Her Unwanted Mate On The Throne

Chapter 69 He‘ll kill for it anyway

Of all the things she had to pretend to be … his wife was the last thing on the list that she would have

guessed. Doris searched through her clothes and came out with an outfit she thought would blend in

best with those that lived here. A thick cream sweater with a black coat on top and boots that were

meant to brave even the worse snow. She pulled her hair up into a bun and pulled a black hat Eliza had

given her over it. She wasn’t sure if anyone would recognize her long brown hair, but she didn’t want to

take any chances. When she came back out, William was talking with Patrick close by her cabin. His

eyes caught on her for a second but she was too distracted by his attire to notice. He was dressed

almost exactly like Enzo with the same crisp suit that was built for snow and one of the many hats she’d

seen him in around the camp. When she neared him, he even smelled

different. She’d never seen William in anything but his fancy prince attire and palace themed outfits.

Even the ones meant for snow. Patrick turned to look at her and offered a small smile. “I’ll be close by in

the trees, try not to look for me.” He winked and clapped William on the back before he headed towards

the stables. Even he was dressed more like a villager. She assumed all their other clothes had been

ruined on the journey over here-she didn’t even want to think about what happened after she was taken.

William picked up her hand and slid a gold ring on her finger. It was nothing fancy, just a simple gold

band that was much different than what princes usually gave the women they were marrying. It made

Doris feel a little better, at least she knew for certain this was all fake. Doris released her breath when he

set down her hand. “It was all I could find.” “It’s perfect.” Doris nodded with a smile. He looked a little

surprised before he shook it off and led her to the horses. “My horses are too obvious, Enzo is letting us

use one of theirs.” He stopped in front of a plain brown horse that looked like the rest of them. He

gripped her waist and lifted her on the back of the horse. She tried not to think about how strong he was

as he lifted himself up in front of her and guided the horse out onto the trail. Doris wrapped her arms

around his waist and held on tightly The ride wasn’t as long as she thought, it was truly right over the hills

as he had said. They took the main path and they were there in less than an hour. No one really spared

them a second glance as they trotted through the market. He steered the horse towards where the rest

of them were left and hopped off to tie the rope along the fence before he held out his arms for her. He

gently set her in the snow and took her hand to wrap around his arm as they walked. No one would

believe this, there was no way. Him? With-her? They’re all going to laugh and call their bluff immediately

William put his hand over her own and squeezed. “I can hear your heart pound faster than it should be.

Take a breath.” Doris took a deep breath as she swerved out of the way for another couple. William

tipped his hat to them to hide a part of his face. “Do you know how to make the cure?” Doris whispered,

she glanced around at the growing crowd but no one seemed to notice her or them at all. Nothing more

than a quick glance in passing before they went on their way. “Yes.” He said through his teeth. Doris

glanced up at him. Why did he always have to snip at her? They stopped in front of a booth that had

endless spices. Doris took in the sight of all of it. Wait-was this the booth that also had the poison that

was in Melody’s soup? Would he have that? It looked like he had everything. She didn’t have time to ask

William, he was already flagging down the owner. “Yes, my boy. What would you like today? We just got

in some fresh cinnamon sticks—” “I was wondering how big your stock of poppy seeds and

passionflower is?” William interrupted before the man ran the entire menu. “Oh we haven’t gotten much

of either lately.” The man nodded his hello to Doris as he talked. Doris offered a smile. “We have less

than a pound of each right now but we should get more next week

“We’ll take all of what you have.” William took off his gloves and she saw he had a matching gold ring on

his finger. He pulled out a sack from his pocket and offered a bit more than the spices were even worth.

The man didn’t seem to mind, he quickly took the money and nodded his head. “Yes sir! I’ll get that for

you right away.” William pushed his hands back in his pockets and Doris moved a bit closer to him when

a gust of wind picked up and sent a new wave of chills through her. He looked down at her. “Is there any

sort of shelter nearby for my wife and I to stay the night?” He asked the man as he bagged the spices.

He spared a quick glance at them both before he continued. “There’s an inn at the edge of the market.

It’s made for travelers like yourself to stay when the wind gets to be too much.” “Do you get many storms

out here?” Doris asked as she glanced down the road. It seemed to stretch on and on with booths and

cabins like the one Enzo lived. This one seemed to be even more popular, perhaps because of the

market. “Oh yes, we have a system that once the wind picks up a certain way, we collapse everything

and get in doors.” He laughed a little and handed the bags to William, he shoved it in his coat. “The inn is

nice though. The rooms are cozy and come with a heater.” “Oh, lovely.” Doris said. “Thank you, sir.” The

man smiled and nodded his head.” You two come from far?”. William shook his head and started to steer

Doris away. “Good day.” Doris followed him down the road and took in the sight of all the other sellers

had to offer. They had clothes and hats, scarves and gloves. Some sold meat while others sold weapons

for hunting. It was truly lively place and Doris had never seen anything like it. Of course, she had heard

of places like this. But to see it was wild. “Oh.” Doris saw a booth that had a few books laid in a pile on

the front table. Her fingers curled with how much she longed to see what they had. It was so hard being

somewhere secluded and nothing to read. Everything about this place screamed perfect reading

weather. William stopped when he saw her longing gaze and led her a little closer . “Do you want one?”

He asked. An old woman stood from the stood and smiled at them both with a toothless grin. Doris shook

her head. “I couldn’t.” She didn’t have any money with her, all of it was back at the palace. William

furrowed his brows and set down a few coins. “Get two.” The woman snatched the coins before Doris

could say no again. Doris cleared her throat and looked through the pile until she came across two

romances that looked perfectly entertaining. She smiled down at her choices and ran her fingers across

the new bindings. “Oh, you’ll love those.” The woman winked at Doris before she glanced up at William

with a sheepish grin. “Thank you.” Doris said quickly and guided William away. He glanced back over his

shoulder at the woman before he glanced at the books in her hands.” Thank you for that you didn’t have

to.” William shrugged as if it was nothing but -it was something. He wanted her to have these books

because she wanted them so he bought them for her. No one had ever bought her anything before like

that. They silently walked up the street and William bought them some food from another vender before

they went into the Inn. She didn’t expect to be staying long enough to need it, but she should have

figured it might have taken longer than an evening of waiting. If only she brought more clothes. William

bought them a room and ignored the glances from interested and beautiful strangers. He walked right

past them with his hand on Doris’s back as if he was claiming her as his own and nothing else would be

considered. Once they were closed in the room, he went to work. He pulled a small vile out of his coat

pocket and pulled out the spices. “Do you need help?” Doris offered. He shook his head and already

seemed to be lost in his own concentration as he laid out his supplies on the table. He grabbed the

heater and turned his back to her. Doris laid her coat on the bed that was much smaller than any she had

shared with him before-but she tried not to think about that. She started to prepare them both a plate of

food. “Are you hungry-” “It’s done.” He said before she could finish. He lifted a small glass of liquid to the

ceiling to observe. “He won’t survive off of this, but he’ll kill for it anyway.”