Chapter 15 Plans And Promises
Chapter Fifteen
Plans And Promises
Evanar
Rivka, my beautiful daughter! To what do I owe this pleasure? You know your mother will be beside herself with envy that she missed seeing you.” Evanar exclaimed as Rivka and Ellis approached, his smile wide and warm.
The moment his daughter got within arm’s reach, he swept her into his arms in a crushing hug.
They had never upheld the same opinions as most royals when it came to raising Rivka.
They had always overflowed with love and shows of affection, letting her know how special she was to them.
Rivka melted into his arms, hanging on to him.
Evanar met Ellis’ gaze over her head and took a deep breath. He knew his daughter well and something was most definitely wrong. Raising his voice, he called for his attendant and requested hot tea and buttered bread be brought to his room.
“Maureen is trustworthy but something tells me that you don’t want what you have to say to be heard by any prying ears.”
Ellis nodded his confirmation. Evanar deftly moved them to the seating area farthest from the doors, keeping his arm around his daughter’s waist. Settling onto the settee, Rivka peered over at Ellis, opened, then closed her mouth. Ellis cleared his throat.
“We need your help. However, there is one condition we must make before we continue, and it will not be an easy one.”
Evanar could sense the gravity of this discussion. Looking between them, he squeezed his daughter's hand.
Ellis continued, “Your wife cannot know.”
He felt as if the air was sucked out of his lungs.
He did not keep secrets from his wife, ever.
They shared everything. It was how they made it through decades of marriage.
This request was not something he could take lightly, although he knew they would never ask it, if it could be avoided.
Rivka confided everything to her mother.
They were closer than best friends, though admittedly not as of late.
Ellis would not ask this without due cause, yet Evanar still hesitated.
This was no small decision, but in the end, Sophiana would expect him to put the needs of their daughter above all else, even herself.
“We would only ask this of you in the most dire of circumstances.” Rivka pressed.
“I assume this secrecy is necessary for your safety.”
A look passed between Rivka and Ellis, neither one answering immediately.
“I see. I will keep it between us for as long as I am able. However, I will not put you or your mother’s life at risk. You cannot ask more than that.”
“That’ll have to do. We can’t do this without your guidance.” Ellis started, before Rivka reached out and squeezed his hand quickly before letting go and turning towards her father.
She reached up and touched his face with both hands, her lavender eyes connecting with his. “I’m with child.”
Shock rippled across Evanar’s expression before his mouth split into a huge grin.
“I’m going to be a grandfather?” He looked to Ellis for confirmation, his joy shifting to apprehension.
Ellis nodded. Rivka continued, bringing his attention back to her. “You are, yes, but I need you to hear the rest of it before you start celebrating.” Not waiting for him to respond, Ellis launched into a condensed version of events.
The initial joy at the news of a grandchild, of becoming a grandfather, was quickly tempered by a barely restrained fountain of fury. Evanar waited until Ellis finished before speaking, visibly needing to calm himself first.
“You are saying that Vivian planned all of this? That the child Rivka now carries is Tristan’s and not yours? That they used magic?” Gods, his head hurt.
“Yes. We do not know how they learned it, or exactly how it even works but it did and you and I both know without a doubt that Rivka and the babe are in grave danger. Vivian will not stop until she accomplishes what she set out to do.”
“I see why you do not wish your mother to know of this. I agree that her temper would ignite a war and we need to find out more of this magic, how they came to possess it, and what else they plan to do with it before making any rash decisions.”
A thought occurred to him. “Does this have anything to do with Alexandria’s absence?”
Rivka froze at the mention of Alexandria’s name. “We don’t wish her to know any of this. You are the only one we have confided in about the child and the magic.” She refused to meet his eyes as she spoke.
“I see,” Evanar said, watching his daughter closely. He had seen the flash of pain in her eyes at the mention of her guard and knew that now was not the time to push. “We will need a plan, a good one.”
“That is what we were hoping that you could help us with,” Ellis stated.
Evanar sorted through options and ideas for how they could handle this situation, one standing out more than the others, the only sensible conclusion, one that his daughter and son-in-law must have come to as well.
“You plan to run, to give us all more time to prepare, and possibly formulate a way to take Vivian down before anyone is hurt.”
“Yes.” Rivka replied softly. “We can’t think of any other way.”
“Unfortunately, I have to agree.” This would break his wife’s heart but he persevered.
“If we can keep you safely out of Vivian’s grasp, we might have a chance of stopping her.
We need to gather more information on this magic.
I will have my sources find what they can.
In the meantime, Rivka, do you remember the stories that I told you when you were a little girl? About the Underground?”
“Yes, but what do childhood bedtime stories have to do with any of this?”
“They are not just stories, my child. They are real. Legend tells that they were built to help the healers move between provinces during the Great War. The tunnel system stretches between all five provinces, some tunnels even going far beneath the water.”
“You mean to tell me that we have a tunnel system underneath the entire realm!?” Ellis’ tone was incredulous. “How have we never known of this? That no other province knows they exist?”
“Only the Morrows royal family are the keepers of this knowledge. It has been passed down through each generation. We are sworn to protect this information from a very young age.” Evanar leaned forward, resting his hand on his daughter’s knee.
“I am telling you now, Rivka, since by blood you are a Morrows too.”
“But what of me? I am not of Morrows blood.” Ellis said.
“Well, to be fair, I may be blurring some of the lines of my oath. You are married into a line of royal Morrows, therefore making you royal as well. The boundaries of the oath are not as specifically defined as they could be, but given the situation, I feel this is the right choice. Either way, that is for me to worry about.”
Before they could continue the conversation, there was a soft knock at the door and Maureen breezed in with the requested tea and buttered bread.
Rivka
The morning bled into afternoon, as Rivka sat listening to her father and Ellis formulate their escape plan. She voiced her opinion when it was needed, but they had a solid plan going. It would be difficult but was the safest option.
The stress of the entire situation began to wear on Rivka and she could no longer keep her head up.
Her eyes were pained from crying and she could no longer fight the sleep that pulled at her.
Her father noticed her drifting and suggested she lie down in his bed.
Rivka refused, gently pulling herself out of his grasp and excusing herself.
She wanted her own bed, her own pillow, her own comforts, if only for a little while longer.
Ellis halted her, reminding her that they did not have McConnell or Wright with them.
But they were at home, and she assured him nothing would befall her within the walls of her own palace.
She could tell he didn’t want to, but Ellis acquiesced to her request.
Rivka wasn’t seeing the stone walls of her home pass by as she took each step to her bedchamber.
She didn’t acknowledge the tapestries elegantly hung, or the sunlight that lit the bright colors of the paned windows far above her.
She had grown up in this palace; there was not a section or corridor that she didn’t have memorized, but the beauty of it all never wavered.
Still, she moved through them unseeing. Her vision blurred and a figure came into view.
Clear gray eyes, silky braided hair, and the face and body she had longed to touch and hold for months now appeared before her.
“Ria?” Rivka whispered, afraid this was just a figment of her exhaustion. No, she was real. Alex was actually standing in front of her, and they were alone.
Alex turned to leave and Rivka felt her anger flare, bright and hot.
“Stop.”
Alex kept walking, ignoring her queen.
“You will stop when I tell you to.” She was no longer above using her position to force Alex to listen. Alex froze with her back to Rivka. She obeyed but she could see her vibrating with the effort it took.
“Face me,” Rivka ordered.
Alex turned, lifting her chin and making direct, cold eye contact.
“You must hear me out.”
“Must I?” Alex began but then stopped, her mouth pulling thin. “I will listen and obey as a member of the royal guard, nothing more.” The bite of the last two words stung.
“You’ve been ignoring me for weeks now! This can’t go on!” Rivka exclaimed.
Alex’s stony eyes turned ripe with fire, but Rivka continued. “I refuse to pretend that the last four years didn’t happen like you have, Ria.”
Alex’s head whipped around, clearly verifying that they were still alone. As furious and hurt as she was, protecting Rivka was ingrained in her. She lowered her voice, stepping closer. “It doesn’t matter.”
Rivka’s heart thudded in her chest. The need to reach out and touch that stubborn, gorgeous face was overpowering all reason. She shifted a few steps closer. Alex’s jaw clenched at the increased proximity but didn’t move.
“You matter to me. More than my life, more than my province, I would gladly give it all up. There are things you don’t know, reasons…”
Alex held up a hand to stop her. “I don’t need your excuses. Nothing you say will erase what I saw.” She sighed and dropped her hand. “But if it will clear your own conscience, by all means, tell me your reasons so I can be on my way.”
She was finally here in front of her, willing to hear her out.
The words were on the edge of her lips. It wasn’t real.
It was a spell. Vivian and Luther set me up.
Set Tristan up. I would never betray you.
I LOVE YOU. But the babe. They couldn’t tell Alex about the child.
She had to stay quiet. Alex would never let them leave.
She wouldn’t understand, and Vivian would target her because she stood between her and Rivka.
So I have to break my own heart. For my child.
For Alex, because the thought of a world without either would destroy me.
“I need you to trust me.”
“You’ve given me no reason to.”
Rivka scrambled for anything that she could say, anything that might make Alex stay, if even for just a minute more.
“I know that you are angry. I know that nothing I say will ever erase the pain that I caused you. There is no forgiveness for that.” Rivka stepped forward again, less than a foot between them now.
“You know me better than anyone, Ria. I am begging you to just trust me when I say that this was never intended, that it never should have happened. I would never willingly betray you that way.”
Alex’s hands clenched and unclenched at her sides.
Rivka could see the war waging behind Alex’s eyes, as if she wanted nothing more than to do as she asked and trust her.
Rivka didn’t think that anything would ever erase the memory of her and Tristan from Alex’s brain.
Rivka couldn’t imagine how that betrayal must have looked or felt.
“I can’t do that, Riv. I thought I knew you once, but I obviously didn’t.
My Rivka, never would have stabbed me in the back the way you did.
My Rivka never would have slept with that man, ever.
You are not my Rivka. I am not sure you ever truly were.
That trust is broken. You can never get it back. ”
“Ri-” Alex cut her off once again.
“I asked you not to call me that anymore. It is Alexandria to you, as you are now just my Queen.” Her words stung, a sense of finality in them. “If we are through here, I need to be on my way. I have other matters to attend.”
Rivka couldn’t speak. Tears welled in her eyes as she stared at Alex, taking in every inch of her face, trying to etch every line to memory. Taking her silence as acceptance, Alex spoke one last time, her words heavy with emotion.
“Good day, my Queen.”
Not waiting for Rivka to answer, Alex bent at the waist, a final show of respect for her position, before turning, her long strides carrying her further and further away.
They were done and not just with this conversation.
They were no longer Rivka and Ria. She was no longer her trusted guard, her lover, her person.
They were nothing. Rivka watched until Alex disappeared from view, knowing that it was likely the last time that she would ever see her again. What remained of her heart, shattered.