Chapter 34: 34_Busted

“Bloody hell.” He swept her into his arms, rushing out of the back room. By the time he sat her in Finch’s armchair, his pulse was hammering crazily in his neck. A glance into her shirt pocket confirmed his fears. She’d lost her damned gem.

“Fuck.”

His head reared up, eyes darting all over the floors in search of the small healing gem. Like she was grateful he’d understood without her saying it, she sighed, letting her eyes close.

“Open your eyes!” he shouted, throwing aside a chair. “Damn it, where is it?!”

She must’ve lost it whilst fighting that cursed moron. Coming across said cursed moron sprawled out on the floor, Thoran shoved his body aside. “Move, you blasted imbecile.”

He threw aside anything he could, flinging up cushions and shoving aside stacks of notes. Where was the damned gem?!

He glanced back at Amethyst. Her eyes were closed and she’d stopped moving.

“Shit. Shit, where is it?!”

Doubling his efforts, he ransacked the entire room, nearly losing his mind.

By the time Gunnar walked back into the physician’s establishment, the entire place was trashed.

Stopping in the doorway, he silently looked around at the catastrophe before him. Thoran sat silently on the table beside the crates of medical supplies and, in the chair before him, Amethyst seemed to be fast asleep.

“Uh…” Gunn frowned. “I’m afraid to ask.”

Looking haggardly at him, Thoran sighed and yanked out his metal cuff to retie his messy hair.

“What the hell happened here?” asked Gunnar, walking into the room.

Violently gripping his hair, Thoran snapped the cuff around it. “The princess. She lost something.”

Silence followed those words. Gunn blinked. “And she did this to find it?”

“I did this to find it.”

Gunnar’s brows rose. “She… she lost something and you totally… wrecked Finch’s office to find it? Can’t say I’m not puzzled, mate.”

With a heavy sigh, Thoran dropped to his feet. “I’ve found it, so forget about it.” The damned thing had been wedged in the tiny space at the bottom of Finch’s bookshelf. He’d glue it to her so she’d never lose it again, bloody hell. “Where’s the cart?”

Still incredibly confused, Gunn nodded at the broken door. “Out in the alley.”

“Big enough to hold a person?”

“Aye.”

“Good.”

Without another word, he lifted Amie into his arms and took her out. Luckily, there was already a thick blanket laid out in the cart, so he could easily lay her down on it. Damn her and her irresponsibility. What if he hadn’t found the gem?

He clenched his jaw, grabbing his cloak off his horse and throwing it over her sleeping form. For a moment, he stood there and looked down at her.

He’d been training one morning and ventured toward a castle he’d momentarily fancied. For his temporary interest in a damned castle, he’d been rewarded with a stubborn princess who constantly mistook him for her servant and drove him to the teetering edge of his sanity. He tilted his head, thinking it over in a mind now calm after the moment of panic he’d experienced.

Did she really drive him to the edge of his sanity? Was it not completely *over* the edge? Because it didn’t take much for Thoran to look into himself and see, quite clearly, that he didn’t fight it as well as he could. He let her get away with so much that he’d completely destroy anyone else for. That was enough to report his mind lost, along with his damned sense.

With a muttered curse, he turned away. There was no time for it. They had to get the medical stock and head to the village before she woke up. No matter what, she was still blood-related to one of their enemies. No amount of hormones raging in his blood would make him forget that for long enough to let her see just where the village was located. She was and would always be a Gadon princess.

********

Queen Monica hummed appreciatively as *Madame* Lydie, her most treasured seamstress brought out the new gowns she’d just finished. “Just beautiful, Lydie, darling.”

The seamstress smiled, winking. “Always the best for my lovely girls.”

“They’re going to be thrilled, Jade’s been dreaming of that red gown since you took measurements for it. And Veronica, she’s only ever heard of you, she’s ecstatic to be getting some of your famous gowns.”

Madame Lydie belted out her rich laughter, proud to be the only seamstress sought out by the queen and her daughters.

There was a knock at the doors and Monica raised her head. “Yes, enter.”

The door opened and one of the servants entered, curtseying as soon as she was in the room. “Your Majesty.”

“Yes, Betty, what is it?”

Betty straightened, approaching with the gold tray she held. “There is a letter for you, your Majesty.”

“From whom?”

“It’s from Hermouthe, your Majesty, from Prince Alfred and Princess Whitney.”

“Oh.” The Queen looked mildly surprised, taking the letter from the platter. “Well, that’s unexpected, isn’t it? Hand me my letter opener. You should assist Madame Lydie with arranging the gowns in the meantime, Betty.”

“Yes, your Majesty.”

Picking up her spectacles, Monica put them on and swiftly opened the envelope with the instrument Betty had handed her.

Whilst Betty and the seamstress arranged the gowns for all five daughters, the Queen silently read the letter. By the time the last gown had been placed and Monica was reading the last line of the lengthy letter, her hands were trembling. Peering into the envelope for the newspaper clipping mentioned in the letter, she read the headline that referred to a female accomplice aiding a Barbarian in some robbery. The trembling in her hands spread to her entire body.

Gracefully, she folded the letter and newspaper clipping back up and slipped them into the envelope before pulling her glasses off. “Betty?”

The handmaiden turned around. “Yes, my Queen?”

“Prepare to travel. We’re going to Zaire.”

“Yes, my Queen. Do you intend to visit the royal family?”

With a shaky sigh, Monica shook her head. “Not at all, dear. I intend to kick my darling daughters’ behinds.”

******

In Raiden’s den, Natalia, Jade and Veronica sat at the table. Raiden himself sat on his throne, legs crossed as he watched them delegate.

“No matter how I look at it, we have to let Raiden send the army out,” Veronica said, her pretty nose turned up. “If we can’t tell your parents, and they’re the only other people who own an army, our only option is to use our own army.”

“Nicki, my love,” Jade said. “The moment the Zaire army, an army of giant, aggressive men, mind you, is marching about looking for a missing princess, my parents will hear of it.”

“And I’m not letting the army go find her without me,” Natalia added. “I know my own men, they’ll grab her and toss her over a shoulder to be brought home. Amethyst would freak out.”

Veronica winced. “Oh, yeah. I forgot about her experience with werewolves.”

Jade shrugged. “Why don’t you just go with the army, then? You’re the army general.”

Natalia turned a narrow-eyed glare over to the throne. “Someone won’t let me.”

“It’s for a good reason,” Raiden defended.

“Bah!” She sulked. “I let you send Cyrus instead of me and, look, he came back empty-handed and locked himself in his castle!”

There was a knock at the door and then a servant entered. She curtsied and hurried quickly toward Natalia. “My dearest Queen.”

“What’s wrong, Lane?” Alarmed, Natalia straightened.

“Your mother, Her Majesty, Queen Monica of Gadon, has arrived.”

Jade gasped and Natalia’s mouth dropped open.

“That’s my cue,” said Raiden, getting ready to escape.

“No, you can’t let me deal with her alone!” she said, watching him walk down from his throne.

“She’s your mother, my love.”

“Exactly, and she adores you, you should talk to her!”

Jade was freaking out, both hands pressed to her cheeks.

“Are they in the King’s den?” The Queen’s elegant voice reached them. "No introduction, dearie, I'll surprise them."