Rosalie's Kingdom {OLD VERSION- INCOMPLETE}

Chapter 30

The king stayed silent the entire ride back to campus. Rosalie didn't attempt to talk him out of whatever he was planning, not in front of the guards that were with them. Like he said, we can 'discuss' it in private, Ro thought sourly. And by 'discuss', I mean argue. Probably yell. Maybe a few punches thrown in for good measure.

So lost in her bitter thoughts, she hardly noticed when they got to the school. The moon was just beginning to peek over the horizon. On any other occasion, she would sit outside to gaze at the sky trying to find constellations; it was something entirely new for her, since the earthen realm and her realm had a completely different set of stars.

"Ro," Corvin said, quietly nudging her. "We need to get off now."

She blinked a few times to get her bearings. They were in the stables at the far side of the school. "Oh. I don't think I've been back here before," she admitted. A small smile graced her face as Corvin helped her down.

Turning, she met the displeased gaze of her uncle. He glanced between the two rankers and spun on his heels towards the ranker dorms. Ro sighed and went after him. "Once the horses are in the correct places, you five are dismissed," Gaius said to the guards without looking back. He was answered with a small chorus of 'yes, your majesty'. "Come along, Rosalie."

She huffed, but continued. Again, their journey was silent. Getting back to the dorms had never felt so good, yet so bad at the same time. The door shutting quietly behind them was a relief and a brewing storm. A hand slipped comfortingly into her own. Corvin smiled down at her before squeezing her hand gently and letting go again.

Seeing this, Gaius cleared his throat to get the couple's attention. "Rosalie, I believe we should go to your room to...talk," he started. The king's eyes flitted to Corvin. "Please leave us." Ro opened her mouth to argue. "Please. He can join us in a short while. There's something that I really must speak to you about. Alone." She nodded and started up the stairs, not bothering to see if her uncle had followed.

Corvin went as far as her door, shooting an apologetic look at her before Gaius shut the door, pulling the pin on their metaphorical grenade. She sighed and set her scowl on her uncle. "I'm not going back to the castle," Ro said stubbornly.

Her uncle sighed deeply. His strong facade fell away to show the weary man Rosalie knew resided behind the title of king. "Rosalie..." In a moment, he strode across to her, wrapping her in his secure arms. She was shocked as he let out a deep, shuddering breath that shook his body.

"Uncle G...?"

"I can't stand all this worrying. I can't stand not knowing where you are or how protected you are. I can't stand it at all," he admitted. The man's chin rested on top of Ro's head, and he stroked her hair slowly. "You're the most important person in the three realms to me."

Ro sighed, relaxing into her uncle's familiar embrace. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I wasn't in any danger tonight. Twila was watching me the entire time and Corvin-" Gaius stiffened at the mention of the second ranker, "never left my side." She moved her head up to look into violet eyes like her own. "Why are you so...grumpy around Corvin?"

A rueful chuckle forced it's way through Gaius. "It's a little complicated, and a story for another time," he said lamely.

"Come on, uncle G! If you're gonna act this way when even talking about him, then there's no way I'd be able to be with him, to even marry him one day," Ro said

"You've only known him for a few months and you're thinking about marriage?" Gaius cried in disbelief. "You're both young, hardly old enough to make choices like-"