Crowned Upon

Chapter 8

Rosalie

They both tensed. It was silent for a moment, then they heard the sound of many more gunshots, being fired rapidly. They were faint, not near the shed, but that meant they probably came from the palace. It didn't comfort her, knowing that she was safe, because it meant so many people she loved could be in danger.

The shots stopped. Rosalie and Kace stayed absolutely still for awhile, too terrified to say anything. "That's good, right?" Rosalie finally whispered, referring to the cease of fire. "That means they caught the suspect?"

Kace swallowed. "You want my honest opinion?" Rosalie nodded. "The rapid fire was probably palace guards gunning down the suspect. But the lone shot at first? That was probably the suspect's fire."

Rosalie shuddered. She prayed they hadn't hit anyone. "Distract me." She ordered.

"What?" Kace inquired, confused.

"Talk about something else so I don't start forming ideas inside my head about what's happening inside my home right now." She was nearly hysterical.

Kace said the first thing he could think of, "your great, great, great grandfather, William Carrington, tried to have carrots outlawed because he didn't like them."

A unexpected giggle burst from her lips. "How do you know that?"

"I read it in this book." He pulled it from his satchel. "He really hated carrots. Like you do."

"You remember that?" She asked in disbelief.

"Good memory." Kace tapped his temple with his pointer finger. Rosalie gave him a small smile.

"You're shivering." Kace commented.

"It's this stupid flimsy dress." Rosalie explained. "I guess they're called sundresses because you shouldn't wear them when the sun is down or else you'll freeze your ass off."

Kace hesitated for a moment. "Sharing body heat is one of the best ways to stay warm. . ."

Rosalie gave him a look. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I don't want to cuddle any more than you do." Kace revealed. "But suit yourself. I'm perfectly comfortable. Warm even."

Rosalie growled, climbing out of the wheelbarrow. "It's because you're allowed to wear jeans."

Kace scooted over to make room for Rosalie on the bag of mulch. "This stuff smells." She complained.

"There's likely cow manure in it." Kace informed.

"Great." She snapped. After a moment, she scooted closer to his side. He really did feel warm.

Kace

"Why do you have a gun?" Rosalie asked him. Only Palace guards were permitted guns. As much as he didn't want to be, he was a classified civilian.

Kace tensed.

"I won't tell anyone." she assured him. "Nobody would listen to me, anyway." He detected sadness in her voice.

"You have people smuggle your jeans inside. I had someone smuggle me a gun." He explained.

"You know that sounds sort of psychotic, right?" Rosalie told him.

"I want to be a member of the Palace Guard. My dad won't let me." Kace admitted.

"I understand." Rosalie murmured. "About the dad thing."

Kace didn't know what to say. He knew Rosalie didn't do much in regards to royal affairs, but he'd never guessed that it was King Charles who prevented her from participating. He'd always thought she was too frivolous to care about anything.

"What's your favorite color?" Rosalie asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Nobody had ever asked him his favorite color before.

"I'm trying to lighten the mood, could you just play along?" Rosalie was impatient.

"Okay, fine!" Kace thought for a minute. "Green."

"You're such a boy." Rosalie chided him. "There are so many kinds of green! Lime green. . . mint green. . ."

"Evergreen." Kace clarified. "What's yours?"

"Soft orange." Rosalie told him. "The color of these few random roses that grow in my garden. . ." she trailed off. "Want to know a secret?"

"Hm?" Kace wondered what she was going to say.

"I've never done cocaine." She admitted. "Or any drugs. And I've never been drunk."

What? She went out every night! Just last night she joked about cocaine. Kace guessed it that her comment had been just that, a joke. "Why?"

"Because I like having a lucid mind." She answered like it was obvious.

"I meant why do you lie about doing that stuff?" Kace clarified.

"Oh." Rosalie started picking at her fingernails. "So my dad will get mad at me."

"Why would you want him to be angry with you?" Kace was so confused.

"Anger towards me is better than no feelings at all, which is what I usually get." Rosalie admitted.

"I didn't realize. . ." Kace mumbled. Now that he thought about it, King Charles really did pay a lot of attention to James. Kace rarely saw him with Rosalie.

Rosalie was shaking hard now. Kace couldn't tell if it was from the cold or something else. He reached out and put his arm around her. She leaned into him.

"What's your first memory?" Rosalie asked him.

"The annual Royal parade, fifteen years ago. I was four. I watched my father march with the other members of the Guard. I thought he was a superhero. He protected the royals. I decided then that that's what I wanted to do."

Rosalie smiled. "What's yours?" He asked.

She stopped smiling.

"I was four years old, staring at myself in the mirror as my maid brushed my hair. 'You're going to be beautiful when you grown up.' She told me. 'You'll go to parties and balls where you'll find a rich lord whom you will give beautiful little golden haired children. All the men will want you and all the women will want to be you. Because you are beautiful.'" Rosalie's dismal tone of voice silenced Kace. They sat in silence for a moment.

"You know, nobody ever asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up?" She said suddenly. "Most children are asked that a bunch of times, but I never was. . . I never even thought about the fact that I could be what I wanted. I won't be queen, so I can be whatever I want. A writer, a scientist, an artist, an equestrian, a chef. I never knew I had those options because nobody asked me. They always told me what I was going to be. . . beautiful."

Rosalie looked at Kace with tears in her eyes. "What if I don't want to just be beautiful? What if I want to actually be someone important?"

Kace didn't know what to say. He reached up and wiped a tear from underneath her eye. He was about to speak when he was interrupted by the sound of banging on the shed's door.

This may be my favorite chapter I've ever written. I love how it turned out!

Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Thanks for reading!