Page 65 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown

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.