Chapter 155: Is it Papa?
~Ava's POV~
I watched as Callie walked toward us, carrying both Iris and Ellis in her arms. The children giggled as she bounced them gently with each step. When she reached me, I couldn't help but smile at the sight.
"Where have you been?" I asked, reaching out to take Ellis from her arms. His tiny hands immediately grabbed at my hair.
"Ava! Ava! You have pretty hair!" Ellis said, his words coming out in that sweet way three-year-olds talk. "It's so shiny like... like the moon!"
Iris, still in Callie's arms, clapped her hands together. "Me too! I want to touch too!" she said, reaching for my hair with eager fingers.
I laughed, letting both children play with my hair. "Thank you, my loves. You both have beautiful hair, too." And it was true. Their hair is golden with specks of red. So unusual.
"Mine is like mama's!" Iris said proudly, pointing to her golden-red curls.
"And mine is like papa's!" Ellis added, though his hair was much lighter than Drogon's dark gold locks.
Callie smiled at their chatter before answering my question. "I went into town to check what was happening," she said, adjusting Iris in her arms. "There's news."
I nodded, still letting the children play. Grandmother Lorraine had been sending Callie into the towns of Lystra regularly. It was through these visits that we learned how much the people were suffering. They were all hoping for the beast to return soon. By beast, they meant Raphael.
It was strange to think about. Years ago, the people had hated Raphael. They had called him a monster, a tyrant. But now, after three years of no rain and countless killings by the temple, everything had changed. The people missed their king.
The temple demanded taxes. The ministers demanded taxes. The seven councils demanded taxes. Even the nobles wanted their share. All while the land dried up and people starved. No wonder they wished for the old days to return.
"Tell me more," I said, picking up Ellis and placing him on my hip. He immediately started playing with the buttons on my dress.
"Ava, your buttons are like little suns!" he said with wonder.
"The Faes have gone into hiding," Callie continued. "They were the first ones Councilor Atticus wanted to get rid of, but it seems they knew what was coming. They all ran before he could catch them."
I wasn't surprised. The Faes had always been smart about staying alive. They had survived far worse than Atticus and his temple followers.
"But I did find out something interesting," Callie said, her voice dropping lower. "The princess of the Netherlands is still alive. They married her off to one of the temple's blind priests."
My eyes widened. I had thought she was dead. Most of the royal families from other lands had been killed or had disappeared. To think she was still alive, trapped in marriage to one of those horrible priests...
I looked at Callie with new eyes. I had never known she was such a great spy. If I had realized this before, I would have used her skills much sooner. She seemed to gather information so easily, and people trusted her enough to tell her things.
"Any news about the king?" I finally asked the question that had been buzzing in my mind all day.
Callie shook her head sadly. "Nothing new. No one has seen him or heard anything about where he might be."
I tried not to show my pain, but it was hard. My heart felt heavy every time someone mentioned that there was no news about Raphael.
"Ava sad?" Iris asked, her big eyes looking worried. She reached out to touch my face with her small hand.
"Why are you sad, Ava?" Ellis asked, too, his little voice full of concern. "Did someone hurt you?"
I forced a smile for them. "No, my darlings. I'm just thinking about someone I miss."
"Is it your papa?" Iris asked.
"Someone like that," I said softly.
Before I could say more, a servant came running toward us. He was breathing hard like he had run all the way from the main gates.
"My princess," he said between breaths. "We have a visitor at the gates."
Callie and I looked at each other with worry. After returning to the lands of Mesodomica, we had all changed how we looked. We wore wigs over our silver hair. We used magic to change our blue eyes to brown or green. We did everything we could to look like normal people instead of the Mesodomica people.
We didn't want to invite war to our doorstep. Too many people were looking for us, and not all of them had good intentions.
"Did they give a name?" I asked the servant.
"Yes, my princess. They said their name is Morgan, and they come with important news about the king."
My heart jumped at those words. News about Raphael? Could it be real, or was this a trap?
"What do they look like?" Callie asked, always thinking like the spy she had become.
"A woman, my lady. She's alone, and she looks tired, like she's traveled far. She has dark hair and green eyes. She's wearing simple clothes, nothing fancy."
I looked at Callie again. We both knew this could be dangerous. But if there was even a small chance this person had real news about Raphael...
"She might know where Papa is!" Ellis said excitedly, not understanding the danger.
"Papa coming home?" Iris asked, clapping her hands.
I wish it could be that simple. I wish their father could just come home and make everything better. But life wasn't that easy.
"Should we open the gates, my princess?" the servant asked, waiting for my decision.
I thought about it carefully. We had been hiding here for years now, staying safe while trying to help Gwen and figure out how to find Raphael and Drogon. If this person really did have news, it could change everything.
But if it was a trap, we could all be in danger. Not just me, but Gwen, the children, Anastasia, Lorraine, and everyone else who had followed us here.
"What do you think?" I asked Callie quietly.
She was quiet for a moment, thinking. "If she wanted to hurt us, she probably wouldn't come alone. And if she really does have news about the king..."
"I know," I said. "We have to take the chance."
I looked down at the children in our arms. They were so innocent, so trusting. They believed their parents would come back. Maybe this visitor could help make that happen.
"Tell the guards to let her in," I finally decided. "But keep extra guards around, just in case. And bring her to the small meeting room, not the main hall."
"Yes, my princess," the servant said, bowing before running back toward the gates.
As I watched him go, I hoped I was making the right choice. So much depended on the decisions I made now. I just prayed this visitor really did bring good news and not more trouble to our door.
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