𝐻𝒾𝓈 𝒢𝓇𝒶𝒸𝑒, 𝑀𝓎 𝒦𝒾𝓃𝑔 Book 1

#12 "watch me"

After a tense dinner where the only person who had anything close to a conversation with you was your father... You head outside to assist your mother who was taking down bedding off the clothesline.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, your mother finally spoke. "You know when you were a child, you were the only one who would come outside and help me with this."

You smile at your mother, "It would seem I still am." That got a small laugh sound out of your mother. Was she actually being civil with you?

"I never said thank you for helping save the farm." She said as she folded a blanket and put it into her basket. She looked up at you with tears in her eyes, "And I am not going to say it now either. You sold yourself to that man. You used your body in trade for our home. And you could have brought shame to all of us if it had not worked and word had gotten out what you had tried to do."

"Is that all you worry about Mama, other people, and not me?" You asked her as you placed a folded sheet into the basket. The afternoon sun was starting to set, you knew it was getting close to the time when you needed to say goodbye and leave.

Your mother crossed her arms, "I care about people wanting to buy food from us (Y/N)! I care about your father breaking his back day in and day out, then watching everything we worked hard for being taken away from us by your new Husband!" Your mother picked up her basket of bedding. "It is not going to work between you two, Child! He is not going to marry his whore."

You narrow your eyes at her. "Watch me. Oh, and by the way, the King has said that anyone who speaks ill of me will face the gallows. So unless you would like to be first in line mother, I suggest you watch yourself." You take a step closer to her and firmly but quietly say, "And don't you dare ever call me a whore again."

You turn to walk back to where the carriage and guards are waiting to take you back to the palace, your father is waiting there to say his goodbyes. "I will miss you, Papa, I love you." He hugs you and kisses you on the top of your head.

"I love you. Good luck!" He tells you as you sense he is desperately trying not to become emotional.

Just then your three sisters come running out of the house and each one gives you a hug, the youngest handing you a small simply wrapped gift. "It is paper, to write to us." She said as she hugged you around the waist.

"I will write, I promise." You wipe a tear from your cheek and hug your sisters, then climb up into the carriage. "Take me home please." You say to the guard outside the door. The palace feels more like home than the small farmhouse ever did.