Strike at Midnight(96)

A knock on the door made me jump out of my skin, but the prince didn’t move a muscle when he shouted “Come in” to whoever was on the other side.

The king pushed the door open and made his way inside the room, and the prince pulled me back towards him when I tried to pull away.

“Is everything well, my son?” he asked, looking at us both with a dubious expression on his face.

“I was just telling the prince why I can’t marry him,” I babbled, and I tried to shift away from the prince once more but to no avail.

“She’s just told me that she can’t marry me,” the prince told his father with a big smile on his face, “because apparently she may have killed a man who tried to rape her in her youth, and she doesn’t want to be shackled by the propriety of being a princess because of the awful things she had to deal with from her abusive stepmother.” He gave me a devious look. “Have I gotten that right?"

Was he making fun of me?

“Well, that’s no good,” the king said as he shut the door behind him and came further into the room. I readied myself for an argument, but I wasn’t sure what the hell I was supposed to be arguing for or against. Or with what with who. This was all too confusing after laying my whole damn shit onto the table, and I felt like I was being spun backward.

“I know,” the prince said. “I’ve already told her that I’ll make sure the bastard is dead if she didn’t do a good enough job of it the first time. And being a princess will protect her from any comeback should any arise.”

“Rightly so, rightly so,” the king said as he lifted his robe to take a comfortable seat opposite us. What the fuck? I just stared at them both.

“I thought you didn’t want me anywhere near your son?” I managed to croak out when I realized I had a voice.

“And whatever gave you that idea?” he asked in surprise.

“In the gardens? Y-You said that you w-wouldn’t see him get h-hurt,” I stammered, not quite remembering the conversation, as my head was still jumbled from their unexpected behavior.

“If you recall,” the king said, as if trying to hold back his humor, “I said that you needed to stop using excuses such as your station to avoid being with him. You hold the power within you to hurt my son a great deal, and I had to wonder what your game was when my son said you were hesitant in your affections.”

“So you thought I should have been jumping into his arms at any sign of interest in my direction because it was a major step up for me?” I asked, not sure if I should be insulted or not.

“It sounds worse when you put it that way, but yes. Something like that. My son told me what had occurred before that day and how you kept pushing him away, then giving him encouragement.” He looked chagrined when I raised my eyebrows at that comment. “That’s what I got from what he told me, at least. He didn’t say that bit.”

“You two really confuse the shit out of me,” I whispered, and I rubbed my forehead. This was not turning out like I had expected it to.

“And as for feeling shackled by propriety,” the king carried on, “I would only expect some form of refinement from you, as I would from anyone who becomes royalty. But my son would never want you to change, I am certain. And neither would I.”

“You’re happy having a daughter-in-law with pink hair and a foul mouth?” I asked, really needing to try and put some pieces together here.

“I saw you at the ball,” he said with a pleasing tilt to his lip. “You outshone every woman in that room. You can hold great manners if necessary. And I believe you have enough affection for my son to not embarrass him if the need arose. I’ve seen how hard you’ve tried to protect him from yourself.”

“I don’t get it,” I muttered, and he slapped his legs and stood up.

“There is nothing to get, dear girl. You either want to marry my son or you don’t. But don’t keep putting excuses in the way because you’re scared of love finding you. It looks like you’ve been evading it way too long, in my opinion.”

He nodded his head in my direction and then that of his son before leaving the room. I was totally and utterly thrown by all of this. It was as if I had been thrust into a dream and someone was going to come and shake me awake soon.

The prince got up out of his seat and crouched down so he was on one knee before me. Panic flared up in my heart, and I think I actually came close to fainting for the first time in my life.

He gave me a gentle smile and said, “All I ask is that you stay betrothed to me while we find Lord Peacock. To at least let me protect you from Carena law until we can get to the bottom of this.” He reached for my hand and kissed it. “I won’t force you into any marriage between us, and I will arrange for the betrothal to be dissolved if you so wish it once you’re safe again. But please let me do this for you, Rella. Let me do this as a thank you in return for saving my own life. Please?”

Another tear escaped down my face at the amazing gesture he had just offered me, and I couldn’t help but nod at his request. All words escaped me at such generosity, and the pressure of what he offered me took hold.

At the sight of my reaction, he again showed me more astuteness than I would ever have given him credit for. He rose up off the floor and gave me the space I needed so I could pull myself together. If I hadn’t admitted to myself that I had fallen in love with him before now, then this would surely have done the trick.