Love Before Blood

Chapter 16

Avalon’s Mother’s POV

“Lady Heather, a letter came in from you this morning,” a maid came in with a letter in her hands.

“Who is the letter from?” I asked as I finished eating.

“I believe it’s from Princess Avaon.” She handed the letter to me, and I read it.

The envelope was white with a lavender border. How elegant. And the maid believed correctly. It is from Avalon. I knew I would be getting a letter from her soon, but I didn’t think it would take this long.

I never meant for her to go through such a trial so early in her life. If only that day hadn’t happened...with him. None of this would’ve ever happened. Ever since she agreed to participate in the marriage alliance, I’ve been eating a lot better, sleeping in for as much as I want to, no chores, and finding myself very bored. I can’t believe I’m saying this but a part of me misses the chores I was given daily. But the one person I miss the most is Avalon. My beautiful star in the galaxy.

I haven’t seen Queen Rosario since my rank was promoted to Lady, but I do make an effort to visit her whenever I have the time. Each time, I would be shot down and I would be waiting in front of her door all day. The thought of her not accepting my apology made me push my plate away. It’s not my fault that this happened in the first place. Instead of having to wait all day in front of her door, I decided to ask her for me. “Is everything, M’lady?” the maid asked.

“I’m fine. I just hope that Queen Rosario has received my request to meet with her. I know I owe her my deepest apologies,” I said with a sigh while looking out the window.

The garden has been looking much livelier than ever before since the wedding. From what I heard, Prince Azriel gave us pearl tree seeds. Seeds with the gift of bringing back nutrients into the soil and restoring life to the plants. But even with the return of colors to the garden, things aren’t the same as without Avalon.

There was a knock on one the door and another maid was brought in. I recognized her right away. “Lady Heather, Queen Rosario has requested to see you and would like to invite you to tea later this afternoon in the garden.”

I nodded my head. “The Queen has also told me that you knew where to meet her.”

“I do,” I said, softly,” Thank you.”

The rest of the morning, I was preparing a dress for tea with Queen Rosario. In the end, I chose a light grey dress. When I went into the garden, the air smelled of pollen and I could hear birds chirping and bees buzzing. I headed straight for the section where the plant rosario had been planted. In the middle of that section, there was a gazebo, where the Queen was waiting.

I gave Queen Rosario my deepest curtsy. She was wearing a dark red dress with patterns that resembled the rosario flower. “It has been a while, Heather,” she said to me.

I swear I could feel the daggers from her eyes. “Yes, Your Highness,” I said.

After she gestured for me to rise, I sat down in the chair across from her. “Seeing how you are now, I can assume that you have adjusted to your new life?”

“Yes,” I said.

“Although you have adjusted to your new life, you still can’t seem to forget about your past wrong, and still beg me for forgiveness. Do you know how irritating it is to be reminded of that day, the day I found out that you were pregnant with his child?”

I bowed my head in shame. “I have a feeling for how irritating I was,” I felt the anger and malice from Queen Rosario emanating from her, I quickly said,” but I just wanted to make sure that you know I am truly and deeply sorry. I will do anything to make amends for what happened.”

Rosario sighed, the angry tension leaving the atmosphere, and said,” Oh, I know how sorry you are, but are you really willing to do anything to make it up to me?”

I looked into her eyes. Her elbows were now on the table, leaning towards me. There was some amusement in them and surprise. “Yes,” I said, but I really wanted to say no. I hate the idea of having to owe someone for such a long time.

“Now that I know for sure, I will have to think about the favor you owe me for a while,” she said before taking a sip from her teacup.

Her maid poured tea into the cup for me. I slowly sipped the tea. Rosario then said,” I’m not sure you’ve heard yet, but we will be opening trade with the Land of Drakes very soon. You might be able to see Princess Avalon very soon.”

I gasped and nearly choked on the tea I had just drunk, but I held it in. “Or you may not. They’re probably not going to send their Royal Family to something as simple as trade.”

“You may be right, Your Highness,” I said,” but you may also be wrong.”

Queen Rosario set her cup down abruptly and said,” And what makes you think I may be wrong?”

I gently put my cup down. “No one is perfect, not even you. Not even the drakes. We always have a chance to be right, but we also have an equal chance to be wrong.”

“I see what you’re saying,” she said, watching me very closely. She stood up and started to leave the gazebo. “I’ll let you know when I have decided, until then, make sure to find a way to entertain yourself.”

I curtsied as she walked away, but at the same time I had a feeling what I said earlier will definitely be back to bite me in the future.

Prince Azriel’s POV

I was very surprised by what she did last night. That was definitely the best sleep I’ve had in years. She’s never gotten this close to me in bed, but she allowed me to put my arm around her shoulder and let me pull her closer to me. When I woke up this morning, she was in the same position. Her head on my chest, her hair draping over my arm, and her arm was around my waist.

I brushed my fingers through her hair. It was so soft, even softer than the last time I stroked her hair. I tried to get out of bed without waking her up, but I miserably failed. Her eyes opened up and looked straight up at me. She gave me a big smile and said,” Good morning.”

“Good morning,” I said back. “Need to get ready for training later?”

She snuggled her head into my chest again and held me a little tighter. I swear I couldn’t breathe. “I don’t want to go,” she said. “Can’t I take another day off?”

“I could ask Cassian to skip training for today, but he usually likes to have a day’s notice in advance so that he can plan accordingly.

She groaned and said,” I guess I’ll go, but I’m going straight back to bed to sleep. And you had better be here to join me.”

“We’ll see,” I said,” That’s going to depend on what I need to get done for today?” She nodded and we quickly got ready for the day. I had a meeting to attend regarding the trading ratification.

When I got to the meeting, a copy of the treaty was waiting on everyone’s spot. “The humans have given us a very quick reply this time,” my father said. “They offered to do trade in the heart of their kingdom. What does everyone think of this arrangement?”

Nami was the first to raise her hand and said,” I don’t think it’s a good idea, unless you plan on sending a guarded escort.”

I agree with General Nami, but we need to make one thing certain. “Did they offer an alternative or another place to set up trade with them?”

“They did,” Peri said,” They were originally going to set up trade in the town closest to our borders, However, there are plenty of cliffs there that are overrun by bandits.”

“We all know how bandits don’t care about the law of the state,” I said,” They’re just petty thieves.”

General Onix interceded and said,” According to the intel my spies had gathered, that town has no protection provided by their human nobles. The bandits killed most of the soldiers their king would send. Later on, they blocked off all the paths to prevent anyone from coming in or out, except for the bandits.”

“Were they purposely trying to get us to kill those bandits?” my father asked.

“It is probably because we can afford to,” I said,” No human can get past those blocked passages. And we do have the resources and abilities for it.”

“Father,” Grey said. Peri and I looked at him with surprise. He’s never spoken up at a meeting. He’s always waiting for the right moment to strike. “Near the end of the treaty, the humans have said that if we aren’t interested in trading in that particular location, then we can just trade there instead of starting out by our borders.”

General Nami and I looked at Grey incredulously. “So we just ignore the fact that their people need help?” she asked.

“We clearly don’t have a choice,” Peri said,” Even their royal family sees them as a waste of resources.”

“Waste of resources?” General Slade hissed. “What if our people are in the same position? If they’re close to the border, would you abandon them, too?”

Peri put his head down in shame. “That’s not what I meant.”

“With all due respect, Prince Peri, I would suggest you keep your mouth shut if you spew that kind of bullshit again.”

I looked at our father, and he was looking at Peri. I’ve never seen him so furious at him. His eyes have always held compassion for his first-born, but now, all I see is shock and disappointment for the comment Peri made. “I agree with that statement,” he said in a really soft voice.

“I know we are trying to secure peace and trade with them, but what if we send in a covert team to take down those bandits?” I suggested, “While still doing trade in their capital city?”

My father shifted his attention to me. “Go on, Prince Azriel.”

“I can lead a small legion of soldiers and we could make them surrender, and we can negotiate better terms for them,” I said.

“Negotiate?” Peri asked,” Why would we want to negotiate more terms with them?”

“Because, Brother,” I replied almost through gritted teeth,” We just got out of a war. I don’t think we want to cause any more casualties unless it’s truly necessary.”

“I agree,” General Slade,” and I can provide you with some of my elite soldiers to help you, Prince Azriel.”

“I can also dispatch some of my healers as well,” General Nami replied. “We may need to provide some medical attention to them.” I bowed my head to them in thanks.

“Now hold on,” Grey said,” Let’s not get too far ahead. What if our allies mistaken our good intentions as an attack on their borders?”

“Why would they?” Mother spoke up. “After all, we are in an alliance with them, and besides, their royal family doesn’t seem to care enough about this village as it is. If you’re so worried about that, we will send a letter to them stating that we are helping the human village that is near our borders. I’ll even accompany this little expedition myself if it’s truly necessary.”

Grey blanched at that and said,” Very well, Mother.”

Our father looked at our mother like she was a crazy woman. She stuck her tongue out at him to show him she didn’t care. “I will also sign that letter. Is there any other information we need to know before Prince Azriel puts his team together?”

General Onix waved a hand at the table and a map of the cliffs and the village appeared. “We may need to do it soon. I believe that the cutoff to their resources has left the villagers starving. And they’re in the middle of a drought.”

I guess I will be bringing more pearl tree seeds with me. “Very well, Queen Dia and I will write the letter.” He looked at me, Peri, and Grey,” I want you three to come along to this. We will personally talk trade with them. And bring Princess Avalon with us. I want our dragons ready to fly, and we will be heading out at first light,” my father said. “Everyone’s dismissed.”

After the meeting, I flew straight to the training area. Avalon was working on throwing knives. Each of those daggers hit the red dot, however Bryce’s was just a little off target. I tried not to stay too awed by her perfect aim. “Cassian,” I called. He turned and bowed to me.

Avalon missed her aim this time. “Is training almost done?” I asked.

“Yes, we are just about done. Princess Avalon has a very natural aim.”

I smiled at them. “Good, we need to get ready for travelling. We’re going to the Land of Humans first thing tomorrow. And I would make sure to bring battle armor.”

“Wait,” Princess Avalon ,” Why would Cassian need battle armor? Aren’t you just going to discuss trade with my father?”

“We are, but something else has come up, and we’re going to be doing it while my parents are discussing trade with your parents.”

She nodded and took a step closer to me, sensing the urgency to prepare things for travelling. As I was about to take off, Avalon whispered,” Queen Rosario isn’t, wasn’t, and won’t be my mother. Not ever.”

I realized the stupidity of my words.