The White Wolf Chapter 123: Gardens and Architecture

There was no use in prolonging the inevitable as Caspian slipped away to attend to his duties, Alexia faced the prince. “We shall follow me.”

She held her head high as she prepared herself for this new challenge.

Not waiting for a reply she exited the dining hall not sparing her followers a glance.

The palace was fully awake as they traversed the halls. The silence in the group was astounding as none would utter a word as they made their way.

The glass doors came into view as the sun's rays shone through.

The doors were opened as the queen led her party out to the gardens. Enzo, Alpha Jacob, Prince Dristan, Greyson, and Harley all followed her outdoors.

The birds chirped in the crisp morning air singing their good mornings. A servant brought the queen a wrap from her wardrobe to wear as it was chilly.

Graciously, she accepted the garment as the servant bowed and left to attend to their duties.

The outdoors sent her wolf senses into overdrive as every smell reached her nostrils and every sound reached her ears. She took a moment to pause and survey the grounds. Always on alert for any possible attack.

On the trees, green buds appeared as they began to show their leaves. She pointed out the different plants to the Prince as they passed them who seemed interested.

“My apologies Prince Dristan but as Spring has not fully commmenced, the gardens are still bare.” She said as she looked at the roses that had not bloomed yet.

“They are still lovely to behold.” He smiled at her.

Alpha Jacob seemed to monopolize the prince, constantly asking him questions to divert his attention from his daughter.

Dristan was wise enough to not show any annoyance to the alpha and answered his questions as his eyes darted to Alexia’s figure.

Walking along the path, she pointed out different plants but Dristan did not seem to care. Enzo kept a close watch on the queen and Greyson kept a close watch on him.

Harley made sure to note any idea or thought Alexia had. Which trees needed to be pruned and what flowers should be planted?

Alexia enjoyed the gardens near the kitchens. They were beautiful and comprised of plants that were either edible or had medicinal uses.

Her time in the library had introduced her to books on herbs and plants. The section of the garden was small but she had plans to expand.

As she stood there making notes to Harley, her thoughts drifted to the orphanage. She would look into planting a garden for the children to use and learn from. Satisfied after she awed her work, she moved on to the various marble statues that were around the gardens with some being several decades old.

Statues dedicated to the goddess, monarchs, and heroes in the sunlight seemed to showcase the art.

She had only lived in the palace a short time but had done her best to study its history. As they stood back a ways she was able to also give the prince a brief lesson on its construction and which wings had been added on as the original building was centuries old. The time of the white wolves but she kept that to herself.

As they walked she could see different guards stationed along their route but she wondered how many were not visible to her eye.

They had stopped in front of the roses as they always brought pleasant memories to her mind.

“Forgive me, but is it true that roses are a personal favorite of Your Majesty?” Dristan interrupted Alpha Jacob as he told a story of some alpha he had known.

“They are.” Her thoughts drifted to the roses Caspian had left her. She missed but her brow furrowed as she remembered he did not do that as he used to.

“How fitting, a beautiful flower for a beautiful queen.”

She smiled at his compliment but wanted to change the subject soon for fear her mate would not be as pleased with the comparison.

“Prince Dristan, where is your beta? I have not seen him today.” Alexia inquired as she looked around the gardens. The beta was usually near the prince making it odd that he not be present but the gamma was.

“Oh he had to take some time to heal, he will be good as new soon.” Dristan picked a leaf from a bush before flicking it into the air.

“Do tell, heal from what?” She had not heard of anything happening so she was alarmed. Did he slip in the bath?

He looked puzzled by her question “From his sparing this morning?”

“Oh, he must be quite the fearsome fighter.”

Dristan laughed “I believe the fearsome fighter one is your gamma as he landed the blows.”

“My gamma?” She quirked an eyebrow shooting a look to Enzo who seemed to be looking anywhere but at her.

“Were you unaware they had sparred this morning?”

Not knowing her annoyed. “It appears I was.” But then she realized she could embarrass the Prince. “I do hope Beta Ruhn was not injured badly, dear Enzo can forget to hold back his strength.” She said in the most concerned voice she could muster.

“I am sure Ruhn is fine and that he is just using this as an excuse for a break.” Dristan backpedaled not wanting to seem weak.

They continued on their tour of the grounds as Alexia spoke on the architecture but no one seemed to really be listening. They had traveled every path in the garden and then ended up on the patio where luncheon was being set up for later that day. As it was still too early.

Her father came to stand by her as Prince Dristan stepped away to speak with his gamma. “Are you enjoying yourself?” she smiled to her father.

“I always enjoy my time with my children.” His voice was comforting to her in a way only a father could manage immediately making her feel safe.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Taking up the prince’s time.”

“Anything for my darling daughter.” He said as he kissed the top of my head. “But I will say the boy is quite dull.”

“Shhhh” she frantically tried to get him to lower his voice. From the bite she heard of their conversations, it was boring as even though the prince was confident he could not quite back it up.

Jacob laughed. “I am not afraid of that child, I’ll fight him and his father too.”

Enzo could not hold back a laugh as his eyes filled with genuine amusement.

“Goddess can we please avoid political disasters for the rest of the day.” Alexia prayed as the males laughed.

“I shall do my best.” Her father promised.

It seemed whatever Dristan and Greyson had been discussing concluded as they walked back over.

“I hope everything is alright?” She said with slight interest.

“Everything is perfect, your grace. Perfect as your gardens were.” Dristan replied smoothly. While he was not the best or brightest he was still well trained in the art of court. A skill she could not look past.

Alexia began looking for a polite dismissal of the prince. She was ready for the tour to end and Caspian even more so than her.

“I hear you have wonderful works of art on display, your grace. If it’s possible I would love to see them.” He beamed as he looked at her expectantly.

Looking at the time, they were still a long way from luncheon. “Very well, I suppose so.”

It had been some time since she visited the gallery so one look at the secretary sent Harley into motion. Quickly she began sending the servants into motion as she went ahead to prepare the room.

Alexia began leading them to the gallery as they met Cynthia in the hallway. They almost ran into her as her footsteps were so quiet.

She was stunned as she rounded the corner looking at the group with wide eyes. If Alexia had been another queen she might have scolded her or been insulted but instead, she was curious about this female. Something about her perked her interest more than a hundred Bridgetts. She wasn’t the only one interested in her either.

“Cynthia, where are you off to?” Dristan asked as the entourage stopped to greet her.

“The gardens your grace.” She replied before turning to bow to the queen. “Your Majesty.”

“Won’t you join us?” Alexia asked “We are on our way to the gallery.”

“If it pleases your grace.” She responded politely.

“Then it’s settled.” Without warning Alexia wrapped her arm with Cythnia’s and pulled her along startling the female. “I’ve been surrounded by males all morning and this group could use some estrogen.”

She chuckled nervously but Alexia did not miss how Enzo’s eyes tracked her every move.

There was something between the two, that was obvious to the queen but she was not sure. Bored of court matters she hoped having the two next to her would help reveal the mystery that lay beneath the surface.