Separated

Part XI: Rosaline

"He's missing?!" my father said, slightly outraged.

"Yes, sir. We checked his quarters and everywhere else, but he is nowhere to be found."

My father paced the room, rubbing his hands together.

"Search the courtyard. He may not have gone far."

"Yes, your Highness." The guard left, leaving me and the King standing in the expansive throne room.

"We need to find my son, we need to find him..." My father said under his breath, still pacing the room.

"What happens if we can't find him?" I asked, doing anything to break the silence.

"Well, his throne choosing ceremony is soon, and if he's gone missing, it can't happen."

The throne choosing. I remember when Fredrick told me that the first time we met.

"I don't get to choose..." I said flatly.

"Really? Why not?" my father asked, his attention now focused on me.

"I don't have a clue as to why," I replied.

"Hmm. Your mother was always one to defy customs. She always wanted to try something else, something new." My father chuckled at the thought.

"So the two sides were reunited at one time," I said to myself. My father seemed to hear.

"They were, yes..." my father said, hesitating.

"Tell me about that time, please! I need to know!" I said excitedly.

"Oh, Rosaline, always so curious, just like your twin brother."

Me and Fredrick were twins?

"Twins..." I said, trying to take it in.

"Yes, and...we had a big fight and we separated, taking our 'kind' with us."

"Why did you separate male and female for it?" I asked, hoping for more information.

"We...just felt it was right. I don't know what was going on through our heads. It's been almost 17 years."

I nodded slowly. I had enough information, but I wanted more.

"Father, have you ever regretted your decision to separate?"

My father was silent.

"Sometimes," he said quietly. "I do wish sometimes for a woman in my life." He looked at me with a kind of longing.

"You're the first girl I've seen in sixteen years," he said, not taking his eyes away from my complexion. "You've become almost...alien to me."

I couldn't think of what to say next. Wait...maybe my father wanted to reunite the two kingdoms.

"Father...can you help us?" I asked.

"Help you with what?" he replied.

"Reuniting the kingdoms again."

He was again silent.

"I don't know. I..." He trailed off. I waited for him to continue.

"...I...I still love her..." he said quietly. I fluttered with hope.

"Yes. Yes, I do want to."