Castles That Crumble

eleven

"Open your eyes, please." A pleading voice fills my ears.

I didn't want to open my eyes. Opening my eyes would make it real, opening my eyes meant my mom was dead.

"No." I said, my voice shaking. "Mary, please." A hand touched my cheek. The hand was so warm, I opened my eyes. Nicolas was sitting there. Crying.

"Why are you crying? You didn't even know my mother?" I said in a puzzled voice. "Mary, I'm crying for you. I thought I'd lost you."

I look down, unsure what to say. "I'm sorry." I said. Nicolas gave me a confused look. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Nicolas sits down beside me. "Mary, I'm sorry for not giving you a chance." I smile, holding his hand. "It's okay." Nicolas shakes his head. "It's not. I was so dumb and blinded, but you stood up for me, you stood up for my mom."

My heard sunk at the word "mom." He seemed so broken, and now, I understood that kind of broken. I understood why he hates royals.

"I'm sorry I lose my temper so much, but I promise you I am nothing like my father or any other royal. I am really kind hearted and anyone who got to know me could see that."

Nicolas looked at me and nodded. He understood me. Finally, someone understood me. "Mary, when my mother died, I hated royal's because I knew what they were capable of.

I sigh. "I know I'm going to be the king of England and Scotland someday, and you're going to be my queen, but we are rulers, we have to figure out a way to get past our pains of the past." Nicolas talked slow and steady. When he was finishing up, he cupped my head in his hands and said, "I am nothing like your father, nor will I ever be."

His words gave me so much comfort. I hugged him and thanked him for being here for me. I knew the next few days would be a struggle. I knew at every dinner I'd be thinking about it, my mothers death.

In every crowd, I'd be trying to find my mothers assassin. In every question, I'd be trying to connect things to my mothers assassin. In every conversation, I'd be thinking about, why? Why would someone do this?

I sat in Nicolas's arms for the rest of the day, hugging and crying. He just let me, that was the best thing. He didn't push me away once.