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We rode all morning to reach Freedom, and fortunately, Chevalier and Gilbert were not at each other’s throats the entire time. If the subject was anything other than me, they could speak civilly to each other. Civilly, and on a level high enough to make me wish I had a dictionary for reference. The two could probably have become friends if I hadn’t been in the picture, I thought, or maybe they once were a long time ago. There was nothing specific I could put my finger on, but it seemed to me they knew each other too well for two rival princes of rival nations who’d never met prior to last year’s goodwill gala.
I decided to ask Chevalier about it when we returned to the palace. After I gave him an earful about letting Gilbert get under his skin. I hadn’t yet decided where the big hug and kiss for helping Leon with Freedom would fit into the timeline.
Leon talked animatedly about every detail of the town and its people, and the more he talked, the more excited I became to see it. He initially contacted a single large group of ex-slaves the previous summer, and when they reached the northern foothills, they immediately began the work of clearing trees and rocks from the site while word spread to smaller pockets of people hidden in the Obsidianite wastelands. They had plentiful building materials and determination, and everybody had a snug, secure home by the time winter set in.
I loved the entire concept of Leon seeing a group of disadvantaged people and stepping in to give them a helping hand. He didn’t give them anything for free, and if they were anything like me, they wouldn’t have wanted that, anyway. Better to create something substantial with their own hands than owe somebody a favor later. He’d brought in some supplies, but they were largely self-sufficient from the start, used to making do with next to nothing.
Like Mother and I.
I felt a sharp pang in my chest and pushed that thought away. Or tried to. It came trickling back as Leon talked.
“It’s really amazing how much work they’ve done in such a short time,” Leon was saying, a big grin on his face and pride coloring every word. “I feel like all I did was point them toward a patch of land, and they did the rest.”
What would life have been like if Mother and I had been given a chance like that, I wondered? Just an ounce of opportunity to make a better life for ourselves. Although if we’d had that opportunity, maybe I would never have come to the palace, never met Chevalier…
I could have done without Jack, though.
“Some of them are kind of rough around the edges, but most of ‘em, you’d never know all the stuff they’ve been through. They’re just regular people.”
Another pang struck me. I had escaped Jack, but others hadn’t. And I hadn’t thought about the girls Leon rescued from that brothel even once since that miserable day. Leon had said he’d take care of them, though, so I knew they were safe, at least.
I’d have to ask him about it later.
“You look like you have something on your mind, little dove.”
Gilbert’s voice surprised me out of my thoughts, breaking the flow of Leon’s booming voice with his higher but no less friendly tone. He wore an innocuous smile, a smile Leon did not match as he studied me with a thoughtful frown. I looked from Leon’s probing amber eyes to Gilbert’s unreadable blood red eye, and I hesitated.
If it were just Chevalier and Leon, I would have spoken my mind immediately. But Gilbert was with us. Jack was a subject I preferred to avoid, and Gilbert already made me uncomfortable enough without bringing that incident up. He knew at least some of what happened, though, and I didn’t have to mention Jack at all. I only wanted to know about the girls.
“I was just wondering what happened to the girls from…last year.”
“Oh.” Leon’s eyes showed recognition at my vague reference, thankfully, and his trademark smile was quick to return. “They’re doing great, last I heard.”
“‘Last you heard’?” I repeated. That wasn’t a phrase I expected to hear from him.
He shrugged. “Yeah, well, Licht and I set them up in a safe house, but we were kind of at a loss about how else to help them. You know the oldest one was your age? The rest were just kids, really. But finding foster homes for them wouldn’t have worked, because Licht and I were the only men they trusted, aside from a handful of the guards who helped with the rescue, and they’re like family already, so I didn’t want to break them up. And I couldn’t just put out the word I needed help with them, because I didn’t want all of Rhodolite knowing their business. So, I kept an ear open, and I ended up connecting with Adèle at your engagement ceremony. Duchess Latoure,” he added for Gilbert’s benefit.
Gilbert nodded slightly. I’d felt his eye on me since I brought the topic up, but I avoided it, focusing on either Leon or Rose’s red mane throughout. Her head bobbed up and down with each step of her hooves, thudding softly on the packed dirt road. Constant. Steady. Like Chevalier’s reassuring presence next to me. Unlike the discomfort crawling under my skin.
“She was saying something about everything you’d been through, Ivetta, and the way she was talking made me think she might be the right person for the job,” Leon continued, either oblivious to my tension or pretending he didn’t notice. “And she was. Is. The girls are at her estate now, plus another five we rescued from another brothel. You may have even met them without realizing it. She ever introduce you to a niece?”
I nodded, recalling a shy girl about my age with curly blonde hair and green eyes. “Yes, once.”
“She treats them more like her daughters, but they’re too young for anybody to buy that, so she goes with the niece story. I’m surprised she hasn’t told you all this herself.”
“We…I don’t really…talk about this,” I said haltingly. “But I’ll ask her when I see her next.”
The silence that fell was awkward and even more uncomfortable than the conversation, and now, guilt was gnawing at my insides, too. I should have asked before. I should have thought of those girls. But I’d wanted so badly to forget all about it…
“Hey, look at that. They’re already plowing.”
Leon’s welcome redirection took my attention to the rich, dark brown soil alongside the road ahead of us, full of small figures in motion and wagons pulled by what were probably draft horses. Another pair of horses were on the road and approaching us, their riders glinting in the sunlight. Guards, I guessed, wearing polished armor. One raised a hand to wave, a gesture Leon returned.
“I’d better check in with them. Be right back,” he said, and then he spurred his black stallion into a canter and left me with Gilbert, Chevalier, and a host of unwanted thoughts. All three of which moved in closer.
Chevalier reached out to brush my hair behind my ear. “There is no need for you to feel guilty, little dove.”
His tone was soft, his touch light, and when I brought my gaze up to his crystal blue eyes, they were gentle and wholly focused on me, as if we were alone. The knots coiled in my stomach eased just a little.
“I never even thought about them,” I admitted. “Not even once.”
“You had more than enough to think about without them,” he reassured me.
I bit my lip, but nodded.
Rhythmic hoofbeats filled the silence. Further down the road, Leon had stopped his horse alongside the guards, who were also stationary now.
“Do you still have nightmares?” Gilbert asked quietly from my left side.
I nodded again.
“Not as frequent or severe, but yes,” Chevalier replied for me.
The figures in the fields were clearer now, shirtless men hard at work in the soil. Some pulled rocks from the ground and loaded them onto the wagons, while others guided horse-drawn plows through the sections already cleared of obstructions. Many stopped long enough to wave and shout a greeting at Leon as he trotted back to us.
“Almost there,” he announced, resuming his place between Gilbert and me with a bright smile. “Just in time for lunch, too, and the diner is up and running now.”
I straightened up in the saddle. Freedom at last.
Strangely bright buildings appeared at the end of the baked tan road, brand new structures of freshly cut wood and clean, unweathered stonework. Skeletons of new buildings emerged as we neared the town, plots of dirt staked out and marked by lengths of rope. More wagons loaded down with materials pulled by more draft horses, more shirtless, sweaty men at work. It was dusty and loud, with plenty of clanging, thudding, and shouting, and then higher shouts joined the fray from women wearing scarves over their hair and carrying jugs of water and baskets of food. The construction noises came to a halt, replaced by chatter, laughter, and the squealing of children, racing around and making trouble.
Everybody waved at us. Everybody was smiling.
The knots uncoiled in a single exhale. I fell in love in an instant.
“This is amazing, Leon.”
He was glowing like a proud father. “Pretty special, right?”
“King Chevalier! Prince Leon! What brings you here?” a young man called to us, waving from an open door.
“Hey, Matt.” Leon hopped down from his horse and tied him to a hitching post while I stared at the young man in shock. I admittedly had little experience with jewelers, but I knew master craftsmen were typically gray-haired men with a lifetime of learned knowledge. This man couldn’t have been much older than me.
Chevalier dismounted and took my reins, tying our horses side-by-side before he helped me down. His hands lingered on my waist longer than usual as he leaned in to kiss my cheek and murmur, “If you need anything, let me know.”
I felt warm. My heart felt warm from what I’d seen thus far of Freedom, and my cheeks felt warm from Chevalier’s unexpected display of affection. A burst of butterflies replaced the knots in my stomach, and I let them talk me into standing on tiptoe to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, too. “Thank you, Chevalier, but I’m fine now.”
“Hey, lovebirds! Matt wants to meet Ivetta,” Leon called.
My cheeks warmed further. Chevalier stepped back and took my hand, leading me past the silent Gilbert to the two smiling men on the threshold.
“Queen Ivetta, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Matt bowed with a flourish, his long brown ponytail falling over his head to nearly touch the ground before he straightened up.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. I understand I have you to thank for my beautiful jewelry.”
He took my hand and kissed it, and then he held it for a moment to study my rings. “Well, King Chevalier had already sketched out what he was looking for. I just made a few suggestions.” He released my hand and looked briefly at my necklace with sparkling hazel eyes. “Though you could make anything look gorgeous, your highness.”
“Oh, thank you.” I glanced up at Chevalier, but his small smile said Matt’s attention didn’t bother him. Or maybe he was just enjoying my deepening blush.
“Are we just gonna stand out here, or are you going to invite us inside?” Leon interrupted.
“Oh, where are my manners?” Matt rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “C’mon in. I’ve made some improvements since the last time you were here, Prince Leon. Apparently, once word gets out you’re the king’s jeweler, business goes through the roof.”
It wasn’t as elaborate as the jeweler's stores I’d visited before, with simple glass display cases lining the walls and no decoration other than their contents, but the contents were decoration enough. Sunlight streaming through the windows caught and reflected off of earrings, necklaces, brooches, and rings, all bedded down on velvety cushions. Simple gold, elaborate pieces composed of multiple metals and jewels, and everything in between filled every glass case. And the only person in the room besides us and the jeweler was a young woman sitting at a desk in a corner, bent over paperwork, a tendril of curly blonde hair escaping a messy bun to fall over her face.
She looked up at us and smiled. A shy smile beneath green eyes.
“This is my biggest improvement,” Matt said proudly as she rose from her seat and came to his side.
“Amber?” I asked.
Her smile faltered when she met my eyes. “Oh, um, Q-queen Ivetta.” She ducked her head, but not before I saw the embarrassed blush on her cheeks, and she reached up to pat her hair nervously. “Matt, why didn’t you tell me she was coming?”
He laughed. “I didn’t know. You look great, honey.”
“Well, this is a surprise,” Leon interjected.
“Um, Leon,” I said quickly, my mouth moving before I was fully aware of what I would say. “You had some things you wanted to show Chevalier and Gilbert, didn’t you? Why don’t you do that while Amber and I make lunch? Or have you had lunch already?” I asked, directing the last question at her.
“N-no, I haven’t.” Her eyes flicked nervously to each of us, starting with Leon and ending with Matt. “Um, Matt, why don’t you join them?”
“I guess I could,” he said slowly, looking from her to me curiously.
Chevalier squeezed my hand slightly, and I suddenly remembered we were in a town whose population consisted almost entirely of ex-slaves, and none of my guards were here. He wouldn’t consent to leaving me alone. But as uncomfortable as my clamoring heart told me it would be, I needed to talk to Amber. Privately.
“You don’t mind, do you, Chevalier?” I asked, looking up at him pleadingly.
He held my eyes for a fraction of a second—an eternity—and then, to my surprise, he shook his head. “No. We’ll be back in an hour.”
I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “Thank you, Chevalier. Amber, please, just call me Ivetta. Is the kitchen in the back?"18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFGO8iRX5V
