The Other Side of the Door

Chapter 17

After that a regent came in. Regent Eloy came to the castle to teach me ore about how to be royal, since my father had failed me. We were going to have a tutor come in before my father's death. He was going to teach me to read and write, as well as carry about some of the royal duties. However, Eloy didn't like that. He decided he would make all decisions about my education, and that meant that I only learned very basic rules about running the countr-," Elliot didn't get to finish his sentence because I interrupted. 

"He just didn't want you to learn to read or write? Why didn't he want you to learn to read or write?" I was appalled. Obviously the regent was a bad guy, but robbing a child of an education they were trying to get? 

"Yes, I suppose so. He never explained to me why, and I didn't want to argue with him. My fate was essentially in his hands. I was supposed to become king when I turned 15, but Eloy thought I was too young and unprepared, so he decided he would keep ruling. He moved out to a new castle to rule from there, and I never saw him again. He sent me plenty of money and made sure I was not dying, but he didn't care for me once. I don't think he even knew about the curse. We kept getting money for a while, but once he died I think the money stopped. 

Alayna, I'm not proud of how I acted. I was selfish, angry, and irresponsible. For years, I did nothing but resent everyone. I was angry at my father for dying, angry at Eloy for deserting me and screwing me over, angry at all the servants for absolutely no reason, but mostly angry at myself. It was all my fault."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Elliot, I don't care about your past, as long as you've changed, which I know you have. You need to stop blaming yourself. It sounds like you were innocent in almost everything that happened to you, so please, stop saying everything is your fault."

Elliot looked very ashamed. "You're right. The problem is, the curse was my fault. If I had just let that woman in, none of this would have happened."

He had a point, but I was somewhat glad it had happened. I never would have met any of these wonderful people if it weren't for the curse. "Elliot, I love you. I never would have met you without the curse happening. I know it is horrible that it happened, and you made a mistake, but that mistake has led us to where we are today. Have you seen how happy everyone is? I think the curse has been a lesson to everyone. We're all better people because of it." 

Elliot was at a loss for words, so he did the only thing he could think of: he kissed me. 

The next few days passed very quickly. The servants got used to being human beings, a doctor saw my father, and Elliot and I continued to eat dinner and go on nightly walks. 

I still had so many questions for Elliot, but I didn't know how to bring them up. On our walks we always talked about our childhoods, or even just tell stories to each other. Occasionally we would read to each other. I wanted to clarify some things, though. 

One night we were walking, and we passed the stables. Luckily, the horses were doing much better. A specialist came to help them, and they were all doing much better. It reminded me of the night Elliot had asked me to leave, which brought up so many of the questions I had. 

"Elliot, you had the petals timed, didn't you?" 

"What do you mean?" he smiled, trying to hide his guilt. 

"You knew when each petal was going to fall off the rose, didn't you?" 

He didn't respond, which just confirmed my suspicions. "The night you sent me away, you were sending me away so I wouldn't see any of you die."

"Partially. I wasn't lying, though. I did want you to inherit that castle, but I knew you would do that without talking to your father first. I couldn't let you see any of us die, though."