Tiger's Eye - Book 1

Chapter 40: The Middle of the End

Chapter 40: The Middle of the End

“Hi mom,” I hugged her, “Where’s dad?”

“In his office,” she smiled slightly, “go ahead.”

“Thanks.”

“Where’s Pilote?”

“He wanted to spend time with his mom,” I explained, “Since we’re leaving in a few days. I gave the chosen ones the day off too just so they can spend time with their families.”

“That was very nice of you. I know your dad would appreciate it too.”

“I hope so,” I smiled, “I’ll talk to you later.”

She nodded, “Later.”

                        I walked through the palace, up the stairs, down the hall, and to dad’s office. I knocked first and heard him mumble “come in,” so I opened the door and let myself in. When dad saw me he set down his papers and looked at me.

“I was hoping you would come to see me before you leave.”

I shrugged, “I didn’t want to leave things the way they were.”

“I agree. You were right.”

“Right about what?” I asked.

“I may be the king of this place, but I have no idea what life has been like for you. I didn’t get to raise you like I wanted to and I never got to know the person that you’ve become. We welcomed you into the family without really getting to know you. We read your book and we read your stories, but we didn’t really get to know you. I’m sorry about that. We may be your parents, but we are not your mom and dad.”

“You are, it’s just-“

He put his hand up and stopped me, “You call us mom and dad, but we’re not ‘mom’ and ‘dad’. Your mom and dad are the spies that you had to kill. They’re the one who raised you and watched you grow up. Your parents are the one who taught you about life, and that will never be us; as much as we want it to.”

“You’re right,” I nodded, “when I think of mom and dad my first thoughts will always be to my adopted parents because they’ve known me longer. They taught me how to read, they taught me how to walk, and they taught me about life. You and mom are my parents too though. For years I wondered who my biological parents were. I asked them questions and begged for answers because I wanted to know you, but they never gave me an answer. Of course I loved them and of course it hurt how they betrayed me, but it led me to my real family. They taught me about life, but they weren’t my real family. My real family is here.”

He smiled, “Thank you Rolla.”

“I was right about something though,” I said, “and you didn’t really try to get to know me. This whole time I haven’t just been your daughter I’ve been the leader. Instead of getting to know me as a person you got to know me as a leader. I may be an adult now, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t need parents.”

“I’m sorry. Your mother has already talked to me about how wrong I was to treat you like I did. She got to know you more than I did.”

I took a deep breath, “Well I have the day off so we can do anything. I gave everyone the day off to spend with their families.”

“How about we get Pilote, Delia, your mom, and everyone from both of our families and we all spend time together today? After all, when you and Pilote get married we will be one family.”

I smiled, “Thank you. That’s a great idea.”

“I’ll finish up some stuff here, you get your mom and Pilote’s family, and I’ll meet you in the basement.”