Antia hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep sitting by her brothers bed until a maid gently woke her. “sorry Antia but you should really go rest in your bed. I’ll make sure to wake you if your brother needs you or anything changes” Antia touched her pained face, it hurt slightly from crying off and on once she had realized something was wrong. When her vision cleared she looked over at her brother and the maids voice filled her ears again “he’s been peaceful. I was debating if I should wake you or not. Since the king would normally carry you to bed instead of allowing you to sleep in a random spot I decided I should. You’ll rest much better in your bed”
Antia stood and whispered “thank you, I think I’ll go soak and let go of some of this unease”
“Could I get you anything?”
“No, you should rest too.” Antia walked over to her brother, kissed his head then went to the room she shared with her husband. It was weird to be home without him, he never left her but it had been a peaceful first two years. Antia walked into the bathroom and ran a hot bath, trying to keep her emotions even so she wouldn’t make things harder on her husband.
Once it was ready she slipped in, sliding all the way under the water. She stayed under as long as she could before coming up and relaxing against the back of their tub. Antia went back and forth between being under and taking a breather until the water grew too cold. She wrapped a towel around her and smiled when she entered her room to see the same maid had made her tea and a snack “this is the opposite of resting. I’m alright”
“I have brothers myself as you know. It mangles my heart just to think of being in your shoes.”
“I’m not used to being alone like this anymore. Would you atleast enjoy it with me?” The maid smiled “Of course Antia” Soon they were both in the bed, talking, drinking tea and eating together. Almost randomly Antia said softly “do you think this means the people are unhappy with me as queen?”
“If it is it;s a small ridiculous group. This marriage brought peace and Andrej is a better king for having you. It could also be other things Antia. Regardless, this was a marriage by arrangement an incredibly short time. He fell in love with you practically right when you arrived here. Whomever the demons are that did this are incredibly stupid or have forgotten what a ferocious line of demons your husband comes from. He’s kind but hurting you is about the dumbest thing anybody could do in this kingdom”
“my brother thinks they were specifically after Percival”
“see, its not you then. They’d just want to hurt both of them if this was done to send a message you weren’t welcome here. Maybe its an idiot who wants money and thinks Andrej would pay a ransom”
“he wouldn’t pay to get my brother back?” A little concern filled Antia again. “He’ll bring your brother back. Just not that way. Like I said, we’ve all seen how much you mean to our king. They will be getting nothing but misery from him for making you so upset”
“I think he’ll be able to keep himself in check about this. He feels so even right now” The maid laughed “Antia he’s a demon and a skilled one. If you’re feeling evenness from him he’s just controlling how you perceive his emotions. I understand how elf marriage works but he’s a skilled demon. I know he doesn’t want to worry you more” She had never thought about that. “I hope he’s okay” Antia said softly “He’ll be fine and your brothers will be fine. You should get more rest”
“thank you for sitting with me like this”
“I can come in here every night if you’d like me to Antia”
“You’re so sweet, thank you”