Loving a Prince Charming (3 page)

Not that Seth would have allowed that. He had
made a promise, and he would keep it. But it was best that fight
had never happened.

“What would you have me say if anyone should
ask about either of these things?”

The discomfort left his father’s face, and
only the regal ruler remained. “You are to deflect the questions
however you deem best. These events are not to be discussed.”

This was the perfect moment to bow to his
father and leave. Their interaction could end on a civil note, and
he could spend the rest of the day with Kira, reading in the
library or practicing their archery.

Instead, roughened pride demanded retaliation
for being spoken to like a child. “And what if
I
would like
to know what the plans are for my succession and for my marriage? I
should think I have a right to know such things.”

His father, who had just returned to his
correspondence, paused but did not look back up at him. “We will
talk about those things later.”

“Rosamund will be free of the curse soon. We
should have the wedding planned so we can be wed right after.”

“That is not your concern, boy.”

Boy.
He
loathed
his father
using that word against him. He was not some slack-jawed idiot, nor
was he one of those reprehensible creatures who did not assume the
mantle of their responsibilities and instead wasted their people’s
money and trust on selfish pleasures and pursuits.

Seth was the future king, and it was his
right and his duty to make sure he cared for his kingdom in all
ways and at all times. This careless attitude his father treated
him with, especially concerning such vital questions, prevented him
from fulfilling his duty.

And he would not let that happen.

“I’m afraid it
is
my concern,
sir
. We are talking about my future wife and the queen of
this land. This is not an area where we can afford to be
thoughtless.”

He not only had the king’s full attention
now, but his father rose from his seat so they were eye-to-eye, the
large desk keeping them separated – at least for the time being.
“You forget yourself.
I
am the ruler of this land, and I
will make the decisions regarding my subjects, of which you are
one.”

“Then why have an heir at all, if you find me
so untrustworthy that you cannot be bothered to tell me how my own
marriage will proceed? Since you are king, why not just proclaim
yourself immortal and you won’t have me as a problem anymore.”

They were both breathing hard as they stared
the other down. Through his haze a constant tugging on his arm
brought him back to awareness. Kira.

From the doorway, a man was loudly clearing
his throat, the sound completing what Kira had started, bringing
him back to awareness. His father’s royal advisor stood there,
waiting for an audience.

“My son was just leaving,” his father said,
eyes never leaving Seth’s face. “Weren’t you?”

“Of course, Your Majesty. Thank you for the
enlightening discussion.” He turned on his heel.

“Seth,” his father called. Seth didn’t turn
back but cocked his head to show he was listening. His father
continued. “Because of safety concerns, I must insist that you stay
within the walls of the city through the duration of your birthday
celebration. I insist on this, and all the guards have been given
this instruction.”

Without another word, Seth left the room. He
didn’t speak until he and Kira were clear of the palace, out on the
grass and well on their way towards the stables. Only then did the
diatribe start. “I’m a prisoner in my own kingdom? The
highhandedness! He just gave me a blanket order!” A thought zoomed
through his mind and he turned and grabbed Kira by the shoulders.
“You didn’t know about that order, did you? Is that why you began
babysitting me?”

Kira arched her eyebrow at him and blinked
her eyes twice in a slow and steady rhythm. Her thin lips
flattened, and the words
You’re an idiot
practically wrote
themselves across her face. He took in a deep breath and released
her shoulders to jam his hand through his hair.

“Yes, I’m an idiot. I’m sorry. I should never
have said that. The man drives me insane.”

“You’re forgiven, but do it again and I will
deck you.” Kira’s face softened with compassion, and she reached up
to rub the nape of his neck. “He’s under a lot of stress. He’ll
realize how unfair he’s being and he’ll apologize. Until then,
we’ll figure out something. We always do.”

He leaned his head forward so she could reach
easier. “What does he mean, safety concerns? I’ve never heard him
expressing such thoughts before.”

“We need to ask my dad. He’ll be under orders
not to tell us, of course, but when has that ever stopped him
before?” Her other hand came up to join the first and she added
more power to the massage on his neck. “How can your neck be so
filled with knots? This isn’t healthy.”

“It’s where I carry my stress,” he shot back,
and though his eyes were closed, he as good as saw the smirk form
on her lips and heard the thought
What stress?
cross her
mind. “I am a very important person, you understand. My life is
nothing but stress.”

“Oh indeed. Learning to dance for a ball?
Epic in its torture.”

“It is when you must dance with Lady
Tremeil.” He opened his eyes as he raised his head a fraction.

Seth’s face was inches from hers, so close
the brown ring shading the green of her irises was visible. He
could count each individual eyelash and eyebrow hair, both darker
than the hair on her head, a touch of brown added to the true
red.

With her red hair and fair skin, she should
have freckles, but she didn’t. What she had instead was a wide
mouth that had a perfectly formed top lip and a too-thin bottom
lip, but those two combined created the most glorious smile he had
ever beheld on anyone.

That was Kira in a nutshell, dazzling in her
slight imperfections. Blessed with quick wits and battle skills
only men usually possessed, and far more feminine than any lady who
dedicated herself to gossip and fashion.

“Kira, Your Highness, come to ride
today?”

Seth jerked back the same way a child with
his hand in the cookie jar would. Kira’s father stood before them.
Taren’s eyes narrowed as his gaze went between the two of them, and
a roiling, nauseated sensation grew stronger in Seth’s stomach the
longer the man stared at them. He cleared his throat. “No, Taren.
I’ve just finished a – discussion – with my father. I think I’ll
retire to my rooms before dinner to relive the words of wisdom I
received.”

The phrasing worked as Seth hoped. Taren was
no stranger to his recent disagreements with his father, and the
captain’s face went from suspicion to vague sympathy. “Of course,
Highness.”

Seth looked back to Kira. There was color in
her cheeks and she was deliberately not looking at him. “We’ll meet
up later,” he said, just to have something to say, because for the
first time in his life, he was unsure exactly what to say to
her.

And with her nod, he fled from his best
friend.

“Your focus is non-existent, Kira. If I were
the enemy, you’d be dead.”

Kira picked herself from the floor, her lungs
taking in great gulps of air as she recovered from the sparring.
Her father never had pulled punches with her during a lesson, and
today was no exception. He had laid her low more times today than
he had for years.

Taren continued. “What is going on? Where’s
your mind?”

Kira took a swig of water, swishing it in her
mouth before swallowing. “Places it shouldn’t be.”

“You always go places you shouldn’t be. Why
should your mind be any different?” Her father offered her a cloth
to wipe the perspiration from her face.

She took it, and with the first swipe the
sting in her eyes lessened and her face cooled a fraction. “Usually
when that happens it’s because Seth drags me there.”

Her father smirked. “And again I say, what’s
different?”

The sudden twist of her stomach could not be
blamed on her recent match, more’s the pity. She took another drink
of the water to giver herself a moment to compose an answer. “What
do you mean?”

Her father shook his head. “Don’t do that.
I’ll never pry, but don’t hide from me.”

“I’m sorry, Dad.” She motioned toward the
bench against the wall, and at his nod, they walked together to
reach the resting area. Once they were comfortable she began. “I’ve
thought a lot about something. I’ve been thinking of nothing else
these last several months, truth be told.” And now came the hard
part, and her stomach cramped further. Her mind was made up. She
knew,
knew
, this was the best decision. Why were these last
words so hard? “I need to leave once Seth gets married. I won’t be
happy or comfortable here anymore, and I would rather make a clean
break than try to hold on and become more miserable by the
day.”

Instead of shock or anger, her father nodded.
He took her hand in his, rubbing his thumb over the skin of her
palm. “I was expecting this. I hoped I was wrong, but I knew I
wasn’t. Of course you can’t live here when Seth has a wife. And if
you did, it would be the worst mistake you could make.”

Her father’s acceptance broke something in
her that anger or judgment could never have touched. Tears welled
up in her eyes, and she used her free hand to rub them away. “How
would it be a mistake?”

“Because neither you nor he are people who
could live with yourselves if you had an affair, but that’s exactly
what would eventually occur. It would be unavoidable, the way the
two of you feel for each other.” Her father’s words were stark,
direct. There was no cruelty or malice contained in them, only pure
truth and the acceptance of it.

In her eyes her father was a warrior, the
leader of soldiers who fought and bled for his king. He embodied
that to such an extent that she sometimes forgot the part of him
who was a man who loved his wife so completely he still carried a
strand of her hair in a locket he never removed. It was to that
side of him that she said, “I love him, Daddy. I’ve loved him for a
long time.”

“I know.” He squeezed her hand. “And he is as
close to loving you as a person can without being in love.”

The words froze the breath in her lungs, the
push-pull of conflicting desires strong. “Why do you think
that?”

Taren let go of her hand and wrapped his arm
around her shoulders to bring her against him in a hug, the
full-body type he hadn’t given her for several years. “I’ve known
Seth since birth, and because he isn’t my son, I can see him a
little clearer than the king can. He is a man who embraces his
responsibilities. It’s a rare and valuable trait, but it has the
downside of always following duty and not heart.” He squeezed her
harder, his warmth crowding out the cold inside her. “You are his
heart, and every day he battles against it. Every day, I see him
wrestle with this love and refuse to allow it to root, because he
has to honor his commitments to his family and to his kingdom.”

“And his engagement to Rosamund.” The words
had a bitter, ashy aftertaste to them, and a childish urge to spit
struck.

Her father stroked her hair the way he had
since she was a little girl. “I am not the king’s confidant and I
do not understand his actions lately in regards to the engagement,
but I do know His Majesty is determined this marriage take place,
and that it is of the utmost importance.”

Kira gave her father a final squeeze then
stood, taking several steps away from his embrace. The comfort was
wonderful, but she needed to deal with this alone. It was her
burden to bear. “I won’t ever come between Seth and his kingdom. I
won’t… -I won’t tear his heart in two. I won’t have him regret what
is his greatest gift.”

He seemed to understand her need for distance
since he stayed seated. “I know you won’t. Never doubt you are as
honorable as he is, Kira. You couldn’t love him as well as you do
if you weren’t.”

It was only a fraction, but his words
lightened the load in her heart. For the second time that night,
she lifted her arm to rub against wet eyes. “I need to go for a
ride. I need to be alone.”

Taren looked dubious. “You’re distracted
right now and an easy mark. I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Only into town. Riding away from the castle
will start to clear my head. I won’t let myself become a mark,
ever.”

It took several moments, but the nod of
agreement did indeed come. “Do what you need to do, but be back
before morning.”

“Promise.”

And while she did keep her wits enough that
she was never in danger from an enemy, Kira’s meandering journey
brought her to an area of the city she had not visited before. A
small tavern, brightly lit and oddly inviting, drew her eye, and
after stabling her horse Kira walked inside.

It was half-filled, the talk subdued and the
clientele older, but there was a strain of merriment for all that.
Kira sat at the bar.

“What can I get for you, child?” From behind
the door an older lady walked out, gray-haired and cherub-cheeked.
Her smile was warmth personified and every tense muscle in Kira’s
body relaxed as she basked in the woman’s presence.

“Nothing too strong. A cider please.”

“Of course, of course.” The woman bustled
about the bar. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you before.”

“First time here. Name’s Kira – thank you,”
she added, as the woman set the glass in front of her.

“I’m Sara,” came the reply. “And while I find
it fascinating, not many young ladies come in here with a sword at
their side. Care to share your story?”

With a shrug, Kira answered, “It’s nothing
world-shaking. My father believes that a woman should be able to
protect herself. He taught me.”