Rogue and Riveting

Chapter 14 Enoch's Secret

"Your Highness! I'm so glad we finally met!" Martha could not keep her excitement when she finally arrived at the palace, and the first thing that she did was hug her cousin. Though Adelia did not mind, she realized that what she did was not proper in this country, so she released the young queen and apologized.

"No matter, no matter," said Adelia who was just as excited as her to see her cousin, and she immediately pulled her towards the great hall where the staff welcomed them warmly. There was even a live band who played some friendly music inspired by Sanjolia, and Martha was amazed by that.

"This place is beautiful... And big..." said Martha who was gazing at the intricate design of the ceiling of the great hall above her like a kid. But Adelia saw that Ester was lurking on the corner, watching them, and was clearly making sure that they would not do anything that Ester regarded as against the laws. Irritated that Ester was still acting like a creep, Adelia took Martha to the guest room where she was going to stay. 

The guest rooms were on the second floor, and this particular room that Adelia chose for Martha was directly below their room. It meant that this room had the same view of the garden outside as their room above, a detail that Adelia wanted. She made sure that Mrs. Flambe, the Head Chambermaid in the palace, would clean and provide the right for Martha. 

Martha was a tall, lean woman who had fair skin, and blonde curls, and people often say that they don't look alike even though they were closely related to each other. And they weren't always close, especially when they were kids because as the sole child of the King of Sanjolia, Adelia was heavily guarded and was not allowed to socialize with other people, even with their own relatives. Her mother's death made her father worry about her safety too much that no one else was allowed to their castle, not even cousins. 

"You live in a nice place," said Martha. "And the rumors are true. Their buildings and their technology are top-notch. Could you imagine? They fetched me at the border with an automated aircraft. I was so scared that something might go wrong because it has no pilot in it! And the person who fetched me was so quiet the whole time! He did not even reassure me! The only good thing about him was that he was so handsome that I thought he was some kind of prince himself!"

"Who fetched you?" Adelia asked. "I thought no one was available to fetch you?" she added because when she asked the security personnel to fetch her cousin from the border, they politely declined and told Adelia that no one was available to do it. But she was assured not to worry because a Zyklops, (the unmanned aircraft) was sent to fetch Martha.

Martha gave her an awkward grin. "Your Highness! You would not believe it! But a gorgeous man in the name of Corey fetched me from the border!"

"Corey? But I don't know a person with that name," said Adelia who was now beginning to become suspicious.

"He told me that he was a friend of King Enoch. He was kind of cold, you know, but he was okay. Plus, he is so hot." Martha even giggled after she said that, but Adelia's attention wasn't with how good-looking the man who fetched her cousin was. She was more preoccupied with this guy named Corey's relationship with her husband. 

"He's Enoch's friend, you say?"

Martha nodded. "Your husband personally asked him to fetch me. Isn't your husband sweet? And King Enoch is so gorgeous. Plus, he is a very thoughtful husband too! I swear, Adelia, you are so lucky with King Enoch."

That detail only made Adelia more inquisitive. "My husband asked his friend to fetch you?"

"Yeah! And your husband must have known that I still have no boyfriend because he particularly sent a gorgeous man to fetch me! Someone who was totally my type! Just kidding!" she added when Adelia frowned. But she only frowned because her husband did not mention any of this. Yes, she did tell him that her cousin was coming, but she did not think that he was going to ask one of his friends to personally fetch Martha. But Adelia knew that Enoch really did that because that was something that her husband would totally do. He always went the extra mile.

"You are smiling, Your Highness. You found your husband's secret gesture sweet too, right?" Martha teased her. "Even I could feel you feeling giddy about it!" The two laughed and had some food, and then they proceeded to catch up with their lives. Martha is a teacher, even if she didn't need to be, as she was a member of the Sanjolian royal family. She went abroad for a year to teach for a nonprofit organization, which is why she could not attend Adelia's wedding as she was somewhere traveling wasn't as easy as in Sanjolia. Or Romeodel. And when she arrived back in Sanjolia, Adelia was already in Romeodel, a country that is not open for anyone who just wants to get in.

"Am I going to get arrested?" Martha joked when Adelia reminded her of the nondisclosure thing that she needed to sign before leaving for Sanjolia tomorrow. "They are so serious with their secrecy. What do they hide here anyways? Are they afraid that someone will discover that they have golden mountains and that they will get condemned by the international community for not sharing it with the rest of the world?"

Adelia laughed, but as Martha had a point, she knew she had to speak too. "II don't think it's the reason. Remember, they are already trying to do 'charity work' with partnering and allying themselves with Sanjolia. But I do agree about the bit that they must be hiding something."

"Right? And what if you discover it too? Are they going to let you sign a nondisclosure contract too?"

"Maybe. I don't actually know. But I'm pretty sure Enoch will have an explanation for it."

"Oh yeah. Maybe he will see to it that you don't get to sign those ridiculous papers for you because honestly, all I saw were those cultural designs in the walls of every building I saw. It's not like I have a photographic memory to copy and plagiarize it. They even confiscated my phone and told me that they will only give it back at the border."

"Yeah, I'm so sorry about that. Martha. I knew you had to endure a lot of those stressful security measures. That is why I was having second thoughts of inviting you to come. Ester even disapproved of your visit."

"Who is she to disapprove, though? Does she work for the Romedoel Immigration?"

Adelia laughed loudly at that. "Oh no. She's just here in the palace too. I heard she heads the cultural committee, whatever that they do in that office. But she's really something, you know. I can't tell if she hates me or she wants me to be like her."

"Just settle with the idea that she hates you. I saw her a while ago at the hall. She doesn't look happy that some outsider is here. But luckily for us, your husband approved of my visit."

"Yeah. And by the way, Martha, before I forgot why I really wanted you to come, we need to discuss this."

"About what, Your Highness?"

Adelia then took something out of the inner pockets of her dress. It was a sealed brown envelope. "This is a letter. Give it to Clarence for me, will you?"

***

"Is your cousin still here?" 

That was the first question that Enoch asked when he went back home that night. Adelia was even surprised that he was able to go home when he said earlier that he was going to spend the night at the university where he was attending a forum about student welfare. 

"Nope. She had to go back to Sanjolia too," Adelia responded and they kissed as they were now back in their room. It took effort for Adelia to break their kiss though, as her husband was already into it. It earned him a chuckle from her. "You're too aggressive, Enoch. Let's talk first."

Enoch laughed too. "Sorry. I just missed you so much."

"We saw each other this morning," Adelia reminded him. "Anyway, was it true that you sent a friend to fetch Martha?"

Enoch nodded. "It was Corey. My best friend. he works in the Noble Service, so I had to avoid mentioning him. I'm sorry, my wife if I forgot to mention him to you. Out of habit I always tend to not bring him up in conversations. But I know I can trusty you, so maybe I have to train myself not withholding such information from you from now on."

"Oh, you don't have to tell me everything if it will cause you problems. All I want is for you to not keep secrets with me that I need to know."

That made Enoch stare hard at her. "I guess you're right, my dear wife. But what if..."

"What if what?"

"Let's say, what if I have a secret that will destroy our relationship? Should I just keep it to myself to keep you? Or would you rather want to know?" he asked in a serious tone that made Adelia shiver for some reason.