The Prince's Wedding

The Good, The Bad and The Care-less. 7.

MELISSA

"Oh, Halley..." I say, my voice heavy with sobs as I run my fingers through Halley's red hair.

"I'm so so sorry... I should have been with you... it should have been me...." I weep, blinking with every blur of my vision as the endless tears roll down my cheeks on onto the sleeve of her dress.

How could I have been so stupid?

Spending time with the staff and all this while...one of them wanted me dead...

Her lips are still blue, but the corners of her eyes seem to be returning to their normal skin shade. Yet, I can't help wishing it was me here instead of her. I had been so careless and so trusting and now she's the one dealing with the consequences.

And all I can do is hope...

'How long will it take?' I had asked the physician after he had given her the antidote which for some reason, I had expected to work instantly.

He had shrugged and stared at me with pity,

"Days, weeks, maybe months-"

"Months?"

"I can't say for certain...it depends on how much she consumed. All we can do is hope and wait."

And then I'd asked him to give me some time alone with her, because I didn't want him to see me cry.

...and boy, have I been crying.

"I'm never leaving your side again." I say to her as I hold her hands and smoothen her hair with my other hand.

"Never, okay?"

But her fingers feel cold and her breathing is shallow, so I shut my eyes another wave of crying consumes me.

"Your Highness..."

It's Felipe's voice, and I feel his hand tenderly touch my shoulder immediately after.

"I know it's hard right now, but you have to pull it together. I assure you, your sister is going to be fine."

"And what if she's not?" I look up at him with tears rolling down my cheeks.

"The physician said all we can do is hope! Basically there's a half chance she's never going to wake up and it's all because of me...." My voice cracks at the end and sobs escape my lips but I force out the rest of my words,

"I never even asked to be here! I don't want to marry the Prince either!" I blurt out and Felipe sighs, then hands me a folded napkin.

"It may be hard to see but you play a great role in the future of this kingdom." He says as I wipe my tears. "And yes, marrying the prince is the last way I ever thought King Russel would go about this."

"So why me? What great role is it that I had to be the one marrying someone who'd rather have me disappear and whose staff is after my life?" I sniffle, getting up in frustration as I look Felipe in the eye and his calm gaze stays on mine.

"I can't say I know what it is, but I know you'll do it exceptionally well. King Russel saw something remarkable and rare in you, and that's what he told me. I know this is tough but I promise, it'll only get better from here." He says reassuringly and I look back at Halley.

Still breathing.

He's right. There's still hope so long as she's alive.

"Can we go home when she's better? I don't think I can stay here anymore..." I say to him and he sighs.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, you can't. This is your home now, and you are going to be safe from now on, okay?" He asks and I just shrug.

Safe?

I don't think I will ever be able to fall asleep again...

"Now come, you should eat something. Dinner is ready." He says as he leads me out.

"Dinner? I've been here the whole day?" I ask, turning to him in shock and he smiles a bit as he nods.

"But...I can't leave her." I tell him once we're at the door and he turns to Halley.

"She'll be fine. We'll keep the room locked and guarded till the physician returns." He says as he opens the door and I see half a dozen guards outside, waiting.

I give one last glance at Halley and make sure she's still breathing before we shut the door and lock it. Then I follow Felipe as he leads me to the Royal dining area.

I stop at the door.

"I'm not eating separately anymore?" I ask as my eyes dart from him to the table set for two, and piled with turkey, bread, corn, potatoes, and wine.

Felipe turns to me.

"No. No more."

"But the Prince—"

"You'll be fine. This is safer for you." He says, pulling out a chair for me and I walk to it, mesmerized as I sink into the plush and firm chair.

Then a servant pours my wine as Felipe walks away.

But I just keep staring at the food.

At the table.

At the decorated walls.

At the beautiful lamps.

At the numerous chairs.

Then back at the food.

Halley would have loved to eat here.

And as the thought settles in, my astonishment instantly vanishes.

The sound of approaching footsteps forces me to look up and I'm staring at Prince Alexander as he walks up to the table, taking off his cape and gloves.

Then he sights me and suddenly stops walking as he observes me.

A few seconds pass and he keeps standing where he is, his green eyes settled on me and I force myself not to look away.

Slowly, he approaches the table until he is standing at the other side, directly in front of me.

"You shouldn't be here."

"I—"

"But I'll only allow this until your sister is okay. Then we find another solution because I don't know how long I can deal with this." He says, gesturing to me as he sits down and I glare at him.

Am I supposed to say thank you?

I watch as he fills up his plate and starts eating and I feel unspoken words struggling behind my throat...aching to be said.

But the last time I spoke my mind, he didn't hesitate to send me to the cliff...and who knows what lengths he could go?

"Are you going to eat or not?" He asks without looking up and I stare uninterested at the food, then back at him.

Does he even care that Halley's sick?

Does he realize how insulting and annoying it is that it took being poisoned for him to realize Halley and I needed to eat safe?

"If you're going to keep staring at me like that.." he says as he drinks from his chalice and drops it, "then this'll be the last time you eat here."

And his eyes settle on me.

I scoff.

"And I'm guessing that's my new punishment?"

This time he looks at me and I see a warning on his expression.

"You better watch your mouth. Don't let me tell you again." He warns, his voice coming out deep and stern.

It's a warning clear as day, and I should bite my tongue.

And I do....because he could so easily take away my privileges to see Halley.

"You should be grateful that I'm even allowing this happen." He mutters.

And I snap.

"Grateful?" I say spitefully as I glare at him.

"Did you say grateful? The world ending now is something I would be grateful for. An escape out of this place is something I would be so grateful for! Finding a way out of this betrothal is something I would be grateful for! But eating here with you? I'd rather choke on a poison."

"I said watch your mouth!" He barks at me as he stands up abruptly and I stand up too, my rage in full motion.

"You don't even care that she's sick!" I yell at him.

"You don't know anything about me!"

"I know enough to know that you think I should be grateful that I'm eating here with you, when the whole reason this is even being considered is because my sister's life is at stake! You didn't give a rat's ass about the safety of our food that's why you never found us worthy of eating with you or having a taster for the food! Suddenly she could be dying and I'm worth eating safely!" I yell and he pounds both fists on the table, wine sloshing everywhere.

"YES! That's exactly what this is! Are you trying to guilt trip me? You really think that pathetic speech of yours is somehow going to make me feel remorseful? My one and only concern is that you don't belong here! I could care less if the palace wants you dead but I'm stuck keeping you safe because your name is on a scroll!" He fires back, heaving angrily and I glare at him.

"Then I'll save you and your staff the trouble. Since I can't leave, I'm never eating a bite and you'll never see me at this table again. Hopefully I'll starve to death and everyone will be happy."

He stares at me for a few seconds, taking deep breaths as the furrow in his eyebrows slowly vanishes.

"Get out." He finally says and I head for the door in fury just as he yells,

“Wait!”

I stop in my tracks, my anger reaching a dangerous limit as I stay put, refusing to turn.

“I am to be king. You will bow before me before you leave my presence.” He says and I clench my hands, trying to hold in my anger as I turn to him.

He has his unmerciful eyes on me as he waits and I take in a deep breath, put a foot in front of the other and force my knees to bend in a curtsy.

“Now you can get out.” He says satisfactorily and I and I march out, my heart thudding as I head for my chambers.

When I get in, I slam the door shut and immediately burst into tears.

ALEXANDER

I watch Melissa walk out and for a second, I have half a mind to call her back but I'd rather chew on a brick.

How dare she?

Has she lost her mind?

I push my chair away as I walk away from the table and pace the room.

She has no right to tell me that I don't care about that little girl... It's not like I'm her best friend or anything but I definitely don't want her dead!

"Felipe!" I yell, still pacing the room and in a few seconds, Felipe is at the door.

"Your Majesty." He says

"She wasn't supposed to eat here! That wasn't part of the arrangement!"

"What arrangement? I tried to talk to you and you asked me to get out. So I handled it just as you wanted."

"I didn't want her to eat with me and I don't want to see her here any longer!"

"I'm afraid that can't be done, Prince Alexander."

"What do you mean it can't be done?" I ask as I walk up to him. "Get her a separate taster or more guards—"

"Well, any of those options could be infiltrated at this point and eating with you is by far the safest. No attempt will be made on her life if they realize it could harm you too."

"So I'm supposed to just deal with her disrespect—"

"She's hurting."

"She's insufferable!"

Felipe grunts in frustration as he keeps his gaze on me.

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, there is no other way. You have to just cope with it or make your peace with her, because as much as you hate to accept it, you're marrying this lady. And you're taking her to that ball with you. So the sooner you stop running from this, the better for you, for her, and for everyone."

And with that, he walks away.

*****

For the rest of the night, I'm unable to get the look Melissa gave me out of my mind. Right after I told her I didn't care, it was like something changed.

The air shifted...

And she definitely didn't look the same...

Maybe I shouldn't have said what I did, but she pushed me.

She can't accuse me of not caring for her sister.

She can't accuse me of being careless towards them.

I may come off as mean or selfish but I'm not a monster!

But as the endless questions occupy my mind, one thought battling the other, Rupert's words still remain clear against the jumble of words in my thoughts.

'You don't even like her and you never failed to show it!"

I truly didn't care...but I can't risk anyone dying here. So when the early rays of dawn peek in the next day, I pray for self control and I hang on to it when it's finally time for breakfast.

But Melissa doesn't show up...not even for lunch or dinner.

And not the day after that...

Or the day after...

And it keeps going on until she's starved herself for a whole week. That's when it dawns on me that she wasn't threatening me with her words.

She meant it.