Once Upon A Princess

14: Secret's Out

The king's chambers were the finest in the castle; royal purple dominated most of the color scheme, and most accented pieces were silver. It was all plush and comfy, especially the large bed against the far wall that could fit twenty men. The bed frame was dark mahogany with silver leaves inlaid in the wood. The purple pillows and comforter were also boasting nature themes: birds, trees, and deer sewn into the fabric with precise care. Amelia liked to nap in her father's bed rather than her own sometimes, mostly because it was comfortable but also because she felt important in the king's bed.

Harold wasn't in his bed, despite the late hour. He was dressed in his night clothes, though, with a long robe thrown over them to gain some semblance of regality back. He was sitting at his desk that was placed near the fireplace in the corner. The desk was unusually empty of any documents. His hair looked like it'd been hastily combed, as well. Amelia noticed that it looked to be thinning, and in some spots she saw more scalp than hair.

Amelia entered the room first, and when the king saw his daughter, his eyes changed from weary to starlit, but as soon as he saw Theolon they were that impassive royal gaze Amelia wished she could master. He'd turned his chair around to face the door, but somehow still looked as if he was sitting on a throne. The guards that accompanied them stayed.

"Prince Theolon of Gell, I presume?" Harold asked, with a strange quirk to his mouth.

Theolon did not seem intimidated to be in the presence of the king; if anything he looked relaxed. It seemed all the energy he'd had boiled inside him was only to get out of his frog body, and now that he was a human again he was passive. He sank into a bow, his right hand on his chest again. They bowed differently in Gell, it seemed.

"King Harold, yes. It is I, the missing prince. Your search has come to an end," he replied in a neutral voice.

He rose up again, standing straight. He still had a smile on his face. Amelia wondered if he ever stopped smiling so smugly. Did he always look like he was in on a secret that you would never know?

Harold gestured to Amelia that she move forward, and she did, standing in front of him but to the side, keeping his view of the room. He reached out and touched her arm, running a hand up and down it fondly. When he spoke again, he was looking at his daughter, but he was still addressing Theolon.

"I wonder how it is that you came here. It is an interesting thing that you found yourself here, after all the people looking for you from here to the border didn't see anything."

When the king looked back at the prince, muddy eyes barely withholding any accusations, Amelia looked too. Theolon was looking at the king and his daughter with a strange sort of wonder on his face. Was this strange behavior for a parent and child, especially a royal one? She suddenly felt embarrassed at the affection her dad was showing her. She pulled away, almost instantly regretting the decision when she looked at her father again. He put his hand back on his lap, sighing.

Theolon slid back into his cool demeanor, saying: "I wonder that myself, seeing as how as soon as I showed myself I was nearly stabbed." He couldn't keep some of the heat out of his tone.

There were small, audible gasps around the room. Amelia furrowed her brow.

"That's not true," she said.

She watched as his eyes flashed, angry she wasn't defending him. But then he smiled again, shrugging off her accusation.

"You did stop them before anything... unsightly happened," he admitted, but it didn't sound like a compliment.

She bristled at his tone. He was insinuating that he was still correct. He was impossible to have a conversation with!

"They did find you in my daughter's chambers," the king pointed out. "And it was their only order that they protect her from anything they deemed suspicious or dangerous."