Royal Disaster

Chapter 8: The prince and I

Emrose

If his father is the king, then he must be...

"You are correct again. I am the prince of Ethandun." As soon as he answered, I clasped my hands together and bowed down.

"Am I going to be beheaded after all the things I put you through, your majesty?" Even I can hear the worried tone of my voice.

Worried of his answer, I dared not to look up. But much to my surprise, he started laughing like a hyena. "I can't believe how quickly your treatment towards me changed." He had to hold his stomach from his laughter.

"And no, I can't order a beheading for you. That privilege is only for royals. The punishment for lower class people is hanging." His tone turned sour in an instant.

I kept my head low, still awaiting for what he would do to me.

"And you are silly for thinking I would ever do that to you, Rose." His fingertip was on my chin, pulling it up. "You truly are a stupid woman." He then smiled at me. That warm smile again. My heart fluttered and I pulled away from his touch.

"Then what are you going to do to me then, after everything? My family has insulted and hurt you. I hurt you." I emphasized on the I. He has to keep his mind away from my family. I put all of this on them. I am the one deserved to be punished.

"I'm not going to do anything to you. Trust me. The last thing I want is another family getting dragged into my chaotic life just because of my irresponsible decisions." He sighed.

"How can you say your life is chaotic when you are the king's son?" I asked, confused. He must have everything he wants in this world.

He turned to look at me, "I just love how innocent you are, Rose." he said.

"Thank you for the compliment, sir. But I'm certain you meant you love my ignorance, don't you?" I bit back.

"Well, if you put it that way. You can fit both descriptions anyway." he smirked. "You are ignorant of your brother's peculiar love for you and you are innocently astonished of the life in the palace, which by the way, you'd risk your whole family for." There was no sarcasm in his voice, he was plainly stating what he observed.

"I'm glad my ignorance has wooed you. But how many times must I tell you my brother is just my brother?" I got irritated by his recurrent suspicions of Elchard and I.

"Rose, you must be blind. Have you seen your reflection anywhere?" his signature smirk was really getting annoying. "Your brother must have seen you the way I do for him to be looking at you like that. And I can bet on my life that he doesn't just see you as a sister."

"You're quite aware that what you're trying to suggest out of my relationship with my brother is an act of i****t, right?" I raised my eyebrow.

"You'll be surprised how many acts of that thing happens at court everyday." He said.

"There is nothing more repulsive than that." I exclaimed.

"Well, that's how it is. And I can't believe you want to live in a place like that." He started to look up. "While I'm here, making every effort to escape that world. The one I was born in. It's a disaster."

"Is that the only reason why you ran away? Not because you were betrothed?" I asked, catching him off-guard.

"That reason took much weight of my decisions, but no. It was not the only reason." he said, "I did not want to marry princess adela. I did not want to hurt her the way a lot of people do to each other at court."

"I met her twice and she was so pure, not ready for courtship even. She is my age, but definitely not in experience. I know I humiliated her by leaving a day before our wedding, but I was not ready and neither was she." He paused, "I believe in marrying for love, no matter how foreign love is to me. But you'd be surprised of how that fact entices me more."

"How could you say that? I'm sure your mother loved you the moment you were born." I tried to soothe him.

"That might be possible, but I mostly believe it's fallacious." he can't hide the obvious pain in his voice from me. "I just recently learned my mother was the king's mistress, not the queen. It's not that I wanted to be born out of a queen mother, but rather I wanted to be born out of a modest woman."

"I did a lot of digging, and I discovered my mother was a w***e in her younger years as she was during her duration as my father's mistress." he laughed a bit before speaking again. "I don't have to ask to know she slept her way to her position when she was pregnant with me. It's disturbing to find out that your mother only had you to gain power."

I felt the pain in Alas's voice and I didn't know what to do. All I know is I wanted to calm him down and I want him to think I'm not gonna judge him, so without a second thought I held his hand. He didn't seem to mind as he still continued talking.

"So that was what triggered me to flee. If I am to be King of Ethandun, I want to be a King of myself first. How can I rule a country when I can't even rule my own life, right? I'm not fit to be given that title yet. This marriage with the french princess will rob me of my youth and would quicken the coronation."

"You have a lot on your shoulders." I sighed, "I sure don't want to be in your position. All those riches do come with a price."

"Absolutely. And I wouldn't want to be in your place either." He smirked and held my hand this time.

I was glad we were given this chance to get to know each other, but if I were given a choice I would never have chosen this setting to have this kind of conversation. But it was awfully comforting despite the cold wind and dirty ground. I closed my eyes and breathed heavily. This day has not been the best of all my days, but I would definitely carve a memory out of this.

A memory of the prince and I sitting under the stars conveying our misfortunes.