Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 117: First Foe

Chapter 117: First Foe

King Calarian had spotted the both of them and lifted his glass in a toast. Atticus led Daphne to sit next to him, while he sat across King Calarian. He didn’t give a single hoot about Raxuvia’s weird sitting customs now. Prince Nathaniel could shove his gendered seating up his ass.

The very thought made him grin wider. Daphne gave him a curious look, but he merely introduced her to King Calarian, who greeted her with a pleased smile.

"Judging by how happy the both of you look, you must have taken my advice," King Calarian said to Atticus.

"Advice?" Daphne asked.

"It was good advice. Thank you," Atticus said. "But are you drinking when we have an archery event in an hour?"

Calarian laughed. "This tiny bit of wine is nothing to me. And what can I say? Seeing happy couples makes me want to indulge."

He turned to Daphne and whispered conspiratorially.

"Your husband is a bit thick-headed when it comes to love. If you want anything from him, make sure to ask!" He even finished his statement with a wink.

Daphne flushed. Did the king know about her desires?

Atticus cleared his throat loudly, looking grumpier than before. This man had a wife, so he should not be talking to other women at all!

"I’ll keep that in mind," Daphne said, and decided to help herself to the food as Calarian and Atticus discussed the event, uncaring of the heated glares she was receiving from the women’s table for daring to intrude into someplace not meant for her. But the ring on her finger continued to shine brilliantly, and Daphne felt less bothered by their animosity.

Breakfast ended, and once again the men and women were separated. Daphne bid Atticus a cheerful goodbye, wishing him good luck, as he and the other men readied themselves for the event.

Atticus was less than happy. He gave her a worried look, his eyes darting to the horde of angry women. "Are you sure you’ll be alright?"

"I’ll be fine," Daphne reassured him, and in a fit of bravery that surprised herself, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Go on and win. I’m rooting for you."

A boyish grin took over Atticus’s face, and he gave her a playful salute before turning away. Daphne made her way back to the women, only to find that they had taken all the comfortable chairs, leaving her a wooden one that had clearly seen better days.

At least there was a chair. Daphne could only scoff internally at their immaturity as she sat down. She had been kidnapped twice; an uncomfortable chair was no hardship.

She hoped that she would be left alone, but that hope was quickly dashed when a familiar tuft of blue hair caught her attention. Daphne internally groaned— it had been a while since she had last seen the princess of Nedour and Daphne had honestly forgotten about her with bigger fish to fry now.

Yet, like a pestering ghoul that was attached to her, it seemed like Princess Cordelia wouldn’t leave her alone.

"Seriously?" Cordelia scoffed the second she saw the last seat that was available at the setting. It was a matching wooden chair right next to Daphne, separated only by a wobbly wooden table that was as worn as the chairs it came with. "Isn’t this a palace? How can they offer such broken furniture for their guests?"

Her eyes then landed on her seating companion, turning her scowl even deeper than it had originally been.

"The cherry on top," she murmured under her breath in distaste.

"Princess Cordelia," Daphne greeted fairly. She kept her face impassive even though she had already run a couple hundreds of knives through Cordelia’s back in her mind. "What a surprise. I didn’t think you would be joining us."

"Geography is obviously not your strong suit, Queen Daphne," Cordelia said through gritted teeth. She gracefully sat down — albeit after glaring hard at the furniture for a couple more seconds — hiking one leg over the other. "Nedour is separated from the mainland by the vast seas. It’s only natural the journey will take a couple of days more for us than for you."

"Naturally," Daphne said, not wanting to give her too much attention.

They were then plunged into silence. It didn’t last for long though, since the sun was sweltering and the ring on Daphne’s finger soon caught the glare of the sun rays. With its shine, it nearly blinded Cordelia!

"Will you put that hand away?" She frowned, gesturing to Daphne’s finger when the latter looked up in confusion.

"What, this?" Daphne asked, raising her hand.

The stones shimmered brilliantly, a truly glorious sight to see. If only it had been anywhere else than on Daphne’s finger. Cordelia might’ve appreciated it more that way.

Yet, the pretty accessory was more than just that. When Daphne raised her hand, it gave Cordelia better access to take a closer look. Her eyes widened and for a moment, she had completely forgotten about all the royal etiquette that had been ingrained in her bones ever since she had been born.

She reached forward, suddenly grabbing Daphne’s hand, causing the latter to jolt up in surprise.

"Is that... You uncultured swine, do you even know what you’re wearing? How did you get that?!"

"Why can’t I wear it?" Daphne scoffed, yanking her hand free from Cordelia’s metal grip. "My husband gave it to me."

"King Atticus gave it to you?" Cordelia echoed, her eyes large and round with surprise. She slumped back in her seat in defeat and started to softly chuckle to herself in an almost deranged manner.

Daphne quirked an eyebrow. "What’s gotten into you?"

"That’s the Symphony of a New Dawn..." Cordelia murmured under her breath as if she was caught in a trance. "The symbol of ultimate power and love... One of the first items that was used to harness magic..."

"And?" Daphne asked. She recalled the descriptions the auctioneer had given of the ring when it was sold there a couple of weeks back. "I don’t see how my wedding ring would be of any importance to you."

"You really don’t get it, don’t you? What a waste," Cordelia shook her head. "If King Atticus gave that to you, it means―"

Her sentence was abruptly cut off by a familiar sickly sweet voice, drawing both their attention to the new speaker.

"Good morning, Sister!"

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