Aadi-16

'Whatever were you thinking?' the Queen asked, mortified.

'Good evening to you too.' He replied, void of enthusiasm. His head slumped forward in exhaustion, curls flopping onto his forehead as he raised his arms above his head for maids to take off his clothes, which they were very happy to do.

After a long ride back to the palace (full of uncomfortable silence and stony glares which were all on Aadi's part) he was facing his lecture for the night, as he expected. He didn't even have the energy to argue, Dahlia fanning the Queen who sat on Aadi's bed with a smug look, face pasty with dry tears.

As servants and maids rushed to get him warm and undo his clothing in his room, his mother droned on and on.

'Multiple parties were sent out to search for you, young man. We spent hours. That was so irresponsible, you could have gotten kidnapped, or hurt, or, even killed!' she started with a gesture of hands. 'If not for Dahlia, I don't know what would have happened to you!'