Chapter 186

Hydrangea rolled over as soon as her consciousness began to surface. Stretching her arm out, she searched for the body that was supposed to be nearby.

She sat straight up with wide eyes when he wasn't there. Looking to her left and right he was nowhere to be seen.

She scrambled out of the bed and found a robe. Without thinking of shoes she ran from the room and out into the gardens, the rain pounded her skin but she hardly noticed it.

Arriving at Alessandra's study, her hair damp and wild, her clothes wrinkled from sleep, she asked in a clear voice, "Where is he?"

Alessandra looked up from her book, her expression patient and apologetic.

Hydrangea shook her head, "But he promised… he said, he wouldn't leave without saying goodbye."

Alessandra set her book aside and went to the girl. Wrapping her arm around her slumped shoulders, she said, "He said to tell you that he was sorry. He left you flowers by your bed." The poor boy had been absolutely panicked, and with good reason.

Hydrangea shook her head again. She thought that not saying goodbye at all would've been easier, she'd clearly been proven wrong. This hurt much more. It felt like he'd be gone forever. And they'd only shared a last kiss, she now wanted more of him.

"Come, sit. I'll explain what happened." Alessandra explained the details and reasoning of why he had to leave so abruptly. Hydrangea just sat and absorbed the information.

She just needed time to adjust.

Once Alessandra had finished, Hydrangea walked back to her room, through the rain. She wasn't heartbroken anymore, there was no reason to be—he'd had no choice—but she only felt regretful. A sliver of her thought that she should've tried one of the techniques she'd read about in her new book, but just the thought of initiating it sent her stomach fluttering. At least… at least they'd had their last kiss.

Walking up the steps that led to her quarters she heard voices. Hearing the crunch of gravel she hid behind the small amount of stone wall.

"You're sure of her identity?" A gruff male voice asked.

"Yes. Dark hair and fair skin, light eyes. It's her." A woman with a Waxingville accent answered, "And her bodyguard left this morning, just disappeared. I think Hugh was sent out to find him."

The man huffed, "Well.. we'll have to be careful about this. Bell Island is not a good place to start a fight." He muttered something else but Hydrangea couldn't hear it. "You've done well, Marie."

The sound of footsteps receding followed and she heard the female voice, Marie, call out, "What about my payment?"

"Silence, women. The Queen Mother has spies everywhere." The man hissed. After a few moments he said reluctantly, "If she is who you say she is, you'll get your money."

She assumed Marie nodded because they both became silent. Hydrangea clenched her fists nervously; maybe they'd discovered she was there. She was tempted to glance over her shoulder, but resisted. She'd likely lose her head.

Eventually, she heard two sets of feet walking away and allowed her body to relax, still not releasing her breath. When three minutes had passed, she blew out a long breath and hurriedly entered her quarters.

As soon as she was safe behind her bedroom door she paused to sort through her thoughts. Were they talking about her? Paranoia made her want to say yes, but optimism made her want to say it could be anyone but her. She then remembered when they'd mentioned all of her prominent physical features.

She needed to tell Alessandra, but she was hesitant to leave her quarters.

Her panicked mind was already forgetting the details of the conversation. Had they wanted to kidnap her? She wasn't sure if she recalled any of those words being used.

She looked down at her clothes and saw that she was still dressed in her nightgown. She ran into her closet and did her best to put a comfortable gown on quickly.

Walking to her door she had made up her mind that she would try and find Alessandra without using the gardens as a shortcut.

With a gait that was most likely suspiciously fast, she walked down the hallways. She had no idea where she was going but she hoped she was getting closer to Alessandra.

Turning a corner she walked into a maid.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, yo… ma'am."

Hydrangea felt the blood drain from her face but nodded, "I-it's alright. It was my fault."

She smiled falsely and walked away from there, her heart pounding. That had been the same maid that had spoken to that man in the garden.

She soon found herself in familiar territory and saw the doors to Alessandra's study. She opened them and disappeared behind them. Turning around she searched for Alessandra but she wasn't there.

She sighed in frustration and was about to leave when she heard the woman's voice.

"Hydrangea, I didn't see you there. Are you feeling better?"

She jumped and turned around slowly to see Alessandra standing by the bookshelf to the far right of the room. Her hands were clasped leisurely in front of her, her expression was serene.

"You… weren't there before." She stated warily.

Alessandra smiled and looked down at the couch in front of her, clicking her tongue, she said, "No.. I wasn't." Raising her eyes she smiled again, "Come, let's sit. I'll have some tea brought for us."

Hydrangea raised her hand, "No, no. There's something I must tell you."

Alessandra's head tilted slightly, and the action reminded Hydrangea of when Bastian would do that.

"Come with me."

The regal woman broke her reverie and took her hand.

"Where?"

"Here." She answered when she stopped in front of the same bookshelf she'd been standing in front of. Her fingers trailed the spines of the books and selecting one, she pulled it out.

Hydrangea heard a muted click and saw the bookshelf move an inch forward. Alessandra moved forward and swung the bookshelf open like a door.

"Come, we can speak in here." She said, walking through a short passageway.

Hydrangea walked through the door and shut it behind her.

Coming to the end of the passage she marvelled at the hidden room. There were no windows, but curtains decorating the stone walls. Dozens of carpets covered the stone floor. A few bookshelves lined the walls and a few couches sat on top of the carpets. Alessandra walked to a desk at the far left of the room.

"Are there rooms like this in the palace?" She asked as she looked to the high ceiling.

The older woman chuckled, "No. it's much older and the technology had not quite been perfected for it when the palace was constructed. Besides, there had just been a civil war when it was built, the Sovereign at the time felt that secret rooms and passageways would've been untrustworthy."

Hydrangea nodded, it made sense. But there was something rather dreamlike about the idea of a hidden passageway.

"Now, what is it you wanted to speak about?"

Hydrangea's gaze snapped to her and her demeanour became panicked again, "I overheard a maid speaking to a man. She was telling him about me."

Alessandra's countenance sobered and she thinned her lips, "Did you recognize either of them?"

She shook her head, "No. But the maid's name was Marie."

Alessandra nodded and stood, "Alright. Did you hear anything else?"

Hydrangea's brow creased as she fought to remember, "I believe he said that he had to be careful, and that Bell Island wasn't a good place for a fight."

Alessandra smirked, "Indeed, it isn't." She walked past Hydrangea and to one of the curtains by the wall, pulling it aside, she said, "Come. This will lead you to the stables, go to the temple and tell the priest all you feel is necessary. I will wait for the Lords and their minions."

Hydrangea swallowed and nodded. She stopped a step before the hidden passage and, on an impulse, hugged Alessandra. Her mother-in-law appeared surprised for an instant but quickly hugged her back.

Hydrangea stepped into the dim stone passage, "Thank you. I'll be safe."

Alessandra smiled proudly, "As will I. Now go." She whispered urgently and Hydrangea turned and headed down the passageway, her steps echoing along its length.