The Betrayal Read online

  She scoffed quite unladylike and made Owyn laugh.

  “Imagine that, a love and illegitimate sons. My father only has one son and one daughter. He is also married to my mother, the queen. Such is idle gossip, I suppose.”

  Owyn almost couldn’t contain his mirth, he was laughing so much.

  Elsa started to giggle too, but both of them quickly sobered when King Ethan came out of his nearby study to see what the fuss was about.

  “Papa, how nice to see you out of your study finally,” she said, coming forward to hug him. “I would imagine though, now that Owyn Breams is here, you will be disappearing back in there.”

  Ethan laughed and returned his daughter’s hug, no longer fazed by her subtle insistence she help with business matters.

  “Owyn Breams, sir. Pleased to meet you.” Owyn held out his hand to Ethan who grabbed it and shook it roughly, quickly letting it go.

  “Let us retire to my study, shall we?” he asked, winking at Elsa.

  Elsa sighed and shook her head, walking briskly away.

  Without realizing that her father was watching him, Owyn watched her walk away, deciding his appreciation for her hips had grown exponentially.

  Ethan cleared his throat and Owyn felt his face heat, not wanting to turn around and face him. Ethan, however, chuckled and said, “To be young again. I still look at my wife that way.”

  Owyn laughed and walked into Ethan’s study.

  “I have no doubt of that, sir,” he replied, taking the seat in front of his desk.

  The office was large and had many different designs that Owyn could tell had been carved by hand. In the corner, there was a set of table and chairs, with two wall shelves behind the chairs.

  The rest of the walls were either bare or they had large tapestries on them depicting battle scenes and the Great Tide, as well as another painting of Queen Edeline, but this portrait had a small girl in it. The girl looked just like Edeline and it took him a minute to realize that the little girl was Elsa.

  “She looks almost identical to her. I knew that she would the day that she was born.”

  Ethan sighed and sat down.

  “Edeline has always been supremely proud that Elsa looks just like her. I do not blame her at all. Edeline is very vain though, so it fits.”

  Owyn chuckled softly to himself as Ethan rambled on about the similarities of his wife and daughter.

  Edeline was beautiful, but she was missing the mischievous sparkle in her eye. Owyn mentally shook his head, trying to remove the pretty blonde from his head. His thoughts turned back to the two letters he carried.

  He was brought back to Ethan when the boisterous man laughed and said, “Now, back to business.”

  Owyn nodded and placed the letters side by side on the desk.

  Ethan looked at them and Owyn could see his thought process on his face.

  “Can we verify that these are authentic?” he asked Owyn, carefully picking up one of them and looking it over.

  Owyn sat back in his chair and shook his head.

  “There is no way to authenticate them without being able to translate them first. If we knew what they said, we could possibly determine whether or not the information is valid. We honestly don’t know what they will tell us about the queen’s disappearance.”

  “Well, I highly doubt it’s a ransom note; they know that there are very few people who can translate ancient Foyeile. If they were to set any kind of time limit, then that would have already expired I’m sure.”

  “I agree. Do you think that they are notes to find her?” Owyn asked.

  Ethan looked down at the notes once more.

  “I would suspect so. They would have made more of a commotion if it was a ransom attempt. Seems like someone on the inside had a change of heart.”

  Owyn nodded and looked at Ethan.

  “Is Everett here? He is the only one that I can think of who can translate the Foyeile.”

  Ethan shook his head.

  “No. Everett is out on business for a few days. I am not certain if he is going to come back before being assigned to a new case. No longer in the special forces but still needed.”

  Owyn sighed in frustration and roughed his hair with his fingers.

  “Do you know of anyone else who could translate these with secrecy?” Owyn asked, folding them back up and putting them into his jacket.

  Ethan shook his head. “The only person I know who could is over a week away. He would have to travel quite a distance. It possibly could take up to two days to reach him.”

  Owyn said, his voice filled with frustration, “We don’t have that much time I’m afraid. Thank you for letting me into your home. I will head back to Malachite Expanse tomorrow and reach out to one of my brother Oryn’s friends. He too was in the Keepers of the White and has people he knows as well.”

  Owyn stood up and reached out to shake Ethan’s hand.

  The king stood and took the offered hand and shook it, gesturing for Owyn to lead the way out.

  They both stopped mid-step when they heard a thud and a soft curse.

  Owyn looked over at Ethan, who stood there shaking his head.

  He stepped around Owyn and walked over to the portrait of Edeline and Elsa.

  Owyn watched as Ethan pulled the portrait off the wall, revealing a small wooden door.

  He pulled the key off a small hook on the wall and unlocked the door, opening it to reveal Elsa sitting on the ground, dust settling around her.

  She looked up at her father and flushed red, the look on her face making Owyn smile.

  He put his hand over his mouth and rubbed his face, pursing his lips to keep from laughing at her expense.

  “What exactly do you think you are doing?” Ethan asked.

  “I can translate Foyeile,” she said.

  Chapter Four

  Ethan’s jaw dropped open and then snapped shut again, a scowl coming to his face.

  “What do you mean you can translate Foyeile?” Ethan asked.

  Elsa decided she was not going to sit on the ground and explain their secret so she went to stand up. Owyn surprised her by stepping forward and holding out his hand to her, helping her to her feet. Her face, which had by now returned to its normal color, pinked just a little.

  “Thank you, sir,” she said, swiping at the dirt on her dress.

  Owyn smiled and said, “You’re welcome. Now tell us, how did you come to learn Foyeile?”

  She walked out of the secret hiding place and sat down in one of the chairs, watching as her father returned her and her mother’s portrait to the wall to hide the door.

  “Everett taught me to read and write it. I am not a proficient by any means, but I can help. Everett also left me his journals on it as well. It has most, if not all the letters in it and what is known of the words.”

  Elsa looked directly at her father.

  “I’m sorry Everett and I kept this a secret from you and I know you didn’t want me to know something that might cause me harm, but Everett wanted to make sure that someone knew in case something happened to him.”

  Ethan scoffed and sat back down at his desk.

  “You are who he thought of when he decided this?” he asked, the words bringing a scowl to Elsa’s face.

  Owyn stood next to the chair Elsa sat in and watched the exchange between father and daughter.

  “I am because he knew you were too busy to sit down and learn a new language. I, on the other hand, have nothing to do. I am not interested in all the womanly pursuits you want me to be.”

  She stood up and then took a step towards the desk.

  “I also do not take kindly to what you said. I am the ONLY person he thought of when he decided this.”

  Ethan flushed at his daughter’s words and sighed.

  “You always were never interested in those things,” he said, looking at his daughter with a smile.

  “Let me help, Father, please. I know I can do it, and I’ll have Everett’s help once he gets back,”
she implored her father, seeing victory within her grasp and not wanting to give it up.

  He looked at Owyn as if he was sizing him up and that made Owyn very uncomfortable.

  “All right, but only because your brother is not here. As soon as Everett gets back, he is going to take over.”

  Elsa sighed but walked around the desk and hugged her father.

  “Thank you for believing in me,” she whispered in his ear.

  Ethan smiled and hugged Elsa tightly.

  “With that settled, if you would excuse me, sir? I would like to rest. The journey was long and tiring.”

  Ethan stood and stepped away from his desk, Elsa's face still beaming with happiness. Owyn had to contain his smile since hers was so infectious and so he bowed low and headed to the door.

  “Owyn?” Ethan said, making Owyn turn around to face him, “Make sure you keep those letters close. There are those that would use them to cover up their crimes.”

  Owyn nodded and then headed out the door.

  Elsa looked at her father with a curious look.

  “Are you all right, Papa?” she asked, taking in the look on his face.

  It was so stern that it almost frightened to her. She had never seen him look at anyone like that before and was alarmed by it.

  “I’m fine, dearest. Just worried,” Ethan replied, sitting back down at the desk.

  Those letters could bring answers about the queen’s whereabouts, but also many problems as well. Ethan watched his daughter walk out of the study, unable to shake the sinking feeling in his stomach.

  Elsa took one last look at her father and headed out the door of the study, to go find her mother.

  She found her outside in the rose garden, holding a single bloom in her hand.

  The pale yellow gave the older woman a soft glow, bringing out the pink in her cheeks.

  “Hello, Momma,” she said, dropping down onto the bench next to her.

  “Hello, dearest,” Edeline replied, putting her arm around Elsa and giving her a soft but firm hug.

  “You won’t believe what Papa is going to let me do,” Elsa blurted out, her excitement unable to be contained.

  Edeline looked at Elsa, happy surprise in her eyes.

  “What is he going to let you do?” she asked, handing the bloom to her daughter.

  “He is going to let me help translate two mysterious messages about the queen written in Foyeile. Can you believe it?”

  Edeline’s smile grew even bigger and she hugged Elsa tightly in her arms, her voice filled with happiness when she said, “That is wonderful, dearest!” she exclaimed.

  Elsa hugged her mother tightly and squealed softly, unable to contain her happiness.

  “After never giving me a chance at something, he is finally letting me do something exciting!” Elsa said, pulling away from her mother’s embrace.

  She stood and twirled around, unable to explain why she felt younger than her twenty-five years.

  “Dearest, do sit down; you are making me dizzy,” Edeline said, causing Elsa to laugh even harder and plop down on the bench beside her.

  “I am sorry, Momma. I am very excited. I finally get to work on using what Everett had been teaching me.”

  “I can’t believe he did not tell me he was teaching her,” a voice came from inside the library.

  Edeline smiled knowingly and gently scolded her husband.

  “Everett knew how you would react. You should not be surprised. You only want our daughter to pursue womanly interests, and she is quite the opposite. I am happy that he is teaching her; it gives her something to focus on. We want our daughter to be productive, do we not?”

  Ethan looked at Edeline and sighed, never able to go against his wife’s wishes. If she wanted Elsa to learn something, or continue to learn it, she was going to make sure she did. Ethan did have to admire Elsa’s spirit and determination to learn. It reminded Ethan of himself.

  He sighed dramatically and plopped down unceremoniously onto the bench next to Edeline.

  “What are we going to do with her?” Ethan asked Edeline, putting his arm around her and hugging her tightly.

  Elsa watched as her parents interacted and couldn’t help but feel a little bit jealous of them. She wanted what they had: a marriage of love, not convenience. She watched them and saw the way her father looked at her mother, even when she wasn’t looking.

  The look in his eyes shone with the love he still had for her after all these years together. Her mother’s hair had started to grey around her temples and she had small wrinkles forming around her eyes, but she was still very beautiful.

  Her parents had met about thirty-five years ago, long before Everett was born and had courted for almost two years. Her father had finally proposed when his father had gotten sick.

  Elsa had heard the story many times and had thought it was for convenience, but her mother had always assured her that they had married for love.

  Her father had been selfish and scared and had wanted to prove Edeline’s loyalty to him, proposing to her because he wanted to make sure she wanted to marry him for him, not for the kingdom. He had been the chief guard and best in the kingdom, and since the king did not have a son, he had decided to make Ethan his successor.

  Edeline had said yes and assured him that she did so because she loved him and that she would always be loyal to him and would never abandon him as long as he promised to do the same. They married six months later and Everett was born two and a half years later; Elsa followed five years after that.

  Elsa sighed and then realized she had done so aloud. Both her parents looked at her with question in their eyes.

  “I… I am going inside and get cleaned up for dinner. I will see both of you then.”

  Elsa hopped off the bench and hurried back in through the library, anxious to get upstairs and gather the things she needed to help Owyn with the letters.

  Owyn? When did he become Owyn?

  She mentally shook her head and went back to thinking about what she needed. She started humming as she walked up the stairs, catching the attention of the guest that was already upstairs.

  Owyn peeked out of his room and laughed softly, watching Elsa walk the rest of the way up the stairs and turn left towards the family rooms. He’d been lucky enough to get the guest room closest to the stairs. He watched until she’d disappeared behind the solid oak door of her bedroom before shutting his own, shaking his head at her.

  Owyn turned towards the bed and made sure to lock the door before stepping away. He looked down at the bed and stared at the two pieces of paper, written in the language he could not understand. He felt deep down that these had something to tell them about the queen’s disappearance, even possibly where she might be.

  Owyn did hope so. Although all of Queen Catriona’s policies were still in place, no one was happy about Art Balfe, the previous king, being his daughter’s surrogate ruler. He enforced the old policies that were still in place but barely enforced Catriona’s.

  Owyn had been so close to starting a new benefits program for the miners with Catriona but with her disappearance, it put that program back at least six months. He knew that Art would make him change it to suit his wants and Ciomodors Garden’s needs.

  Catriona had been willing to work with him to make life better for the miners. If he lost the go ahead for his project, he would be extremely upset, as this was a program he had been pushing and started all on his own.

  He sighed in frustration, realizing he needed to relax before he snapped and took it out on someone who did not deserve it.

  He stripped down to his underwear and then slipped into his satin lounge pants, sitting at the foot of the bed and crossed his legs, resting his hands palm up on his knees and concentrating on his breathing. Slowly it evened out and his body calmed, his heart no longer racing, his pulse no longer thundering in his head.

  Owyn started when he heard a knock on the door, a dinner announcement coming from the other side. He took one last
deep breath and then stood, getting his clothes for dinner out of his bag and beginning to dress.

  Chapter Five

  Elsa stood in the dining room, unable to control her fidgeting. She was always the first to dinner, ever since she was a little girl. She knew now that her parents made her wait, as she had always thought they just forgot the time and had to be told. They had always done it to teach Elsa patience but after twenty years, it still did not work.

  Patience was not something Elsa was good at.

  There were times that Elsa almost started without them but thought better of it when she remembered her mother’s face the time she had caught Elsa picking food off her plate when she walked into the dining room.

  Elsa sat down in her chair, tired of standing and waiting.

  She looked down at the empty plate in front of her and thanked the Lord that Cooke had not brought any food out yet. She was always tempted when Cooke brought the food out before everyone was there. Elsa looked down at her silk-covered stomach as it grumbled loudly at her.

  “I know; I am tired of waiting as well.”

  She smoothed the green silk down over her stomach and sighed.

  Green was her favorite color and she always felt more confident in it than other colors.

  Her hair was pulled up into a simple bun, but she had put two emerald clips on to give her hair a little sparkle.

  She didn’t dress up that often but thought that her parents would appreciate her dressing a little bit finer due to their guest.

  Elsa’s thoughts were disrupted when she heard footsteps in the hall. She stood up quickly, prepared to greet her parents. She was surprised when Owyn walked through the door.

  “Lady Elsa, I didn’t know you were down here already. I thought I was too early.”

  He looked down at the dented pocket watch in his hand, then put it back in his vest pocket.

  “You are early, sir, but I am also. I always am. My parents like to make me wait for them to come down and test my patience.”