The Destitute Queen || h.s. au

86. Harry

     I can't ever look Father straight in the eye again after finding out what he did to Milena's parents all those years ago. My eyes don't move from my untouched plate as I hear him coughing from the bitter wine.

Some more uncomfortable, silent moments go on, before I decide to excuse myself from the table, not even bothering to wait for Father to excuse me. That man deserves no respect.

I can sense Mother's eyes on me as I walk right out of the room, and I just know she can tell that something's wrong with me. I'd love to have her comfort me right now, but I can't tell her my problems. If I tell her what the cause of my pain is, she'll find out about Milena and me.

I don't understand how Mother doesn't seem to be bothered by Father, after everything he's done over the years. He's killed so many people, tortured numerous slaves, and neglected his family. I feel sympathy for Mother, who has no choice but to be by her husband's side, no matter what. She's told me many times that Father no longer cares for her, so we're all she has in life.

My feet take me down the halls, until I reach my room. Once I step inside, I take a look around. It's dark, so I light a few candles around the room and take a seat by my desk, which is right by the balcony door.

The shredded pieces of music sheets mock me as I stare at them, feeling regret. In that moment, I couldn't control my temper, and that's never happened to me before. I was in a moment of blind rage, and that scares me. I hope I never let my anger control me like that ever again.

After nearly an hour of trying to fit the pieces back together, I sigh and give up, grabbing a book from the bookshelf and dropping onto my bed. Absentmindedly flipping through the pages, I let my mind wander.

Liam's words echo in my mind, and the possibility of Milena being pregnant has clouded nearly every thought. It's not difficult to imagine us having a child together and, honestly, I'm hoping she's pregnant. I've always wanted a baby, and I know she has, as well. Just thinking about the possibility of my child growing inside my future wife makes my heart nearly burst with love.

I wonder what our child is going to look like. She'll probably have Milena's beautiful eyes, but I hope she inherits my curly hair. She'll have me wrapped around her finger the moment she's born, that's for sure.

I chuckle to myself, wondering why I'm even thinking this far into the future when Milena might not even be pregnant. I toss the book onto my bed and get up, deciding to get some fresh air and wondering when to tell Milena about the law.

Stepping out onto my balcony, I get a strange sense of déjà vu. This was where I first laid eyes on my sweet angel. Though, I suppose it wasn't the first time I've seen her, taking into account the day we met each other, over ten years ago. That's still unbelievable.

Out of curiosity, I look down at the balcony of the maids' room, and lightly gasp when I see my Milena sitting there, looking out at the kingdom. Instead of the chair, she's seated on the bench that conjoins with the porcelain wall, hugging her knees to her chest. That is the exact way she was sitting when we first saw each other on our balconies, except she's wearing a black cloak over her uniform.

I can't help but smile at the woman I'm going to marry, and think about how much we've been through. It's mad to know that, on some unknown level, we've known each other for years. I wonder how different life would have been if I was allowed to visit the village whenever I wanted to, so I could play with the friends I met that day.

If I knew that the little girl I played hide and seek with ten years ago would someday be the love of my life, I actually might have run away from the palace years ago.