Chapter 419: Mother dearest (2)
"As of today, I am no longer the king," Tobias said, pointing in Teo’s direction.
"Father!"
"Until the coronation is over, you are still the king. Welcome, Annalise," Hazel greeted, walking by her husband. "The palace is pleased to have you here. Right now, we are preparing for the coronation of my second son, but I can speak to you about the prisoner."
"He is here in your dungeon? I would like to see him. If not for my husband and the friends I’ve made, I wouldn’t have found peace in this kingdom. Why are my people still being mistreated even after so many years?" Annalise asked, disgusted by the behaviour she read of.
Annalise treated everyone travelling from the Castro kingdom with the utmost respect, yet her people were still insulted here.
"I won’t ruin your son’s coronation, but we will speak afterwards. The mistreatment of my people cannot go on, and I want to see the man who hurt my people. You may have someone else escort me while the coronation goes on," Annalise said.
Annalise didn’t have the patience to keep calm during the coronation while her daughter’s attacker was in the palace.
Annalise needed to see him and take him into her hands to drag him back to the border.
"I assure you that after the trial, Quinn will be placed in your hands. I’ve already made the promise to Rafael that Quinn would be placed in your hands. If you could please take a moment to join us in crowning my son," Tobias said, hoping Annalise would calm down.
"Your oldest daughter, Lydia, will soon be named leader of the border. We should make this another moment to unite the two kingdoms. I understand what you feel. Allow us to make it up to you," Hazel said, trying to make peace.
They were all friends, but Annalise’s daughter was hurt. They could not expect Annalise’s kindness now.
They were fortunate that Annalise had not entered the palace swinging her sword.
"Mother, we should watch Teo’s coronation first and then go to see Quinn. I have much to tell you, but I don’t want to miss Teo’s moment. Can you join us?" Rue pleaded, tugging on her mother’s arm.
Annalise sighed. She rode all the way to Lockwood with the intention of killing someone.
With all the stares Annalise received, it seemed her plans had not changed.
"I will watch the coronation, but then we will speak after. Lower your weapons," Annalise ordered her guards.
Annalise smoothed down the strands of Rue’s hair that came loose when she ran. "You look so beautiful in your dress. Did your father buy it for you?"
"No," Rue said, looking down at the green dress she wore. "The duchess had it made for me, and look," she said, raising her dress to show the pants beneath it. "That is why I ran so quickly. It is light with pants like trousers beneath it."
"Rue," Rafael said, his face pale. He lowered Rue’s dress. "You mustn’t."
"Oh, right. I forgot where I stood," Rue said, flashing an innocent smile. "I won’t do it again."
Annalise thought nothing of it since much wasn’t shown. "Did you know I offered to show your father my feet on the second day of meeting him?"
"Why?" Rue asked.
"That’s enough," Rafael said, not wanting to recall the night he met Annalise.
"It was only fair," Annalise answered. "Have you troubled your father since you were here?"
"No. I have been on my best behaviour, right father?" Rue asked, turning to her father for him to back her up.
Annalise pinched Rue’s cheek. "That means you have been giving trouble. What are the guards waiting for?" Annalise asked, staring back at the Castro guards.
"They are not allowing visitors to take weapons inside the palace. They are waiting for you to leave your weapons behind," Rafael explained.
"Oh, is that so?" Annalise smiled, looking forward to being asked about her weapons. "I’d like to see them take my weapons from me. Seeing that my daughter was recently attacked, I cannot trust anyone. I won’t attack anyone as long as I am not attacked."
Annalise held Rue’s hand and walked forward to be closer to the duchess. She needed to thank Alessandra for the dress Rue wore.
Tobias inched closer to Rafael and said, "Your wife scares me. I can’t shake the fact that she once had a plan to kill me. I’ll have the palace guards allow her to keep her sword. You can give it back to her."
"Annalise has other weapons on her," Rafael said, deciding to keep her sword.
Without a sword in her hand, Annalise should appear a little bit more welcoming to the other visitors.
Tobias stared at Annalise’s armour, trying to make sense of where she could hide more weapons.
Tobias chuckled, realising that Rafael was joking. "I see. You were trying to scare me."
"Bother her and you’ll see where the other weapons are. I must warn you that her hands are also deadly, and Annalise doesn’t go anywhere without her pet, which likes to venture onto others. I would stay away from her until we have the sit-down," Rafael suggested.
Annalise’s calmness now was not to be misunderstood. Annalise was unpredictable, which meant that at any moment now, she could hurt someone.
"I must be at my wife’s side. Put this somewhere safe for me," Rafael said, handing Annalise’s sword to Tobias.
Tobias almost dropped the sword due to how surprisingly heavy it was. "Why is it like this? Why are you both like this?"
"You shouldn’t let it drop since she is watching you."
Tobias looked at where Annalise stood and noticed her gaze upon him, seemingly judging him.
Tobias straightened himself and held the sword with proper care. He cleared his throat and said, "The guests from the border do not need to leave their weapons behind. Treat them with respect."
"Send away anyone who tries to disrespect our guest from the border. You are not to make any mistakes today," Hazel added to Tobias’s order. "It seems I need Annalise in the palace more often since she keeps you on your toes."
"Annalise scares me. I can hardly believe we have become so close to a woman who wanted to kill me," said Tobias.
"A woman that you could have married if the court didn’t speak down on her. Gather yourself to be ready for the coronation and prepare yourself for the sit-down with Annalise. I have a feeling it might be a difficult talk, but you will do well," Hazel said, leaving Tobias to dwell on her words.
"I will do well? Will you not join me?" Tobias asked, following Hazel. "You fought so hard for queens to be present at court meetings. You mustn’t leave me now."