A Royal Arrangement

Chapter 16

After dinner, Rey and Ben walked in the garden alone so they could talk.

Rey had her hair in curls, and she had worn a long, yellow dress with light yellow long sleeves while Ben wore a black shirt and long black pants.

"I have a confession to make." Ben sighed.

"What is it?" Rey asked looking at him as they walked.

"When we first met, I was jealous of you." Ben admitted.

"What?"  Rey gasped; a bit shocked at that.

"I was, I really was." Ben replied and let out a soft laugh.

"But.... why? Why were you jealous of me?" She asked and raised an eyebrow.

"I knew your family loved and adored you, I saw that. You have the family I never did."

"You miss your mother, don't you?" Rey asked in a soft whisper.

"You know?"

"A maid told me." Rey answered and winced as she remembered her promise to Olivia.

"To answer your question... yes," He sighed. "But when my father passed, I was happy. I felt free and I know that is cruel... it is like I'm a monster."

"I understand why you felt like that. You are not a monster." Rey responded.

"I adored and loved my mother."

"Will you tell me more about her?" She asked.

"She was my entire world. She used to take me walking around the kingdom, she taught me how to paint and she would read me stories." Ben responded smiling.

"She sounds lovely." Rey replied.

"She was but after she died, I was alone. My father never cared for me. Our fathers prepared our wedding before my father passed. My father insisted I needed a son or two to keep the bloodline going and I never understood why it was that important to him. I never wanted to have kids before we met." Ben admitted, letting out a soft sigh. "I figured I'd be like my father if I had children of my own and they would resent me as I resented him." Ben sighed. "But my mother would have loved you."

"Do you really think so?" She asked, giving him a warm smile.

"I know so." Ben answered as he stopped walking.

"What's the matter?" Rey asked as she stopped walking and looked at him.

"Nothing is," He answered in a soft whisper and smiled as he bent down and took a rose from the ground and handed it to Rey, smiling at her.

"Thank you, Ben." Rey said smiling down at the rose as she took it and met his gaze.

"My pleasure." Ben whispered.

"When we met, and we were not getting along..." Rey paused and looked down. "I had honestly felt so alone here. I've never felt so alone."

"You're not alone." Ben responded in a soft whisper.

Rey looked up at him for a moment and gave him a warm smile. "Neither are you." Rey responded as her eyes looked at his pink, full lips for a quick moment before she looked back into his dark brown eyes.

They stared into each other's eyes, and she had leaned in closer to him, not breaking their eye contact as she dropped her arm still holding onto the rose, he had given her. Rey's heart was racing, and she felt herself wanting to be closer to him.

Ben continued to stare into her eyes as if he were in a trance and she enchanted him, and he knew it but didn't really care all that much. It felt as though destiny was pulling them together. He did not understand why, but he needed to be with her until the day he died. It wasn't because of the peace treaty anymore. In that moment, he was a simple man with a woman in the night sky alone.

"Your highness! Your highness!" A guard shouted interrupting them and they winced looking at him. The guard was as tall as Ben was with short, brown hair and the guard had hazel eyes.

"What is it?" Ben hissed, annoyed at him.

"You have another letter." The guard answered as he handed it to him.

"What letter?" Rey mumbled looking at Ben.

"It is nothing to concern you." Ben answered.

"But your majesty, she is in danger." The guard said.

"Is this about the spy and his plans?" Rey asked looking at the guard as her eyes widened.

"Yes." The guard answered with a nod. "You are in grave danger, your majesty, your life is threatened."

"Threatened?" Rey gasped and looked at the guard and at Ben as her eyes widened. "Did you know?"

"Y-Yes, I did." Ben admitted as he frowned and looked at the ground with shame.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Rey asked looking at Ben, angry at him.

"Rey," He responded quickly, looking up at her. "I thought you would be safer; I did not want you to worry about me or your safety. I meant well." Ben explained.

"But we do not know how dangerous this spy can be and I worry he will come up to you and kill you with his sword." Rey replied. "What if you were killed? How do you think I would feel if I lost you?" Rey asked, tears forming in her eyes.

"You will never lose me." He assured her as he cupped her chin.

"But I would never know that Ben." She responded and frowned at him. "And you should not have kept this from me."

"I thought I would figure it out and I could tell you after... maybe not and let it die in the past. You know, let the past die?"

"Let the past die, you say?" Rey asked, raising her voice as a tear fell down her cheek.

"I meant well."

"I thought we were supposed to be honest with each other. We are supposed to be married!" Rey cried out. "I thought we were friends!" Rey shot at him.

"We are, I am so sorry for not telling you the truth." Ben apologized frowning.

"I question that now, your highness." Rey whispered dropping the rose and walking away holding back tears.

Ben looked down at the ground picked up the rose he had given her and went back inside the castle.

"He is a liar." Rey cried in her pillow as Olivia sat down on her bed rubbing her back.

"I am sure he meant well." Olivia responded in a kind tone.

"Maybe, but he still lied to me."

There was a knock on the door and Rey sat up and wiped her tears as she headed for the door. She paused and sighed trying to collect herself and then opened it. There was no one there to greet her but she then looked down and saw a rose and she picked it up and looked around the hallway and there was no one to be seen but she knew who it was from, and she couldn't help but smile at the rose.

"Who is it?" Rey heard Olivia ask.

"It was just Ben apologizing." Rey answered.