The Tale of a Princess Fallen from Grace

Chapter Eight

"I am sorry, do I know you?" Rose asked cautiously with a feeling of trepidation running through her.

"Not yet." He smiled, but it was not a nice smile - no, there was a darkness about it, like danger lurking beneath calm water.

"Ok... Well what is your name?" Rose asked with a frown and glanced around the ballroom, feeling a little bit of relief when she noticed all of the steadfast guards standing at their posts around them.

"All of that shall become clear soon enough. Now tell me, where is the young Prince Josiah?" He asked putting Rose on edge.

Was it possible that he knew something? Surely not...

"He is enjoying his party. Why?" She asked defensively.

"He is certainly a handsome young Prince, I am sure you will agree. And he has got his mother's eyes."

Rose drew in a sharp breath feeling panicked. Where was Romi? This man with a wrinkled face and danger lurking in his eyes was certainly making her feel uneasy. Josiah had her green eyes - not Nijah's black coffee ones!

"I am sorry but you are wrong. His green eyes come from his father, Queen Nijah has brown eyes." Rose replied, trying to keep a steady voice.

"Who said I was talking about Nijah?" He answered quickly, his words pouncing on Rose making a cold dread sweep over her.

Shock and worry made her feel sick, as this man was obviously hinting that he knew her secret somehow.

"Who are you?" She gasped, trying to question him further and find out how much trouble they were in.

"We shall talk soon dear Princess Rosilabeth." He simply stated before turning and wandering back into the crowd, having done his job in unsettling the Princess.

Rose debated over grabbing a fistful of his cloak and pulling him back to demand answers, but instead she rose her hand to her neck, struggling to breathe and feeling choked. Anxiety clawed at her heart and the music and chatter seemed to grow louder as she struggled to control her emotions. Her heart rate quickly surpassed its usual rhythmic beat, as she could not stop worrying about who had found out her secret, Nijah and Henri's secret and most importantly Josiah's secret. If people found out that he was Korian's bastard son he would no longer be an heir or raised in the palace, and Nijah and Henri would be painted as liars and deceivers.

All at once the situation became too much and Rose practically sprinted outside, not caring that she was making a scene as a posh lady she nearly bumped into cried out in indignation. A server carrying a golden tray of drinks nearly went flying, but Rose did not even stop to apologise courteously. She just had to get out of the stuffy ballroom and drink in some large gulps of fresh air.

Tears pricked at her eyes as she realised the story they had tried for so long to make believable could now crumble at their feet. She did not stop once she burst through the open doors, light and music following her outside, and the colder air sobered her up. The moon, which hung like a luminescent pearl out of the sky, added a sense of peace, but the weight of the situation was too hard to bear, and her chest shook as she started to sob, half-jogging and half-waking away from the ballroom hoping she would not be followed. Her feet led her away, taking her to the one place she never felt judged before she even consciously knew it.

The stables.

Now the music from the ballroom was only a ghostly whisper in the air, and the croaking crickets, soft gusts of wind and her muffled sobs were the only noises disturbing the peaceful silence. There was only one lantern at the entrance lit inside the stables, as all the horses were bathed in darkness left to sleep. As she clambered down the side to Alsukar's stable, she tripped and landed face first in the dirt with a shriek, but she carried on with blind eyes and hands scratching out at the darkness. An owl hooted making her jump, when she finally felt the cold latch and slight indentation of the stable door. She made a racket as she tried to lift the hatch whilst she was shaking and crying, causing the horses to neigh and trot around, spooked by her disturbance.

Once she had forced her way inside resulting in a long scratch down her palm, she scampered forward until she reached Alsukar who luckily did not kick out at her, as she saw her features painted silver with the magnificent glow of the moonlight behind her. Rose then collapsed to her knees to cry with the peace of her favourite house. Alsukar was lying down as Rose raced in, but she relaxed with a huff as Rose cuddled into her.

"Oh Alsukar... Something t-terrible is going to h-happen. I can just f-feel it." She sniffled as she reached back to loosen the corset in her beautiful dress so that she could breathe properly, not caring that she was probably getting it mucky.

Rose laid her head upon Alsukar's soft underbelly and hugged her, feeling comforted by her soft fur and the gentle raising of her stomach with each breath.

She nearly fell asleep when fifteen minutes later Rose heard Romi's voice calling out worriedly, causing her to hurriedly wipe at her tears and stand up to try to look more presentable. The hurried clattering of his footsteps and anxious calling out showed how worried he was, so even though Rose wanted to simply hide away, she called out to him.

"I - I am in here." She exclaimed rather hoarsely.

"Oh Rose... what is wrong?" He asked looking panicked as he arrived at Alsukar's stable, who looked very put out to be disturbed two times in a row.

He placed his torch in the grate in the wall before racing over to his pale Princess.

"N-nothing... I am fine." She squeaked, but her words were an obvious lie.

"Was it me? Did I upset you?" He asked with his big brown eyes looking dismayed.

"No." Rose shook her head numbly, surprised when Romi suddenly reached out and pulled her into a warm hug.

She gasped as his horsey pine scent suddenly invaded her senses, and their bodies were pressed intimately together. The action was so pure, sweet and just what she was yearning for that Rose could not resist hugging him back even tighter, and burying her face in his neck, which she just about reached when she stood on tiptoes.

"Oh Romi... Everything is wrong again." She sniffled.

"What is wrong?" He whispered softly as his fingers ran through her hair.

"I...I..." Suddenly Rose did not want to fight and keep the heavy burden to herself anymore.

The damning words spewed out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"Prince Josiah... he is my son." She sobbed, shaking like a frail old woman.

Romi tensed and was rendered speechless. Rose was a mother? The heir of his country was her son? How could this be? Who was the father? Was he still around? Romi's heart sunk like the sun at the end of each day as he wondered how it could be true.

He could not think of anything worthwhile to say, but realised he did not need to say anything but comfort the broken woman clinging to him. Right now, she was what was most important.

The harrowing truth could come out another day.

I hope you are enjoying the book guys! Love you all xoxo

Edited