The Kings Mistress Chapter 191

[ … words ]

Sierra left her bed and walked out into the balcony. The chilly night air caused her to shudder a little. Looking down at the dimly lit gardens in the distance, Sierra decided to take Opal on her suggestion.

She changed out of her nightwear and into her casual wear before heading out, with her swords on her belt. Some of the flowers in the garden were in bloom. A sweet scent accompanied Sierra as she walked leisurely amongst the greenery.

It was all quiet at first until she sensed a presence in the distance. Instinctively, she made her way towards it.

A loud gasp rang out from the figure who was just a short distance away from her.

“Lady Tessi?” Sierra gasped as she squinted her eyes to take a closer look at the person who was seated in the candlelit gazebo.

The elderly woman sat on a round sofa on one side of the gazebo. She had a book in her hand, and a small lit lamp on the table next to a pot of tea.

“You scared me, Sierra,” Lady Tessi said as she shifted in her seat.

Sierra bowed as she placed her hand across her chest, “My apologies.”

As she straightened herself, she walked up the steps of the gazebo.

“May I?” She asked politely, gesturing to the seat across from her.

“You don’t need permission from me,” the elderly woman mused.

Sierra chuckled, “Like I said earlier, the appointment can wait. Right now, I’m still just a knightess who happened to be the adopted daughter of a Lord.”

She never had an official title appointed to her. Sierra simply had no need for it. As such, she never asked for one. Her rank was the lowest out of everyone in the family. Needless to say, that remained one of the grievances some family members had with her.

Sierra leaned back into the seat as she glanced out of the gazebo, looking up at the night sky. The stars twinkled and sparkled above them, accompanied by the crescent-shaped moon.

It was so quiet, she could hear the crickets chirping in the distance, the shallow breathing of the both of them.

“Can’t sleep?” Sierra whispered, almost instantly regretting breaking the silence as she did.

“Insomnia, the curse of the old,” Lady Tessi replied with her eyes still glued to her book.

Both women enjoyed a few moments of silence. It never really felt awkward between them per say, but it felt as if there was an air of tension between them. Each of them had questions and things they wanted to say.

Yet they were holding back too.

Finally, it was Lady Tessi who spoke first.

“This King… does he treat you well?”

“He does.”

“I’m sure you realize just how stunned we were to find out what he did for you.”

Sierra chuckled, “A lot of people were. You’re not the only ones.”

“It takes courage to do something like that.”

“It’s the kind of thing he does,” Sierra shrugged.

“I’m glad you found a good match. Such things are hard to come by,” Lady Tessi sighed, “Did Leon ever tell you about his sweetheart?”

Sierra had seen a small portrait of a young woman in her father’s possession before. It was an old one, but it was kept in pristine condition. She had never dared ask him about it, and he never told her of it.

Over the years, she heard very little of what had happened but just enough to piece together what happened. She shook her head in response to her question, hoping to find out more.

It all happened way before Sierra came along. Leon was in his youth when he found his sweetheart. A girl who did not come from much. Needless to say, his parents did not approve of them being together and did what they could to separate them.

But for Leon, the young woman joined the army and they fought side by side. Eventually, she gained as much notoriety as a female warrior as he did. The bond they shared was strong.

Sierra was stunned to hear all of it. She had never heard any of this before.

“What happened to her?”

“She died saving him,” Lady Tessi sighed, “With her, their child was gone too.”

“She was pregnant at the time?”

“She was. She didn’t know, it was too early to tell but it was revealed in the autopsy. It broke my brother. That’s one of the reasons why he never married another, even when father forced him, he stood his ground.”

Sierra remained silent, reviewing the information she had just learned. Things from her past began to make a little more sense. General Leon had always been very protective of her, especially when she was young.

There were times from year to year, he would take time off to spend alone. He never revealed where he went and she didn’t feel like it was her place to ask.

“That would explain why he took me in,” she realized.

He took her in as a surrogate daughter. Like the one he never had.

“Oh no, he didn’t see you that way. Well… not at the start,” Lady Tessi corrected her.

Sierra was confused, “How do you know?”

“Because he told me himself. When you came up to him and asked to join the army, he was stunned. It had been so long since he had last seen such strength, such resilience. He knew you were special, and it seemed like he was not wrong.”

“What was her name? The woman he loved?”

“Amara Winters, if I did not recall wrongly. Don’t bring her up though, he would get mad if he knew I told you this.”

“Why?” Sierra could not see why he would be mad.

Lady Tessi revealed the truth. He didn’t want Sierra to know, not because they weren’t close. But because he didn’t want Sierra to think she was a replacement for the family he had lost.