Doris POV
“Where have you been?!” Beth said as I entered our bedroom; she threw her arms around me and pulled me in for a tight hug. I winced as my body was still aching. “Oh… sorry,” she said, releasing me, giving me an apologetic smile.
“It’s okay,” I said, trying to keep the worry out of my tone.
“I thought you were going to return last night, or earlier this morning. I was worried when you didn’t,” Beth said, staring around my face.
“I don’t really have a lot of time to talk,” I told her, going over to my drawers to find some clothing to wear. I told William I would be changed and meet him in the foyer as soon as I could so we could prepare for our trip to the North.
I felt sick thinking about it.
Beth frowned and I could feel her eyes following me.
“What’s going on?” She asked.
“He ordered for me to go with him to the North,” I said, even slower.
Her face fell and turned into complete terror as I spoke those words. Her eyes flashed fear as she made her way across the room and toward me.
“What?” She whispered. “You can’t be serious. You’ll die if you go to the North!”
“I don’t have much of a choice, Beth. He ordered for me to accompany him in front of the king himself,” I said softly.
Her eyes widened.
“The king knows you’re going too?” She asked. “And he didn’t try to stop it?”
I shook my head.
“No,” I answered. “He didn’t.”
“Can’t you pretend you’re sick or something?” She asked.
“It won’t matter,” I told her. “His mind has been made up. There’s nothing I can do about it.”
She was silent for a moment as I changed my clothes; she was trying to process what I had told her, and I knew she was worried for me. I was worried too but I couldn’t let her see me be weak. I had to stay strong or else I would have a complete meltdown.
“What will I do without you?” She whispered, tears forming in her eyes.
I couldn’t see her crying; if she cried, then I would most certainly cry.
“You’re not going to find out,” I assured her. “I’m going to be fine.”
I wasn’t so sure myself though; she cleared her throat and wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve.
“I know,” she said, her tone sounding stronger. “I’m just going to miss you,” she breathed.
I smiled as I went over to her and gave her a long and much-needed hug.
“I’ll miss you,” I whispered back.
She pulled away from me to stare around my features, curiously.
“What happened last night anyway? What did you do?” She asked; I knew she’s been dying to know how my night with Prince William was. Sadly, for her, I had nothing interesting to report.
“I made him some tea, fixed his bed, and he went to sleep. I’m not entirely sure why he wanted me there, to be honest,” I said, thinking about the events of last night.
My cheeks flushed slightly as I remembered him pulling me into his bed and keeping a tight hold on me. He had me sleeping against the warmth of his chest. I had to stifle the small smile that tugged at my mouth as the ghost of his touch welcomed my body with its presence.
She didn’t look like she believed me as she continued staring around my face.
“I see,” she said, humor dancing in her eyes. “Does he sleep naked?”
I went to answer but someone cleared their throat from behind us and we both jumped to see Prince William standing in the doorway. He stared between the two of us with annoyance written all over his face and he rolled his eyes.
Beth’s features turned into a deep red as she curtsied.
“Your majesty,” she said. “I was just uh…” she stammered.
“Save it,” he muttered. He glanced at me, and his mouth formed into a thin line. “We need to leave.”
I curtsied to him and turned to Beth; I gave her another hug.
“I love you,” I told her softly. “I’ll try to see you before we officially leave tonight.”
“I love you too,” she said as she released me, tears in her eyes once again.
I pulled away from her and followed William out of the maid’s unit. A couple of guards accompanied us as we walked through the palace.
Peter was waiting with the carriage outside of the main doors; he had the doors of the carriage opened. I wasn’t expecting us to be leaving the palace and I stood still, staring at him confused.
“Get in,” he ordered.
“Your majesty, may I ask where we are going?” I asked.
“To see my mother,” he answered.
I gasped at his words, but I nodded my head and did as he said, sliding into the carriage.
He was taking me to see his foster mother Lady Katherine? I don’t understand…
I’ve never been inside a carriage before; it was very rare that I got to leave the palace grounds and go anywhere. I had to admit that it was a nice change of scenery, even if it was against my will and by a prince, I thought despised me.
The carriage began moving and I was startled at the speed that it took; William glanced at my nervous face and rolled his eyes, looking out the window as we rounded the palace and stepped onto the cobblestone pathway.
A distance behind the palace were rows of cottages that, typically, former mistresses and ladies of the palace would reside in. Once a royal member of the family grew tired of them, they would send them to live at the cottages so they would no longer need to be around them. Despite them being taken care of well and having a roof over their head, it was still found to be shameful to return to the palace.
I couldn’t imagine something like that happening to me and I grew flustered at the thought of it.
We neared the village and we stopped in front of one of the larger cottages. I followed Prince William out of the carriage and toward the door where he knocked. The guards stayed behind with the carriage.
A beautiful older woman stood at the door; her face lighting up as she saw Prince William standing before her.
“William!” She said as she wrapped her arms around him; he surprisingly hugged her back and I felt a small smile tugging at my lips at the scenery. “I’m so glad to see you, my dear.”
“Hey, mother,” William said as he pulled away from her.
She went to say something else, but then her eyes landed on me, and they widened. For a moment, she looked shocked, and I couldn’t tell what was running through her mind.
“Hello,” she said to me, a pleasant smile forming on her lips.
I curtsied and was about to say something until I heard her laughing as I brought myself back up. William just rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“No need to be so formal,” she said, swatting her hand in the hair like she was shooing away a fly. I instantly felt my face redden. She cleared her throat and stepped aside for us to enter her home. “Come on in! You are the first woman that William has ever brought to see me!”
“What brings you to visit?” She asked as we entered her cottage.
“I wanted to say goodbye for right now. In case something happens…” William said.
I stiffened at his words; it was unsettling to hear him say that something terrible might happen where we might not return.
She frowned and stared amongst us for a moment.
“What do you mean?”
“We are going to the North at nightfall,” he answered.
Her eyes widened.
“You’re going to the North and bringing this poor girl with you?” Lady Katherine gasped. “Have you lost your mind?”
“I need to find out who poisoned Luna Queen Cara,” William answered. “They think it was Doris and sent her to prison where Jack nearly killed her.”
Lady Katherine groaned at the sound of Jack’s name; did everybody dislike him? Not that I could blame them; he was a nightmare.
“I don’t trust them, and I would like to make sure they keep their hands off her,” William muttered; I was surprised to hear him say that.
He was taking me with him to protect me?
He didn’t meet my eyes, but a faint smile grew on Lady Katherine’s lips as she glanced over at me.
“Has he told you about his past?”.
“No, mam,” I answered, feeling red in the face.
“You expect her to risk her life to accompany you on this trip and she knows nothing about you?” She asked.
I was shocked to see that William’s face grew red, but he still wouldn’t look at me.
“She’s just a maid. I don’t tell maids my business,” he muttered, leaning back on the couch and staring intently at the fire before us.
Lady Katherine rolled her eyes and turned to me.
“Well, I think you should know the man you are walking into the fire with, don’t you think?” She asked.