The Death of a Bachelor

Chapter Forty-three

A/N: I apologise in advance for how this chapter turned out.

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It was yet another dawn, and for two mornings in a row, Elena did not smile the moment she woke up. It was hard to be cheerful when pain kicked the merriness to infinity.

Still, she reminded herself that it was not the end of time. She had to get onto the recovery road sooner or later, and she chose sooner.

She tried her best to appear normal infront of her family as well as everyone in the house. She chatted and laughed with her mother at breakfast and ignored the murderous glares Mara shot her from across the table.

She attended to her marigolds, and the only true happiness came from the fact that the flowers had boomed so well, so brightly.

From the garden, she ambled into the sitting room, and was surprised to find Mara sitting with Aira. She saw two large wooden gift boxes on the table and wondered if they were gifts from the Hammedatha family.

“Good morning, Aira,” Elena greeted, walking towards the settee.

Aira looked up at her and smiled, although the smile did not reach her eyes. “Hello, Elena.”

“Aira brought us gifts from Rahandi,” Mara said in a joyous tone, but Elena noticed a slight edge to it. Something was wrong. “They’re from Crown Prince Rukh. He also apologized for his brother’s rude behaviour. I think they’re gowns.”

Elena’s attention was wholly on Aira. “You came here simply to deliver the gifts?”

“Erm, well…” Aira exchanged glances with Mara. “Not entirely. I have something important to tell you, Elena.”

Elena did not like any of what was happening. She didn’t like the lingering tension, the way Aira said those words, and the unease it effected upon her.

“I knew Kieran would not tell you, which is why I came.”

Elena felt like she needed to sit down.

Had Aira found out about Kieran and Princess Debra? Was she here to break the news of their relationship to her? Or to break…to break off their engagement?

Elena’s fingers trembled and she clenched her fists so as not to give her anxiety away. “What is it?” her voice came out as barely a whisper.

Aira stood up and looked Elena in the eyes. “The Crown Prince’s Guard is preparing to leave for battle.”

Some ounce of relief swooshed over Elena and immediately, another wave of anxiety hit her.

“Leave?” Elena was confused. “Kieran has left for battles before, right? Why would he not inform me about this one?”

“Because this is not just any battle. It has to be the toughest one yet,” Aira replied, her tone and face solemn. “We’ll be up against the forces of Galvan nation. It is literally an empire with the strongest and most brutal military strength I have ever heard of in all my fifteen years of living. Rievelt alone wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Elena pursed her lips. “What are you saying, Aira?”

“It’s going to be a combined force with three other kingdoms but I can’t be sure it will be enough.”

Elena breathed out, her heart beat increasing with each sentence Aira uttered. “So what are you saying, Aira?”

Aira glanced at Mara, who stood up and moved to Elena’s side.

“Even if this is a serious battle meant to be carried out with precision and reason, it is also a personal one for Kieran,” Aira said. “He has a score to settle with the military commander, Reece.”