189 A Brave Move
Jayra smiled at them as she started, “I came from a poor background, without even so much as a family to call my own. Don’t tell Princess Xenia about it though. If she hears this from me, she’ll be bound to get mad. She hates it when I say that, and she’ll always tell me that she and her family are my true family now. Well, it was true, of course. The royal family treats me like one of their own, caring for me as if I was pretty much a member of the royal family.”
She continued at length. “You see, I was a baby when a royal guard found me outside the castle walls. He then took me to the chapel inside Ebodia castle where they took good care of me and gave me the shelter that I needed as a baby. Long story short, I’m basically an orphan who doesn’t know a thing about my origins.”
Pausing for a bit, she took a quick peek at her listeners, only to see that everyone was still closely listening to her. Letting out a sigh, she continued with her life’s story.
“Where was I… I grew up helping take care of the chapel. I mostly just run errands outside though, like going to the market and buying things for the elders,” she chuckled.
She then smiled as she reminisced, “Although, one day, while running an errand, I stopped by a particular stall because I saw a beautiful hairpin. I picked it up to have a better look, but the seller immediately thought that I was a thief trying to steal it.”
“How dare that seller!” Bella grunted in annoyance.
Jayra smiled, “To be fair, I looked like a beggar at the time. So I guess that justifies his accusations somewhat. Still, that was when I met Princess Xenia. She was just seven at the time, and I was lucky she was there.”
She chuckled at the fond memory, “I remember insisting that I wasn’t a thief, but the seller insisted that I was being suspicious. He even insisted that if I wasn’t a thief, then I should buy it since I already touched it with my dirty hands.”
“Those kinds of sellers should be hung upside down!” Bella snorted.
“Well, I didn’t have money at the time. So again, that justifies the seller’s accusations. Thanks for being worried about my past self though,” Jayra giggled.
“Anyway, he was about to hit me when Princess Xenia swooped in and stood up for me. She didn’t even care how dirty I was back then, or how she’d get hurt trying to defend me. Instead, she just hugged me and protected me with her body, shielding me from potentially getting hit.”
“Hmm, that’s a brave move…” Bartos commented with a nod.
“Indeed. Princess Xenia often acted on impulse back when she was a kid. Well, she still is even now that she’s grown up, really,” Jayra smiled.
“Fortunately, the Princess was with his brother, Prince Ezekiel, so she didn’t end up getting hit. After all, was said and done, the seller was punished accordingly to his acts. And ever since then, Princess Xenia would often check in on me in the chapel. She would always bug me to play with her, and we eventually became close friends after the fact…. More like sisters even.”
“I see,” Bella nodded in understanding. “It’s good that your paths crossed with one another then, Jayra.”
“I’d like to think that I’m more of an elder sister to Princess Xenia,” Jayra jokingly chuckled at herself.
“Anyway, when our King asked me to go with her to Cordon, I was really grateful to have even been offered the opportunity. I wanted to look after her like how she had protected me with all her might. In fact, even if the King didn’t ask me to go with her, I probably would’ve begged him to let me accompany Princess Xenia wherever she went.”
“Hmm, did you also run away with her then?” Bella curiously asked. “You know, back when she ran away from the Vampire King?”
“Well, I wanted to, but she tricked me into letting her go alone,” Jayra wistfully huffed. “And here I thought we were partners in crime about to go on a journey through the wilds. By the time I was ready, she had already left prior to the schedule we agreed to. Instead, she just left me a letter telling me to keep her parents and her siblings safe no matter what.”
“I see that you’re lucky to have come across a good family, Jayra, but we’re also your family now,” Livia warmly nodded at her. “And please be at ease around us. We don’t care about backgrounds. All we want is your loyalty to Bartos as his wife and mate. As long as my son is happy, then we will support him all the way.”
“Thank you, milady,” Jayra gratefully answered.
“Milady? Call her Mother from now on,” Bella scolded.
Hearing her Sister-in-law’s words, Jayra timidly turned back to Bartos’s mother, who only gave her a nod so she seemingly waited for her to say the word
“Mother,” Jayra nodded.
“How about me?” Chancellor Talon interrupted.
“Father,” she nodded in turn.
“How about me?” Bartos also asked.
All eyes turned to him in disbelief.
“Husband?” Jayra mumbled out.
Bartos roguishly smiled at her as he responded, “Yes, wife?”
“Urgh!” Bella groaned as she cringed and complained. “Stop that, you two! I’d prefer if we actually started eating breakfast now than to watch you two acting all sweet before us. Ughhh! It’s giving me goosebumps. I’m not used to seeing Brother acting like this. It looks creepy!”
Jayra chuckled. Before long, all of them started having their breakfast with a sprinkle of productive conversations here and there. After which, Bella accompanied Jayra to walk around outside the manor while they waited for Bartos to finish his work around the pack.
“Hmm, Sister-in-law, do you want me to have Princess Xenia’s back for you?” Bella suddenly asked as they were walking. The other woman was hugging her arm, and Jayra found herself loving how clingy she was being. She felt like she had gained another younger sister, and it was tugging at her heartstrings too much.
“You don’t have to do that, Bella,” Jayra reassured her. “I mean, you should focus on your goals first. You want to be Queen, right?”
Instead of immediately answering, Bella let out a long sigh before pulling jayra to sit with her on the nearby bench.
“Not really. I really just wanted to join to annoy and fight Clara,” Bella opened up. “I want to win against her, hoping that it would somehow wake her up from this obsession she has with our King.”
“You and Clara know each other well?”
“I guess you can say it like that,” Bella shrugged. “We’re good friends, and I honestly miss her. Unfortunately, she currently only has one person on her mind, and that’s King Darius.”
“Hmm… Are you sure about joining then, Bella? You already said it yourself that some would fight to the death like Pinra…” Jayra worriedly asked. “What if you have to face her instead of Clara?
“Well… Then I’ll just yield,” Bella answered with a chuckle. She then turned to Jayra and said, “You know what? I’ll help you. I know you want to know a few things about the other contenders, and I’ll assist you in getting them, Sister-in-law. I want to help Princess Xenia, now that I know that she’s a good person. Who knows? Maybe she’s really the one destined to be our Queen.”