章 37: Wedding ring
Cassian's POV:
A few hours earlier, Cassian sat in his study and contemplated on the letter he received and response he should send.
Stopping the trades with Galbore seemed like an obvious choice when Isabelle returned harmed, since, after all, it was the Queen of Galbore that hurt the Princess of Ariadna. That's what the law and policies would dictate. But King Edgar's letter brought more issues I got he light. If he were to persevere with the ban of trades, the people of Galbore will be badly affected. The poor will die, the middle class will become poor. Only the rich will make it. He took his wedding band off and twirled it between his fingers, trying to work out what Isabelle would do. He knew that she cared deeply about the people of her country. She said that she cared about them as much as people of Ariadna, so that must've been a lot since she encouraged rationing of the castle's consumption to aid the poorest. She would have done the same for Galborians.
He didn't know any more how to punish the people who hurt her without it having an effect on her beloved kingdom.
He looked carefully at his wedding band. It was simple but yet it had a beautiful engraving on the inside :'Semper Fidelis'
Ever since he got it, he wondered who was behind the inscription. Definitely not king Edgar, and as he thought that he scoffed.
'Always faithful.' There was no doubt that he will be but in this case he wondered whether he should be more faithful to his wife or her kingdom as both seemed like a betrayal. He started to write a draft of the letter as a response, carefully placing the words on a paper when the door was opened by a guard who let a castle worker in.
"Your highness, I'm so sorry for the interruption." The man before him spoke quickly, panting from a run. He recognised him as a man that often lights up fires in his chamber in the evening, or brings extra logs into his study.
"What's the matter?" Cassian straightened out in his chair.
"Your highness, there's a fire in the city. It's spreading rapidly. The men in the city struggled to contain it."
Cassian looked at the man blankly until the words sunk in. He hurriedly started clipping his sword to his belt and swapped his shoes for boots.
"CASSIAN!" Samuel run into the study a moment after Rupert. His cheeks were flushed and eyes wide open in terror.
"I know. There's a fire." Cassian said as he was pulling up his black heavy boots.
"What?" Samuel looked surprised. "No." He shook his head. His response surprised Cassian. What else could have happened to be of this emergency?
"No?" Cassian looked at him.
"Isabelle… on a horse… out… towards the city…" Samuel stuttered as he was still panting.
Rupert went paler as Cassian looked at him.
"Did you tell anyone else about the fire?" Cassian asked through gritted teeth. The thought of Isabelle getting harmed popped into his head and he couldn't bare it.
"Her highness." Rupert whimpered.
"Samuel, gather the knights and any other servants and guards. Get everyone into the city. I will go ahead." Cassian run out of the room, and hasn't stopped running until he was on his horse, galloping towards the city. The wind tried to break into his clothes and tore at him violently but yet, he tried to go faster. He felt the wind wrestle with his hair and his shirt.
His heart was pounding. He considered every possible scenario. Isabelle falling off the horse or burning in the flames or suffocating in the thick smoke of the fire. He couldn't stand the thought of her getting harmed.
He followed the streak of smoke that carried through the sky and as he neared the market he noticed the horse, Midnight, he has purposely kept for Isabelle.
The horse had no equipment and he wouldn't think much of it if it didn't have beads in its mane like all the royal horses did. It was their distinctive mark. His anger flowed through him. How could Isabelle be so careless to ride bareback on Midnight?! She could've fallen off the horse and die! Cassian knew well the pain of broken ribs from his own fall, which still hurt him and were still healing.
Cassian jumped off his horse and rushed towards the people who were organised in two parallel lines, one line passing filled buckets and another empty. Two men were filling the buckets up at the well. Others rushed towards the houses and helped anyone out to the safe distance.
But in all of this, he couldn't see Isabelle. He wanted to scream for her. He needed to know that she was still alive.
"Your highness!" The person in the line bowed at him and the rest followed the suit.
"Where is the woman that rode on that horse?" Cassian asked without a single pleasantry.
"She's been helping organise us and now she's evacuating the buildings." The man answered whilst pointing at the adjacent building to the one burning violently. Cassian sprinted towards where the man pointed. He could see the smoke escape through the cracks and flames through the windows.
As he reached the building, Isabelle fell through the door, holding an elderly woman by her arm. She had her mouth covered with a cloth but even then she was coughing. The ash darkened her skin and hair. Her dress was almost completely black and ripped into shreds, revealing her scratched arms and legs. It was clear that her dress caught fire but didn't burn past the hem. Cassian's heart ached at her state. She was alive but she wasn't fine. The scratches were red and her cough could turn into something worse. She might have inhaled too much smoke already.
Isabelle led the woman safely away from the fire before raising her voice towards the men. "Close the windows if you can! It'll slow down the flames!"
She didn't notice him. Cassian followed her, trying his hardest to not lose his cool, but that was fruitless.
"Are you harmed?" Isabelle spoke gently to the elder who shook her head in response. "Get plenty of water to drink and rest as soon as you can."
How could she care so much for others yet not care about herself?
Cassian was on the verge of rage. As Isabelle turned around and straightened out she bumped straight into his chest. Her eyes net his. They were dulled and reddened by smoke which clearly irritated them. "Your highness…?" She squeaked.
Cassian looked at her to try to analyse the extend of damage she had. He tried to work out if there were any burns beneath the ash and dirt. Isabelle looked to the side as Samuel arrived but he didn't. He needed to know how hurt she was first. He grabbed her by her arm to have her stay still. She looked back at him l, her eyes welling up.
"Go home now." Cassian said. "Now." He repeated. He couldn't risk any more harm to germ. "Samuel, give her your horse." He ordered as he looked over at his royal advisor. His horse was most equipped and probably the most tame. Isabelle was least likely to get hurt on it.
As Samuel passed him reins. His worry that isabelle might fall off the horse whilst unaccompanied was still there so he called "Adam." One of the guards, deciding that it was better that isabelle was supervised. "Take her highness straight back to the castle and ensure that she doesn't go anywhere outside of my study." Cassian decided. He needed to make sure that she was fine when he gets back. She didn't seem hurt enough to warrant the physician. At least not yet. It depended if her cough was going to ease.
He let go off her arm and turned around rushing to help the men.
As soon as Isabelle was gone out of his sight, he ensured that evacuation was complete and then swapped men at the front line with himself and his trusted knights, throwing bucketfuls of water at the fire. It slowly died out after all the windows were closed. Isabelle was right with her commands.
After hours of fight, as the afternoon set, the fire was all gone and they've started clearing out the buildings. He looked at the damage and he knew it wouldn't take more than a week or two for all of the repairs with the help from his men.
"Thank you, your highness." People of Ariadna thanked him profusely at the end. He didn't need their thanks.
"We will have this all repaired in due course. We will return in the morning. Until then, please house the neighbours who lost the roof over their heads. Anyone hosting the family will get additional rations over the period." Cassian said quickly as he was in a rush to return to the castle.
He was the first one back, and as he was rushing through the corridors, Annette caught up with him. He didn't want her there right now so he just ignored her.
"Are you alright? What has happened?" Annette grumbled. "Did her highness lose her mind?" She continued.
Her words only added to the fire raging through Cassian.
He stormed into the study, finding Isabelle stood to the side. Her eyes had tears in them. And he lost it. What she did could've costed her life!
"What were you thinking?!"
"I-…" Isabelle.
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!!! YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER DONE THIS!!! NEVER!" Cassian roared so loudly that the glass panes in windows might've shaken. All of his worry somehow turned into pure rage.
"I'm sorry." Isabelle looked down.
"This was a stupid thing to do! You should have never mounted the horse without a saddle or reins! You should have never rushed into the fire!" Cassian took a step toward Isabelle at which Isabelle panicked and dropped to her knees.
"I'm sorry, your highness."
Cassian froze. Weeks of progress gone within seconds. She didn't use his name. He wasn't even sure when was the last time she called him 'Cassian'.
He tried to calm himself. He took his sword off his belt at which Isabelle curled into the ball and covered her head with her arms defensively.
It frightened Cassian to see what she thought of him. It bothered him that she thought that HE will ever harm her: "Go to your chamber." He ordered so that he didn't stress her out more. Isabelle nodded and run out of the study. She stopped just outside of the door, taking deep breaths to calm her heart beat.
Cassian looked at the closed door behind her, his heart shattering once again.
"This is outrageous!" Annette spoke for the first time since they entered the study, reminding him of her presence. "She should have never done that!"
"Exactly." Cassian agreed although he wasn't really sure whether he wanted to entertain that conversation. Perhaps it was good to hear some validation from someone.
"This is inappropriate of a princess."
"I know." Of course it was inappropriate of a princess, he thought. She could've died!
"She embarrassed herself, and you!"
"What?" Cassian stopped and turned to look at Annette. He furrowed his brows. Embarrassment was the least of his concerns. He didn't care what people thought.
"You must be furious with her acting so recklessly and tainting your name. It is so inappropriate of a princess to act so…"
"I am furious because she might have got herself hurt." Cassian interrupted Annette and corrected her. "That is all I care about. She could've fallen off the horse. She could've burnt herself. She could've inhaled too much smoke." He felt hopeless.
"Of course, that is a huge concern." Annette shook her head in disapproval. But her face changed as she saw the Cassian's raw emotions.
"Take a day off tomorrow. She will need a rest from today's events."
"Are you certain? Your father is due soon."
"I am certain." Cassian nodded. "Now, May I have some quiet?"
"Of course." Annette agreed and left him alone.
He looked down at the letter he was writing and his never ending conundrum.
If Isabelle cared for her people as much as people of Ariadna, she would risk her own life for them. This was an undeniable truth.
After careful consideration, he decided to limit the trade to possible minimum to keep the people from starving, stopping the trade of any luxurious items. It seemed fair to him, or at least fair enough.
Maybe this point should have been when he realised his wedding band was missing but he was too distracted to realise.
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