Chapter Two-Hundred-and-Fifty-Five
**3rd Person POV**
She was about to jump down the window when she realised that she could not leave the palace in the clothes that she had on. She hurriedly searched her wardrobe for anything remotely drab-looking and put it on. She took a small bag and stuffed the things she thought would be important for her journey before making a run for the window.
She was able to leave the palace without any issues. It did not seem like anyone had noticed that she had run off into the night. Still, she felt the need to hasten her steps. She knew that when morning was upon her it would be difficult to travel during the day as she was a vampire and could not beat to stand under the sun for a long time.
As she journeyed through the night, she made sure to veil her face so she was not easily recognised. She was able to make it to the pack and managed to get a seat on the very last carriage that was going to her father's capital. Inside, she tightened her shawl about her, ignoring the others in the carriage.
When they reached the border of Ashton's capital city, the carriage was stopped and everyone asked to come down. Her heart began to beat fast thinking that Ashton was locking up the capital and was now searching furiously through the city for her. However, the driver explained that it was standard practice and his passengers had nothing to worry about. The moment they were out of the capital city, Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief.
Then it occurred to her that perhaps Ashton had not even noticed that she had left the city. He may not even care that she was missing at all. The idea that this was the case filled her with sadness. Ashton had probably married her for political gains while she had deluded herself thinking that she had married for love.
It was dawn when they arrived two cities away from Ashton's capital. She paid the driver for the journey so far telling him that she would not continue her journey with him.
She soon found an inn to spend the rest of her day.
Now, she sat on her bed crying.
Her mother had indeed warned her about Prince Ashton. It was why she had gotten married when she knew that her mother would not be in town.
She was going to return home. It was the only thing she could think of doing.
****
The truth was that Ashton had not concerned himself with Gabriella. After she had left his study, he had not been bothered to assign a guard specifically to her to ensure that she was not trying to run away. He believed he had scared her enough that she would retire to their shared room and remain quiet.
He had done what he did that had made her so annoying in the first place to show her her place in the palace. It did not matter that she was queen, she had absolutely no control or power here. He wanted to make things very clear as regards the structure here. It was not like where she came from where Queen Agatha openly opposed King Armand's policies. Their marriage for instance was a typical example. He knew that Queen Agatha was aware of his true lifestyle and did not want her stepmother to marry him. However, he had been able to do so because King Armand believed that Gabriella should be free to marry whoever she wanted so long as it did not harm him politically.
As soon as Gabriella had left his study he had gone over the report he had received from Gabriella's father. The latest on Major Drieden was that Prince Reginald had been found innocent and the investigations were now at a standstill. The letter also mentioned the arrival of the Council of Elders.
Ashton reflected on Drieden's death. It had come at the most inconvenient time. Although, he had been planning to assassinate Drieden himself once they could secure the werewolf lands. He knew that in the long run, Drieden would become a liability as there could not be two heads. He was consciously aware of Drieden's raw ambitions and sooner than later they would interfere with his. So despite Drieden being a close ally, he would still have had to kill him soon. However, he no longer had to worry about that as someone else had done the job for him.
The Council of Elders though was bad news for him. They knew he had planned to annihilate them during the fiery red moon season and they knew that he was planning something deadly against them. But they could do nothing to him as he was not bound by their laws. He contemplated if he should go to King Armand's palace to see things for himself. Perhaps, he would have the opportunity to tilt the investigation so that a werewolf was implicated. He smiled as an idea began to take root in his mind.
It was at this point that he thought of Gabriella. It crossed his mind briefly to check that she had done as he had bade her but he had business to attend to. He needed to go to the throne room to proceed over the issues of the night. He had been responsible for these meetings since his father had come down with a fatal illness. This pleased him too. He knew that it was only a matter of time before his father would join his ancestors in an immaterial place.
After the main issues had been tackled, he had to attend a banquet that one of his senior ministers had prepared specially for him and his new queen. He sent a maid to inform the Queen to get herself dressed accordingly.
A few minutes later the maid returned with news that the queen was not in her room nor was she in the usual places one would normally find her.
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