Her own way

Chapter 24

"Of course, I'll have to go alone. I can't be seen walking with Prince Joshua, can you imagine the horror?"

Kate's careless words haunted Joshua for days after she had spoken them. There were no words that he could use to describe what he was feeling. Anger, rage, pain, sadness, fear... just a few that sprang to mind. The anger and rage he could understand, same with the sadness and fear. What Kate had said made it sound like he was beneath walking with a servant, that she cared more for the opinions of others than she did for him. This was also his greatest fear: that Kate would abandon him because of what people would think, and it was unsettling to hear that was what she might do. So instead of Kate pushing him further away than she had with her words, he decided to take control and put some distance between them himself.

It had been almost a week since he had actually spoken to her but there had been several times he had rebuffed his attempts to talk. Walking past her in the passageways and blatently ignoring her was upsetting to the pair of them but Josh knew he needed to stay strong. He knew his father would be watching, he would always be watching to see how much Kate meant to Joshua especially after the way Josh had defended Kate from him. Luckily King Raphael had not actually made an appearance but his presence was constantly in the back of Josh's mind. In an attempt to take his mind off everything that made him think of Kate and his father, Josh was beginning to spend more time out of the castle either with the horses in the stable, out in the gardens or with his mother. His mother was the preferred choice out of the three. She would listen to everything he had to say without comment or complaint, giving him the chance to release all of the emotions that had built up since his last visit.  She had the ability to calm him and provide him with another sanctuary within the castle grounds. The only downside for Josh visiting his mother is that she would never answer back. Not because she didn't want to, but rather because she couldn't.

Kneeling beside her grave as he had done on so many occassions throughout the year, Josh began to talk to her.

"Hello Mother," He began as usual with a fond smile on his face. His hand tracing the letters on the gravestone. "I know it's not been long since I was last up here but I couldn't stay away. Father has been his usual self, that wouldn't suprise you and Lucas... well the less said about Lucas the better! He's been up to all sorts according to his letter. He's on his way to the border at the moment. Father sent him out theere on some sort of mission that I'm not allowed to know about. I'm not important enough to know such things."

He let out a bitter laugh, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. It was times like this he wished his mother was still around. The Queen of Rynemona had been such a strong woman with a gentle heart, it would have pained her to see her only son feeling neglected while being heir to the throne should make him the second most important person in the Kingdom after his father. Taking a deep breath Josh rearranged himself so that he could lie on his back next to the grave site and stare up at the clouds. The rainfall that drenched Kate the previous week turned into a horrific storm that lasted for several days. The only reminder of the storm were small areas of flooding around the Kingdom, at least that was what Joshua had heard. Now the skies were clear, a vivid shade of blue with only a smattering of clouds in the distance.

"You probably know that's not really the reason I'm here, am I right?" He paused a moment as if expecting an answer. He let out a small chuckle as a gentle breeze ruffled his hair, just like his mother would when he was a child. "You would be right. Okay, well you see the thing is... it's about a girl and before you wonder yes it is the girl I've been telling you about. She said something that really hurt me mother, I don't know what to do. She said she didn't want to be seen with me, that it would be a 'horror'. Why would she say that?" Tears began to trail down Josh's face and he gave a small sob. "I love her mamma, I thought she loves me too but now I'm not so sure. I mean one minute we are having a great time, then she went to the market and when she got back she's decided she doesn't need me anymore. I don't think I could stand it if I lost her too. Kate is the strongest and most amazing girl I have ever met, you would love her too if you met her. I am worried for her though. Near two weeks ago she met Father. He was going to beat her right there in the kitchens. I had to stop it! It's one thing for him to hit me in his rages but what kind of coward attacks a defenceless woman who didn't even know who he was?"

Josh sat up clenching his fists in anger at the memory of what could have happened to Kate. He looked around at the grassy fields before his eyes focused on the castle. Allowing his father close enough to hurt Kate was not an option. It was becoming clear to Josh what he needed to do.

"I don't know how I'll find the stength mother, but for her I'll do it. I've come so far this week without speaking to her, if I act like she means nothing to me then Father will take his eyes off her and maybe, just maybe I can get her away from this place. He'll probably be watching me closely now. I've never stood up to him before and boy did it feel good. I'm not a scared little boy now mamma, it's time I start fighting my own battles and do some good for this kingdom." Pushing himself off the grass, Josh began the long journey back to the castle pausing a moment at the gates to the family cemetary to look back at his mother's grave. "Bye mother, and thank you."

With renewed determination, Josh strode back to the castle eager to put his new plan into action. It would pain him and cause Kate a great deal of hurt, but if he managed to take control away from his father and protect Kate at the same time then it was a risk he would be willing to take.

Unknown to Josh, King Raphael stood on the balcony of his study. His informants within the castle had told him all about how his son was ignoring the pretty servant girl. It was a curious thing as Josh had been so eager to save her before. Something must have happened, this he knew but just what exactly it was Raphael did not know, nor did he even care. If the girl could be used in some way to keep the boy under control then it would be done. No one defies the King and gets away with it. Raphael smirked to himself as he turned back to face the man sat by his desk.

"Watch him. I want to know where he goes, who he meets and what he does. The same with the girl." The King pulled out a small pouch of gold coins and tossed it to the man, who nodded his head in response to the order before silently leaving the room. Making himself comfortable in his large wingback chair Raphael began to chuckle to himself. In his mind, he would soon have everything he desired, his son and the servant girl out of the way, his men would find the missing Princess and she would be brought before him to cause the one thing he desired above all: the downfall of his enemy - King Thomas of Eardheorte.

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A/N: Hokay, well as I was writing this I realised that I have made Josh sound like a bit of a sissy... It was not meant to come out like that but we all love a guy who is willing to cry over the girl he loves! If you hadn't remembered from an earlier chapter Josh's mum died when he was about 9 (I think it was) but even though we may lose a family member we still talk to them. It took me quicker than I thought it would to write this, I've been trying for weeks to get some inspiration but alas I have been busy with decorating my flat leaving me little time to focus on this. Good news is I already started the next chapter so in theory I will have it up by the end of the week :-)

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