Chapter 207

Chapter 207 A long time coming The two brothers stared at each other for a long moment before William squeezed Daniel’s shoulder and dropped his hand. “I hope you find a place that makes you happy. I’ll always be here if you decide to return. You will always have a place in the military as top general. Daniel nodded and stepped back away from William. He glanced at Doris and offered a small smile. “I wish you luck as well, little one. You’ll get your card when I settle. Don’t expect any sweets as well.” Doris stood and placed her hand on her stomach, Daniel instantly glanced down. “Don’t forget to send one for our baby.” “Baby…” Daniel’s eyes widened. For a moment, she saw a glimpse of the old Daniel as he gripped his head and bounced on his feet. “What do you mean baby! Your baby?”

Doris laughed a little as he stepped up to feel her stomach. There wasn’t much yet for him to feel, but she knew there would be soon. “I couldn’t wait to tell you. I hope one day you will want to meet them.”

Daniel’s gaze finally met her own, and it was so much softer than she expected. “Of course I will. I wouldn’t miss that for anything.” He dropped his hands. “I hope you consider naming it after me.” He winked. Doris laughed. “We’ll have to think about that, but thank you for the suggestion.” William stood back with his hands in his pockets again. He watched them with a faraway expression and she could only wonder what was spinning through his mind. Daniel pulled her in for a tight hug, she squeezed him as hard as she could. “I will miss you, Doris. Thank you for being a friend to me.” “I’ll miss you too.” Doris whispered. “I’m always here as your friend, you know that.” When he pulled away from her, he spared one last long look at William before he nodded. “Goodbye, William. For now.” He clapped him on the shoulder harshly. “Don’t mess it up with this one. She’s the only good thing in your life.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” William said sincerely. “Goodbye, Daniel.”

Doris stepped up to William’s side and took his hand. They watched as Daniel left without looking back once. A flash of his grin from when he first met her entered her mind. He told her he was a simple guard just because he wanted to be her friend. Now he was walking out of her life with only a hint of a promise that he might one day return. William watched the door for a long, long moment. Doris stood next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder to remind him that she was there. He didn’t have to do anything, he could stand there all day and she would stay with him.

“I need you to come with me.” William said suddenly. “There’s something I have to do.”

“Okay, of course.”

William led Doris out of the library and towards the main halls. They didn’t stop walking until they reached the throne room where only the most official sort of meetings took place. When they entered, Beth was there.

Beth stood the moment she saw them with a bit of confusion on her face.

“Doris!” She smiled. Doris looked up at William with her own confusion but he didn’t look down at her once. He led her to Beth’s side and left her there as he stepped up to the throne and took his seat. A servant placed his golden crown on his head the instant he sat down while another unrolled a long scroll.

“Bethany Reeves and Doris Goodwin, please step forward to the throne.” His servant announced. Doris and Beth exchanged confused glances before they obeyed. What was going on? Doris tried to catch William’s eye to ask, but he didn’t meet her gaze.

“Bethany Reeves. Your duties as a maid for this palace have been fulfilled.” William said. A servant came with a quill for him to sign the scroll in front of him. “I officially free you from any future duties to this appreciated.”

“What…?” Beth’s lips parted as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“I’m… free?”

Doris wanted to scream to the skies and jump on her friend. She wanted to throw a party and dance until dawn broke. Her heart swelled in her chest, Doris bounced on her toes as the servant placed the scroll that freed her in her grasp. Doris quickly turned when she heard Enzo in the back of the room make a strangled noise in his throat, she hadn’t even noticed that he entered. He looked at Beth with wide, adoring eyes.

“You’re free.” William nodded. “Of course, you may stay as long as you need. My lady would rather you stay forever.” He glanced at Doris before he turned his eyes back on a speechless Beth. She read the page over and over with tears in her eyes.

Doris wiped her own hot tears off her cheeks. They waited so long for this day… Doris almost swore they would never see it in person. It was always so far away. They were always told that it would be coming, and it never came. Until today.

“Doris Goodwin.” William said. He straightened himself as his eyes finally met her own. She felt her heart stop in her chest. “Your duties to this palace are also fulfilled. I thank you for all the service you provided and know that your hard work was more than appreciated. You are no longer bound to this palace. You are free to go where you wish or stay with me here forever as my other half.” The words burned her ears and implanted themselves in her mind. She once had dreams that those words of freedom would be spoken to her. She used to wake up and cry when she realized she was still a maid and no where near being set free.

A servant stepped down the small steps and placed her scroll in her hands. She didn’t realize how much she was trembling until she went to open it to read it for herself. Doris Goodwin was a free woman. She was free, nothing held her anywhere. She could walk out those doors and go anywhere she wanted. No one could punish her for doing what she wanted.

William stood from his throne. “Never again will someone own you two.”

And with that, he left with his guards. Beth threw herself on Doris and almost brought both of them to the ground. She couldn’t hear anything over their laughter and tears. “We’re free!” Beth shouted to the ceiling. She grabbed Doris’s hands and swung them around the room. “We’re free! We can go into town!

We can go to an old nasty tavern and no one would stop us!” Beth “I can’t believe… we’re free.” Doris breathed. She plopped down on one of the wooden benches. When she glanced back at Enzo, he was gone. He must have slipped out while they were celebrating. “Did William tell you he was doing this?” Beth asked. She opened her scroll again just to read it. “No… I didn’t even have the chance to tell him that I wanted you to be freed. I mean, he knew of course but I was going to mention it when he settled down. And—I didn’t expect him to free me as well.”

“I got a letter that I was summoned to this room over an hour ago. No one told me what was going on so I just waited.” Beth took a long breath. “I thought I was in trouble for a moment…” “You? In trouble?”

Doris laughed. “You know… I think it would be nice for us to get out of the palace alone. No guards, no one else. Just us. We should go into town tomorrow and enjoy our first day of freedom.” Beth brightened.

“Oh Doris! That would be lovely! Remember all the times we swore we were going to sneak out and go to the nearest village to window shop?” “We can do that and go out for lunch!” Doris grinned. She gripped Beth’s hands. “We can do whatever we want, Beth. We’re free now.” 1 Beth’s smile faltered a little. “Yes. I… I can’t believe it.” Doris raised her brows. “Are you alright? You look a little down.” “I suppose I’m just worried about my future.” Beth shook off the look and smiled at Doris again. “Tomorrow we will have our day. There’s something I need to talk to you about and I think it would be Doris felt her chest fill with a pressure she couldn’t describe. It was like she was scared and excited at the same time. “Sounds like a plan, my lovely Beth. Tomorrow it is.”