Mistaken

Call it a Hunch

I found myself seated in the back of an exquisite carriage that afternoon. Horses pranced in the front, their hooves clopping on the path. The sun was shining, beautiful white clouds accented the blue sky. The brick road that led up to the castle was long, canopied by cherry blossom trees. The landscaping was perfect, not a thing out of place. Perfectly round bushes, incredible green grass, cut to a T. Every now and then petals would gently fall from the tree's branches and soon they would decorate the lawn with pink splotches.

I shifted in my seat and hugged my pillow to my chest. It had been a long night from Texas to this small island in Norway. Unnamed, but undoubtedly gorgeous. Tales of adventure pricked at my ears when I walked through the village. And gossip. Mostly about me. I ignored them all and went on my way. Apparently I was very popular on this tiny island.

Rosa Cosquillas was the name of this island, named after my family, the Roses. My family had been rulers for generations before me, and that explained the castle. It had been it's own country back then, now it was controlled by a much larger and respected government. Not to say that the Rose family wasn't respected, we just weren't in as much control anymore.

"Miss Waverly," I turned my head to the small window in the front of the carriage, where the driver tried to get my attention. I scooted forward to peek at him and he turned slightly to grin at me, "Welcome to Rose Palace."

I couldn't see, I had to sit back and stick my head out the side window to get a good look at the palace. I literally could not sit still. I was excited, but also very nervous. I hadn't seen my uncle in a long time, not since I was eight. All I remember from him was that he didn't exactly like...anyone. Kids especially.

My dad had two brothers. Ricardo and Reuben. Ricardo was my favorite uncle. He was always telling me that I was his little princess. Giving me gifts every time he visited. He had no wife, no children, and no other family besides me, my dad, and Reuben.

 It wasn't long after my dad's death that Ricardo passed away as well, and in his will he had left me his most prized possessions. Including his entire estate and staff. The gardeners, cooks, maids, butlers, chauffeurs; he said they would all pay service to his "little princess". Ricardo may have loved me more than my own father. And for some reason, I didn't mind.

I pulled out the letter, Ricardo had wrote me, again, unfolding it to read his fine cursive. In the letter he told me about secrets, tunnels, staircases, passages and rooms. He told me all of those secrets were now mine. And that I would have to find them on my own time. I was thrilled with the news even if I was mournful that Ricardo had left me. I always did love a good mystery. And Ricardo knew that. Come to think of it, Ricardo knew more about me than even I did.

As the palace came closer I tucked the letter back into my bag and started to get my things ready. It was scary to think that this castle was all mine. Everything Ricardo had owned, he gave to me.

The carriage came to a halt at the steps to the front doors where two men in navy colored coats with gold buttons down the front. Their hair was neatly combed back into place and white gloves covered their fingers. Something told me they had been waiting there for a long time now, and it made me uncomfortable. What were they paid to do? Just stand around and wait for someone to come by so they can open the dang door? Uh uh. Not on my watch.

A doorman jogged down the stairs, up to the carriage and let me out, holding his gloved hand out for me to take. On impulse I took it and hopped down from my ride with a smile. I thanked the doorman as he reached in to grab my bags for me. He had a slight grin on his face, he looked happy enough to be just a doorman. Ricardo must have paid him well.

"You can go on inside, Miss," The doorman told me, "I'll come with your things." But I barely heard the last part. I was already racing for the door.

The second doorman stumbled for the handle, guess I was moving too fast for him. But I thought nothing of it. He got the door open just as I came rushing by and skipping into the most beautiful foyer I had ever seen. The crown molding was a soft rose color and the walls were painted gold, as were the stairs that led up on either side of the room.

I hardly had any time to look around, when Reuben  came prancing down the stairs, looking as neat and clean as always. His suit pressed and his shoes glimmered in the lighting.

"Ah! There she is," Reuben smiled, holding out his arms as he came off the last step, "Come over here and let me look at you!"

I made my way over to him, looking about me as I went. Most of my life, my uncle was mean, disapproving and very non-lovable. Now that he was smiling at me, I didn't know what to think.

"Look at how beautiful you're getting," Reuben placed both his hands on my shoulders and shook his head, shining his bedazzling white teeth, "You look just like your mother. Forgive me but, how old are you now?"

"Twenty-two. It's good to see you Uncle," I had to give him a small smile. He was family, no matter how hard I tried to believe he wasn't.

"Welcome to your new home," Reuben came to my side and placed his hand on my back, "I don't suppose you'd like a tour would you?"

"Yes, please," I shook my head, "I didn't realize how big this place was until just now."

"Yes, Ricardo did have a thing for big, flowers and our family history," My uncle chuckled as he led me up the stairs and through the halls.

We passed several maids and men in the same blue coats as the doormen were wearing. Some nodded when they saw us, others didn't bother. I wondered what Ricardo wanted to see from his loyal servants. A smile? A wave maybe? I didn't know. Maybe it was me. Maybe they didn't know what to do when they saw me. I was going to have to change that, soon.

"Our families history is a big part in the history of the whole island," I responded, "It's no wonder why, Ricardo, enjoyed those things."

"Hm," Reuben smiled, "Yes, indeed." He looked over at me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, giving me a tight squeeze. "I hope you like it here. Ricardo wanted, so much, to see you come here. It's such a shame he didn't get to show you around himself."

"Even if he's gone, he's still giving me trinkets," I chuckled at that memory. Every time Ricardo came to the states, he brought with a tiny object from his excavations. He would never tell me where he found them, or any one else for that matter.

Reuben cleared his throat, a frown on his face his time, as he opened a door at the end of one hall to reveal a huge spacious room with a canopied bed, a small table with a rocking chair seated next to it, and in the corner a tall colorful brick fireplace stood out amongst the cement walls. There was no flame today. It was much too warm for that. But the window, just beside the bed, was thrown open and the curtains flew about in the summer breeze that came through.

"This is a guest bedroom, your suite hasn't been entirely finished yet. That was why we ran into all those people in the hall." Reuben said from behind me. My bags had already been set inside the room, next to the rocking chair that sat on a brilliant rug. "They're getting your permanent room ready."

I looked back at him with a smile, "Tell them they can take all the time they need," I said, "I don't mind. This is my new home. I'm just glad to finally be here."

Reuben nodded and I caught something glimmering in his eye. Something, I thought, that didn't look welcoming.

"I'll give you some time to freshen up, and when you're done I would like to speak with you. We have some...important matters to discuss." My uncle smirked at me and closed the door as he left me. I stood there a while, looking about. But I was thinking. Something told me Reuben didn't just want to "speak" with me. Something told me it just wouldn't work out that way.

Call it a hunch.