Ch. 14 - Hand in Hand

The castle halls were pitch black, but Naomi marched forward with little to no hesitation.

"Princess, the night is long. There is no need to rush." Naomi's butler, Oliver, tailed Naomi closely. His gaze stayed on his own two feet as he tried to keep up with her. Damien followed behind Oliver. He stayed silent this time, but his gaze never left Naomi.

Naomi only allowed herself to watch Damien through her peripherals. He was a distraction, to say the least. Damien could probably convince her to stop at any given moment, and she'd stop without a doubt. But at the same time this battle was something she wasn't willing to lose.

The only source of light they had was from the small dinky lamp Oliver held up in between them. Any normal passerby would get lost walking through these halls, but, to Naomi, navigating through them was second nature.

It was home to her after all.

"Princess, would you like me to prepare a room for you and your friend. Besides, her majesty is already asleep. It wouldn't make much difference to wait for daybreak." Oliver spoke again.

Naomi huffed out and walked faster. She was unsure what she was angry at, or why she was angry in the first place, but she's had enough, at least for the night.

She just wanted to see her grandmother.

Naomi looked back, and both Oliver and Damien were already a distance away. She'd completely been walking in the dark already, and it was clear the two struggled to keep up.

She took a deep breath, and calmed herself.

"Oliver, I sent you a letter a few days ago. It was a request to have an audience with the Queen."

Oliver stopped midwalk, and pulled the lamp closer to him. Naomi walked further.

"We've received it, certainly. The letter's with us."

Naomi looked back, "You've received it and yet I got no response from you." When she'd completely left the light, she stopped as well, "and what is the situation with the Queen's refusal to receive an audience?"

Oliver walked a few steps toward her, just enough to get the light back on Naomi., "The Queen's been awfully busy Naomi. I don't know if she's told you, but our foreign affairs with Quince has been rough. You know better than anyone else that it's been weighing on her mind for over a year now."

Naomi sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She'd completely forgotten about it.

"So is that why she hasn't been receiving audiences? Since when? Is she in Quince right now?"

"No. As I've said. She's in the castle… resting."

"Huh?"

None of this situation made sense to Naomi. It only made the pit in her stomach worse.

The only reason the Queen would ever refuse an audience is if she was at least in another country, absent from the throne.

"Is she fine then? Resting in the castle?"

Oliver went silent, and as always he was transparent. It was clear something had happened.

"Oliver, can you please just tell me the truth?"

Oliver looked away and Naomi knew right away that he'd already lost this act he'd been trying to put up. Again, Oliver was never particularly talented at masking. He was honest to a fault.

A sense of doom took over Naomi. The only thing she could do was to take a deep breath, but it wasn't long until her feelings turned into anger.

"We will talk later."

She swung around and charged through the rest of the halls, all the way to the Queen's room.

Damien, who initially stayed by Oliver, ran up to Naomi, and decidedly kept up with her pace. It led both of them into the dark. There was nothing, but a mere trace of Oliver's light behind them. She knew these halls by heart though, and it was up to Damien to follow her.

Right at the very end of the corridors stood a green door, lined with gold, stamped by the royal seal.

Naomi paused to calm her heart before bracing herself to step forward, but that one step sent a sharp pang to her chest. It was the same pain she felt the first time she passed out in the castle.

Naomi fell on her knees before she could even perceive what was happening to her. This time, the burning consumed her.

"AGH!" She writhed in pain and fell onto her palms. Her surroundings blurred.

"Naomi!"

The only thing that cleared her mind was the crystalline voice that called out to her.

"Dam-Damien," she looked to her side and managed to clasp on to Damien's arms. In an instant the pain went away with a single touch.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Damien practically held her up, as Naomi threatened to faint at any moment.

"I don't know. I really don't." Naomi writhed with another sharp pang of pain in her chest.

Damien held her tighter, "Maybe, Oliver was right. You need to rest. You're still recovering, and this trip probably already took a toll on you."

"No. I won't sleep until I see her myself."

Naomi shrugged Damien off, and braced enough sense to keep upright. She looked back at the green doors, "There's something keeping me from entering or getting even near the queen. I don't know what it is, but it's there. Standing by the door."

She weakly pointed at nothing.

Damien looked at her in silence. Of course he'd be in disbelief, but Damien didn't say so.

Usually, he'd be more frank about these matters.

"You don't have to believe me." Naomi turned away from Damien.

"But I do."

Damien shifted to get back into Naomi's direct line of sight. He looked at her with full sincerity in his eyes.

"It's a crazy idea, but I think I know a way to get past it though." Naomi spoke lowly.

Damien's expression softened somehow, "You're worried about crazy ideas? In a situation as crazy as this?"

Naomi sighed. This normalcy between them wasn't so bad.

Naomi held her hand out, "May I hold your hand?"

"Pardon?"

"I said it was crazy. Now hold my hand." Damien wore his usual look again, and returned to his stiff deadpan. But with a bit of hesitance, he reached out and took Naomi's hand.

It wasn't the first time they held hands, but it was the first time Damien had ever felt warm to Naomi. Damien averted his eyes from her, but he held her firmly.

"Shall we?"