Their Princess

Chapter 19

“ But daddy, why can't I go? That's not fair.” I pout at Alerix. 

The female ceremony is tomorrow. I've been trying to convince Alerix to take me there, but he is persistent in his replies. But that doesn't mean I've given up. 

Princess gets what Princess wants. 

“ I've already told you, baby. It's not a good place.” Alerix says distracted by his work. 

I move his paper away from him, making him look at me instead. “ That's not a good reason, Daddy. And you know that. If every girl is going there, then why can't I? Besides, you will be there too. What is there to be afraid of?” I ask, frowning. 

He cups my face, and before he can say another word, I know what's coming. He is getting in daddy mode. And I don't want him to be stern right now. 

“ Everything. You don't know what happens there. And if I'm not taking you there, there's a reason why. Don't push me on this princess. I'm not changing my decision.” With those words, he gets back to his work, and I'm left sitting on his lap uncomfortably.

I don't like tension. I don't like it when someone scolds me or denies me something. It makes me feel rejected. A part of me understands that he is protecting me, but a huge wounded part is feeling hurt. 

I shouldn't have asked him in the first place, and then he wouldn't have rejected me. Then I could have lived in my fantasy world where Princesses always get what they want.

But they are protecting you. 

That's what they all say. 

I want to go to my room, but I don't know how to get up without making Alerix know that I'm hurt. I don't want him to know. I don't know why, but I just want to hide my hurt away, and the only way I can do this is in my room.

I wish my stuffie was here.

Please, someone, come in the room and take me away from here. Should I pretend to be asleep? I don't think I can act very well right now when I'm on the verge of tears. 

I don't like rejection. It brings back the memories that I want to hide away. I guess you can forget the events but not how it made you feel. Minutes pass then an hour, and I'm sitting stiffly on his lap. My back is hurting. I want to move. But I can't. I don't know how.

Alerix will know. I guess at this point, he has forgotten that I'm even sitting here. He is too immersed in his work, but he will know if I move. 

Eli. Zed. Rey. Neri or even Uncle Roman. Please come and get me out of here. 

Alerix sighs heavily and leans back on his chair, tugging me along with his arm on my waist. Sniffing my hair, he exhales heavily.

“ What do I do with you?” He hasn't moved from my head yet. “ Why do you make it so hard for me to say no to you? Huh?” He cups my face and brings it close to his. I'm trying to look okay, but I know I'm failing it miserably. I pout so my lower lip doesn't wobble and keep my eyes on the floor so he doesn't see my tears.

But they still betray me. Alerix kisses the one away from my cheek and nuzzles my nose with his. “ Do you really want to go?”

I just shrug, still pretending. “ It doesn't matter now. I was just curious. I think you're right. We can do something else. Something more fun.”

Now, if it were my parents, they would have believed my facade and praised me for being a responsible and obedient girl. But this was Alerix. He wasn't having it. He cups both my cheeks and hugs me to his chest.

Don't touch me. Or I will cry. I think it's the best time to leave now. Act nonchalant. 

I take a deep breath and smile brightly at him. To make it look more real, I nuzzle in his shoulder. “ I'm going to go eat something. Do you need something?”

“ I will order it for you.”

“ No need. I can go look and see what I want.” But he only tightens his arms around me. He isn't buying it. Should I say something else?

“ Don't run away from me, baby. Talk to me. I can give you my world if you want, but I can't tolerate this broken look in your eyes. And knowing I'm the cause of it, it's killing me. If you want to go then we will go. But you've to promise me that no matter what happens you will not leave my side and if something bothers you, even slightly, you will tell me and we will leave. Okay?”

I don't know what to say other than ‘okay’. I didn't think he was so much in tune with my emotions. I wanted to push him away, but at the same time, I wanted to kiss him.

To say convincing brothers was hard was an understatement. Alerix had to argue for about an hour to convince the brothers to take me to the ceremony. When nothing worked, he told them to tell me that I couldn't go. 

I was in my room, hearing their loud voices coming from the living room. When I heard their approaching steps, I put my dress down and faced the door nervously. But the door never opened. It was safe to say that they left my door without a word. 

I guess I'm going then.