King Sail looked across at William with a look of shock. He glanced at his wife who looked equally confused and it only made Doris more annoyed. She knew they were about to deny it before they even opened their mouths. How could they when she heard them plain as day?
"I... we don't know what your lady had overheard, but we were not discussing you, your majesty." The queen said. She placed her hand over her chest as if the very idea of it was absurd. "We have no bad thoughts of you at all, or your kingdom."
"She heard you talk out in the gardens. Do not try to make her sound crazy." William snarled. He held up his hand to stop Doris from saying anything. "I don't appreciate my guests thinking they can disrespect me in my own palace."
"Your majesty, we truly don't know what she might have heard but all day we have been discussing the kingdom of Ron and their careless new leader." King Sail said. "It's been on our minds constantly, we think he might be bad for his kingdom as well as our own."
William stiffened a little as he looked between them.
"I heard you talk about his reputation and how it won't be easy to control him since he's strong willed!" Doris said. They both looked at her as if she was crazy. "You said you wanted to find his weakness-"
"My dear, control him? We wouldn't dream of it! We weren't even discussing William." Queen Pearl said with a light laugh. "We were talking about the ruler of Ron, of course. They have a rather young ruler and we were discussing him. He has been nothing but reckless since the crown was placed on his head and refuses any advice. We're due to visit him after we leave here and try to talk some sense in him but to do that we need to find his weakness. I'm sure your King knows the rules in this political game."
"But-"
"Your majesty, we would never come into your palace and disrespect you like that. We see the ruler you are and we have so much respect for you and your kingdom." King Sail said. "We all respect your lady and admire that she would be on alert for you, but she has been mistaken."
Doris felt her cheeks burn red. William glanced back at her before he faced the two rulers again.
"I want it to be clear that I will not allow anyone in this kingdom-especially a guest-to think they can take the crown I have spilled blood for." William said evenly. The rulers silently watched him. "I respect your kingdom, but I will not hesitate to protect mine."
There was a threat in those words and all of them knew it.
King Sail swallowed and put on a light expression that looked forced. "We understand, your majesty. I would feel the same if I thought my crown was threatened. We assure you that yours isn't."
"I don't want to hear another word that would make me think differently. Understand? I have no hesitation to act on my rage if you ignite it." William said. His hands curled and uncurled at his sides. The rulers simply nodded. "Good. Then I will let you enjoy the rest of your evening. Goodnight."
William grabbed her arm harshly and escorted her out of their chamber without another word. Doris glanced back at them and narrowed her eyes when the man smiled at her. Teeth and all. Doris yanked her arm free the moment the door closed and kept her distance from William as they walked separately the rest of the way back to their chamber.
She dreaded it when their door closed. He whirled on her with a glare that would have made normal men shake. She only ignored him as she set Alec in his crib gently. His sweet innocent face was oblivious to the world around him-and all of the storms too.
"What the fuck was that?" He growled. Doris turned back to him to see his wild eyes try to pin her down. He was a fool if he thought he could intimidate her.
"I told you what I heard them say! I was trying to help and I don't believe them when they said it was about another kingdom-"
"Doris." William said in a warning tone. "I can't start wars over gossip."
Doris was taken aback by his words. "I wasn't trying to make you start a war-"
William raked his fingers through his hair and paced the area. "You made me look insane to them. I was seconds from banning them from this kingdom and that could have started a war."
"William, I seriously think they weren't being honest to you just now-"
"Doris... just stop it. You know how important it is for this kingdom to have allies and Eldon is one of the strongest. Unless you hear the full conversation, I can't have you whispering in my ear about it. It will only make me more angry and I'll be forced to act on that anger."
"You don't need their help, William... not if they don't have the right intentions."
William stared at her in silence. She refused to look away or look weak. She lifted her chin slightly.
"I have to believe them."
"Over me?" Doris asked.
"No, not over you. I know you had good intentions but you admitted that you didn't hear all of what they said. I have to believe them when they said it was a misunderstanding... for now."
"For now?"
"Yes. I will keep a closer eye on them and keep any information they could use against me more private. I still don't trust them and I haven't since they showed up out of the blue, but for some reason they came to offer me this alliance that they never once offered my father even when he wanted it."
William sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. "I know you didn't mean to cause harm. You were looking out for me and you thought that was the right thing to do."
"I was only telling you what I heard. I wanted you to know that they might be the wrong people to have around your kingdom."
"I know." William leveled his voice to something calm and neutral. It felt as if she was the king talking to her right now, not the father of her child. "Next time you hear a piece of gossip, try to make sure that you hear every part of it and not just the ending. My anger almost made enemies out of them without taking a breath."
"Perhaps you should work on your anger, then. I was only trying to help."
William said nothing. Doris backed towards the door slowly but he didn't lift his eyes to her. How could he not think that they would be lying? Everything they said-she knew it was about William even if he didn't want to admit it.
"I'm going to take a walk." Doris said. She opened the door and left before he could say a word-though she doubted that he would.
"I think you're due for a run. What do you say?" Cordelia spoke up.