—it needs an equally strong water source.

A guard comes over and grabs me, pulling me out of the room and running to the other wing of the castle. All I can think about is what could have caused the fire. I stop halfway, and the guard looks at me in confusion. "Your Highness," he says as respectfully as possible, "we need to go."

But all I can think about is that if the fire keeps burning like that, the whole palace grounds will catch fire. I turn around and run downstairs to the base of the fire and exit the building, despite the guard yelling out for me. I run down and see the damage the fire has caused; it looks like half of the grounds are burnt. I run through the corridor to get to a source of water—the lake where we had lunch earlier. As I run, I end up interacting with the evacuation of the bachelors from their party too, but I don't mind. I run to the garden. It is quite a distance from the palace, but the fire is right behind me.

I finally reach the hedge where the water is. I slowly raise my hands and close my eyes. I envision how I want the water to take out the fire. I look up at the sky, and rain clouds slowly start to form from the water rising into the sky. I carefully make hail out of the clouds. When it starts pouring, the ice mixed with water takes out most of the fire touching the castle, but not the one in the far distance. If I don't stop it, the fire will spread back. I focus on creating more rain, but the first spell drained my stamina. To my surprise, the second time it worked, and it hailed longer. Alibaba's clock might have drained more energy than expected earlier. 

When I am done with the spell, my knees give way, and I almost fall to the ground, but someone's hands grab me. "You did well," he says. I look up to see Prince Malo, our faces only inches apart.

"You did well," he repeats softly, his eyes searching mine. I feel a mix of relief and anger. I pull away slightly, still catching my breath.

"Why are you here?" I manage to ask, trying to sound strong.

"I saw you running here and came to help," he replies. "But it looks like you managed just fine on your own."

"Of course I did," I say, still irritated.

Malo's expression hardens. "We'll find out who. But right now, we need to make sure everyone is safe and the fire doesn't start up again."

He nods, a small smile playing on his lips. "Let's get you inside. You need rest." He sweeps me off the ground. 

I push away from him but almost fall as the rain continues to deplete my mana rapidly. My body reacts like this every time I go long without using large amounts of mana and then suddenly start using it in significant quantities. It can't make the jump easily, hence I feel fatigued quickly. He pulls me back in and lifts me up.

"Put me down," I command him.

"I will put you down when you feel better," he says, holding me closer. He looks up to the guards. "Search the grounds and make sure no one was hurt. Anyone who looks suspicious, bring them to me," he orders as he starts to walk with me in his arms.

"I'm serious, Malo, put me down," I insist, though my voice lacks its usual strength.

"Not until I'm sure you're okay," he replies, his tone firm but gentle.

I reluctantly stop resisting, realizing that my strength is too depleted to fight him off. Instead, I focus on my breathing, trying to regain some energy. The rain has started to let up, but the damage it caused in such a short time is evident all around us. The once beautiful gardens now bear the scars of the magical fire, and the palace grounds are a mix of soot and ash.

As Malo carries me back inside, I glance up at his face. There's a mixture of concern and determination in his eyes. It's a side of him I haven't seen before, and it makes me uneasy. This is the same man who threatened me earlier, yet here he is, protecting me.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Because despite everything, you're still a princess," he replies, not meeting my gaze. "And because... maybe I don't want to see you hurt."

His words hang in the air between us, heavy with unspoken meaning. Before I can respond, we reach the entrance of the my chambers. He gently sets me down on the bed just inside the doorway.

He places me in my bed and removes my shoes. Thankfully, the fire didn't spread to the guest houses. He is silent during the whole process.

"I can take care of myself," I say as I roll over and cover myself.

"I know," he says, "but I wish to take care of you... and your kingdom."

I turn around in my bed and face his direction. "By dissolving it," I say, "we lose all our power to you."

"But think of it," he says, sitting on the edge of the bed, "our nations will be stronger."

"Yours will, mine won't," I say, turning back to face the wall. I feel him get up from the bed.

"Did you deflower me so you would have leverage on me?" I ask, almost in a whisper. He stops moving and turns back to me at the same time I sit up and look at him. His eyes say it all. I turn around and cover myself again.

The silence hangs heavily between us, punctuated only by the soft sounds of my uneven breathing. I feel a mix of anger and betrayal, but also a strange sense of resignation. It's as if this revelation was the final piece in a puzzle I had been avoiding.

"Princess," he begins, his voice low and strained, "what happened between us wasn't a ploy or a scheme. At least, not for me. I... I care about you."

I don't respond, keeping my back to him, trying to process his words. The vulnerability in his voice feels genuine, but my trust has been shattered too many times to believe him easily.

"Please, Daniella," he continues, "let's find a way to move forward."

I turn to face him again, my expression hard. "And how do you propose we do that? By forcing our kingdoms into an unequal alliance? By using our personal history as leverage?"

He sighs, running a hand through his hair. "I don't have all the answers. But I do know that united, we stand a better chance against external threats. Alone, both our kingdoms are vulnerable."

"I request you to leave," I say, almost on the verge of tears. I feel his gaze on me, but I don't turn to look. There is still a lot of commotion outside. My eyes grow heavy, and I fall back into the slumber I was enjoying.

But hardly had I slept when I heard a knock on the door. The door is quickly opened. I turn to see a warm light glowing on me. I look up and see a female frame, but I'm too tired, so I end up falling back to sleep.