Page 31 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown (Kingdom of Bellhollow #1)

“ M rs. Duvall.” Skylar raises her voice as she walks into the house.

I look at her, smiling as I finish up my chores. I knew it was close to when she would have time to come visit, and I was trying my hardest to get everything done so I could go hang out with her.

“Skylar.” Mother smiles. “What can I do for you?”

“Can I steal Adeline? I’ve got lunch outside and would love to spend some time with her for a little while if that is okay.” Skylar points to the door.

I place the pot to dry and turn to Mother. My hand is now a lot better than it was before. After applying salve on it for almost a week straight, day and night, almost everything is healed, and I’m able to do anything I want to do.

“She may,” mother replies. “I need her back in two hours. We have some chores we need to get done this afternoon.”

“How are you doing? The baby?” Skylar asks as she waits for me to pull on my coat and dry my hands.

I take a deep breath as I look at my mother. Things are getting harder with each passing day. We are getting closer to when the baby is going to arrive, and I don’t think any of us are prepared for it. We’ve had nine months to come to terms with it, but it just seems too quick.

“Baby is healthy. It’s kicking and moving around all the time. We are just waiting for them.” My mother starts rubbing her belly. “It could be any day now.”

“I can’t wait to see them. Let me know if I can help in any way. I don’t have much time, but I do have some,” Skylar offers, her hands moving in the air as she talks.

Skylar could knock someone out if they were walking by as she talked. I’ve gotten hit a couple of times while she has gotten really excited about a certain subject, and I had a bruise on my face for a while.

“Thank you, Skylar. That is so sweet of you. I will let you know if we do need anything,” Mother says as she starts sewing some pieces together.

I walk up to her, kissing her on the cheek before heading to Skylar. “I’ll be back. Promise I’ll come before the two hours are done with. I do have my jacket on and long-sleeved clothes on. I’ll be warm, and if we start to get cold, we’ll come back early. I promise I won’t get sick,” I tell her.

Even though I’ve been over my illness for a little while, my mother still doesn’t want me to get sick again. My parents probably won’t let me stay here when the baby is a newborn if I’m sick.

“Good. Be back soon, Skylar.” Mother waves.

Skylar grabs hold of my arm and drags me out of the house. I take a deep breath, filling my lungs with the crisp, cold air.

“You are so weird.” Skylar giggles as we walk through the town, straight towards the well where a bench is. “I don’t know how you like the cold and being outdoors so much. My ideal life would be living inside where I don’t have to go out much.”

“Then maybe you should get with the prince. That’s what he wants in a wife.

You would suit him far better than I would,” I say as I sit on the bench.

“Besides that one major point, you also want to be a princess. You want to dress up and not do much. I want to be able to go outside and have a good time. I want to work and get my hands dirty, but I know if I’m with the prince that won’t happen. ”

Just the thought of losing my time outside kills me inside. I don’t know how I’ll survive if he wants to take that away. I’m going to be like a caged bird; I will still have my wings but not be able to fly.

Just like the Fae.

Does the prince know about me hanging out with the Fae a lot?

I push that thought to the back of my mind.

I don’t need to be thinking about it. Right now, I need to enjoy being outside, soaking up the rare time that the sun is out, and hanging out with Skylar.

When the baby comes, who knows when I’ll be able to do it again?

“I would totally take the prince, but he picks who he wants, and that’s you.” Skylar looks at me.

There is a hint of jealousy in Skylar’s voice, but I don’t think too hard about it. Skylar knows I don’t want anything to do with the prince.

“Maybe next time I see Prince Archie, you should be here with me and try to get on his good side. Try to get his attention so it goes on you and not me,” I suggest. “Maybe you can talk about wanting to take lessons or hate being outside. Stuff that he doesn’t want me to do.

Maybe then he’ll take an interest in you. ”

Skylar snaps her fingers at me. “That is a great idea! Why I didn’t think about it, I have no idea.”

“Well, now you have, so if we see him at any point, you come to me before he reaches me and we can make it happen.” I pat her on the shoulder. “You will be doing me a favor.”

A huge one if she can get him off my back.

“I don’t know why you don’t want to be a princess and maybe even queen one day. Oh, the life you could live.” Skylar sounds dreamy, gazing off in the distance.

I shrug. “I have never wanted that. I love being who I am. I love being a commoner, having a job, and being able to walk around without being watched or having guards with me. I love my simple life, and I don’t want to trade it.”

“Weird,” Skylar mumbles.

I ignore her and look up to the sun, closing my eyes and enjoying the feeling.

“When are you going to move out of the house and come live with me in the single women housing?” Skylar asks.

“Maybe when the baby is older, or my parents tell me they don’t want me in their house anymore.

” I sigh, looking at her. “They are happy to have me around and I get more freedom living with my parents. I don’t have to go work somewhere else.

And it’s not like men are lining up to take my hand in marriage.

I love my parents, and I love living with them. ”

Besides the prince and Kieran. Everyone else just goes about their day like I don’t exist, and I love that. I don’t want to be the center of attention. It would be a nightmare to get anything done in my life.

“Yeah, I know. Your family is perfect, and you all love each other.” Skylar rolls her eyes. “Everyone is like that in Bellhollow except my family. They couldn’t wait until I turned eighteen and could move into the single housing.”

Because she got into so much trouble when she was younger, I don’t remind her, but she gave her parents hell the whole time she lived with them.

I don’t blame them for telling her to move out.

Most women move out so they find suitors easier and learn to live on their own, but I’m perfectly content with where I am.

Skylar hands me an apple, and I bite into it. If this is what she thought lunch would consist of, she is very much mistaken. An apple is not lunch and will not sustain us until dinner.

“What do you think it was like when the Fae weren’t slaves?” I ask, letting my thoughts turn into words.

Skylar looks at me like I’ve grown two heads. “Why are you asking something like that?”

I shrug. “I’m just curious. We only know what it is like to have them as slaves. I am just wondering what it would have been like for the people who knew them when they weren’t slaves. Or what it was like for the Fae who were alive before and then all of a sudden weren’t free.”

Skylar continues to look at me like I’m crazy.

“There are only stories about it,” I point out.

“And you know stories get blown out of proportion over time. It’s been what, over four hundred years since they became slaves.

That is a lot of generations to get mixed up.

I just think it would be interesting to see what it was like.

You know we aren’t allowed to talk to the Fae, so we don’t know their side of the story.

I’m just curious, that’s all. I love my life and how it is right now. ”

Ever since talking to Kieran for the first time, things haven’t been adding up. I’ve been questioning everything I’ve been taught to believe. I don’t have anyone I can freely talk to.

Skylar hates the Fae and wants nothing to do with them.

“You shouldn’t say those things out loud.” Skylar gives me a funny look. “You know you could get in trouble for it. Keep them to yourself. I would hate for something to happen to you.”

I sigh and nod. “I know. I have only said them to you. I just was wondering if you felt the same way.”

I also asked my sister in front of my mom, and she told me not to ask her again. So I won’t, but she said nothing about asking Skylar.

“But you know what I do want to know about the Fae? Especially the Fae men.” Skylar wiggles her eyebrows at me.

“What?” I ask, looking back at them.

“They are really handsome, and I would love to know if they are good in bed,” Skylar says out of the blue.

I cough, my face reddening. I was not expecting her to say that. I cover my cheeks with my hands, taking a deep breath. The hairs on my arms stick up, giving me the all-too-familiar feeling.

Kieran.

Looking off in the distance, my eyes immediately find his, and he has the biggest smile on his face.

Did he hear what Skylar said? I didn’t think he had super hearing, but maybe that is part of his magic as well.

He wiggles his eyebrows, making my cheeks blush further.

I look away and back at Skylar, dropping my hand.

“You’ve totally thought about it as well.” Skylar gives me a knowing look.

I shake my head.

“Don’t lie. From how red your face is, you totally have thought about it,” Skylar giggles. “Don’t even try to deny it now. I know what you are thinking. You dirty-minded girl.”

We both burst out laughing. I clutch my stomach as I lean back, tears running down my face.

I have thought about it briefly. How can I not when Kieran makes me feel a certain way about him?

It’s hard not to when there is a pull between us, a connection of sorts.

I can’t explain it. All Kieran has said is we are mates, soulmates, and belong together, but I don’t know what that means.

There are so many questions swirling around in my mind when it comes to Kieran.

“I did—” I stop speaking as the prince appears in front of us.

I slap Skylar’s arm and bow in my seat. Shit. Where did he come from? I didn’t see any of the guards when I looked off at Kieran. How did I miss him?

“What are you girls talking about?” Prince Archie asks.

I sit straight and force a smile. He can’t know we were talking about Fae and whether they are good in bed.

“We were talking about learning how to bow hunt,” I quickly say before Skylar can answer. “This is Skylar, my best friend.”

“Nice to finally meet you, Prince Archie. Adeline has told me a little about you. I would love to get to know you better,” Skylar sweetly says.

It takes everything in me not to widen my eyes and stare at her in shock. When I told her to try and get his attention, I meant subtly and not out in the open like that. What is he going to think about her? That is not the way to get the prince to notice you.

“Skylar,” Prince Archie acknowledges her. “You can set up a time if you would like to get to know me better.”

I blink and look between them. I was not expecting him to be okay with it.

Prince Archie turns toward me. “What about bow hunting?”

“I think it would be cool to do it. I would love to help my father when he is gone. I could go with him for a couple of weeks at a time to help hunt. Then I could help my mother the other time so we can earn a little more when the baby comes,” I overexplain.

He immediately scowls at me, and I flinch back. Not the response I was expecting. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that. I thought he would be okay with it since I am diversifying my options.

“You will not,” he growls.

I rear my head back, looking at him with eyebrows raised. Where did that come from?

“You will not go help your father or even learn how to bow hunt,” Prince Archie declares.

Something inside of me lights, and I straighten my spine. “If my father needs help, I have no other option but to help. He doesn’t have any sons, and my sister works in the palace. I am the only one available,” I softly say, but there is a bite in my tone.

I know he is the Prince of Bellhollow, but that doesn’t mean he can tell me what I can and can’t do. I want my father to be able to see the baby grow up and not be gone all the time because we have an extra mouth to feed.

“I think I would enjoy it, and it would help my father out,” I try to explain. “There are a lot of things to do around the house, and this would help. Help him have time with his newborn. And it wouldn’t be anything big, just rabbits and other small animals.”

That would mostly be used for meat, but we could start selling meat in our booth. Get more people to come by, instead of keeping it all for us to survive throughout the year.

Skylar gags. “I don’t know how you could do that. Just the thought of having to clean the animals is unbearable.”

I chuckle and shake my head, but before I can do anything, Prince Archie grips my chin really tightly, yanking my head toward him. I cry out in pain, tears pooling in my eyes.

“You will not help your father,” he says, his voice leaving no room for retort. “If I find out that you helped your father, there will be consequences. Do you understand me?”

I nod, hoping he lets go of my chin, but he doesn’t. He continues to hold my head in place, looking directly in my eyes and tightening his grip.

“I won’t,” I whisper, my voice cracking.

Prince Archie lets go of me, stands straight, and smooths down his shirt, making it look pristine once again. “I will see you Monday.”

I watch as he leaves, the guards following him, and I don’t know what to do. What was that? Why did he get so defensive when I talked about wanting to learn something new and helping my father out?

“Oh my,” Skylar whispers. “Are you okay?”

I shrug my shoulders, not looking at her or Kieran. I can still feel his eyes on me, but I don’t want to give away that I’m not okay. I don’t want him to go after the prince.

“Adeline.” Skylar touches my shoulder.

An uneasy feeling flows through my stomach the longer I look at the prince leaving. What kind of threat was that?

“Come on, let’s go to your house. You probably need to get back anyway.” Skylar rises and holds her hand out.

Without thinking, I hold her hand and she helps me up. Numbness is all I feel as we turn. I look at Kieran and can see the worry in his eyes, but I don’t offer anything in return.

“Everything is going to be okay,” Skylar soothes as she leads me home.