It's yours

Milo smiled uncertainly at the question. Adopt? Goodness no! What in the world would his father think of that.
“Yes, I am afraid the lady is correct.” He said awkwardly, unsure what else to say. He had thought this was the right thing for him to do, but the further along the day went on, the more unsure he became of this decision. He was beginning to feel uncomfortably inadequate which was not a feeling he was used to. The disappointment in the woman’s face cut him deeply. But what else could he really even do?

As they went inside, his eyes became even bigger. It was somehow worse than the outside. A strange smell came from the walls it seemed, and light was peeking though cracks in the same walls. Milo was astonished as to how anyone could live there.

As the children gathered around Evie however, Milo did not see desperation and pain in their little eyes. Instead, he saw hope. A hope that Evie would bring about a brighter future. It made him swell with pride to see her like that. She would have made a fine queen, had it not been for the fact that Milo was already engaged. His smile faltered at the thought. It was selfish of him to want her for himself. How could he condemn her to a life as his mistress when was the finest woman he had ever met? No, he couldn’t do that to her… And yet, he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to possess her, fully and utterly.

His thoughts were interrupted when a little hand tugged on his fur.
“Excuse me sir, but I like your coat!” Smiled a little girl. She was brave to speak so directly to a prince, although of course she could not know he was a prince. So he smiled, bent down like Evie had and removed the fur from his shoulders to place them over the little girls.

“Then, it is yours” The girl looked at him, completely astonished and drowning in the lavish fur. She looked even smaller with it on. “What’s your name?” He continued as more children began to gather around him.

“Angela” Spoke the girl, her eyes big and excited. The other children were touching the fur over her shoulders and made little gasps and sounds of astonishment.

“Well, Angela. It is very nice to meet you” He smiled and then motioned to his guard to bring a bag of the sweets over to him. He took the bag and then looked around at the children.

“I hope you all like sweets?” He teased and the children began jumping with excitement they could no longer contain. “It is fresh from the castle!” He smiled as he began handing out the sweets.

Their giggles were interrupted when, seemingly out of nowhere, a servant boy approached the queen. To Andys astonishment, it was the king’s personal servant, the man who had been present for the hunt. She turned instantly to Penelope, eyes curious and questioning.

“What do you imagine he wants?” She whispered and let her eyes travel across the servants body. She could not avoid noticing how handsome he was.

“I don’t know? Perhaps the king is hurt?” Penelope suggested and panic struck Andy. If he was hurt or sick, she was doomed. Her whole future relied fully on the king still wanting her.

“Shh, let’s listen” Andy hushed her friend and they moved slightly closer as silence fell over the group.

Lexi looked at the servants hand. A letter with the king’s sigil. She knew what that must mean but she still furrowed her brow.

“Which of my ladies is receiving a letter from the king’s own hand?” She asked silently and met the servants eyes. They both knew of course, but Lexi was not one to jump to conclusions. If the answer to her question was as she believed it would be, all would be confirmed. It was no big secret that the king had taken a liking to Andy but until now, it had never been confirmed if she truly was his misses in everything as well as name.

Andy heard her name and let go of Penelopes arm to hurry over to the queens side.
“For me?” She said excitedly, even though she had already heard it was. She stretched her hand out to grab the letter, only to have it ripped out of the servants hands by the queen. As Andy met her mistress’ eyes, they seemed to have changed color.

“Why, pray tell, are you receiving letters from my husband?” She said, clearly upset. Andy blinked at her mistress before looking at the ground.

“I don’t know, your grace” A lie, of course. They all knew the truth. 

“Then you won’t mind my reading it before you do?” It wasn’t a question, not really.

“I do not believe that is what the king intended” Andy said quickly, reaching for the letter once more but the queen pulled it out of reach.

Without another word, the queen opened the letter, read it quickly as Andy anxiously waited, silently plotting her revenge for when she became queen. Lexi would pay for this.