The Father's Wish.

Chapter 9

The king flashed a satisfied smile before he admired the parchment, as well as Charlie's name. He then gave a gentle tap on his son's shrunken shoulders and chuckled warmly.

"I am glad you have chosen the easiest and simplest choice, my son." George admitted before he took the boy's small hand and stared into those gray mesmerizing eyes.

"I know you have a lot of unanswered questions, Charlie, but time will solve everything. What most matters right now is to find the culprit behind your father's - I mean, Victor Huissier's sudden death. Are you with me?" The king asked, his voice soft and low. He watched as Charlie frowned before gave a short nod.

"Good, now go to your brother's room." George concluded with a small smile.

Charlie took a few moment to contemplate his name on the parchment before walking out of the room with heavy steps filled with guilt and broken hopes. Charlie truly regretted not trying harder to catch the king's heart. If he had tried harder and had pushed all of his suspicions down, maybe he wouldn't have to sign the parchment; maybe he wouldn't have been caged up; maybe he wouldn't have been locked outside; maybe Rosa wouldn't have scolded him; maybe the ending would have turned into a happy one.

The young boy bumped into a maid who scowled at him before crouching down and picking up the dirty clothes back into the basket.

"Are you blind, young boy? Apologize now, you little -"

"Esmeralda! May I know what you were doing?" A loud echo rang throughout the hall, rudely interrupting her insults.

The maid turned around and quickly bowed down on her knees, literally trembling in fear as she anxiously glanced at Charlie who quickly got on his feet. The young boy looked down at the terrified maid and his eyes turned soft as he saw the terror in those pale brown orbs.

"My lord, I - I was picking the clothes." She stuttered before lowering her head further down. The king nodded before he looked at Charlie and gave a warm smile.

"Did she hurt you, Charlie?" George asked.

Charlie could hear the small whimpers and as much as the latter wanted to punish her, he shook his head and forced a smile.

"No, she didn't. It was my fault, father." Charlie forced out every words.

Esmeralda gasped and looked up, her widen eyes glanced at the two men. The king seemed quite taken aback by the sudden nickname, but he rapidly masked it under a blank face. He motioned the maid to stand up and the woman did so. She clumsily took the basket with her and stuck it under the armpit.

"Leon, gather everybody in the meeting room tomorrow at noon. I have an important announcement to declare." George commanded before turning on his heels and walking past them to climb down the stairs.

As soon as the king was out of anyone's sight, Esmeralda quickly bowed to the youngest prince and muttered endless apologies. Charlie had to stop the woman from doing so as he felt numerous servants and maids turned their attention to them, curious and confused at the terrorized face of Esmeralda.

"You are dismissed. Do not say a word about it to anyone until tomorrow. The king will announce it himself." Charlie whispered.

"You mean, your father, my prince." Esmeralda stuttered and flinched when she saw the gray eyes turned cold and hard. She quickly nodded before rushing away to continue her works outside.

The youngest prince looked out of the window and sighed out softly. The maids and servants were still working despite the dark night. He had no idea how many hours had passed since he was caged up, but it didn't matter as Charlie was exhausted. He needed sleep and rest and the young prince didn't waste any time as he dragged his body to his personal bedroom.