His Princess Mate

2 - Lunch

დ Rose დ

I glanced over the long dining room table and sighed softly to myself as I forced my attention to the bowl in front of me. The delicious smell of the freshly prepared tomato soup had my tastebuds dancing with anticipation, but I could not eat. I looked back over at my father, who sat on the other end, and sighed once again.

“Father…” I called out softly. This was the first time I had seen him in over six years, and he could barely look me in the eye. I wasn’t surprised by his actions and as I took in his greying hair and wrinkled features, I knew that time was against him. He was dressed in a royal blue suit that contrasted well against his pale skin. “Father…” I called out once again and this time he tore his eyes away from the newspaper and looked at me. His dark green eyes had lost the sparkle that I remembered, and I had to wonder what he had been going through over the years.

“I apologize, Rose,” he said with a sad smile. “My attention has been concentrated on the latest news,” he added, and I nodded in quick understanding. What I had read so far in the papers, had given me nightmares and I wasn’t even aware of half of it.

“Has there been any luck in solving the murders?” I questioned as I finally picked up the silver soup spoon.

“Ai, indeed, there are a few suspects in mind,” he said as he too picked up his spoon. “However, let us not discuss such saddening matters,”

“No,” I said before slowly bringing the spoon to my lips.

“Would you care to tell me about your time at school?” he suggested, and I considered whether or not I was interested in sharing that with him.

“I learned quite a lot, actually,” I started. “My passion, as it always has, lays in literature,”

“Wonderful,” he said as we then continued to enjoy the soup quietly. I wouldn’t say that the time spent together was awkward, but it was clear to me that we didn’t have a relationship. Soon the soup bowls were taken away and replaced with a plate of a wonderful-looking and smelling steak pie. I dug in carefully, removing the pastry lid to reveal the steak which lay in the thick peppery sauce. I had to admit since I had returned home, my appetite for food had returned. Although I had always enjoyed my food, I never indulged in it and only ate the amount required to fill my belly. However, since being home, I would eat more than the required amount. I enjoyed the flavors and textures the kitchen staff worked hard to present. The sweet treats were a bonus that I quite enjoyed with a cup of tea or even a cup of hot cocoa. I had been home for four days and now I sat across from my father with questions that roamed around my mind.

“Father?” I called out as the plates were removed.

“Hmm?”

“Do you think we would be able to have a conversation after lunch?” I questioned carefully as I watched him. He looked up, away from the paper, and tried to smile as he silently agreed. Soon another bowl was placed in front of me and as I breathed in the honey and cinnamon pudding, I couldn’t help but just smile in delight. Once again silence fell between us as we enjoyed the sweet, warm, pudding. When that had been cleared away, my father waited for me to stand first. When I did, he stood up and instructed that we would like tea in the sunroom. We left the glorious dining room and headed to the sunroom. It was quite late in the afternoon by that point, but the room was still warm and cozy. I sat down in the armchair, and I waited for him to join me. However, he went over to the window and pushed it open.

“Would you mind?” he asked as he gestured to the cigar he held in between his fingers.

“Not at all,” I replied as I made myself comfortable in my seat. I watched as he lit the vulgar thing, and I wrinkled my nose in disgust as he took a long drag from the stinky cigar. I pretended not to care as he blew out a massive amount of smoke. Luckily, most of it went outside and I breathed in a quick sigh of relief.

“Is there something specific that you wanted to discuss, Rose?” he questioned when he finally turned to face me.

“Father, I’ve been gone for six long years…” I pointed out. “I have returned home, and I would very much like to establish a father, daughter, relationship,” I said truthfully. I could see the surprise in his eyes but then he smiled, and his grey mustache looked to be smiling too. It was oddly satisfying to see that, and I smiled as I took this as a step in the right direction.

“I would love that, Rose, and I will do whatever is needed to form that relationship, however…” his voice trailed off as he frowned, and I waited patiently to hear what he had to say. “We are both aware that there is some unspoken history in this family and until that is resolved, I don’t think we will be able to form any kind of loving relationship,” the brutal truth of his words hit me a lot harder than I would have expected. Of course, he was right. There was something that I personally held against him. It was one of the reasons he had sent me away to that boarding school.

“I’ve grown,” I quietly argued. It wasn’t a lie but yet, I knew that I still held him responsible for my mother’s disappearance.

“Of course, you have and if you truly believe that we can be a family once again then I am on board,” he said. “I have been living here alone for the last six years, Rose, I am just as eager to form a relationship with you but…I have also adapted to being alone and so, therefore, I ask you to be patient with me,” I could tell that he felt guilty for not being here when I had arrived.

“I am aware of your duties as King,” I said as I stood up to face him. The smell of his cigar was quite revolting, but I forced myself not to think about it and to try not to breathe it in. “I am, after all, Princess of Chester and that requires me to step up and fulfill my duties as well,”

“Do you believe you are ready to start?” he then asked, and I nodded slowly. “So be it,” he said with a smile as he turned to the ashtray that stood close to the window. He stubbed out the disgusting thing and closed the window. “We can start small,” he remarked. “I am sure you’ve been trained and that will be beneficial to your duties,”

“Of course, father,” I said as I went and sat back down. “I shall begin my duties in the morning,” I reassured him.

“Wonderful,” he said as he went over to the other armchair and sat down. “Now, is there anything else that you would like to discuss,” he asked. I took a moment to think about this. “Now is your opportunity, Rose,” he added, and I knew that this was his way of giving me a chance to ask the burning questions that fired deep within my mind.

“Why did she leave?” I blurted out. I had not meant to be so blunt, however, it was the one question I desired to know the answer to.

“Lucinda…your mother, she left because she couldn’t handle this lifestyle,” he said slowly. “As you know, she wasn’t born into royalty,”

“Where did you two meet?” I questioned.

“We met at a ball, it was quite a magnificent affair at that time,” he explained. I could see that he was getting comfortable in his seat as he prepared to go back in time. “Your mother lived with her aunt and uncle, and they were quite desperate to be rid of her,” he sighed as he closed his eyes for a moment, remembering that night so many years ago. “She was so beautiful, it was no wonder most of the men in that hall couldn’t take their eyes off her, however, it was her that picked me,” he revealed. I had never quite heard the story from his point of view. My mother had told me her version and I was quite interested to hear it from him. “We danced all night and the very next day, I sought out her hand in marriage,”

“Lovely,” I whispered.

“It was just after you were born that she started to change, she became depressed and unhappy,” he said sadly. “Even though she had wonderful days, at night she would cry herself to sleep, and even then, her nights were restless. She struggled so much, Rose, that when you turned thirteen, she knew you could look after yourself,” I was struggling to understand everything that he was revealing. I had never thought that my mother had been depressed or even unhappy. Was he possibly lying to me about things or was this the truth that had been hidden from me? “I caught her, you know…she was going to leave us with a simple note and nothing more,”

“What happened?”

“She was trying to sneak out the back, through the staff’s quarters, but it was by chance that Adam saw her and reported it to me immediately,” he explained. Adam was and is still the butler of the castle. “I confronted your mother, I begged her to stay, I cried and professed my undying love, but ultimately it wasn’t enough. She turned away, left us and that was the last time I saw Lucinda,” Walter, my father, brushed his hand across his face and I could tell that he was quite emotional. “She was and always will be the love of my life. After she left, it was so hard for me to even look at you,”

“That’s why you sent me away,” I said as I glanced down at my hands. I still wasn’t sure if this story was true, but I suddenly had a better understanding of things.

“No, I didn’t send you away because of that,” he argued. “I sent you away because I would never take another woman and you were of an age that demanded you get the right training,”

“Oh!” I gasped in surprise. Not once had I ever considered that to be the case. I had always assumed he had sent me away because he couldn’t stand to be around me.

“I knew that you needed a womanly figure in your life, and I am certainly no woman,” his dry attempt at a joke was quite amusing and I lifted my hand to my mouth to hide my smile. “With that being said, I was advised by my mother that sending you to that specific boarding school would give you everything a young princess would need for her future,”

“I didn’t know any of this,” I admitted softly. I suddenly felt like I had done my father a great injustice by judging him without knowing the full truth.

“How do you not know any of this?” he inquired seriously as he leaned forward to look at me. “I sent letter’s every single month, Rose,”

“What letters?” I asked, confused by this new development. “I never received any letters from you!”

“What?! I wrote to you every single month, Rose!” he argued. He was upset, I could tell as he stood up. “Where are they? Who withheld them from you?” he turned toward the door. “Adam! Adam!” he yelled out. I stared at him in wonder as I thought about all that I had missed out on.

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