Princess Iris
CHAPTER 49

"I can't help but think about King Leonard. A lot seems to be happening this short time I came to Divimon. FLASHBACK

"My father did a lot of things to me while growing up. To protect myself, I locked my feelings inside. I keep them all in, that way no one gets to know me. That was one thing about you I admired. You said and expressed a lot. It made me feel intimidated and something else I didn't quite understand back then," King Leonard says.

"Something else?" I ask.

King Leonard looks down at me, he seems to be deciding if he should tell me or not.

"Well, it was something I didn't quite understand. I always felt that way when I see you even till now, I still feel that way and right now too," King Leonard says.

My heart starts to beat fast. I tighten my grip in his hand.

"Could it be... No it couldn't," I say to myself.

"What was the feeling?" I ask.

"Warmth. I always feel warm around you," King Leonard says.

REALITY

I take my hand to my chest. Each time I think about King Leonard my heart starts to feel warm. I have been feeling guilty about having such feelings for King Leonard and the past few weeks I have devoted my time to being with Prince Jeffery,

I have spent every day with him, maybe the warm feelings I have for King Leonard will go away. And yet somehow, I don't want the feeling to go away. It makes me feel safe and scared. I want to explore this more. I touch Ri's necklace. "What do you think Ri? Why am I confused? Also, what is this feeling? And why Leonard?" I say to myself.

I close my eyes breathing in, taking in the wind blowing my way. I smile at how nice the wind feels on my skin. I open my eyes and admire how the sun carcasses its light on the trees.

"I knew I will replace you here."

I turn and replace Prince Jeffery walking toward me.

"I am sorry. I know Frederick said I should go with Princess Catherine but I needed to be alone," I say.

"It's fine," Prince Jeffery says taking my hair behind my ears.

"So how was your discussion with Frederick? He seemed very keen on wanting to talk to you privately," I ask.

Prince Jeffery doesn't say anything. I turn to Prince Jeffery; he is looking up into the sky. He seems lost in thoughts. I observe him for a while.

"Did something happen between him and King Frederick?" I say to myself.

"Jeffery, are you alright?" I ask.

He turns to me, taking me in his arms. He brushes his hand on my face.

"It's almost time, let's go join Frederick in the sailor," Prince Jeffery says.

I nod at him as we head back into the castle.

After much back and front with King Frederick and Prince Jeffery, we agreed on the best route to execute the plans.

King Frederick leaves the sailor. I look at the map one last time. I look at the sea as warmth comes to my heart.

"I hope he is alright?" I say to myself.

"Don't worry everyone is ready, they know what to do," Prince Jeffery says.

"I know, I can't help but worry," I say.

Just then King Frederick enters back into the sailor.

"Alright, I just finished speaking with Duke Lukeman. He said everything is ready. All the farmers have been evacuated and the gate to the town is locked. The knights are in position as we speak," King Frederick says. "Phase one is complete, what is left is just us," I say.

"Your Majesty, you forgot your gloves on the table," Princess Catherine says entering the sailor with my glove in her hand.

"Oh thank you," I say taking the gloves from her.

I intentionally left the gloves back in my chamber because I hate them. They itch a lot.

"Bridgette asked me to give them to you," Princess Catherine says.

"My love, why don't you go check on Father and Mother. Iris and Jeffery will be leaving soon to see the people," King Frederick says.

"Of course," she says heading out of the sailor.

We wait until the door closes behind her to continue our discussion.

"Remember Jeffery no distractions or shortcuts. Follow the route I marked out for you on the map," King Leonard says.

"Relax Leonard we are going to be fine," Prince Jeffery says.

"This is why I wanted to come along but you refused, with the pirates coming here to start..."

"That is enough Frederick. I already said..."

I watch the two brothers argue among themselves but I can't blame them. The other night Duke Richard returned from spying on the pirates badly injured. I can still remember everything he said that night. FLASHBACK

"Relax Your Grace and tell us what you found out," I say.

I watch as he lets out a soft moan of pain as the physician gently dresses his wounds.

"They are after you, Your Majesty. They found out you are the one leading the troops. They plan to invade us in three days. Their objective is to kill you on sight," Duke Richard says.

"How many fleets of ships are we expecting?" King Leonard asks.

"About fifty," Duke Richard says.

"We need to send a message to the Kingdom of Cerphila. Williams needs to know what is going on," Prince Jeffery says.

"That is not all Your Majesties," Duke Richard says trying to seat up. "They know about the contingency plans and they know you are here in Divimon."

"What! But how?" I ask.

“I believe we have a spy in the castle. When I found out they knew about you, I knew my stay was compromised and I had to leave there immediately. I was ambushed on my way out but I was able to make it out alive, someone knew about my escape route and had my ship blown up," Duke Richard.

The silence in the room can be felt as the wind blows into the room.

"If we have a spy in the castle then all my hard work has been for nothing," I say breaking the silence.

"All hope is lost," King Frederick says.

"What do I do?" I say.

"We continue as planned," Prince Jeffery says.

"What!?" King Leonard says.

"Hear me out Leonard, all they know about is our earliest plans, not the later plans. There is a chance they are not aware of Iris's plan to form The Anti-Pirate Allied Forces," Prince Jeffery says.

"We are not sure Jeffery. If they had a spy infiltrate our kingdom then we have to assume all our plans have been compromised," King Frederick says.

"No they are not and Jeffery is right. The decision to create The Anti-Pirate Allied Forces was a last-minute decision. Besides we weren't sure how other the kingdoms outside the Four Great Kingdoms were going the respond after the meeting we held. We all thought they will oppose it especially since the idea was coming from me," I say.

"They all thought it was a way for the Four Great Kingdoms to gain more power, especially Filamonda," Prince Jeffery says.

"So do we still have a plan?" King Frederick asks.

"Yes we do and besides the other kingdoms agreed to join the allied forces two weeks back and now that I think about it, I believe I have a new plan," I say.

"It's a good thing King Archer forced you to continue building the King's Room and no one knew about it yet," King Leonard says.

"I think I have a plan to expose who the spy is," Duke Richard says standing up.

"You need to rest Your Grace. You have done enough," I say.

"Please Your Majesty let me do this. I want to help you in whichever way I can. Filamonda is my kingdom too," Duke Richard says.

"If what you said about the spy is true, you will need to remain hidden. We can't risk anyone replaceing out you are alive," Prince Jeffery says.

"I just need someone you trust Your Majesty. I can stay hidden while the person helps me out," Duke Richard says.

"Alright then I will get you, someone," King Frederick says.

We leave Duke Richard in the care of the physician and head outside to the coaches.

"I have something to say," King Leonard says.

We all turn to him.

"What is it," King Frederick asks.

King Leonard runs his hand through his head and looks at me.

"Leonard?"

King Leonard looks at King Frederick and sighs.

"After all these are done and we all come out alive, I will be leaving Octavalia," King Leonard says.

My breath catches in my lungs.

"What?" Prince Jeffery asks.

"I have been thinking about it for a long time. There is so much I want to see and experience," King Leonard says.

"What of your kingdom, your throne, the crown?" King Frederick asks.

"Isabelle agreed to look after things while I am away. She has mother to turn to when she needs guidance," King Leonard says.

"I can't believe you are going to do this," Prince Jeffery says.

"I can't talk you out of this, can I?" King Frederick says walking to King Leonard as they both hug each other.

Prince Jeffery joins them. I didn't know I was holding back tears until King Leonard looks my way. I quickly turn around as the tears drop down my cheeks. I can't seem to stop the tears from flowing.

"What is wrong with me? Why am I crying?" I say to myself as I struggle to wipe tears from my eyes.

Just then I feel someone behind me. I quickly wipe my eyes and turn around. King Leonard is looking at me. We both stand there looking at each other.

"You know, you were always good at telling the worst jokes, even now, your jokes are still the worst," I say struggling not to cry.

King Leonard takes his hand to my face and cleans the tears that escapes.

"You listened to my jokes?" King Leonard asks.

"Yes, they always made Isabelle laugh no matter how bad they were," I say.

He smiles at me but doesn't say anything.

"I know you and I were not the best of friends growing up but since I became queen, I have gotten to know you much better and I was looking forward to knowing you better. It's sad that you have to go but I understand. While you away, I hope you do remember that you have people who care about you. So don't stay away too long Leonard," I say.

"I am sorry I won't be able to make it to you and Jeffery's wedding. I want you to know that I will always have you in my heart," King Leonard says.

I will the tears coming back. I quickly turn around and walk to the coach. The ride back to the Kingdom of Divimon was very quiet and it was a painful one.

I remember crying to bed that night. It was a lonely and painful night for me. But we had to start planning the strategy for the war as soon as possible. We decided to keep our plans and the war a secret from our parents. The fewer people that know about our plan, the more we can guarantee its success. This involved us having our meetings at odd hours and also speaking in codes to guarantee Duke Richard's safety.