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-"
"And you're acting as if we're going to run off and get married tomorrow," she pointed out. "I thought it was a story for another time." Gaius grumbled under his breath, too low for Ro to make out his words. "What?"
He sighed and stepped away to look out the window. "We should get to what we need to be talking about," he sighed. "Rosalie, you can't stay here." Seeing her begin to argue, he held up a hand. "It's not safe, and you know it. At least at the castle, I'll be close and you can-"
"I can't just leave! What about my classes? All the learning I still have to do?" she cried.
"Rosalie, you're so far ahead in all of your studies that most of your teachers have asked me if you should be moved up to higher classes," he answered. "I doubt that pulling you out of school for a short time would do much."
She huffed and crossed her arms, trying to find another argument. "What about that law we have? That the heir has to attend?" At that point, she knew she was grasping at straws. "We can't go against the law. It would set a bad example to the people, make them think we tailor the law to our own will."
"That's just ridiculous," he scoffed. Her uncle began pacing in front of the window. "This isn't a matter of the law, it's a matter of your safety. I'm sure the people would rather see their future queen out of harm's way than have us follow a silly old law."
Hearing her uncle say 'future queen' finally made the knowledge she had all along sink in. Ro sank into her couch, clutching her head in her hands. "I'm gonna be queen," she whispered. "I'm going be queen." Laughing humorlessly, she lifted her head. "I'm going to be queen. How did I manage to get myself into this mess?"
"Rosalie..."
"No. I'm just...this is a lot to take in. I was wondering how I was coping so well," she joked, more for her own benefit than her uncle's.
"You have to come back to the castle," Gaius stated.
"What about Corvin?" Her uncle's face soured. "Don't be like that," she wearied. "I can't...I can't just leave."
Gaius sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "It isn't safe here. I would sleep better at night if someone capable was-"
She jerked away as if stung. "I am capable," she retorted. "There's no way you could say that I'm not capable. Gods, I sent full grown men running and demons begging for mercy just by showing them how capable I am." The word was spat each time she said it. Capable.
"That's not the issu-"
"Then what is?!"
He fell silent, looking his headstrong niece in the eye. "It isn't safe-"
"If you repeat yourself again, I'm gonna scream," she hissed. "I know it isn't safe here; there's no place that is. If you go around moving me every time it gets too dangerous, then how am I supposed to rule this kingdom? A life hiding behind locked doors and beefy guards is no life for me," she fumed.
They were both standing again, squaring their shoulders.
"You're more stubborn than your mother," Gaius declared.
"My mother wouldn't have consented to locking me up for life!" she shot back.
"You hardly knew your mother!"
"And whose fault is that?!" she yelled. "The man that's after me now is probably the same man who killed them! I can't sit while an unknown enemy has free roam over our kingdom and our land! He's not going to stop coming after me unless we do something about it!"
Gaius' face twisted with anger; Ro was unfazed, as her fury was burning more than any angry gaze her uncle could throw her way. "What do you suppose we do, Rosalie?" he yelled back. "Have the army traipse across the countryside overturning every pebble and tree root?"
"If it means ridding the realms of him, then so be it!"
They stood close together, each one red in the face and breathing hard from the intense emotions. For a moment, they simply sized each other up. "He's not going to stop. He's already targeted Corvin. I doubt he would hesitate to kill innocent people if it meant he could get to me. How many are you willing to let die because you wouldn't at least try?"
When she received no reply, she continued. "My loyalty to this kingdom and everyone in it isn't a secret. It'll be used against me sooner or later," she said, relaxing her stance some. Her arms wrapped around herself. "I couldn't live knowing I could've prevented something terrible from happening," she confessed.
"You can't..." Gaius looked down at his niece, one of only a few things he truly held dear in life. His words died in his throat the longer he looked at her. She had gotten lost in her thoughts, as she was wont to do. He coughed lightly and looked into eyes as deep as his own. "You can't stay here." Her face fell immediately. "But you can't exactly stay at the castle either.
"Like you said, there's nowhere that'll be safe enough," he continued. Soon, he, too, was lost in his thoughts. Moments later, his head snapped up. "Deidra said something the other night. She meant it as a joke, but I can't help but think that maybe it could work."
Her face lit up at the thought of another solution. "What is it? I'll be willing to try most anything," Ro said quickly.
He sighed, not for the last time that night. "The Fae. They could shelter you long enough for the elites and I to come up with some kind of plan," Gaius explained. "No creature is better suited for keeping away demons than the Fae."
"I've already contacted the queen."
Rosalie and Gaius jumped at the sudden appearance of Twila, who was sitting calmly on Ro's desk. "She's more than willing to shelter Rosalie for a time," she continued. "And young Corvin, of course." Ro gave the cat a grateful smile.
Gaius, on the other hand, was not pleased at all. "You just assumed that I would send her there? Why didn't you at least consult me-"
"Stop being so dramatic, Gaius," Twila said impatiently. "The queen is already making arrangements for her." The cat turned her pale green eyes on Rosalie. "I see that dramatics runs in the family, despite the differences in upbringing."
"When do we leave?" Ro said, cutting off Gaius' attempts to argue.
Twila smiled. "Three days at the latest. Tomorrow, even, if you'd like. There is the issue of Corvin's parents. I'm sure that you would be willing to inform them of this, Gaius." He huffed in reply before giving the cat a curt nod. "Then all is well and settled. During the next three days, I will personally lead you and Corvin to the Seelie Court."
Gaius cleared his throat. "Before you three head to the court, stop at the castle. I'll be sure to aid with supplies for your short trip." He sighed and brought Rosalie close in a hug. "I...I don't know how long you'll have to stay there," he said, his voice growing weary. "Please be safe, my dear. And be good for the queen."
Ro laughed at his last request. "You act like I won't," she replied.
"I'm serious, Rosalie," he said. "Your temper and pride often get in the way of the brilliant mind you have."
"Gee. Thanks for the vote of confidence," she said dryly. Gaius chuckled. "Now will you tell me why Corvin upsets you?"
"Another time, Rosalie," he answered. "Now I will take my leave. I love you, my dear."
She smiled up at her uncle. "I love you, too."
Gaius released her. Spinning stiffly on his heels, he left, not before giving Twila a friendly nod that she returned. Ro sighed and walked into her bedroom, content to collapse on her bed. A deep sigh escaped her as she sunk into her sheets. Her thoughts flowed past idly. She was trying desperately not to focus on her realizations.
Twila hopped lightly onto the bed, sprawling out alongside the girl in her natural form. "Your mind is buzzing like a hive of bees," she said softly. "Tell me what ails you, young one."
Ro smiled lightly at her companion's words. "You're about to open a can of worms, Twila," Ro joked quietly. She turned her head to meet the large cat's gaze. The sincere look in Twila's eyes only served to make Ro feel worse. She let out another sigh. "Everything is hitting me at once." Ro turned her face to the ceiling once she noticed it was harder to voice her thoughts when looking at someone else. "I've been here for months. I've been asked before about how well I've been handling, well, this," she gestured vaguely around them, "and it wasn't until uncle G said 'future queen' that my situation really hit me.
"The second I got here, I saw it as a chance to learn. To learn about a new world and it's people, to learn about anything and everything I can." She chuckled to herself. "Funny how that was my goal on earth, too." Somehow, she found the courage to look back at Twila, who was listening patiently to the girl. "I get here and learn that I'm going to run a country. World? Or is it just the kingdom itself? What falls under that- you know what, I'm getting off track."
Twila smiled and nodded. "I believe so," she said reassuringly.
"Well, I get here and find out I'm gonna be running a kingdom. I get a chance to change something for the better, another goal I had on earth," Ro confessed. Subconsciously, she began toying with the hem of her uniform skirt. "I...I didn't know exactly how I could change this for the better. It seemed like a perfect world for the most part," she said sheepishly. "Obviously it isn't, nothing is. But I didn't find anything to fix.
"I've been here for months and the entire time I've been sheltered from the world. That man in the tavern proved as much. As uncouth as he was, he did have a point." she sighed. "And today, Corvin was acting...rudely to a man we met in town just because he was a nomad, whatever that is. The man did nothing except entertain, and Corvin was rude to him. We both know that Corvin isn't a rude person. Until today, I didn't think that he knew what the word 'rude' meant."
The two let out a small bout of laughter at that. "Young Corvin is an exemplary man, one that shouldn't know the definition of 'rude'," Twila replied. "Please, continue." Ro nodded.
"Yea. So I figured out one problem."
"Which is...?"
"Prejudice," Ro answered. "Even if Corvin is the only person in the realm to act like that, I'll try and fix it."
Twila chuckled at the girl's declaration. "Such a bold statement, young one. And how do you know that your definition of 'fix' is the same as everyone else's?" she questioned.
The girl's face fell with uncertainty. She leaned back and stared at the ceiling for a moment, pondering her answer. "I...I...don't," she said, dragging out her words. "I don't know. That's another problem. I don't wanna be a despot."
"I have little fear of that, young one," Twila laughed. "Absolute power doesn't suit you."
"Ha. Seeing as how I'm an overpowered dork with emotional instabilities?" Ro countered. "Yup. Absolute power doesn't suit anyone. Just ask Hitler."
"Point me in the direction of this 'Hitler' and I will," Twila said.
Ro stared at Twila in disbelief for a solid minute before clutching her stomach with laughter. The cat sat watching her, her tail flicking impatiently. "I'm going to assume that you don't know about Hitler," Ro said once she recovered from her laughter. Twila blinked at her with a deadpan stare. "Right. Well, he was a genocidal man determined to bring the world under one 'master race'. During his time in power, he killed millions of people in...death camps, sending anyone who was Jewish, homosexual or a political prisoner to the camps."
"Wow."
"Yea," Ro said dryly. "The worst part is that he didn't think he was doing anything wrong." She rolled over and balled the blanket in her hands, her back turned to the cat. "He really thought that his actions were justified. That terrifies me. What if I do that, too? What if I-"
"Rosalie." Twila put a large paw on her shoulder, forcing the girl to look her in the eye. "With the others and I by your side, there is no way you'll become like this 'Hitler' man. Not only are your morals too highly and immovably placed, there will be people who care about you keeping you in check."
Tears blurred Rosalie's vision. She threw herself over the big cat, wrapping her arms tightly around the large frame. "Thank you." Ro's voice was muffled by Twila's soft fur. "Thank you so much."
Twila sighed and smiled down at the girl. "You're welcome, young one."
A/n: Woo! New story arc! A highly anticipated one, at least on my part. I've been itching to let loose everything about the Fae. After this, I was thinking about splitting this into second book, I want to focus on hashing out the plot a little better than I did with this one.
Expect a rewrite on this story. I hope to get this published one day; I definitely don't want it to be on this first draft. The beginning is more than a little sloppy. No worries though, friendos! I'll keep the plot mostly the same. Probably. Maybe. Possibly. Uh, I hope. Never can tell with me, most days.