The Thread Of Fate

Chapter 51

"Please deal with this." I requested Maria as the council members exited.

"You don't want to see your brother?" She frowned.

"I'm tired." I offered as an explanation.

She nodded, a knowing look in her eyes.

"I will take you back to your room, your highness." Dahar offered.

"Please make sure you check the room and all entry points." Maria said to him before looking at me, "what if he asks for you ?"

Dahar simply smiled and gave a nod. He was Maria's senior but wasn't affected by her commanding tone. I hoped that he understood why she was being so domineering. She felt responsible and had taken it upon herself to look after me.

"If Jace asks for me, bring him to my room along with Aria. It's high time I speak to them both." I sighed.

Dahar looked curious but didn't ask anything. I didn't mind telling him but Maria had stopped me from doing so. She was still hurt by Torus's betrayal it seemed like. She had once respected and adored the man as her mentor.

"Understood." She said before excusing herself.

Dahar gave me a kind smile once more as he escorted me back to the room. In the past few days, I'd learnt a bit about who he really was. At first, one would think he was a pushover. He wasn't one for confrontations and rarely spoke up in the council meetings.

Upon closer inspection it was evident that that wasn't the case. He had heart, ethics and sound moral values. His skill probably matched that of Torus but in every other way he was different. Dahar wasn't power hungry at all. He had an innate love for the nation and immense respect for all his peers.

I could see why Dominic and Leo had chosen him. His ways were subtle, he had a way of getting what he wanted by putting people at ease, by making them think it was their idea to do what he wanted them to. It was fun to watch, sometimes even when I was at other end of it. There was a lot I could learn from him.

Deliberately, he'd led me down a route that was usually empty this time around. Smart man. He knew I didn't want to deal with Jace or Ariadne. I wondered if there was a specific reason he decided to come drop me off. Sometimes, it was hard to tell whether his actions were based on an ulterior motive or his niceness.

"Your highness, how have you been feeling lately?" He asked as we neared the room.

There it is.

He knew something was up. I sighed, not knowing what to tell him. My gut told me to trust him but I didn't want to reveal anything behind Maria's back. I was torn.

"I've been okay." I said, placing my hand on my stomach, hoping he would make an assumption about my condition.

"I see." He nodded, looking at my hand from the corner of his eye.

Message delivered.

I felt weird for betraying Maria but she was being a bit too paranoid. There were times when you just had to trust some people. I was willing to risk it with Dahar.

"I was wondering why Maria was so stressed." He chuckled, "typical of her to try and take all the load on her shoulders."

"I'd like you to help her deal with that a little bit." I said, dropping my hand to the side as a servant came in view.

"I'll see what I can do." He promised.

That was good enough for me. Dahar thoroughly inspected the room once we reached. Just as he was about to leave, he turned to me.