Chapter Twenty-One #2
Would she ever understand and accept the truth? He’d tried to hide how angry he was that King Frederick had taken this precious girl away from him. He didn’t deserve to be removed from her life. Tossed aside with no warning. No chance to change it.
The room suddenly felt crowded. He needed to get away. Finn spoke to him, but Rowan brushed past him and into the courtyard.
Bree spotted Rowan storming out as she came down the hallway.
“Where is he going?” she asked Finn.
“I don’t know. He was speaking to Sarita then he just walked out.”
“I’ll talk to him,” she said. “Just keep them busy, inside. Lie if you have to. Don’t let anyone come out here. Not anyone. Understand?”
“Sure.” Finn nodded and went back into the hall, shutting the large doors behind him.
Bree found Rowan on the other side of the courtyard, pacing and kicking the dirt.
“What happened? With Sarita?” she asked, gently.
Rowan shook his head and looked up at the stars. “I don’t think I can do this, Bree. Pretend like I don’t know. Or worse, pretend that I’m not angry about it all. It hurts just to be in the same room with her. Lying to her. Lying to myself. It feels wrong.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t know! You can’t know! It isn’t the same for you! You’ve seen her every day of her life. You’ve held her when she cried and celebrated her birthdays. Maybe not as her mother but as her sister. You’ve been here and she loves you.”
Bree watched and felt his pain with every word. He started pacing again and pulled a dagger out, twirling it around in his hand. She hadn’t thought he had any weapons on him in those clothes, but she should have known. Old habits never die.
“Rowan, we can tell her,” she tried. “When she gets older, we can tell her.”
“That would destroy her, Bree. It would make her feel like her entire life is a lie, the same way that I feel like those seven years apart were a lie.”
“We will figure it out like we always do.”
“So you don’t plan to cut me out of all decisions like he did?” Rowan pointed the blade toward the noble courtyard, where the late king was buried.
“Do you think you are the only one who was wronged by this?” she snapped.
“Do you think I’m not angry? The whole time I was pregnant, I talked to the baby.
I told her about you. About us. I had no idea that when she was born my father was going to lie to the realm and steal her away from me.
I hated him for it. For years! Years, Rowan.
Not only did he pass my baby off as his own, but he took you away from me too. ”
“How did you do it? How did you forgive him? I would love to know because I can’t come up with a single reason why I should.”
“I didn’t forgive him until just before he died. Seeing him like that... You remember what it’s like. I know you do. You watched your mother wasting away.”
“My mother didn’t steal my daughter from me! How can you even compare her to him?”
“He did something terrible, Rowan. I know that. But he also did something I could never be angry with him for…” Her voice was cracking.
“And what is that?” he said, disbelieving that she could defend her father.
“He let you live.”
Rowan stopped spinning the knife and looked at her. He finally noticed her dress and how stunning she looked in it. The light from the torches lining the walls of the courtyard gave her skin a golden glow that matched the details on her dress and her crown.
She was right. King Frederick could have had Rowan executed for tarnishing his only daughter and heir’s chances of entering into a royal union. It had happened before in other kingdoms. Had Rowan been killed, Bree would have had to live with that for the rest of her life.
It was just as much Rowan’s fault as it was Bree’s. And he did owe King Frederick a debt for sparing him. It had allowed him to return to her. He wouldn’t be there with her now if not for the king’s mercy.
Rowan dropped the knife and walked straight into her arms. He wasn’t the only one who was hurting. They were in this situation together. They would have to figure out what to do together as well.
“Oh, Bree. I’m so sorry.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her. “I keep making a mess of this.”
“No, Rowan. We both made a mess of this.”
“It doesn’t matter now. We are in this together. You’ll be my wife soon.”
“Wife. I like the sound of that,” she said. He kissed her again.
“I like the sound of that too.”
~*~
Rowan entered the hall but stayed by the door. He knew Bree would be there in a moment. She just needed time to put herself back together after falling apart in the courtyard. He felt bad for causing the stress, but he did feel a sense of calm after their conversation.
When the queen arrived, the entire hall stopped and stared at her.
Rowan bowed before her. He took her left hand when she offered it but instead of kissing it, he pulled her glove off and slipped her ring on, smiling when gasps filled the room.
Then he took her hand and lifted it up into the air, presenting the ring to their guests.
The entire hall went wild with applause.
Bree cried but these tears were of joy as her mother and aunt rushed forward to congratulate them. It had been hard to keep the engagement a secret, but Bree knew she wanted to tell all their family and friends at the same time, and the Winter Ball was as good a time as any.
Nick pulled Rowan into a tight hug and boasted to Sir Raymun and Sir Luthias that his son had won the heart of the queen. Rowan shook his head and laughed. It appeared that Nick had already drunk his fair share of the wine for the night.
Dagan and Finn came forward to offer congratulations and tease him about being the first of them to marry. Even though they both already knew about the engagement, since Rowan had needed their advice on how to propose, they pretended to be surprised.
When Reeve approached him, Rowan pulled his brother to the side and lowered his voice.
“Whatever happened between you and Rhea, fix it. You’ve both moped around the castle long enough.”
“I can’t,” Reeve said, frustrated. “She won’t speak to me.”
“Make her listen. She deserves to be happy. Even though she can’t have me and I’m definitely the better prize between you and I, she should still be happy to settle for you,” he teased.
Reeve laughed and gave Rowan a playful shove. “I don’t think she wants either of us. Not anymore at least.”
“Then let her go. You deserve to be happy too.”
Reeve nodded and hugged his brother. He felt better these days about coming to Junacave and disrupting Nick and Rowan’s lives. They had accepted him and Gabby in a way he couldn’t have predicted, and he was eternally grateful for that. Now he just needed to do something about his wife.
Rowan returned to Bree and led her to the throne where she gave a short speech thanking everyone for attending. Then the ball was officially underway. People moved all over large space, eating and drinking. Dancing commenced in the center of the hall when the musicians played a fun tune.
“Where is Dahlia?” Rowan asked Bree, as she took off her crown and laid it on her throne.
“She decided to leave. She’s going to start traveling the realm, again. Singing, like before.”
“Really? That’s surprising.”
“She just needed to get away for a while. She’ll return when she’s ready.” Bree took Rowan’s hand. “Now, let’s dance!”
Reeve watched Rhea, trying to decide when he should approach her. He looked around the room and spotted Gabby, sitting next to Sarita. When Gabby looked up and saw her brother watching her, she gestured toward Rhea. Reeve shook his head. He wasn’t ready to talk to the fairy yet.
However, Gabby continued giving him angry looks and indiscreetly pointing at the fairy.
Finally, Reeve relented. He walked over to where Rhea was sitting.
Then he took a deep breath and stepped in front of her.
The fairy’s eyes rose to his and he saw her preparing to flee.
Luckily for him, there were too many people next to them for her to jump up and run.
Unless she changed to sprite form, but he hoped she wouldn’t.
“May I have this dance?” he asked.
“I don’t think—” she began.
“I never got to have a first dance with you. It’s tradition. And besides, as mad as you may be, you wouldn’t want to embarrass me in front of my sister, would you?” He moved so Rhea could see Gabby was watching them.
Reluctantly, Rhea agreed and took Reeve’s hand.
They were quiet during the first song, which was a group dance, requiring that they switch partners occasionally.
The second song was slower. They spun gently, following the other couples.
Rhea had never danced with a man before tonight.
She was actually enjoying it. The steps were fairly easy to learn, and Reeve was a great dancer, leading her around the room.
“Is that a smile, I see?” he asked.
“I think I enjoy dancing,” she admitted.
“I know. I’ve seen you twirling around in the gardens.”
“You were spying on me?”
“Before, when I was tasked with protecting you I did.”
“Oh. Right.”