Her Unwanted Mate On The Throne

Chapter 141 No amount of assurance is enough.

Nobody expected William to want to go back to the village, but he did. They mounted their horses and

headed straight back to the village rather than to the palace like they all figured they were headed.

Edward and Mal were eager to walk them out the door and slam it closed the second they were in the

snow. Despite the new respect, the fear was more evident.

He didn’t respond to anyone as he led them back to the village. Doris was close to falling off the horse

with how exhausted she felt. She could imagine that they all felt the same, but somehow William

appeared wide awake. His show of leadership must have lit a fire under him.

By the time they made it back to the village, it was still quite early and no one had yet ventured out of

their cabins. She didn’t know why it made her so happy to know that they didn’t have to answer for where

the food was yet.

“We’re going to wait until they deliver all of the food that they promised. Then we can go back to the

kingdom.” William announced. A warm bloom formed in her chest. She didn’t expect him to care this

much, but he was already treating the rogues as if they mattered. He made sure they saw him in action

and that his words held a heavier weight than they expected.

Enzo smiled at William, a warm sort of look that was contagious. Perhaps he realized this too. “You’re a

good man, William. Why have you hidden this side of you for so long?”

William slid off the horse and helped Doris down. He rolled hie eyes at Enzo’s words but she swore he

almost smiled.. “Perhaps you didn’t bring out the best in me.”

“Nonsense! I bring out the best in everyone.” Enzo grinned as his feet hit the ground. “It’s rather nice

seeing you like this. I don’t think anyone would have handled it better. I should have thought about

locking people in closets years ago. All of this mess would have been solved a lot sooner, that’s for

certain.”

Doris bit her lip to keep in her laugh. William shot her an annoyed look but she only let her grin escape.

She’d miss this part of their journey. The easy jokes and longing stares.

“We should all rest before they get here,” William said. Doris eagerly headed towards the cabin they

resided in and ignored Enzo’s laugh from behind her.

The guards they’d left behind were circled around a wooden table playing a game of cards. They stood

the second they saw William and bowed instantly. It’d been a while since she saw them act that way

towards him. Another sign that they all were trying to prepare for their arrival at the palace.

“Your majesty, the villagers are still resting. They seemed a bit sluggish but overall much better than the

days before. They finished off a portion of the food earlier in the day despite our warnings.”

“Very well, thank you.” William shrugged off his coat. “In a few hours, there will be a delivery of food to

the village. If I’m not awake, come get me. I want to make sure they complete their

agreement.”

“Yes sir, of course sir!” They all said at once. Each person from their group filed up the stairs and headed

straight for the beds.

Doris barely had time to take off her shoes before she collapsed on the bed. It suddenly felt better than a

cloud and it pulled her into sleep almost instantly.

Doris felt disoriented when a loud pounding woke her up. William was out of bed before the third knock

was over. He threw open the door and was met with a guard who still had his fist in the air.

“Your majesty, I believe the delivery is here. There’s a large group heading down the main pathway.”

“How long have I been out?” William said. His voice was a little rough from sleep and she couldn’t help

but smile at the sound of it. It was the sort of intimate sound that left strange flips in her stomach-which

she pushed away quickly.

“It’s evening now, sir. You’ve been up here since the morning.”

William shoved his hands through his hair as if he was trying to fix it enough before he

glanced back at her. “You may join me, if you wish.”

Doris scrambled out of bed and pulled on her shoes. The side of his mouth lifted slightly as he watched

her. She quickly followed him out the door and into the night air that felt even colder than the night

before. Would she miss this too? It snowed at the palace, but she was rarely allowed outside unless it

was to the gardens.

Dozens of horses were stopped at the main cabin where the villagers had been resting. William

straightened his shoulders and headed right for them. She could see the invisible crown fall on his head

as if it dropped from the sky.

At the head of the line was a well dressed man with a large bag attached to his horse. He turned to

William with wide eyes and quickly bowed his head.

“Your majesty! I didn’t know you would be here to accept the delivery personally.” The man slid off his

horse and almost fell face first into the snow. His nerves were starting to get the better of him. He

gestured for his men to dismount and they all looked a bit star struck, if Doris was honest.

“I wanted to make sure the correct amount was brought. I didn’t want to return to the castle and find out

that our agreement wasn’t met.”

“I assure you that we have gathered enough food for this village for more than a month. It’ll last them

even longer than when the next stock will be delivered.” The man said quickly. He unzipped the bag to

show William that it was filled to the brim with food.

“What about the other villages that were shorted?”

“Them too, your majesty! We have different groups going to each one to have it all delivered by

nightfall.”

William clasped his hands behind his back and walked around each man. They all dropped to their knees

and showed him that their bags were just as filled as the first one. He gave them a sharp nod and stood

back.

“Very well. the kitchens are that way, make sure they’re all properly put away.”

“Yes sir!” They all shouted and hurried into motion.

Enzo clapped his hands and made Doris almost flinch out of her skin.

“Well, I suppose your insane tactics worked after all. That is quite a lot of food, your majesty.”

William shrugged and glanced up at the dark sky. “I had to make sure. I don’t want them to think I’m

weak just because I’m not the crown prince. Many people have made that mistake before.”

“I suppose we should head to the palace now-since all of it is settled now.” Enzo leaned against a

wooden post. She wiped the sleep from her eyes.

A bit of darkness crossed over his face. “Yes. It’s time to face the mess waiting for me.”

Chills passed over her skin. Did Luna Queen know they were coming? Did she know that William would

have figured out all of her schemes-or did she still think she was the smarter one in this instance?

“Very well. Let’s get our men on the road.” Enzo pushed away from the wood and disappeared back into

the cabin. Within the hour, they were fed and back on their horses to face the final stretch.

Her fear crawled up her throat quickly as she gripped onto William. Faster than she knew it, they would

be back in the belly of the beast and she didn’t know how to prepare herself for it.

Was there ever truly a way to prepare yourself for possible destruction of the heart and soul? Part of her

wanted to erase the maid she had left behind at the palace when she agreed to come on the trip with

William. That mousey, frightened girl that lied for people that didn’t deserve it and let herself be treated

worse than garbage.

The new version of herself, the one that had Cordelia and knew what it was like to be cared for by a

prince that irritated her. She finally stood up for herself and found respect for who she was. There was no

hesitations anymore, just bravery.

It scared her to think that this part of herself would disappear the second she was screamed at to clean

something.

William tensed under her grip and she instantly knew why. The palace came into their view and perhaps

he wasn’t entirely ready to face this either.