The Prince's Guide to True Love's Kiss {Published Version}

Lesson 41

Lesson 41: Mother Knows Best

With everyone in Stalvart preoccupied by the masquerade and the fact that the prince would be choosing his bride, people were less than helpful. It took Grielle longer than she expected to find a ship captain sailing out of Stalvart within the next few days, and even longer to find one willing to take an extra passenger on only a day's notice.

The brilliant amber shades of dusk painted the wisps of clouds as Grielle hurried back to the inn. The streets of the city were alive with a flurry of action. Even people who weren't attending the ball seemed to have caught the excitement themselves. Revelers filled the tavern of the inn, making their own party.

Grielle didn't want any part of it. Instead of indulging in a meal from the inn's kitchens, she took the loaf of bread she'd purchased from a baker's cart up to her room. She ignored the friendly hellos from everyone she passed, intent on feeling every bit of misery that darkened her heart. As she turned the corner of the hall, her heart nearly stopped to see a figure standing at her door. She begged her feet to move, but they stuck to the floorboards.

"You're a tricky one to track down," Reyn said. She picked an invisible speck of dirt from her nail and flicked it off with her thumb.

"I can't go back," Grielle said, finding her voice and her feet. She brushed past Reyn, clumsily shoved the key into the lock of her room, and ducked out of the hall. Reyn followed without being invited.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

"Then why are you here?" Grielle asked, arms folded across her chest.

"To hopefully save you from making the mistakes I made at your age," Reyn said, shutting the door with a kick of her foot.

"I'm not making a mistake. It was my mistake to think that Benedikt and I were meant—"

"No," Reyn said, throwing up a hand to stop Grielle. "Stop. You and I both know that you and Benedikt are meant to be together. But with the past you have had, I can't blame you for trying to run. There was a time when I would have done that too."

Grielle started to object but the dangerous glare Reyn gave her halted her tongue.

"Do you know what I was before I became a Liberator?"

"You were an assassin for the Linnean army," Grielle replied.

Reyn shook her head. "I was an orphan just like you. No family save for myself and nothing to my name but the anger in my heart. I'd lost everyone I'd ever cared for and for years I refused to let anyone close to me for fear of losing them. Ludvig was the first to break through my defenses and that was by sheer perseverance. The years of my life between the death of my parents and the time I met Ludvig were the darkest of my life.

"You have never known your mother. You've lost your father, and now Yorick in a sense. And let's be honest, your experience with Henrik might have fouled your belief in the honor of men whether you know it or not. But Benedikt is everything Henrik is not, and more importantly, he loves you to the point that he wanted to cancel the ball when you left. He will love you until his final breath — if you give him the chance."

Grielle could feel tears welling in her eyes. Reyn not only made perfect sense, she was saying everything Grielle hadn't known she needed to hear.

"Do not run. You are safe now. That boy is willing to do anything to get you back."

Grielle felt a hot tear roll down her cheek.

"You are safe." Reyn pulled Grielle into her arms.