Filed to story: The Rejected Werewolf Princess (Camilla & Tyson) by Didi Adeyemi >>
“What’s going on?”
she asked but no one gave her a response and then she turned to Ryker.
“Where are you going?”
“We’re going to find Audrey,”
he said and her eyes widened. She opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off.
“I’ll explain it all when I get back, I promise.”
He k*ssed her forehead and she nodded then he turned back to his search party and they disappeared into the woods. I caught Riley staring at me with an unreadable exp**ssion in her eyes and when she caught my eye, she nodded subtly and walked away.
I don’t know how long we searched for Audrey but my voice became h o ar se. I yelled out for her at every opportunity and even when the sky grew dark, we took out flash lights and continued to search. We searched every cave, every stream and every road we could find. We overturned every leaf and rock but Audrey simply wouldn’t appear. From the moment the sky went dark, I knew we wouldn’t be finding her. I only hoped that the others would have better luck.
It wasn’t until the moon was high in the sky that we decided we were going to return to the castle. Spirits were low and no one spoke a single word as we made our way back. I could tell that they were either as worried as I was or they just didn’t want to risk upsetting me.
By the time we got to the palace, Christine’s search party was already there. I looked at her with high hopes and she shook her head softly.
I couldn’t help the little s ob that broke free from me but I managed to clamp down on the tears so they wouldn’t fall. I couldn’t risk crying in front of the guards especially a few days to coronation
Sh it!
The coronation, I don’t know what is going to happen but I do know that I have no intentions of holding it if Audrey isn’t here. I made a me ntal note to talk to mother about it once I had calmed down. I knew she would agree because she wouldn’t be that cruel as to force me to stand in front of thousands of people for a ceremony while my daughter was goddess knows where.
The other two search parties returned and neither of them had found anything. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream at the goddess and ask why she allowed my child be taken but no words could come out of my l*ps. Instead, I nodded quietly as they all told me the bad news and I thanked the guards for searching then I walked inside.
I could tell that Ryker wanted to follow me and he had questions but I ignored him and I walked up the stairs into my room.
I locked the door behind me so no one would bother me and I made my way into the bathroom. I sat in the tub for at least thirty minutes before I even made a move to wash myself. My movements were almost mechanical, I couldn’t bring myself to come to terms with what was happening.
By the time I got out, I changed into my light pink nightgown because Audrey loved it the most and I made my way to the bed. I was shocked however to get there and see a piece of paper lying there. I picked it up and read what was on it and with each word, my mouth fell open wider and my eyes felt like they were going to bulge out of their sockets.
I didn’t care that I was in a night gown, I rushed out of my room and ran down the hallways until I got to my mother’s office. She wasn’t there and I knew the only other place she could be was her room so I took off. I knocked on her door louder and harder than I normally would have but I didn’t care.
When she opened the door, she took in my features.
“Why are you walking around the palace with bare feet?”
I looked down and realized that I was in fact bare footed but I didn’t care. I pushed past her into her room and she watched me carefully before locking the door behind her.
“What is it?”
she asked and I handed her the note.
She stared at it carefully for a second before she took it from me. I saw her exp**ssion morph from confusion to shock and back to neutral. She didn’t need to read it out loud because even though I had read it only once, I could recite the entire letter word for word.
I have your daughter and she is safe for now.
You have something I want and I have something you want.
I think we can come to a mutual understanding.
Meet me at the abandoned warehouse in the district. I’ll take you to my hideout from there.
I’ll tell you what it is that you owe me and this can end without any casualties.
Do not respond and I will take something else.
Attached to the bottom of the note was a lock of Audrey’s hair.
Mother told me to call his bluff and refused to let me leave. I would have done it with or without her permission but then she ordered guards to trail me all day to ensure I didn’t go without her knowledge. She also increased security in and around the palace to also ensure that whoever this person was, they would not be able to take anyone else from the palace.
Something about it still didn’t sit right with me and I still felt worried. My nerves were frayed and I was on edge because a part of me felt that no matter the measures we put in place, something terrible was still going to happen. I couldn’t tell anyone how I truly felt about it because I didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news or the one who brings down everyone’s morale.
The city had been alerted to Audrey’s disappearance. I don’t know how it got out but I assume it was from one of the guards. Everyone was on edge waiting for a response or an announcement from the palace about it but they weren’t going to get it. I was in no mood or state of mind to address the general public and neither was my mother. When the council asked our opinion, we both agreed that it would be best if we just stayed silent and allowed things to play out.
The council members then brought up the issue of the coronation and that led to the conversation that we were having now. They were listing off the millions of reasons why it cannot be postponed. They started by saying that it had never happened before and I was tempted to inform them that no monarch had their child go missing days before coronation. I was growing bored and irritated the longer I listened to them drone on about the importance of keeping the coronation. It wasn’t until one of them mentioned that it would be an insult to have the Alpha’s come all this way and leave/without the ceremony that I snapped.
“Do you realize that my three year old daughter is missing?”
I spat with so much venom that I saw him flinch.
“My child is goddess knows where and your biggest problem is whether or not the ego of an Alpha can take it?”
“Your highness, that isn’t-”
he began but I cut him off.
“I am going to make one thing very clear to all of you and I would advice that you do well to listen,”
I paused to make sure I had all their attention.
“This coronation is not holding until I have my child in my arms. I don’t give a sh it how long it takes and I don’t care how anyone feels about it. The monarchy will not end if I suddenly decide to put my daughter over it.”
“Your highness,”
another one muttered softly.
“It is your duty as the future Queen to have the coronation. This won’t be the first time a child has gone missing. You were missing for eighteen years and we found you. If your daughter isn’t found after the coronation then we will invite a witch from the coven we are aligned to”
“Shut up,”
I said and he bristled.
“Maybe if you had allowed my mother look for me when she wanted I wouldn’t have been missing for eighteen years. But all that is in the past, I have said it once and I will say it again; nothing in this palace will hold until my daughter is safe. Is that clear?”
“Yes, your highness,”
they all mumbled even though I knew they clearly didn’t agree.