The Black Rose

Chapter Two

Dinner was splendid, as it always was. Cook was always outdoing herself, having marvelous dishes to proudly show off at every meal. Tonight had been a roast duck, followed by sweet potatoes and a mix of wonderful vegetables. To finish it, the cook made Lizzie's favorite, blueberry tarts. Halfway through her second helping of tarts, Elizabeth was interrupted by her father.

"Lizzy my dear, what are you planning for this evening," he questioned as he did almost every night.

"I thought I'd take a turn around the castle yard before the sun is completely gone. Then I suppose it would do me well to return to my room early."

King Edward scoffed. "You want to turn in early, you say. What reason would you have for doing that? I heard you slept in this morning." The king crossed his arms and pierced Lizzy with his gaze. She felt her body stiffen.

"I'm feeling quite tired lately, and I accidentally dozed off while I broke my fast this morning. I thought that an early night would prevent that from happening again."

"What makes you so tired to need to sleep in? When you're queen you will need to do much more work than this. How do you expect to run this kingdom if you're so tired?" He stressed his last word, as if to mock her.

"Edward," Queen Vivienne interrupted. "Elizabeth has been working hard on her lessons. She will be more than ready when she is crowned queen. Allow her to rest."

"Rest!" He exclaimed. "Does the King of Nydalia get to rest? Can he take a break from his duties? No! Elizabeth will not get a break when she is queen, why should she have one now? She needs to be trained and ready to take over when I am gone. How is she to be ready if she is always taking breaks?"

"Father," Elizabeth harshly cut in. "I'll remind you that I'm not queen yet. It will be a long time yet until I am. Why shouldn't I get a break? One early night? I am not a queen, I am just a princess. Princesses get breaks, do they not?" Lizzy paused for an answer. A heavy cloud seemed to hang over the room. Her mother sunk deeper into the seat, waiting for the out lash that was about to ensue.

"How dare you speak to me in that tone? My own daughter trying to defy me." He rose from his seat and slowly began his way towards Elizabeth. Vivienne pleaded for him to sit down, but he didn't listen. Continuing his way down the table, Edwards' anger grew.

"I didn't mean to offend and anger you Father." Elizabeth said, keeping her tone cool so as not to appear threatened. A sudden sting against her cheek warned her to think otherwise. The force of the blow caused her head to whip backwards into the chair.

"Edward please!" Vivienne begged. "For once, leave the poor girl alone."

Instantaneously, his stance calmed. "I suppose you're right my dear. May this be a lesson to you, Elizabeth. Don't ever raise your voice against me, the king, again." Edward sat down and resumed the eating of his dessert.

"Of course Father. If you'll excuse me, I've quite lost my appetite. Good night." Elizabeth rose and left the room, not waiting for an answer.

Only once she exited the dining room did she allow herself to show her pain. Rubbing her cheek tenderly, she made her way to the room. Anytime she showed any weakness to her father, he taught her a lesson for it. Taking time to pause once she was in her room, the image of watching her father's fist traveling towards her replayed in her head. She could feel her body tensing in preparation for it all over again. The sting of the punch had made her eyes water, but shedding a tear would have only caused Father's anger to worsen.

Shaking her head, Elizabeth pushed the memory aside and focused on the present. She had not forgotten about the note she had found on her tree. New assignments always excited her.