Heavy Lies The Crown (on hiatus)

Prologue

Dimitri's POV

It's been a long day today and all I want is to cuddle up in bed with Rose and nothing more. Maybe hear her voice. Yes, definitely hear her voice as she tells me what she has done since we last spoke. Oh, and cover her with kisses. She loves it when I do that after I'm away for a long time. I love doing that too. What I hate is being away for so many days and leaving her to deal with everything. Not that the court would be anything hard for her to deal with. She is extraordinary at all this royal thing. The kids – one kid, to be more precise – is what's getting out of hand lately, for both of us. Oh, the tormented seventeens. I'm glad I survived that.

If I think better about it, knowing all the things that must have happened today with Anastasia's birthday planning going on, I don't think there will be any time for talking or kissing. I think I'll find Rose already in bed, sleeping.

But she's not. She's sitting at the dressing table, back turned to me, and from what I'm guessing, she's reading something. That's good. With everything going around and all the problem-solving she needs to do, she barely had the time to enjoy a book.

I'm happy she didn't hear me enter our room, and I get to surprise her. But when I get close enough, I see that it's no book she's holding in her hand. She's holding her mother's music box. That's the indication that something is wrong.

When I touch her shoulder, she flinches and puts the music box on the table.

"You're back," she says, not looking at me, as she's too preoccupied to sneakily try to wipe her tears. But I'm too close not to observe that.

Occupying the rest of the space of the little seat she's sitting on, I put an arm around her middle and pull her in my embrace.

"What happened?"

"Nothing. I'm fine."

Getting a hold of her chin, I make her look me in the eyes. She has been crying for a while and I can see the remnants of that.

"You don't look fine."

"Then maybe you should look somewhere else."

"Roza... you know you're not getting away with an answer like that."

With a sigh, she rests her head on my chest, and I start playing with her hair.

"It's nothing, really."

"Tell me anyway."

She sighs once more, giving up on resisting.

"Who would have thought that between you and me, you'll be the fun parent, huh?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"You know... we attended that lunch today and... our daughter kindly told me..." looking up at me, her eyes are once again filled with tears. "To get that stick out of my ass. She told me she wishes she never gets to be like me and... it was horrible, it happened in front of everybody, and I... oh, Dimitri, and when we got home we... I-"

"She did what?"

That's enough. I had enough of her behavior toward Rose. I was completely civil and I respected Rose's wish to not intervene and let her deal with that, but it has gotten to be way too much. This girl has overstepped every possible boundary.

I get up and as I'm heading toward the living room, I call for our insolent teenage daughter.

"ANASTASIA!"

I didn't hear Rose follow me, but I feel her hands holding tight onto mine now, trying to stop me.

"Dimitri, no, don't. I didn't tell you that so that you would-"