Chapter Two
“Well, well, well. Look what we have here. She listens for once.” My mother nagged. I breathed in a sigh of relief, letting all the anxiety that had built up inside of me leave in an exasperated sigh. “Let’s get down to it, shall we?” she asked, settling her hands on her wide hips. Not one hint of any emotion lingered on her face. It frustrated me that she was so hard to read, while I was an open book. I guess that was one thing I hadn’t inherited from her.
I nodded my head in agreement, and took a seat in the marble tub beside hers. The washroom was the relaxing, public hangout, but because it was midnight, it was now deathly silent and empty. “I’m leaving your father.” she remarked sullenly, avoiding my watchful glare. My eyebrows knitted in puzzlement.
“Why?”
“I’ve fallen in love with another man. Your father and I were never in love, and I’m at that point in my life where I need a companion. I’m very fortunate to have my life here, but at the end of the day, it’s not enough.” she continued.
“I don’t understand.” I exclaimed.
“I know you don’t, honey. Maybe when you’re older it will all make sense. I’m so lonely and miserable with your father. You have a choice- you can live here, in Rome, with your father, or you can come with me to sail and discover a new world.” she informed me, a grin splitting her face in half.
“I love you, mother, but my whole life is here. It has always been here. I can’t just up and leave.” I stated, giving her a disbelieving look. Did she really think she could leave her whole life behind, and no one would take notice? She was the empress! That would be all but impossible.
She blinked at me, and her eyes glazed over. I waved my hand in front of her face with no response.
“Mother?” I questioned worriedly, but her gaze never faltered. After about five minutes, she finally came back to Earth.
“I-I-I have a terrible headache. “she stammered before rushing past me. I was completely bewildered as to what was going on with her lately. What was all this nonsense talk about leaving father? Plenty of women would kill to have as much power as my father, or my mother.
I laid my hands behind my back, and sauntered to my room. I was completely confused. I plunked myself onto the bed and screamed, letting the pillow muffle the sound so that nobody would hear. Having to choose between abandonment from my mother, and being torn away from my life wasn’t something to take lightly. I needed to clear my head. Unconsciously, my feet made their way along the halls and outside, past the palace and along the bumpy road. My calloused feet were up to the challenge, worn from frequent strolls such as this. When I had walked far away, I stopped at a bridge overlooking a raging river. My gaze lingered to the shimmering skies. The milky shine of the moonlight illuminated the world around me; finding the wild flowers that would have otherwise been unnoticeable.
I spotted Orion’s belt and the North Star. From there I discovered the Big Dipper, and its little one, but my favorite constellation, by far, was Pisces. Maybe there was something about the way it was of two beings-together for life that drew me towards it. They helped to calm my unease.
My life was so complicated right now. There was my mother, and marriage was just around the corner for me. My father would pick someone wealthy and predictable, and, to be frank, boring. I didn’t want my future to turn out that way; just like my mother’s and father’s. I wanted to travel the world, and discover new places, not stay cooped up in this place collecting dust. There was a greater plan for me. I just had that feeling in my gut-the feeling of knowing.
