Chapter 97
Just like what he wrote in the letter to her, Micah didn’t show any signs of returning for the night even when Abby lay awake in the bed for another hour after sending her maids away to rest.
Alyssa and Reyna repeatedly expressed their concern over her disappearance in the middle of the night when she didn’t reveal her impromptu meeting with Ezgar, until Abby couldn’t take it.
Abby had to literally push the girls out of her room when they refused to leave, insisting on accompanying her since the King made it clear he wouldn’t return tonight. Not to mention, their master’s little stunt in the middle of the night.
“Lady Abby, one of us is supposed to keep you company while the King is away,” Alyssa stressed as Reyna nodded her head in agreement.
“I’m in the bedroom, with guards right outside the door,” Abby countered. “And I really want to be alone.”
Only when Abby asserted her stance did the two girls finally leave, even though they looked like they had more to say to her.
Now, she was back to staring at the chandelier high above her head, thinking about Ezgar’s idea. He actually told her to imagine the attendees as flowers while delivering the speech.
“Even though the entire capital city would be at the palace on that day, you wouldn’t really be able to look at their faces clearly, they will appear just like this ocean of flowers before you, small and crowded,” Ezgar said, seconding his idea.
Abby remembered how she couldn’t help but point out the loophole in his plan. “But what about the elders who would be literally in my face?”
Ezgar laughed at her words. “Then think of them as statues.” He blurted out after giving it a thought.
Abby had to cover her mouth when an embarrassingly loud chuckle left her lips at his silly ideas, but when Ezgar explained how her fear was all in her mind and that she was giving herself too much pressure by overthinking things, Abby couldn’t help but feel how true his words were.
Thinking back to it, Ezgar’s advice wasn’t really that bad. Just like he said, she couldn’t really look at their faces clearly from such a distance. Not to mention her senses weren’t as sharp as the shifters.
“What you can’t see and hear won’t be able to affect you,” Abby repeated Ezgar’s conclusion out loud as she couldn’t help but think how true his words were.
“His idea is not really bad,” Abby whispered to herself as she finally slipped into a light yet peaceful slumber even though Micah wasn’t by her side tonight. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
“Lady Abby, King Micah sent another letter this morning,” Reyna informed her the moment her master finished her breakfast, and saw how Abby’s face fell a little.
She could tell the girl was hoping to see the King this morning, but now it was obvious that Micah was still caught up with whatever he was dealing with until he couldn’t even take a moment to make a quick trip back to his own bedroom.
Even though they didn’t read the contents of the letters King Micah sent to Abby, it was not really that hard to guess what kind of message she got once you took a closer look at her face upon reading it.
“Where is it?” Abby asked calmly as if she expected it.
“Here,” Reyna dropped the letter and the flower in Abby’s hand as she stepped back a little to give her space.
She remembered how Abby got upset receiving a similar letter from Micah last night, so she wanted to be prepared this time. If her master decided to take a walk again, she would accompany her today.
On the other hand, after receiving the letter and flower, Abby simply picked up her speech with her other hand, as she got ready to leave the bedroom.
However, after taking two steps, she stopped and turned around to look at her maid, who seemed confused as to what to do.
“What are you doing there, spacing out? Won’t you accompany me to the tutoring hall?” Abby tilted her head as she blinked her eyes at her maid. She then saw Reyna scrambling to follow her as she proceeded to leave without her after shrugging her shoulders.
Abby looked at the three letters along with three yellow flowers as she sat at the small table near the window in her room after Alyssa took away her dinner plate.
The first set of the letter and flower were from last night, the second being from this morning, while the seal of the third letter was yet to be opened.
She just finished eating when a royal warrior came to deliver a third message and Abby couldn’t help but feel a bit bitter at Micah for not returning on the second night in a row.
Even though she hadn’t read his letter yet, she could pretty much guess what was written in there. After all, she had the experience of reading two such letters in the span of less than twelve hours. And when she finally opened it, she couldn’t help but sigh in disappointment, yet again.
“Little one, I’m sorry I can’t accompany you tonight. Sleep early,”
It was pretty much the same as what he wrote the previous two times, save for the third and extra line, where he wrote how much he loved her and how much he wanted to be with her.
But it wasn’t enough to wash away the sadness that flooded her heart reading the first two lines of his message, which had been his only words to her for the past two days, even though not vocal.
After receiving the second letter this morning, Abby spent her day overseeing the preparations for the ceremony to keep herself busy. She even practiced her speech, just like Ezgar suggested and only returned to their bedroom before dinner.
She thought Micah would definitely make time for her tonight, knowing fully well how important the next day was for both of them. However, she was once again left miffed with his absence.
The girl couldn’t help but feel her spirits dampen as she felt so down. She didn’t want to let it discourage her, but she was attuned to his presence so much, she couldn’t help but crave him physically. She could actually feel herself caving in from the pain and sadness over it.
The entire palace was bustling with people this morning as they all came to attend the crowning ceremony of their future
queen.
People from all over the kingdom arrived in the capital city particularly for this occasion, even though it was being held on such a short notice. Not to mention, it had been canceled once almost two months back.
Whatever the reason for either of the changes in the schedule, they were all ecstatic that the King was finally claiming his destined mate officially, giving them their future queen.
And today was also the day, they were all going to see their future queen for the first time, as Micah had literally hidden Abby until now, which made their spirits soar high and they all gathered in front of the palace even before the sun could
make an appearance on the horizon.
However, the scenario inside the King’s bedroom was completely opposite to the lively atmosphere outside the palace gates, as Abby felt like the walls were closing in on her and she felt like crying.
“Where is the King?” She couldn’t help but ask Alyssa and Reyna for the umpteenth time since she woke up.
And the answer she got didn’t have any changes, yet again. “King Micah sent word that he would be here shortly.”
They said the same thing for god knows how many times. Abby felt sick to the stomach just at the thought of meeting anyone. If she could, she wanted to hide in her bedroom and avoid this ceremony altogether.
Her hands were shaking badly while her legs didn’t have any strength in them. Huge sweat drops rolled down her back drenching the beautiful gown Ella made for her.
Her maids dressed her up prettily in the pale yellow gown that flowed past her ankles, covering her from neck to toe, while a bunch of ornaments that seemed to be antique jewelry, passed down in the royal family of this kingdom, were lying in several boxes in front of her.
“Lady Abby, you need to choose a few to go with this dress,” Alyssa said, as she tried to distract Abby who looked like she wouldn’t hesitate to flee from the palace if a chance were given.
And she wasn’t mistaken at all, Abby felt exactly the same. Only she knew she couldn’t achieve that feat no matter what.
So, even though she felt like she wanted to be anywhere but here, she had to swallow it and look at the jewelry carefully, so as not to make a mistake, yet again.
“Take this out,” Abby settled on a flowery bracelet that was endowed in diamonds after looking at the opened boxes for fifteen minutes when she heard a knock on the door.
Abby would have run to the door if she hadn’t been feeling like she would melt to the floor at any given moment from tension and anxiety.
However, her face fell, yet again, when the person who followed behind Reyna into the room wasn’t her mate like she had expected but a woman who seemed to be in her mid fifties with a small yet beautiful smile on her face.
On the other hand, everyone in the room, except for Abby of course, bowed to the woman solemnly. “Long live, former queen!”