Chapter 41: Bouquet

As Laurel began to eat lunch on the lawn with Lily, Sara, Lynn, and Sam, around the time the last group of maids and servants working in the kitchen came to report to her. As they began the third course, Chasel approached the table with a bright grin.
“So good to see you out enjoying the weather!”
Lily jumped to her feet and hugged him tightly, “Chasel!”
He laughed, “I hope you’re behaving and settling in well.”
She pouted, “Don’t be mean to me.”
Chasel grinned and bowed a bit to Laurel, “Miss Laurel, a pleasure to see you back in the castle.”
Laurel nodded, “Hello, Chasel. What are you doing out here?”
“Running a few errands for His Majesty,” Chasel pushed Lily back up to the table. “The king knew it was your first day of taking over the management of the castle, so he wanted to come and see you, but he couldn't leave because he is meeting with the nobles.”
The maids and servants from the kitchen came across the lawn to report and Laurel nodded at them in acknowledgment though they stopped just behind Chasel and the two guards with him.
He huffed, “Those annoying nobles always getting in the way…”
Lily giggled as Chasel cleared his throat, “So he asked me to come and see if your work was going well and to bring you this…”
Chasel gestured to one of the guards who came with him and he brought forth a large bouquet of roses. The other presented her with a wrap made of white fox fur. Laurel’s face burned as she remembered Adolph offering it to her while they were still traveling back to the Imperial City.
Lynn let out a low whistle, “Wow.”
Lily and Sarah looked at her with grins.
“Oh, how sweet!”
Laurel wanted to refuse it and it must have shown on her face as Chasel stepped forward and spoke quickly.
“Please, you must accept this, or the king will blame me for not completing my task!”
She sighed and nodded, barely fighting the little smile at the sight of the roses and the wrap. Her heart fluttered a little bit. She’d known Adolph could be charming, but she’d almost lost sight of it in the face of his violence with Eden.
Chasel gave her a big smile and left a few moments later.
Chasel soon left. The servants who came bowed their heads low with respect towards Lily and Laurel. It was good that they showed respect, but it felt a bit more exaggerated than it should have been. Laurel supposed that they recognized Chasel as the king's beta. Maybe Adolph had sent Chasel at this exact time to make it known that Laurel and Lily were acting at the king's behest.
The gift was sweet by itself, but the rest of it confused her a bit. It was great that he was showing such support and making sure everyone knew that he had appointed Laurel to the task. He was sweet and considerate towards her, but she didn’t know how to reconcile his ruthless side.
He’d never been ruthless towards her, but she didn’t think he was incapable of it.
She thought of the young man in the small portrait in her desk and the boyish smile he’d given her and wondered if that was the real him or if the werewolf who had thrown Eden across the alley was his true personality.
There was no way he could be both. She shook her head and set the gifts aside before addressing the kitchen servants regarding their tasks.
“How dare you!”
Laurel frowned as Delia and Tina came storming across the lawn. Delia walked ahead of Tina looking furious. Laurel could only guess that Tina had told Delia that Laurel was running the castle.
“You cruel and heartless woman! You drove so many people out of the castle!” Delia cried as she crossed the lawn, “Firing all of those people!”
Delia couldn’t believe that little country girl had the nerve to not only return after Delia threw her out but also encroach on Delia’s position! She’d teach that girl a lesson if it was the last thing she did. Yes, they were all pawns of Tina’s who bribed her to get out of doing hard jobs. Sure, they were all spies for packs in the area, but Delia should have been the one to fire them not Laurel! She was the luna!
Laurel looked up at her as Delia reached the table, seething and standing over her.
“I knew I made the right decision to drive you out of the castle in the first place! Now you're back, and look what terrible things you've done!”
Laurel looked up at her, taking in her fury and set her teacup down, “What are you—”
“You took my job!” Delia yelled. “Look at the mess you've made of the castle! If it were me, I would never be so cruel to the people who work at the castle!”
Laurel glared at her. It would have been one thing if Delia had a real criticism to give. She may have listened to her, but Delia’s complaints were ridiculous. She thought of Adolph’s opinion of Delia and couldn’t help but agree again.
She wasn’t fit to be luna with a temper like this.
“They made mistakes and I am holding them accountable. If you have any complaints against me, go to the king. He gave me the position.”
Tina flushed, baring her teeth, seething with fury, “I don't know exactly what means you use to please the king, but remember you can never replace Luna Olivia in the king's heart!”
Tina glanced at the roses on the table and sneered.
“Roses. Of course,” she scoffed. “Do you know why roses? Because roses were Luna Olivia's favorite flower! The king would always send her lots of roses to express his love...”
Laurel tried to ignore but Tina’s sneer turned mocking as she continued, “Now, he sends you roses, huh? Luna Olivia's favorite flower, you know what that means, don’t you? It means you'll never be better than her!”
Laurel was stunned, but she kept her composure even as her heart ached. Tina’s mocking expression the other day made sense if she was telling the truth. A pang of despair went through her.
Alice whimpered and her voice turned sad. *It can’t be possible. She’s lying.*
The despair thrashed in her heart. Would she ever be more than a replacement for any man in the Raymond family? First as Basil’s marked mate, now a replacement for Adolph’s wife. She held back the tears and glared at Tina and Delia with all the ice she could muster. She was almost grateful for all the practice she’d had as Laura.
Delia flinched at the cold and regal expression she wore. She was pretty and young, but there was no mistaking the majesty of her gaze as if she was some pitiful criminal Laurel was sentencing.
“I don’t know what you’re speaking of,” Laurel said primly. “And I don’t care to acknowledge it. I work for His Majesty at his request. If you plan to interfere with my work, I'll have to ask you to leave.”
Sam and Lynn rose from their seats and stepped forward. Tina let out a little frightened sound and stepped back, but Delia seemed to only grow angrier.
“How dare you touch me?” She glared at Sam though they hadn’t gotten close enough to touch either of them. “I am the wife of Prince Basil, the luna of the kingdom!”
Laurel ignored them, “If they move to interfere, please remove them.”
“Of course, Miss Laurel,” Sam said, glaring at the two of them.
They finished lunch quietly. When they were done seeing all the maids and servants, she asked the rest of the staff to leave, ready to get on with her day.
The orchard was at the top of her list. She looked over at Delia and considered it. She hadn’t talked to Basil about it, but since Delia was here, maybe she would be of some use.
“What?” Delia hissed.
“Please go and ask Prince Basil to come to my office. I have something to talk to him about.”
Delia screeched in fury, “So, are you going to seduce my husband?.”
Laurel felt her stomach turn and she covered her mouth as she retched and shuddered in disgust. It was such a visceral reaction that Lynn turned to her with concern on his face.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded and shuddered, “Don’t project your filthy thoughts on others. It’s a matter of the kingdom. If you don’t, I will report it to the king.”
Delia paled, flinching away from the guards. Her expression said she wanted to refuse, but the fear in her eyes was real.
“Fine,” Delia hissed before turning to walk back to the castle. Tina followed in her wake leaving Laurel alone with Sam and Lynn.
She looked at the roses and the wrap on the table and winced at the pang of despair that went through her.
*It means you'll never be better than her!*
She grabbed the bouquet and the wrap and for a moment considered throwing them in the trash. It wouldn’t undo the humiliation of Tina’s words or the pain in her heart, but it might make her feel better.
But she turned away from that through, her shoulders slumping and her eyes burning with tears. It would be rude to do so, and Laurel had never been rude. She grit her teeth and turned back to the castle, headed for her new office. Sam and Lynn followed in her wake without speaking.
Rose petals fell from the bouquet as she walked and she avoided everyone in the castle until she reached her office, hoping that the hopelessness and despair wouldn’t be noticed though it felt as though she was breaking inside.