Wings, Beasts and Claws: Violet Embers

Ch. 16 : A Nanny's Conflict

*Royal Nanny Ivy*

When the Watchtower bells rang out, I was frozen in place, confused yet worried as I held Princess Thea in my arms. I was thankfully with Lord Drako who knew what it all meant and quickly rushed the children out of the room we had been in and into the main hallway.

I spotted Her Majesty rushing out of the office and shouting for us to get the kids inside while she ran down the stairs, and soon found myself inside the room with Lady Morina. Lord Drako then walked up to the bookshelf beside the fireplace and did some strange pushing and rubbing along the side of the stone between the bookshelf and fireplace. I gasped when the fireplace itself made a strange hissing noise and then appeared to move away from the wall, revealing an opening in front of Lord Drako.

He ushered the kids and Lady Morina inside and I was once again stunned to find a large room behind the fireplace with a four poster bed, a loveseat and couch and even a small dinette set that sat in the corner. A small door on the left wall facing the bed opened up to a bathroom with all the necessary amenities.

“There is a lever under the bed that opens a hidden door to a secret passage that snakes throughout the Palace.” Lord Drako whispered to me, staying in the doorway between the office and secret room. “If you hear anything at all that you think is a threat to the children, go down that passage and stick to the left of every fork you find. That will lead you to the greenhouse and into the woods behind the Palace.”

I nodded and took the small dagger he offered before he closed the door, staying in the office as a last line of protection for the children.

Lady Morina and I then spent hours in that room keeping the children entertained as best we could. It was hard to distract them as we had very little in the room to keep them playing, especially as the hours ticked by. Thankfully, Lord Drako opened the door after a long while and allowed us all out, praising his grandchildren on how they had behaved during such a serious situation. We then escorted the children to a small and hardly used sitting room just down the hall where dinner had been prepared for them.

After we all ate and changed the children for bed, I took note of all the Knights that were standing Guard in different places. A pair followed us around as we ushered the kids into different rooms, standing Guards by the doors every time we stopped. Another pair could be seen by the landing of the staircase. And another at the entrance to the hallway that held every child's room along with their parents.

“Is it alright to have so many Knights here?” I asked Lord Drako, feeling worry bubble up for Her Majesty who was not back yet. “Queen Amara would need their help as well if the Capital is still fighting the attackers.” Draco had informed me of the meaning behind the bells while the children bathed and my fear and worry skyrocketed as I wondered about Her Majesty.

“That’s true.” Lord Drako said, smiling at baby Thea who was slowly falling asleep on his chest once we were safely within His and Her Majesty’s rooms. “But my daughter-in-law is plenty strong and capable… she’ll return once everything has been dealt with and she knows it’s safe.” He passed the sleeping Princess back to me to tuck into her cradle, his gaze moving towards the eldest of his grandchildren. “I have someone among the Knights recording everything he sees her do while he’s helping, so the kids will see that their mother is safe before they go to bed.”

“Record?” I asked softly, stepping away from the cradle and following him into Her Majesty’s room. “Won’t that be too much for them? They’re still so young.”

I followed him from His and Her Majesty’s sitting room where the cradle was placed and into the main bed chamber, where the older three Royal children were sitting on their parents’ bed. They had all wanted to sleep in here to be the first to welcome their mother back, but it was becoming clear that the situation in the Capital was going to keep our Queen away from a good night's rest.

“I’ve asked him to be careful about the things he captures in the Viewing Crystal… I don’t want the children to see their mother in the wrong light.” He went over then and sat on the edge of the bed, talking and playing with them for a moment.

I wondered as I tidied up the room why he wanted the children to see their mother now while she was in the Capital. And I worried that it might frighten them if they were to see a darker side to Her Majesty before they were ready to understand why.

I had known Queen Amara for many years, and had been present when she was introduced into the Duke’s household after her mothers death. She and Lord Arden, now Lord Delphia, had been so scared and broken when they first walked into the estate. They were only nine back then and had been introduced as the Duke’s illegitimate children a month before my twelfth birthday, which was also the fourth anniversary of my employment at the Duke’s estate.

I watched for months as they mistreated, insulted and tormented those twins and couldn’t stop myself from wanting to help them. Even if it was only a little. And I soon noticed that they were both not only strong and very wise beyond their young years, but that there was something very special about them that seemed to draw others to them like moths to a flame.

Arden had always been a very serious and nearly mute child that hardly ever showed emotion. He brushed off the insults and beatings as though the people behind his pain were beneath his tiny feet and gave off the pure aura of a naturally born leader. His skills with the sword were far beyond those of the older two young Masters and they knew that he was going to surpass them without any trouble. So, once the young boy Shifted for the first time when he was twelve, he was quickly sent away so he wouldn’t gain any attention from the other Noble families that visited the estate. They wanted to keep him average at best and separating him from his twin sister worked to stunt his progress. And while he was away, little Amara was brought down as low as they could so she couldn’t be of any use to her brother when he returned.

But all of the servants, especially those adding to the abuse, could see that she was an unwavering force to be reckoned with.

Everyone would be mesmerized by her the very second she walked into a room, and the calm, strong look in her eyes burned brighter than anyone around her. She had always had this unspeakable beauty that made her seem like Royalty from a whole other world, and this only increased the hatred that the Duchess and her daughter had for her. Because even after she was beaten, starved, crushed and finally felt the cruelest form of betrayal at the hands of the man she fell in love with, Amara was still the brightest light within the estate.

This was why I had stepped up to become her unofficial Handmaid and helped her whenever I could. This fire that glowed from within her made it impossible for me to join in the jealousy and violence that everyone else gave her. I wanted to be a part of that fire and join her in that other world that she seemed to be a part of. So, when she was picked as a Queeness Candidate, I proudly told her how she should try her best to become Queen, because I already saw her as one. And I was the least bit surprised when His Majesty, who was the Crown Prince at the time, started showing an interest in her and began pursuing her. The shock only overcame me when I learned that she was actually His Majesty’s fated Mate, and when she revealed her pregnancy after being kidn*pped as well.

“Ivy.”

I turned and found Lord Drako looking at me as a Knight that I hadn’t realized entered the room turned to leave.

“The Knight I asked to record Amara is almost back,” He said, glancing at the children before approaching me. “I need you to take the Viewing Crystal he has and bring it here… the kids need to see that Amara is alright so they can get to sleep.”

I nodded, still unsure of the reason why Lord Drako wanted to show the children what Her Majesty was doing. But I left the rooms nonetheless and made my way to the ground floor of the Palace. It was eerie walking through the dark and empty halls of the palace since the entire building was under lockdown, but I shook the feeling away and pushed forward, wanting to return to my charges quickly.

As I made my way through the main doors and out into the snow, I paused for a moment, shivering and pulling my cloak even tighter around me as I glanced at the dark night sky. I then looked ahead of me and found a small group of Knights walking back in through the open gates and another group walking out. Slowly, I made my way to the gates and looked for a Knight that was carrying a Viewing Crystal, wondering who he was. When I finally spotted him, my body stiffened and a small gasp left me as I stared.

In his hands was the Viewing Crystal that was the size of a book and was being partially concealed by his cloak. His uniform was dirty and so was his face and hands from fighting. His dark brown hair was matted in some places and sticking up in others and a pair of very familiar deep brown eyes quickly locked with mine.

“Ivy?” His voice was filled with confusion and a warmth I wanted to ignore. “What are you doing out? The Palace is still under lockdown.”

“Th-the Crystal.” I said, tearing my eyes away from his as he stopped a foot in front of me. “Lord Drako asked me to retrieve the Viewing Crystal.”

He nodded, understanding coming over his eyes before he extended his arm out. I carefully grabbed the cold and heavy stone, not wanting to touch any part of him.

“Thank you, Sir Warrick.” I muttered, bowing softly and turning away.

“Lante.” I heard him say, forcing me to stop and look back. “Don’t be so formal with me Ivy, you can call me Lante.”

I felt my cheeks burn with a rising heat and I nodded stiffly, unable to speak. I then rushed back into the Palace with the weight of his eyes on me and tried to ignore the bubbling emotions in my chest.

Lante Warrick is one of Commander Lovarne’s grandsons and a bear Shifter like the Commander as well. He’s a year older than me at twenty nine and a very skilled swordsman that many believed was being groomed to take over his grandfather's position. I had met him a few times while out with the children and quickly realized why I was feeling the way I was towards him.

He was my Mate.

I felt drawn to him and every time we would meet the pull would grow stronger. Which was why I was working myself to the bone every time I’d run into him, so I would collapse into bed and not be able to dream that one dream that would connect us as Mates. I didn’t want to have that dream that linked us and allowed us to either deny or accept our Bond to each other. So when I learned that the only way to stop that dream from happening was to weaken one's body or mind, I chose to push myself until exhaustion. Because the All Mother Goddess would never force such a powerful dream on you if you were too weak to handle it, since everyone that went through it would feel extremely drained afterwards. And so I worked and worked hard so that dream would never come to me.

Because Sir Warrick was a married man and father to a young son.

And unlike my inner mountain lion Sable, I wasn’t going to rip a man away from his family. I didn’t want to be the reason why he divorced and fought for custody of his son. I also knew that his wife was a lower Maid within the Palace and didn’t want to risk any problems with a fellow servant of the Royal family. I didn’t even know what she looked like since I was always on the higher floors with the children, but I knew that her name was Veraina and that she was a wolf Shifter. I have seen their son though, whose name was Paxum and he was the same age as Prince Cal and Lady Reya. He was the spitting image of his father too which made me feel even worse whenever I’d think about ever being with my Mate.

‘He’s ours.’ Sable growed within me, pulling against me as I climbed the stairs in a hurry to get away from Lante. ‘That female doesn’t belong with him.’

‘She’s his wife and the mother of his son.’ I argued back, pushing her aside. ‘We will not be responsible for breaking his family apart, Sable, drop it!’

She growled and whimpered as she retreated into my mind just as I made it back into the room with the children.