Riches to Royalty

Chapter 3: Meet Tasha Mae

Hey guys, sorry I haven't update this story in ages(not really). I have been rushing around with my assignments and trying to clear things up. For those that read my messages, you guys would know that I recently had a fight with my best friend, Jas( not his real name.) Oh and please DON'T hate Tasha :) She's one of the sweetest characters I love xD

xo

______________________________________________________

Chapter 3: Meet Tasha Mae

*Rosie*

I was nervous for the first time in two months. Huh. As I stood there at the closed doors of the royal throne room, Autumn and I stood next to each other and tried to be as calm as we could. Well, I think Autumn was fine but I was really really nervous. First thing was that I had to meet Heath's parents again and second, Tasha Mae, the wife of Heath would be there. Autumn and I were supposed to present ourselves to the royal family. Terrance was already in the room, explaining to them about RD. 

All of a sudden, the doors opened and I gasped. Autumn tugged one more time on her clothes before the both of us entered the room. Thanks to all the training, I was now walking like Autumn; graceful but firm at the same time. It was something that I knew Heath haven't gotten used to. I was gentle, sure, but I was strong at the same time. Physically, not emotionally. 

Tasha was smiling at me. She haven't changed one bit. Her blonde hair was in curls, her arm was in Heath's and both Heath's parents gasped when they saw me. I guess they didn't expect me to be the one to guard Heath and Tasha. When Autumn and I stopped in front all of them, Heath's parents ran to me and grabbed my hand with tears in their eyes. "Rosie, we haven't seen you in months!" Quinn must've expected me to break down and be happy with them and celebrate like how I would have done, but instead I didn't. 

I had to act cold. I shouldn't show weakness in case a spy was present in the room. I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat and only smiled at them. "Rosie...you're protecting my son?" Quinn stared at my wide-eyed. I nodded. I knew it was a surprise to them because I wasn't exactly the type of girl who knew how to hurt people in the first place. 

"Your Highness, I'm agent Cross and I'm here to protect Heath and Tasha along with my assistant Terrance. My boss, Agent Sparks was the one who assigned me to this...project." They looked at Autumn and Terrance, then back at me. They were obviously confused, but they didn't say anything either. I took the chance to step in front of Tasha and introduced myself. She grinned at me and grabbed my hand. 

"We'll be best friends!" She told me. I seriously doubt that. 

"Rosie, why not you take the queen to her chambers and have some time to get to know her?" Terrance suggested through gritted teeth. He obviously didn't like the fact that Quinn and Robert were staring at him like he was an assassin hired to kill Heath. Obviously they don't trust us yet, except for me. 

Tasha grabbed my hand and led me out of the room. I wanted to tell her that I didn't need her help with my way around the palace because I practically grew up here, but I bit my lip and kept my mouth shut from saying anything. She led me to her chambers and what surprised me was that she and Heath didn't share the same room or the same bed. They had complete different chambers. 

"Why doesn't Heath sleep here too?" I asked Tasha. She turned to look at me and smiled. 

"I don't know, but hopefully one day we would. That's what husband and wifes too, right?" I nodded, trying to focus on my poker face. 

"Right." I answered her. 

"I hope I'm doing the right thing though. I never knew my parents so I don't really know how to be a wife. Lots of the palace servants kept saying I acted like a love sick teenager rather than a proper wife." She explained to me with a sad smile. She never knew her parents? 

"You never knew your parents?" 

"They died in a car crash. My sister trained herself to be a professional killer with her boyfriend just so they could 'protect' me. I didn't need that, I wasn't in danger." She paused before continuing. "I always wanted to be a princess or a queen, so when one of the Council members told me that I was selected to be Heath's bride, I was excited! But the excitement didn't last long, Heath wasn't interested in me at all." 

All of a sudden, all feelings of hatred for Tasha vanished. 

"I'm sorry, I'm here for you." I smiled at her, hoping to give her some support. She saw this as a sign of friendship and instantly smiled back. 

What have I gotten myself into?

~~~

It was the night of the ball, the guests had arrived and the lights were dim. People were already pairing up and dancing together to the music. Some were flirting like teenagers at the corners. Some girls who were only focused on food were already at the food section, gobbling up all the food they could set their eyes on. 

Heath was walking around the ballroom talking to the guests and laughing along with some of them. Tasha wasn't present that night because she came down with a cold and had to stay in bed for a week. And after getting to know her, I realized what a nice person she really was. Our friendship grew stronger and now, I just felt protective of her. Everything was so messed up, but I still wanted to be her friend, maybe because I felt pity of her. Or maybe it's because she was being nice to me even though I didn't really deserve it. 

"Rosie," I looked up at the male in front of me, "do you want to dance?" I stared at him, should I refuse? 

"Heath..." A dance couldn't hurt, right? "Okay." He took my hand and led me to the dance floor. Like an instinct, I placed my arms around his neck and he placed his around my waist. The both of us never get to enjoy our senior year prom because of us dropping out, so I guess this was just fate letting us enjoy our own little prom. 

The feelings kept inside a girl, sometimes, shouldn't be known. Because once they're exposed, it backfires and eventually hurts the girl. As I stared into Heath's familiar blue eyes, I gasped. They were the most beautiful shade of blue, and I missed them. When was the last time both of us laughed and smiled at each other, while looking at each other in the eye? 

He leaned in closer, so now our noses were almost touching. I held my breath, this wasn't suppose to happen. "Where have you been all these months?" He whispered. As if my mind started up again, I used my hands to push him by the chest, making him slightly stumble backwards. He looked at me, hurt and sadness flashed in them, making my chest ached. It was sight that would probably haunt me forever. 

"Why did you stop dancing with me?" He asked me, hurt was obviously in his voice. I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat and answered him, trying to hold back the tears that would spill out later on. 

"Because it wasn't appropriate. You're a married king." With that, I turned on my heel and ran towards the exit. To any other guest, I would probably only look like a girl who got rejected by the king and running away from him. 

The doors closed behind me and it was dark again. The lights outside the ballroom were dim and it reminded me of the time Heath and I ran away to Riverton and attended their ball. The only thing similar between this night and that night, was that I ended up in tears. It was so weird, in my training, I managed to control all my emotions. But when I was around Heath, it was like the old Rosie took over and she always ended up in tears. 

I felt someone grabbing hold of my wrist. Like instinct, I pulled my hand away and glared at Heath but instantly soften my gaze when I saw the hurt in his eyes again. 

"What if I don't want to be a married king anymore?!" He questioned me. 

"Then you shouldn't have said 'I do' in the first place." 

At the same moment, the lights in the ballroom were off and the sound of glass breaking brought out the new Rosie. And protecting Heath became my number one priority again. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PREVIEW OF CHAPTER 4:

The blood...it was too much. The pain was unbearable. 
"Rosie!" I heard a distant voice shouting my name. Was it an angel? Was I dead already? Maybe I was.
"Rosie!" A female voice shouted my name. I recognized her, her name was Tasha. Wasn't she? I managed to protect her, right? That bullet that aimed at her, I couldn't believe I took a shot for her. I barely even knew her. She was Heath's wife...