The Knight's Rose

Chapter Thirty-Nine ~ The Taking of a Rose

Chapter Thirty-Nine ~ The Taking of a Rose

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Rose's POV

Was he mad at me? Did he want to kill me? Take me as retribution? To lock me up in Chuvarian Prison? Hang me to death? Throw me in the river? Was it a threat? A promise concealed in a woven basket of animosity and hatred?

No. Nikolai wasn't like that. After all the time I spent with him, I knew for a fact that he wasn't a cruel person.

Perhaps... Was he coming to save me?

I have to go fix your father's mess.

The cruel expression he had made when he had released me seemed to only plague my mind in a whirlwind of misery. I couldn't blame him for his words. It was indeed my biological father that had slain his own, orphaning both him and Naida.

I knew Nikolai was angry with his father, and I could somewhat understand the roots of his emotions, but still, he could have had high regard for his father that rivaled love. To know that it was because of me that he had lost a parent made me feel as though I was carrying the world's burden on my shoulders.

I could never give him back his father.

Still, though I felt remorse that Nikolai had lost a parent, I couldn't bring myself to grief over a man who had wanted to have me seized and killed.

Even my empathy didn't stretch that far.

"I almost feel threatened. I can't wait to meet this Nikolai gentleman, King of Chuvaria and capturer of Rose's heart," Zaros said, nonchalantly as if discussing the weather. "Well, that'll be all, Rose. I'll summon you when King Nikolai has arrived."

I curtsied, my head bending forward with respect before I turned to the double doors. I stopped for a minute before turning to look at my father who had already sat down.

"One more thing, Zaros. When Nikolai figured out I was a Ceasian, I remember him telling me that if I came from a Kingdom that was known for evil then it was worth negotiating with them. So give him a chance, will you?"

"No, love, you're nothing close to evil. Believe me when I say you have one of the purest hearts I've ever seen, Rose," Nikolai told me, resting his head over my own. 

"You've single-handedly proven to me that maybe the Ceasian Kingdom isn't all evil. If the King can produce a beautiful selfless woman like you, then perhaps it's worth negotiating with them."

My heart warmed at the memory, the feelings that had induced. The remembrance of his strong arms holding me to his chest and had kept holding me until I could breathe normally again.

Zaros's grey eyes studied mine for a second before he nodded his head in understanding.

I then exited the room just as my breathing returned back to normal. Still, my heart thudded in anticipation at the idea of meeting Nikolai so soon. They should be on their way now, perhaps arriving in an hour or two.

The knight that had delivered the letter must have already reached back to Nikolai. How I wished I could have sent him a letter back. Perhaps one asking for mercy, how Naida and my sisters were doing, to beg for a compromise that would please both sides.

Slowly, I walked down the cold halls, wondering if this would be my last time admiring these walls. Would Zaros allow me to return to my home? To my sisters?