Blistered Roses

Chapter 7: Separated Yet Together Again

                  

"Take the hat off."

Tara listened to the King and took her maids hat off of her head letting her long, red, hair fall as if it had its own mind. She waved her hair back and forth to fix it a bit and she held her hat in front of her with her hands down. The King walked around Tara in circles examining her to see if she was acceptable to the King. The Prince stood by watching his father hoping he would accept this relationship that just begun yesterday.

The King stood in front of Tara with his hands behind his back and she stared in his eyes wondering what he was thinking. He stepped closer and grabbed her chin lightly. She felt disgusted to feel a man's fingers on her face and she hid back to the disgusted look. He examined her face and all of her nice features; the splattered freckles on her nose and cheek bones, her emerald eyes. She knew others were pleased by her looks, but she didn't care for it, because all the people that enjoyed her looks were disgusting pigs.

"Tell me what you have to offer my son and for the kingdom." The King said letting go of her face.

She swallowed hard, "I can learn quickly. I can please your son for whatever his needs are." She looked at Prince Cían and smiled lightly. He smiled back at her. "I can love him until he no longer resides."

"Caoimbe, Lynette, and Avarona, come here please." The King called out the three maids that were standing by.

Caoimbe approached the King with the other two girls and stared at her daughter who stared back at her. She never knew her daughter and the Prince liked each other. She was disappointed that her daughter couldn't confide in her. Then again, her mother had no idea what was really going on.

The King stared at Tara and she looked back at the King. "Clean her up and give her a dress my daughter can spare. I want to see what she looks like dressed up and clean."

The maids nodded their head and all took Tara to the Princess's room to clean her up and get a dress they didn't see the Princess wear a lot. The Princess was off meeting suitors and watching what they could do so she could pick the one she wanted.

Tara felt cold water all over her skin and she started to shiver as she sat in the bath. Caoimbe washed Tara's face giving her a concerned look at how all of this happened. She grew her child up, protected her, and now her child was in love with a royal. Caoimbe knew that she would no longer be a maid, since Tara would request her mother to be free from servitude and to be by her side. She was scared and hated that she got herself into this—she wanted out and now.

"Mother, these suitors seem to be real nutshells." The Princess said as she waited for another suitor to come in.

The Princess was tired and aggravated by having to sit here and watch and listen to every suitor that came in. Some danced with the Princess, some were funny, some were updated with history, and some were actually smart. None however pleased the Princess. Most of the suitors came from rich families that had ties to royals, and others were royals from another parts of Ireland.

A suitor came in that almost looked like Tara the night she wore a mask and danced with the Princess. The first glance of him caught the Princess's attention and she listened to him intently as he was sort of funny and her mother laughed at some of the things he said. He had the same brown hair put up in a ponytail, the broad shoulders, he had darker green eyes than Tara; they were almost a hazel. He was polite and impressed the Princess a bit, but impressed her mother the most. Her mother was quite pleased with this suitor out of all of them. The Princess admitted that she found him most suitable.

The Queen had to pick a suitor today and there was no way out of it for Princess Adelaide. She called in suitors one by one or in groups of two and told them the news that she didn't choose any of them. Her mother watched as each suitor felt discouraged and left the room, the castle. Her mother was becoming worried that every suitor was going to be gone and the King wasn't going to be able to control his anger at his daughter not having a suitor. The last suitor came in—Ardan (ARE-DAWN).