Mi Princesa

Part Two - Chapter Nine: Talking About the Past

Fernando watched his wife with their son, he smiled knowing that this was the quietest their home had been in the last few days; Christmas was always busy for the royal family and he was glad to have the day with his wife and children. 

Fernando leant back on the couch, he could hear Nora playing with Biscuit in her room and he hoped that his daughter would stay distracted for a little while. 

"Nessa," Fernando murmured watching his wife, he didn't want to fight with her but he hadn't been able to shake the talk that he'd had with Maria from his head; he was curious and wanted some answers. 

Vanessa looked up at her husband, she knew that something was bothering him and she had been waiting for him to open up to her about what was on his mind. 

"I wanted to ask you about your madre," Fernando asked gently, he knew that it was a hard subject for her to talk about but he needed to know what had happened. 

Fernando had a feeling that Maria wasn't going to go away, she had already approached him at the church service and he feared that she would target Nora next to get to Vanessa. 

Vanessa stared at her husband for a moment before she looked away from him and down at Bojan, she had known that this talk was coming; she had spotted Maria with Fernando and had doubted that it would be long before he asked. 

"What happened?" Fernando asked softly, he knew that she never liked discussing her mother and he had a feeling that Vanessa wanted nothing to do with Maria for a reason. 

Bojan babbled happily clapping his hands making Vanessa smile, she brushed her fingers through her son's brown hair; she loved him so much and it made it harder for her to ever forgive her mother for what she had done to their family. 

Fernando didn't say anything else as he watched his wife, he knew that she would tell him when she was ready; he had asked for a reason and he doubted that she would stay quiet.

"It was about four... five years after my padre become king," Vanessa started not looking at her husband, she fussed over her son; she wasn't going to shed anymore tears over what had happened between her parents. 

Fernando watched Vanessa, he could see that she was hurting and he knew that this wasn't easy for her to talk about; he just hoped that he was doing the right thing by asking her this. 

"I was fifteen, I guess my parents had been fighting a lot more," Vanessa murmured shaking her head, she wished that she would have noticed what was going on; she could have saved her father from being hurt in anyway by her mother. 

Fernando swallowed, he knew that children felt their parents fights a lot more than people realised it was the reason that he and Olalla had kept things calm when they had broken up. 

"We were pulled from school early one day, no one would tell us why," Vanessa recalled, she remembered that Charlotte and Joseph had asked her what was going on but she had no idea; she had been just about to go into lunch when Jorge had come to pick her up from school. 

Fernando felt his stomach twist, his own research had allowed him a little insight into what had happened that day but he wanted to hear it from Vanessa; he feared just how his wife had reacted when she had been told the truth. 

"The entire palace was in chaos when we arrived home... we were hurried until a private room and left there for what felt like hours," Vanessa continued, they had been left alone with no way to entertain themselves; they hadn't been allowed to watch television or anything.

"My padre was the one that broke the news... my madre had been caught by paparazzi with another man," Vanessa whispered shaking her head, she looked to Fernando knowing that she would never forget how broken her father had been when he had revealed to them what was going on. 

Maria had been caught with Stefan and the pictures were all over the news, the couple had gone into hiding and the media storm was only just beginning with the news that the Queen of Andorra was cheating on the King. 

"They'd been together for two years," Vanessa spat with disgust, she still couldn't believe that her mother hadn't had the decently to warn her father what was going to happen; instead she had hidden away like a coward in Stefan's home. 

Fernando clenched his fists, he knew that the palace had done it's best to try and calm what was going to the media but there was only so much they could cover up. 

"He wasn't the first... a lot of her lovers came forward afterwards," Vanessa muttered remembering hearing story after story about the men that her mother had been sleeping with; there had even been pictures in some cases and the papers had a field day. 

Fernando moved off the couch and sat down next to Vanessa, he recalled the mayhem there had been when Prince Charles and Diana had divorced; it had been pretty crazy then and it had been all over the news. 

"My padre had no choice but to file for divorce when it became clear she wasn't coming home," Vanessa said looking down at Bojan, she would never do what her mother had done to her children; she loved them too much to do anything of the sort. 

Fernando wrapped his arms around his wife and son, he felt angry that Maria had abandoned her children for her lover; he knew that Nora and Bojan would always come first for him and Vanessa. 

"I only saw her once... she came back for her stuff and I heard her talking to a friend that she had never wanted children," Vanessa whispered feeling like crying, it had hurt to hear her mother say that; she had even laughed with her friend about how happy she was to be free now.

Fernando kissed Vanessa, he closed his eyes feeling angry that Maria wanted to come back now; it had nothing to do with her missing her children and had everything to do with the fact that Vanessa was now Queen. 

"She quickly gave my padre fully custody and cut ties with all of us," Vanessa continued glad that she had told Fernando, he deserved to know and the papers didn't have the full side of the story or they had printed a lot of lies about what had happened. 

The papers had printed story after story of how George had bought Maria off to leave the children with him, they had never even thought that Maria had no interest in her own children and had only had them because George had needed an heir. 

"I saw her once before I went to London for university, she didn't even say anything... just stared at me like I was some stranger," Vanessa concluded shaking her head, that was what had hurt the most that her own mother hadn't known who she was. 

Vanessa had moved on with her life and she wasn't going to let her mother back in, Maria had made her choose when she had chosen Stefan and she wasn't going to manipulate things now. 

Vanessa hadn't wanted her at the wedding and she didn't want Maria anywhere near her children; she didn't trust the woman not to use her family to get what she wanted. 

Fernando was silent as he took in what his wife had said, he made a silent vow that Maria wasn't going to be getting close to his wife or his children; he would do anything to make sure she didn't get her claws into his family. 

"It'll be okay amor," Fernando promised, he kissed his wife glad that she had been able to share that with him instead of being forced to ask someone else.