Dust in the Empty Flames

Chapter 17

(Picture of Cynthia)

This chapter has more about Ceanna and Daniel's wedding, so enjoy that, and there's also some drama that may or may not mean Rose is about to be found out... Uh oh....

Enjoy and don't forget to favorite, comment, and share, please! Thanks!!!

The whole of next week was filled with confused excitement. People were excited over the news of the upcoming royal wedding . They remarked on how happy the new royal couple looked. The Princess Ceanna had been staying with the princess Rosalia for almost as long as the princess had gotten back. No one had known why Prince Daniel had been rumored to have been visiting Abalicia so frequently.

They hadn't known why...until now. Prince Daniel proposed to Princess Ceanna in the middle of the royal garden and had presented her with the most gorgeous 5 carat sea-foam mint green amethyst surrounded by diamonds on a thick silver ring band and people once again remarked on how much the Prince must love his adorable besotted fiancé.

People were confused when they heard it was Princess Ceanna he was marrying instead of Princess Rosalia, but they were quick to say that as long as their Prince was happy, they cared little to who was marrying him. Besides, they remarked, his fiancé was obviously very much in love with him by the look of her rosy cheeks and happy content expressions. Their Prince was a lucky young man.

I, on the other hand, was not as content as they were. I'd seen them together just like they had, but I noticed things they didn't. Everyone remarked on how in love Ceanna looked, and while that was true...the same could not be said for Daniel. While she was caught sneaking looks of undying love, he was stiff and indifferent. While everyone else accounted it to his upbringing, I knew better.

He didn't love her, but she was still hopelessly in love with him. I only hoped for her sake, she knew what she was doing.

I also tried my best to pretend to be excited with them, and it worked for the most part. Andrew knew better, and he did his best to comfort me. We grew even closer than ever. I was truly happy and there were moments when I couldn't remember anything but my happiness. But of course happiness is fleeting, and so there were always those moments when I would worry for Ceanna, think about Dad, miss Maddie and Nathan, and yearn to go back home even for just a little.

It was in those moments that Andrew comforted me the most. We'd taken to sleeping in the same bed recently. Nothing happened, but it was comforting to have him there. When I would wake up from homesickness and worry that had just started to hit me he would take me in his arms and soothe me.

"I'm a horrible person," I would say," What kind of person just starts to miss their family two months after running away?"

"Hey now," he said," You're not a horrible person, Rose, you've just had a lot on your mind, and I think with the wedding news, it's just starting to hit you."

"But still," I said heartbrokenly," I haven't cried, I have barely given them a second thought! What kind of person does that make me?"

"A strong one," he said firmly," Not many people would be able to take everything this bravely. You had to leave everything behind for the sake of having a say in your own life."

"I'm not brave," I muttered," A brave person would have faced it head on and not run away."

He kissed my head," Don't be too hard on yourself, and take it from someone who made that mistake a long time ago."

I looked up at him," You did?"

He nodded," I missed my parents, I missed my home, and I regretted not being there to help them when they needed me. "