CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Bjorn always had father issues.
His dad is a great man. He was the general of the kingdom's military army. He led the kingdom to many victories, including the most recent war when a neighboring country attempted to take over one of Aragon's borders.
Bjorn was never close to his father as a child until now. He was left with his mother as an only child while his father was away most of the time. And even when his father was at home, he never really had time to spend with Bjorn, since battles are never-ending.
"How is the princess?" Bjorn's father asked as he sipped from a cup of tea. He sat across from Bjorn at the office where Bjorn currently stays at. This was the previous office of his father, back when he was just a captain.
Rows of trophies were sitting on the shelves, and medals hung on the wall. A reminder of his past victories. At the corner of the room was an armored stand with his father's previous chest plate that had a massive pit caving inward at the center of its chest.
"She's fine," Bjorn said, "as usual."
"You should open up more to her. She's your fiancé," his father reminded him. "We all know how she begged to marry you back when you were thirteen and she was just ten."
"You should never have never agreed to it."
"Philos is my closest friend," Bjorn's father placed down the cup of tea and looked around his old office, "we were close even back then when he was just a prince and I was the captain."
"What do I have to do with that? Tatiana is someone I don't want to marry," he said distastefully. Every time he says the princess' name, there is always a bitter taste on his tongue. He will never love someone so cruel.
"You should be more understanding and kinder to her, son. You know that you are the only one she fully trusts and opens up to."
"I don't want to be involved with her. She's not a good person. And she hurts everyone around her, including me."
Bjorn always hated the fact that Tatiana was always chasing him. At first, he found it cute, but as time passed, the princess became even more obsessive and mean. She would drive other people away from Bjorn just to keep him all to herself.
"You still have years to go before the wedding. Maybe you could work things out."
"Fatherâ"
"Tatiana will be turning sixteen soon. She will need a personal knight." Bjorn was caught off guard by his father's change of topic. "As offensive as it may seem, I do not trust the queen."
"Father, you could be arrested if someone else heard that," Bjorn warned him. Topics about the queen, especially if they come from the people of the court, are prohibited and are subjected to punishment.
The general's voice became serious. "Tatiana was just poisoned last month. And just recently, the queen went to the library and slapped the princess."
"The queen, what?" There was a slight rise in Bjorn's voice because of surprise. No one ever dared to hurt the princess, and no one was allowed to. No one even came near, nor attempted to glare at her.
"William told me that the queen's teacher and Tatiana had an argument a few days ago and the woman ended up insulting the previous queen in front of Tatiana. You know how sensitive the poor girl becomes when it is about her mother. That's why the teacher ended up in the dungeon but was just recently released by the king per the favor of the queen."
"ButâHow did youâhow did you know all of this?"
"William."
"Oh." Bjorn suddenly remembered how he treated Tatiana on that day. He suddenly felt shtty about himself for doing that even though he hated the princess. No wonder she didn't want to pick up an argument with him. She didn't even try to defend herself from it.
Bjorn's father stood up and gathered his things while Bjorn remained seated and in deep thought.
"Aren't you going to see me go?" his dad asked him.
"Oh," he snapped from the trance. "Yeah, my apologies."
"I have a knight at mind that's good for the job." his father told him while they were walking along the covered walk. It was already in the afternoon, and the sky was getting dark. "Morgan Sulliv was his name?"
"Yes," Bjorn agreed. "He is strong and moves fast. He is also from a family of fallen knights. Sullivan."
"Hmm. Maybe that's why he has the talent. His family lost all their fortune because of the war."
Bjorn greeted his father goodbye as the carriage drove away. As distant as they may seem, their relationship grew closer as Bjorn became a knight. They both share similar interests and struggles, and there are a lot of things they talk about.
He walked back inside the palace for training when he passed by the palace's enclosed garden venue, which was now lighted. Giggles and laughs echoed from the inside.
'Is she there enjoying some tea with the woman who just slapped her?He thought to himself and wondered how the princess was coping. He also noticed the change in the princess' temper. Back then, she would do a lot of crazy stuff and throw and destroy objects when things did not go her way, but now it seems like she doesn't care.
He ignored the thought and continued to walk towards the training grounds when he saw a movement from the side of his eye. Besides the enclosed garden, there was an extension that had a fountain with a mermaid statue pouring out water into the pond and a mini bridge beside it.
A familiar glow of fiery red-orangey hair caught his attention. He secretly walked closer in pure curiosity and hid behind a tree.
"What craziness is she thinking about now?" he whispered to himself.
Tatiana stepped out, the moon rising above her. Lanterns were lit from every part of the fountain and pond. The koi fish still looked like they wanted her to swim with them, and the family of swans wasn't there, probably sleeping already.
She lifted her dress up to her knees, took off the heels that were making her feet hurt, and slowly dipped her toes into the water. She quickly got it out when she felt that the water was freezing cold.
Instead of heading straight to the water, she sat down at the edge of the fountain and stared at her reflection in the pond. Once again, she saw a stranger. She woke up one day as a character from a book that was going to die at the age of nineteen.
As if her previous life was not enough, now she has to face the problems of this person's life too. And so far, she isn't handling it very well. She doesn't even clearly remember what she looked like before now, and the memories of her previous life are slowly getting blurred out, even if she only spent a short time in this world.
A part of her feels lost, and the other part of her still doesn't feel real. She's trapped, hanging above the fence between reality and illusion. She stared down at her reflection in the water and had tears.
Tears fell on the water and the ripples blurred her unfamiliar face.
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END