[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: GIRLS LIKE US ~ ZOE WEES]
The moment Kitanna left, Almaria felt like she could breathe freely for a few moment. The whole thing had happened so suddenly. She thought that denying the girl would solve everything, but it did not. Maybe heaven was on her side, since Kitanna had lost bits of her memory. Or was she playing with her? Almaria unconsciously bit her finger in distress.
Mubera noticed how the queen dowager was panicking despite her efforts to calm down. She leaned forward and whispered, "I think you should come to the shrine," then she tapped Almaria’s shoulder gently before exiting the courtroom.
Almaria raised her head to look at the high priestess who was stepping out of the room, and she decided to follow her suit immediately. But she was stopped by her son.
"Mother, you don’t look so well. Are you okay?" Khelan asked with a worried face. "Are you perhaps too shocked about the sudden appearance of Kitanna? We all are, but I feel you should be the happiest because this whole thing strengthened your relationship with her. She seems to have only good memories of you," the king reassured his mother.
Almaria stared at her son. That was the point. The fact that Kitanna only had good memories of her meant something was wrong somewhere. Either she was lying or she was playing at something.
The queen dowager pressed her lips and said, "Thank you, son. I’m glad she has only good memories of me."
’And I wonder how long it will last,’ Almaria said in her mind. Then she reached out and held her son’s hands. "I am fine, My King. You take your wife. I will go to the shrine to offer prayers of thanksgiving for Kitanna’s return." Almaria smiled before retracing her steps to the shrine.
Larel noticed how uncomfortable the queen dowager was, and it was obvious Kitanna was the reason. She turned her face and smiled, at least one person was a thorn in her flesh.
Larel enjoyed every bit of her misery.
Nix followed her behind as she left the courtroom, he was yet to say anything. He watched as the queen dowager felt very uncomfortable because of one person.
Man-uel, who was also in the room, was not having it easy either. When he saw the queen dowager leave the room, he trotted behind her.
"What do you think went wrong?" he asked as soon as they left the courtroom.
"Find out where that coachman lives, get rid of him. If Khelan starts any investigation, he will be the first to be captured and questioned," Almaria ordered, ignoring the question that was asked.
Man-uel nodded his head but continued to follow her behind. "That is true because his testimony is very different from that of the princess" he said in a low voice.
When they got to the shrine, Mubera had already sent all her shrine maids out, so the place was left empty.
Immediately Almaria entered the shrine, she removed all her jewelries and threw them on the ground.
She held her head together. All the emotions she kept bottled up were left open as she shrieked so loudly.
"Ahhhhhh!!!" She dragged her hair, screaming in distress.
Mubera allowed her to vent as much as she wanted because even she was also not safe. Kitanna was not someone to toy with. She was one of the cunningest Black Roses, and since the beginning of that princess assasins, she was the most stubborn and quick-witted.
When Almaria finally calmed down, she sat down and grabbed the jar of water that was on the table. Without using the cup, she gulped everything down.
"Mubera, she knows. She is back for me! What do we do? What do I do?" Almaria asked when she finally dropped the jar.
"Queen Almaria, there is no we, it is ’what do you do?’ I am only a priestess. If you fail to clean up your mess in your era, then you have failed," Mubera decided to exonerate herself. She was not ready to take the fall for anyone, including the queen dowager.
Almaria raised her eyes to look at the high priestess, she clenched her teeth in anger. "But we both know about the Black Rose. You have been helping to end the lives of the old Roses before her," the last sentence came out as a whisper.
"Yes, you are correct, and the queen before you never failed. Your failure is yours alone," Mubera said, looking away from the queen dowager.
"If she says she lost her memory, then let it be for now. Don’t act too rashly," she concluded.
Almaria let out a scoff. "I see those eyes of hers, she did not lose her memory. The wildness is still there," she informed the high priestess.
"Just keep a watch on her for now. Why did you not use your guard for the job? You were sure he would do it properly," the high priestess asked, looking at Nix.
"I was doubting him for a moment, but now I have learned my lesson," Almaria replied.
Nix noticed the conversation had moved to him. He turned to look at the two women. His blue eyes continued to stare at them before he looked away from them.
"Do you think another opportunity will come?" Man-uel finally asked. This caused the queen dowager and the high priestess to look in his direction.
"We haven’t cleaned this mess; you are asking for another opportunity. Do you want to get killed?" Almaria was in no mood to have meaningless conversations. She turned to face Nix.
"Can you keep an eye on her? From tomorrow, I will make you her personal guard. That way she will trust me. I will make her understand it’s for her safety. Report everything you see her do directly to me," the queen dowager decided that was the best option, to get her own person close to the princess.
Nix bowed at the royal order but he still did not say anything to the queen dowager.
Mubera nodded in agreement to what Almaria said. It was better to have someone they could trust around the princess.
After the meeting, Nix left the shrine and walked toward his own quarters.
While Man-uel and the queen dowager left together.
"Are you sure we can trust that guard of yours?" Man-uel finally spoke what had been on his mind.
"Man-uel, do you want to go instead? We are using what we have for now, if the princess lost her memory then let us make use of it. She will think I have good intentions for her, when I let my most trusted guard watch how over her. Let everything be. Moreover there is no one to be trusted in the palace," Almaria said before walking inside her chamber to get ready for dinner. She was done talking to Man-uel who only asked questions but did not profer solutions.
Man-uel stood at the entrance of the queen dowager’s chamber, and he was not sure he trusted that guard, especially after his encounter with him. Man-uel decided to take it upon himself to investigate what went wrong.
He walked out of the chambers.
What he did not know was that someone was watching him from the dark corners.