Page 62 of Once Upon a Crown
The palace was awfully quiet and there was a constant feeling of emptiness. Apart from the odd servant here and there, I hardly spoke to or saw anyone. I wondered how the others were faring. They would have reached Norrandale by now. Would be close to Mistwood.
I didn’t want to spend too much time thinking about what likely lay ahead for them. Though I hated the discomfort of my injury, some days I was thankful that it prevented me from going with them.
I knew I couldn’t avoid it for ever and that I would have to return home sometime. But I didn’t know if I was ready to face my brother, who was a traitor to the Crown and would likely be executed for treason. Even less did I want to consider what might happen if Elara and Cai did not succeed.
I entered the dining room and found Prince Lance lounging in a chair, at the head of the table, with a cup in his hands. There was some food on the table in front of him, but it didn’t looklike he’d eaten much yet. The wine jug, on the other hand, was almost empty.
“Lady Gwen.” He didn’t look surprised to see me, but in the state he was in, I doubted anything would surprise him.
“Your Highness.” I wouldn’t outright admit that I’d been avoiding him, but I’d mostly kept to my rooms or sometimes the library during the hours I knew he wasn’t likely to frequent it.
Lance hardly ever came to eat dinner in the dining hall, much less at this early hour. Though I was more than used to seeing him with a cup in his hands, I had a feeling that something had driven him to drown himself in wine.
“I was just on my way to the library,” I blurted out.
“Did you get lost, then?”
“Of course not. Why would you ask that?”
“As you can see—” he gestured to the room—“this is not the library.”
I felt my face heat a little. Damn his arrogance.
“I know that.” I glared at him from across the room. “I just wanted to grab something to snack on while I read.” It was, of course, a blatant lie. I was starving.
“But I shan’t disturb you,” I continued, making to turn, which was a lot slower than I would have liked with the walking stick.
“Won’t you join me?”
“What?” I looked over my shoulder.
Lance used his leg to push out the chair next to him. “Won’t you join me for dinner, Lady Gwen?”
My stomach let out another rumble and I hoped he couldn’t hear it.
“I’m actually really not that hungry.” I continued to lie, hoping I could ask one of the servants to bring me some dinner in the library. “Enjoy your evening, then.” I gave him the politestnod I could offer before slowly making my way to the library with much annoyance and having no one to blame but myself.
Thankfully there was a fire lit in the library, warming up the room to a comfortable temperature. I returned the book to the shelf where I’d found it before scanning for something I’d yet to read. If my circumstances did not change soon, I would be through the entire royal collection before spring. I was growing tired of having nothing better to do than read, but with the weather and my injury being what they were, it did not appear that I had many other options.
After a few more minutes of hunting through the shelves, I managed to find something that looked somewhat interesting, and I decided to scan through the first few pages to see if it was worth reading.
The fire crackled as I took in the words, slowly becoming more invested after every line.
“There you are.”
It was an effort not to jump at the sudden sound of a voice at the door.
“Of course I’m here.” I didn’t look at Lance and instead kept my eyes glued to the book in front of me, half leaning against a shelf to keep my balance. “It’s where I said I would be, isn’t it?”
When Lance didn’t respond, I looked up to where he stood halfway in the door of the library. He was smirking, his eyes a little lazy.
“If you came to check on my well-being, I can assure you I’m perfectly fine, thank you.” I didn’t know what else to say to break the silence.
“That’s not why I’m here.”
I swallowed, the book still in my hands, urging me to turn my attention back to it.
Lance stepped into the library, carrying a plate. “I brought you something to eat.”
