The King's Daughter

38 The Surprise

"Mom...I can't believe you're here!" I sobbed against her as I clutched her tightly. I breathed in her familiar scent, a scent I had all but forgotten.

"I can't believe it either sweetheart. I'm so happy you're safe, I can't even begin to describe how happy I am." Her voice shook with emotion.

"I miss you so much, mom." My eyes were a river of tears and I couldn't control my pitiful sobs.

"I missed you my sweet Aria. I thought you were gone forever." Her voice brought a comfort to my soul that I hadn't felt since the day I last heard it.

"But how? How are you here?" I managed to pull away far enough to look at her face, her magnificently stunning face that never seemed to age.

"I received a message. It said if I wanted to see you, to come here alone. There was proof of you being alive and okay and I couldn't pass it up. I had to see you, no matter the risk." She said, her hands cupping my face as she gazed at me admiringly. "But are you okay darling? Where have you been?"

"I'm fine. I'm not hurt or anything and I don't know where I've been...he doesn't let me see where the mansion is." I said.

"Mansion?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows as if she were trying to picture every mansion she knew of.

"Yes..." I felt weird giving her clues to the location of Louis' mansion, as if Louis was listening and would know if I betrayed him. Yet he hadn't told me not to tell her anything... "That's all I know. I've been at a mansion in the forest somewhere."

Her hands felt down my arms. "Has he hurt you? Tell me if he has."

"No, he doesn't hurt me. He's...nice to me." I looked at the ground.

"What?" She stopped moving for a second.

"Yeah, he's...kind to me. He actually cares for me. You don't have to worry about him and I, but you do have to worry about yourself, because his father is plotting to kill you, dad, and Finn and then marry Flora." I blurted out in a hurry to distract her from asking about Louis, but she didn't take the bait. She was more worried about me than herself.

"Aria. This man doesn't care about you. He kidnapped you and forced you to marry him on live television. I watched it happen. Only you know what other horrible things he's done to you. Don't let yourself be bewitched by him. Stay strong." She said firmly, grasping my arms.

"Mom...you don't understand." I shook my head, knowing she would never undstand no matter how much time I spent trying to explain Louis' complexity, so I changed the subject. Our time together was valuable and wouldn't be spent on negative things. "How is dad? And Finn and Flora?"

I could tell she didn't want to drop the issue, but she did anyway for my sake. "They're as well as they can be in your absence. Finn has taken it pretty hard. I hardly ever see him and it's nearly impossible to get him to attend his daily training for the crown. Flora gets up to plenty of mischief. She needs your good example. And your father...he misses you terribly."

"But he's alright?" I asked.

She bit her lip, pulling me over to the bench where we sat down. Her hand didn't let go of mine. "I've debated whether or not to tell you, but I think you deserve to know... He's not doing well, sweetheart. His health is declining. He mourns your absence more every day and I fear he may not be around much longer. He misses you too much."

My heart hurt at hearing the news. A huge weight seemed to be trying to crush me. What if I never got to see him again?

"Why didn't he come? Or my siblings?" I asked.