21st June
After a few days of solitude in my secret to the rest of the world, a few days later I told Alice what had happened at the ball. I hypothesised beforehand that she would go crazy, figuring that to start with, I would become pregnant in less than a year and secondly, Father would die.
My hypothesis was - to my little surprise - correct.
"Alice, are you even taking in the fact that Father will die and I have to rule the kingdom in less than a year?" I say a confused look on my face as Alice was smiling, dancing and skipping around my room.
"Yes, but that means that you will marry Jameson yes? I want to be an Aunt and a sister-in-law to Jameson. From what I've met of the men that Father has picked that he would allow you to marry, they are all pompous bloody wankers who don't give two stuffs about that they'd be King Consort with no power of the decisions made in this kingdom. The best idea Father has had was Xander, but he wouldn't want to get rid of what would presumably become your guard of honour." Alice says, plonking down next to me as I sat there, staring into nothingness.
"I didn't know he would've approved of Xander. If so, I would've hatched a plan last month on how I could hide a marriage from the kingdom, while showing a relationship between friends, not lovers. I could start planning now at least though." I reply, turning to Alice with a thankful look on my face.
"Well, Father could see you looked like you would break into anaphylactic shock if you even came close to some of them, so realised, he would need to be a bit more open with his choices. He did though state at the same time that village boys were still out of the question. If you haven't found anyone to marry by the time he passes, then you will be allowed to pick anyone you may wish, but that will be a last resort, and he will turn in his grave." Alice said, a small smile on her face as I got up from my bed, walked over to the desk in the corner and started to plot how I could potentially hide a whole marriage.
"What are you doing now?" She asks from behind me as I sit and think how I would do it.
"Starting to plot how to hide a marriage and fake a supposed real one." I reply, a dead serious look setting itself on my face nicely as I thought.
"Of course you are. Why should I expect no less?" Alice says and walks over to me before continuing with the earlier topic of children "So, have you thought of any baby names yet? You know you will have to start in less than a year."
I groan before turning to look at her. Was Alice serious, in my imagination, I was hoping she was, but in reality, I knew she was being serious, meaning I needed to tell Father about his nearing death date. I really didn't want to.
All of a sudden though, I hear a tapping sound at my window. I look up and see Alice over at my bookcase and looking round to see what the noise was as well, so I was confused as to where the tapping was coming from. I slowly got up and walked over to the door that led to my balcony, just to see small pebbles being thrown at it. I thought it was strange at first to see pebbles being thrown at a door so high up, but when I look down, I could see Jameson lining up his next shot, clearly trying to get my attention and making a small pile of pebbles outside my door.
"What are you doing!?" I shout down to the blonde-haired boy.
"Trying to get your attention! Clearly, it worked!" He shouts back up as I giggle "How are you feeling!?" He asks.
"I'm doing okay, and before you ask, no, I haven't told my Father yet!" I shout back down in reply to his question.
"You know you need to tell him!" Jameson shouts back up as I roll my eyes at his antics.
"I know, but I think it's unfair to tell him his life will be cut short soon!" I replied looking down at the vines growing up the side of the Castle.
"Then someone can accompany you! Maybe Xander since he was there the night you heard them!?"
With a statement like that, I wonder how I ended up with Jameson in the first place.
"Fine!" I shout down and I watch as Jameson does a little happy dance, gives a thumbs up and a kiss before jogging away, satchel beside him bouncing up and down like I knew he would when he got home, happy that I had decided to tell Father about the voices.
I turned and walked back inside, making sure most of the pebbles went back to their home first mind you, but going back inside still and walked over to the door and out of it to find Xander with his hand, almost on the doorknob, ready to fling my door open.
"Hello?" I question as Xander stands there, patting himself down before speaking.
"Are your voices evolving or something?" Xander asks, a mildly scared look on his face.
"Not that I last checked no, I was just leaving the room to try and find you anyway." I say as I grab Xander's hand and start walking towards one of Father's many study's in the Castle.
"And why may that be?" Xander asks as I drag him through the long hallways.
"Well, it is because I am going to tell Father about what the voices were saying at the ball." I say quickly as I continue to walk, but as I try, Xander slows to a halt, stopping my fast pace and train of thought in the meantime.
"You're going to tell him?" Xander asks me with a look I was dying to laugh at for all of eternity.
"Yes, now are we going to stand here and let me die of laughter on the inside from your face or are we-" I start to say, but don't quite finish as Xander whisks me back into a fast pace of walking towards the study I was aiming to head for.
"Then come on, I want you to say something!" Xander says as I let out a laugh at his eagerness for me to admit the secret I had been keeping for a small matter of days.
{----------}
When we finally get to the study and burst through the doors, I see my Father sitting at his desk, brooding over some paper, that in my look at the world, was not as important.
"Your Majesty." Xander says quickly, before I step forward and sit in front of him, a tentative look on my face as I prepared to share the news I bared.
"Mr Evermore. Kaitlyn. Please excuse my confusion, but why are you two bursting into my study, with certainly what I would call 'looks' on your faces?" Father says as he sticks down his pen and reading glasses as I prepare myself to tell him the news that would change what he had planned for the next year at least.
"There were new voices at the ball." I say trying to control the tightness in my chest that was slowly growing with every breath.
"What did they say?" Father questions, a concerned but saddened look growing on his face when I looked up at him.
"They were giving me a warning. They said that I only had months before I was supposed to rule." I say and watch as Father's face drop at my words just like mine did on the night of the ball.
"When did it happen?" He questions looking between Xander and me.
"When we were walking down the stairs, sir. From what I could see, they hadn't been going on long. Long enough though, that it was starting to become painful." Xander's voice said from behind me.
"Alright then. I'm not mad you haven't told me sooner. You wanted me to live not in fear that the next day would be my last." Father says as I breathe in deeply before speaking again.
"I was also scared about how you would react to the news." I say and sniffle as I do so.
"My daughter, I would be no less worried about anything the future brings for you, your spouse, your child and every other person important enough o be special in your life if I had five days left to live, or five years." Father says, lifting my head so I could look at him.
"Your my daughter and heir to the throne, who in my imagination, is destined for greatness. It may not always seem like it, but I love you Kaitlyn Elizabeth Lysandral, my eldest daughter and heir to the throne. A wonderful girl, who is destined to do wonderful things."
I smiled at Father before turning back to Xander where he gave me a reassuring smile. The kind of smile that says 'I love you' without ever even saying it.
"I love you too Father."
That was all I said before hugging him while it still felt right.
UPLOADED; 01/12/2022
WORDS; 1547