Lucille might have been a bit surprised when that servant had told her to follow him. But she hadn't thought much about it.
After all, Cedar could ask for her presence. There was nothing strange about him inviting her out, even if he usually picked her up himself. But when she had made eye contact with her lover, the doubts had come back with full force.
Cedar didn't show her the genuine smile that was reserved for her. He was beaming too brightly while scanning Camille, whose appearance surprised Lucille too. Something was wrong. Why would he have called for her while being with his mother? Cedar certainly wouldn't want her to meet Camille.
For a moment, Lucille considered walking away, but the servant reminded her that her lover had asked for her presence. She had been stupid enough to believe that Cedar might want her to distract him instead of him being alone with Camille here. So, she had gone along with what the servant had told her. She had been prepared to be met with countless insults.
That Camille had actually greeted her normally had been a surprise, even if it had been a very disturbing one.
But Lucille still hadn't understood it completely. She only understood when Camille grabbed her by her hair. A yell escaped her throat, but no matter how much she struggled, even as she hit Camille's hand, she was pulled toward the other woman, with her neck being exposed in an unpleasant manner.
And then Camille had suddenly lifted something, and metal had glittered in the sun. Then she had jolted her hand toward the other woman.
For a moment, Lucille thought that she would die. If she was hit in her neck, she wouldn't recover from this. It was almost like when she had been hit with the arrow, and time around her seemed to slow down. It was so similar that she could swear that she felt the impact of the arrow in her stomach. Would the knife feel the same? She didn't find out.
Like last time, Cedar had saved her after, but today, he was a bit faster. He jumped between her and his mother. He moved so quickly that Lucille couldn't even see what he was doing. She only knew that Camille let go of her while letting out a shrill scream.
Cedar didn't waste a second and dove forward to wrap his arms around Lucille to shove her away from his mother. They stumbled forward a few steps before Cedar stopped and whirled around to push his lover behind him. He focused his attention on Camille again while shielding Lucille with his body.
The dowager empress was currently sitting on the floor and squirming around while pure pain seemed to be painted upon her features. Her left hand covered her right arm as she twitched a bit while letting out choked sobs. The most important thing was probably that her arm didn't look like it had the right angle anymore.
Lucille barely took that in before time finally seemed to move forward again. The other people woke up from their paralysis. The guards who had previously been a few steps away surrounded Camille while aiming their swords at her. Some even positioned themselves between the dowager empress and the couple to keep them apart.
But that didn't matter to Lucille. She only whipped her head around to look at her lover.
Cedar wasn't smiling. Instead, unveiled terror was showing on his face. He stared right at Lucille while his eyes darted across her whole body. “Are...you...hurt?” He sounded like he could barely speak, and his grip on her was less steady than normal. He was shaking.
Lucille quickly nodded. Nothing hurt, and the biggest problem was her heart beating so quickly that she thought she would die. But Cedar was much more important. “I'm fine. Are you alright?” She tried to look at him too, but she barely managed to catch a glimpse of more than his face.
Cedar refused to let go of her and held onto her arms as if he thought that she would slip away from his grasp. He still didn't seem to realize that the danger was over, and his tense posture proved that. He let his eyes wander over her torso again as if he wasn't relieved despite her being unharmed. He was still much too panicked. For a few seconds, he just looked at her while opening his mouth and closing it again. Then he glanced to the side, where his mother was still kneeling on the floor while letting out strained cries of pain. It seemed like that only scared him even more. He tightened his hold on his lover so that it almost hurt a bit. “I...didn't...mean to...” His voice was so weak that it hurt.
Lucille forgot all of her fear at that moment. She lifted her arms and threw them around him to pull him into a hug. “It's fine. We're both alright. Nothing happened.” It seemed like Camille was hurt, but Lucille couldn't care less. That was the dowager empress' own fault for attacking someone.
Cedar clung to her, and his embrace felt desperate, which only made her want to console him even more. He just held her close to him while he muttered something under his breath. “I didn't...want that. I only... She had a knife, and... I'm sorry. I shouldn't... Too slow, but she was...”
Lucille quickly put an arm around his head in an attempt to make him feel safer and whispered to him. “Cedar, I'm right here. Everything is fine. The guards will deal with this now.”
Her lover buried his face in her shoulder and still kept on saying the same thing. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do it. I'm sorry. Please don't...” He didn't finish that sentence, but she could imagine what it was about.
Lucille tried to tighten her hold as much as she could without hurting him. “Cedar, please listen to me. I'm right here. Everything is alright. She didn't hurt us. We're safe now. I love you.” Those words finally seemed to do the trick.
Cedar relaxed a little in her arms, but he still refused to let go. He was tense and wouldn't calm down completely any time soon. It didn't sound like he was crying though. He was just breathing in and out shakily while holding her.
Lucille stroked over his head while giving her best to soothe him. Maybe that would have worked better if Camille wasn't crying in the background. Lucille didn't want to pay any attention to that woman, but at one point, she needed to look.
Unfortunately, that also caused Cedar to lift his head. He still wasn't smiling, and his face just showed fear. Not the kind of fear that people that were in danger had. He didn't worry about himself. What he feared wasn't being hurt but being judged. He looked so uncertain and helpless that it almost made him seem like a completely different person. He was so shameful, even though he had done nothing wrong.
Lucille lifted her hand to cup his face and stroked over his cheek while looking up at him. “Cedar, look. I'm here. You saved my life. Again. I'm so glad that you are here. Focus on me, and don't think about anything else.” That was easier said than done. As soon as she said that, she heard noises that made it seem like they would have to look behind her.
The previous crying became a bit louder, and in between, something else mixed. It almost sounded like laughter. Was the dowager empress seriously laughing at the situation?
Lucille whipped her head around and glared at the other woman with more fury than she believed to have possessed.
The guards had already circled Camille completely. Apparently, no one had seen the need to take a look at her arm, or she hadn't let them close enough. Either way, she didn't make any attempts to stand up and attack again. Camille just sat on the floor and kept her eyes on the couple. A few seconds passed, and a mocking smile formed on Camille's lips. She looked like she was absolutely insane while holding her injured arm and grinning despite her pain. “Did...you see that? I'm the only person in this world he cares about. I'm the only one he loves. And yet, he had no issues hurting me like this. He will...do much worse to you. If he gets angry just once...you will regret being anywhere close to him.” Nonsense. She was twisting the facts and blaming someone for defending themselves.
Yet, it was enough to make Cedar tense more again. He probably did it unwillingly, but he dug his fingers into his lover's clothes while trying to keep her close to him. He was scared of Lucille being upset with him. He was really so scared of being judged that he thought that his lover might hate him because he had protected her. And that wasn't even the worst part.
Cedar wasn't scared because he had made assumptions himself. He was scared because Camille had taught him that he could lose her affection within a few seconds and that everyone around him would hate him.
Lucille had never felt as much resentment for Camille as at that second. Her voice was shaking, but she spoke to the woman she despised so much. “You... You're...” Maybe she understood where her father had gotten his confidence from now. If someone made her this angry, she had no issue yelling at them until they retreated. “You lying monster!” She surprised herself with how loud she could get. But in the end, that didn't stop her from yelling any more. “This is your fault! You attacked us! Even after everything you did to him, he still hates hurting you! And you force him to do that and then celebrate yourself? You are sick! Why don't you finally disappear and let everyone live their life without you?” She almost wanted to tell that woman to die too, but she held that back at the last moment.
Camille let out another shrill laugh. Her eyes showed nothing but pure madness while she grinned at them. “Maybe I'm a monster. But then my son...is too. Don't let him get too close to you, or he will mess you up. Maybe a few broken bones won't be enough when...he decides that hurting you is fun.” She let out a shaky breath and a half-loud sob before continuing. “You should run far away if you want to get out of this unharmed. Cedar was raised to...choose a goal before crushing it. He will become emperor...no matter how bloody it will be. And he takes joy in seeing you bleed. Just...ask the people that saw him as a child. A simple...trial will be enough to prove that he...is vile enough to harm his own mother just like this.”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Lucille was ready to yell at her again. This time, she would definitely have used quite a few insults, but she didn't have enough time.
One of the guards, who seemed to act as their leader, spoke before she could while he put away his sword. “Why would His Royal Highness be charged for defending Lady Valerian from your attack? There are enough witnesses that will attest to this. You were the one who came into the royal estate and suddenly drew a weapon. Your punishment will be rather harsh, but there will not be a charge against His Royal Highness. It would be best for us to remove you from this estate immediately, but for now, we will wait for His Majesty.”
Camille's face scrunched up when she heard that. It was unclear whether the pain made her do this or whether it was anger. But in any case, she suddenly raised her voice again. “You have no idea. Don't get involved, you useless scum. What kind of authority do you have? I'm the dowager empress. I-”
The guard cut her off. “You are currently the dowager empress, but if you keep this up, you will certainly lose that position soon. Attacking His Royal Highness and Lady Valerian justifies stripping of your position in the royal family. I may not have the authority to decide on the punishment, but I was instructed to keep you in check. My name is Noah Aldis, and I am Her Majesty's personal guard. Thus, I believe that I can predict what Her and His Majesty's decision will be in this matter.”
Camille gritted her teeth for a moment, but she ignored the other's words completely. She directed her attention at her son again and spoke up in that smug tone again. “Maybe looking at...my arm will help you.” She lifted her hand to reveal her wound. “See? How bad it is? That's all because of Cedar.”
Lucille refused to look. She just stared at the dowager empress' face while holding onto her lover. Thankfully, it seemed like she wouldn't need to respond.
Camille already continued without thinking about whether anyone even wanted to hear her voice. “Cedar, you did this, you know? So...you will have to help me now. Come here, Cedar.” She said that in such a cheerful tone that it made her seem even more like a maniac than before. She lifted her unhurt arm as if she reached for her son. It truly seemed like she was convinced that he would listen to her call.
Cedar tensed and slowly lifted his head. He probably fought the urge to look, but he didn't need to make this decision.
Footsteps sounded in the distance and came closer quickly. A few seconds later, a loud voice inquired the most important thing. “Cedar, Lucille. Are you alright?” Theodore arrived next to the couple and immediately scanned them from head to toe.
Lucille's lover still didn't respond and just clung to her, so she replied. “Yes, we are. We aren't injured. But...the dowager empress is.” She glanced at the woman on the floor.
Theodore followed her gaze, and fury overcame his features. He didn't show any pity even while staring straight at the odd angle at which the dowager empress' arm was now resting. “Don't worry. She deserves this and much worse.” He turned to the couple again. “What happened here?”
Apparently, Camille didn't notice that her opinion wasn't needed. She added her comment too, even though no one wanted to listen to her. She sounded so determined and satisfied that it was disgusting. “Cedar...broke my arm. As you can see, he isn't nearly as sane as you believe him to be. He just waits for the right moment, and then he will-”
Theodore cut her off without even looking toward her. “Any sane person would want to break your bones after needing to interact with you. I'm not talking to you though. Why would I ask the hysteric psychopath when I want to hear the truth?” He made eye contact with Lucille after seeing that his brother wouldn't speak. “What happened?”
This time, the dowager empress yelled even louder. “Didn't you hear? He suddenly lost his temper and just attacked me in the most-”
It took some effort, but thanks to the anger that was boiling inside Lucille, she managed to yell. “That's not true!” She refused to let anyone blame Cedar, so she pointed at the knife that was now lying on the floor in front of them. “She attacked me with that dagger, and Cedar protected me!” By now, tears were running down her face. She wasn't sad at all though. She was furious at Camille, who dared to act like she was the victim. If this caused any problems for Cedar, she would seriously start discussions with the emperor.
Thankfully, that wasn't necessary.
Theodore's voice was much softer when he spoke to the couple. “It's fine. I wouldn't be angry even if he had done it on purpose. That woman deserves much worse. After everything she did to him, he has every right to pay her back. Of course, I believe that this was self-defense though. Cedar wouldn't attack her without a reason.”
Cedar alternated between staring at his mother and meeting Theodore's gaze. He barely seemed to dare to look at his brother, but he was more scared of Lucille's eyes. He refused to gaze in her general direction despite holding onto her like she was his anchor.
Lucille already prepared to explain the full story to Theodore when the guard from before took over.
The man, who seemed to be Blanche's personal guard, said everything she had wanted to express. “All of us can confirm that it was indeed self-defense, Your Majesty. Her Majesty suddenly grabbed Lady Valerian's hair and pulled her close before aiming a dagger at her neck. His Royal Highness intervened to save Lady Valerian from getting seriously injured. The situation was unambiguous, so there is no doubt left.”
Theodore crossed his arms. “Of course. That was the only logical option. We will keep that as the official statement too. I want everyone to know that the dowager empress is insane enough to enter the royal estate before attacking the empress' lady-in-waiting. Prepare everything.”
Camille, unsurprisingly, didn't like hearing that. She yelled again. Her satisfaction was almost gone now and replaced with fury, but she still showed that deranged smile. “Go ahead! Tell them how insane their prince is! Do you think anyone will allow him to be part of noble society after that? Everyone will hate him. As always, he'll-” That hadn't been a good idea.
Theodore turned to Camille and gazed at her with so much resentment that she stopped herself. He didn't need to yell to be intimidating while he spoke. “Would you shut up? I can ask Leon to break your leg for real this time. Or the other arm too. Let's see if you are still as chatty then. You don't seem to understand what your position here is. You are merely a fool waiting for your demise, and everyone knows. When you attack someone and they defend themself, you will be labeled the insane one and not the other way around. Cedar's reputation will be flawless when you finally rot away in your grave.”
Every normal person would have begun sobbing when they were met with so much fury. But Camille actually had the nerve to speak up again. This time, she didn't look at Theodore though but right at Cedar. “You can't believe that. Don't you get it? Everyone saw! Everyone saw how cruel you are. Everyone saw that you broke your own mother's arm. Do you think that anyone here would still listen to you? They are going to stop pretending like they care for you. Then you will be all alone again, and you will only have me to turn to. Because I'm the only one in this whole world that would ever love a monster like you!” She said that with so much conviction that it hurt to hear.
Lucille felt even more anger bubbling up in her stomach, which broke out of her with a loud yell. “You are a liar! Don't talk to him like that!”
Camille gritted her teeth. “You damned brat! How dare you raise your voice at me? You don't know a thing. Cedar will never care for anyone else aside from me. He isn't capable of feeling affection for someone else. And no one in this whole wide world aside from me ever cared for him! If I am gone, he will be left all alone. You saw what he did, right? You will hate him now too. You will leave him behind and-” Even though she was crying too, she was much more scary than most others would be. But while she was sitting on the floor and holding her broken arm, she suddenly didn't look as dangerous anymore.
Lucille wasn't sure whether this was it or whether the sudden surge of pure hatred enabled her to do it, but she yelled back much louder than before. “Shut up! I love Cedar! More than anything else in this world! I won't leave him because he protected me from you. I won't ever leave him!”
Cedar was extremely quiet, so his lover was probably the only one who heard it, but he let out a much sharper breath as he buried his face in her hair. He was still shaking and held her as close as possible to avoid separation from her for even a moment.
Lucille slowly stroked over his back while bringing her mouth to his ear to whisper to him. “I won't let go of you. I'm right here. I love you.”
Cedar breathed out deeply, and once again, his voice shook a bit when he tried to speak. “I'm so...so lucky to have met you. I...” He needed to pause for a moment before he continued to whisper. “You saved me. I want to stay with you.” That was his way of saying that he loved her back.
Lucille felt how the tears in her eyes threatened to overwhelm her once again. She could barely bring herself to stay calm but did it anyway, just for her lover. She wanted to be strong for him because he needed to be vulnerable for once. So, she would do her best to keep him from getting scared. She gently stroked over his head.
Of course, Camille didn't like seeing that. She suddenly began yelling again. “What are you doing? Didn't you see what he did to me? He is a monster and will-”
Theodore cut her off exactly one second later. “As far as I can tell, there is only one monster here, and that is you. I've seen the worst Cedar can offer, and I know that he never had any of the vile intentions that you seem to harbor for everyone around you. He doesn't feel the need to crush other's happiness just because he is eaten up with hatred from the inside. He is nothing like you. If Cedar was cruel, as you call him, you wouldn't be able to talk to me anymore.”
Camille narrowed her eyes. “What are you-”
The emperor silenced her again and resumed immediately. “If you had aimed a dagger at Blanche and I had taken it away from you, I would have stabbed it into your throat. I would have done it in the most painful way imaginable before slowly letting you suffocate because the blood fills your mouth. You know that Cedar is able to do things like that too. He could have killed you within seconds. No one would have intervened or cared. But he didn't do that. Cedar also could have decided that your constant whining was enough for him and ensured that you will never speak again. He also didn't do that. You attacked them. He could have done whatever he wanted to keep you away. Why do you still believe that you have the right to complain about his actions?”
Camille gritted her teeth. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn't get the chance.
Theodore already turned to the guards. “Bring her to the worst cell we have. This time, I feel like she might need to spend a few weeks there. By the time she gets out, three days without food will be her smallest worry.”
The guards immediately obeyed, and that caused the dowager empress to protest again. “What? Are you blind, you stupid moron? Cedar broke my arm! I need the royal doctor to take a look at this! He has to help me, or it won't heal properly.”
Theodore gazed at her with indifference. “How is that our problem? Maybe one of your followers can bring you a doctor inside. I won't give up our precious royal doctor to take care of a mere criminal though. But you can rest assured. Even if your arm stays like that, you won't be bothered by it for long. You won't need to move any part of you for more than a few months anyway. Bring her away.” He lifted his head, and that was enough to make the knights move.
Camille wasn't satisfied with that solution though. Her voice was much shriller than before. “What are you saying? Are you threatening me? Everyone here will see that you are a tyrant now. Do you really think that you will get away with something like this? Don't touch me! Get your dirty hands off me! Don't you know that I'm the dowager empress? My power is-” She tried to slap the first knight that came closer to her, only for him to grab her injured arm for a moment. So, she ended her words with a loud cry that sounded like it was full of pain.
That didn't earn her any sympathy from anyone here. Merely Cedar flinched and pressed his face against his lover's shoulder.
Lucille patted him again while she tried to calm him down. She needed to ignore her anger and her bitterness upon knowing that a disgusting woman like that had raised the man she loved so much. Why had Camille needed to scar Cedar like this and still didn't see the need to stop? The dowager empress just kept on adding more pain to that wound. If that was the case, Lucille had to be extra gentle to make up for it. “It's alright, Cedar. We are perfectly fine. We will go now and sit down a bit. I'm right here with you.”
Cedar didn't respond. But he pressed a small kiss onto her forehead, and that told her enough.