Chapter 18
“Do you not know what happened?” Lady Waverly inquired as she offered the dish tray of their morning meal to the king whose brows were knotted in perplexity, obviously at a loss with how her night ended with her in another pair of clothing. “You even woke up midway being dressed.” The youngest Earp added.
The red-head royalty shook her head, failing to recall any of the things the younger girl had stated, neither waking up nor being dressed, so she proceeded rephrasing her query with much caution as not to offend the girl who had been nothing but a gleam of kindness since her arrival in the castle, “Did you, perhaps, dressed me?”
“Oh no, no, your Majesty. You are not my husband to dress.” The youngest Earp answered in haste and somehow, what she uttered had made Nicole feel rather slightly ill at ease but dared not show. Lady Waverly tittered then as if remembering something comical before continuing, “When you fell into slumber on my lounger last night while we we’re conversing, I immediately called the queen as I do not know what to do with you. You were fast asleep, waking you would not be as easy and neither is bringing you back to your quarters all by myself, and it also did not help that you were slightly inebriated.”
Nicole pondered for a while, recalling the event that led her to imbibe in her current state when she has yet to recover from her sickness. “And what happened after?”
“The queen dressed you and she recommended for me to sleep in the next room instead.” The younger girl replied, handing her a knife to cut her bread. Lady Waverly stared at her with all seriousness. “So… are you going to tell me now where you went and why, despite still being sick, you quenched yourself with wine?”
The king fell silent; not wanting to disclose what had transpired the night she left to deal with the culprits who planned an attack on her mother, she looked away and stared down at the bread on her hand instead.
Lady Waverly’s eyes softened, clearly sympathetic of Nicole’s stillness; the queen mother has been attacked whilst she was safely tucked inside the castle walls all the while enduring a sickness, Nicole must have felt helpless, and quite frankly, she would be too if she were in her shoes knowing that the queen mother is the only family Nicole have left inside the castle. She was about to place her hand on the king’s shoulder to console her but was reminded of the punishment that awaits anyone who touches her, so Lady Waverly kept her hands busy with her cup of tea. “I beg your pardon, your Majesty. I do not want to impose, I am only worried, that is all.”
Nicole’s lips curled up into a smile; being the kingdom’s monarch ruler, she had been accustomed to people constantly worrying about her, most especially her mother, but hearing lady Waverly’s affectionate words warmed her heart in a way she had never felt before. She looked up and found the younger girl staring back at her and somehow, she could not look away, entranced by the exquisite vision before her. Realizing that she had been longingly staring at Lady Waverly’s luscious lips, she concealed the slight discomfiture she felt with the most apparent comment she could quip, “I believe my mother has been worrying about me more than enough for the whole kingdom, including you, it is a bit horrifying, really.”
“And do you find mine as nauseating?”
The question caught the king off-guard, but if the question requires an answer and one that Nicole would so honestly consent to, the only worry she would ever entertain was of the younger girl’s; for she feel no uneasiness being under Lady Waverly’s concerned eyes, that, and the fact that she welcomed the bodily actions that came with it.
Nicole chuckled a bit and smiled, her mind immediately reeling back to the sudden tactile exchange that took place last night.
Her balled hand halted just before it touches the door and she was left to ponder if knocking at a lady’s door at such hour can still be deemed apposite considering that it was Lady Waverly who solicited to be informed of her return, but Nicole, ever the decent man that she was raised to be, could not allow herself to disrupt someone else’s respite when she can just see her in a more appropriate time, let alone while intoxicated.
She was set to turn on her heels when she suddenly heard footsteps shuffling on the other side of the door and the sound of the youngest Earp’s weak voice in between yawns saying, “Your Majesty, is that you?”
Nicole knew by her tone that she had just woken up, so she contemplated whether to announce her presence or to let the younger lady carry on with her respite but a part of her wanted to see her guest, hence, she replied a timid “Yes.”
The door opened then, revealing the dozy Lady Waverly with her immaculate braided hair, and despite the somnolent appearance before her, Nicole found her lips curling at the edges; finding the drowsy girl quite adorable.
“Were you hurt?”
The red-haired king shook her head and replied, “No.” She was about to inform the younger girl that she safely returned to the castle and went first to see her to keep her promise but ended up tongue-tied when the girl threw herself into her arms, squeezing her in a firm embrace.
“Oh thank goodness. I was so worried. I’m glad you are safe.”
“Ah, yes.” Nicole managed to voice out as Lady Waverly’s arms loosened around her neck. “I’m…I’m safe.”
“Have you been drinking? You reek of alcohol.” The younger girl took notice as she caught on the sweet scent on the king’s clothes as she pulled back, creating a secure distance between their faces and the king, in between of feeling ashamed of how she smelt and being mortified at how close they were, lightly pushed Lady Waverly who stumbled onto her feet and almost lose her balance, and if not for Nicole who instinctively hooked her arms around the youngest Earp’s waist to prevent her from falling, Lady Waverly would have met the floor in an agonizing collision.