Kingdom of Betrayal

"I assume she brought her own rope, my queen because I do not recall having such a rope in the stables"

I nod "Did you know her personally?"

The stable boy frowns "Not at all, your grace"

I hum "So do you not know why she chose the stables to hang herself?"

He shakes his head "I wish I knew but I do not"

"Alright. I would appreciate it if you do not tell anyone how she died please. I wouldn't want everyone in the castle to go crazy, everyone is still recovering from the loss of the king"

He nods "Of course, your grace" he bows and I walk out, meeting Hayden outside.

I tell him "He doesn't know anything"

Hayden nods "I figured"

I hum as I start walking but pause "Do you not think it's strange that when I found the missing page, she decided to kill herself?"

"Very strange indeed. Seems like Rome knows his business, he'll make a fine king one day." He gently nudges his shoulder against mine.

I stare up at him and feel myself smile, despite not wanting too. A warm fuzzy feeling occurs in my chest when I see him smile back at me.

Shit.

He's even more handsome when he's smiling. He's smile fades when he realizes what he's doing and he clears his throat before moving a few steps behind me, so that he's not standing next to me. Resisting the urge to sigh, I start walking again.

"How did Kelly die, mother?" Raya asks as we're sitting on the floor while playing with Romero Junior.

"It was just her time, okay? Don't worry yourself too much about it" I ruffle her hair and she smiles before going back to play with her brother.

Raya bops Rome's nose and his face crinkles "Ray!"

I don't even realize I'm smiling until I feel my face start to hurt as I watch them two together. She makes him a paper crown and puts it on his head before bowing "My King"

I laugh softly and wipe away the happy tears as I watch him take the paper crown of his head before putting it on her head and declares "It's yours!"

She laughs and hugs him and I feel like my heart might just burst out of my chest. I glance at Hayden that's standing by the door with the biggest smile on his face and I just know that come hell or high water, he would protect my kids like his own.

And for that I love him more.

"Mother" Junior says and I glance at him with a raised eyebrow "Is there guards outside our bedchambers every night because of father that died? Or because of Raya's dream?"

Before I can say anything, Raya says "It was not a dream, Rome. It was real"

He frowns, looking genuinely confused "But you said there wasn't anyone holding a pillow over you"

Hayden says from the doorway "Just because there wasn't anyone does not mean there wasn't anyone"

I laugh when I see Junior looking even more confused and even Raya looks confused now at Hayden's riddles. I say "What Sir Hayden meant is that someone could have been in her room but left before she could see them"

"Oh" he says and glances at Ray who looks a bit uncomfortable with the topic

I say "Which is why we need to stick together and protect each other"

Junior nods and Raya declares "Sir Hayden can protect all of us like he always does"

I glance at Hayden to see a smile on his face and he says "Always at your service, princess"