ROYALS

[9] Roses

[ Prince Jonah ]

{ - 3 days later - }

Me and prince Zachary had built a healthy relationship, and in a few days, we basically knew everything about each other. I knew that when he laughed, he shut his eyes and threw his head a little to the side. I knew, that when he was sad, he would act like he was fine, but his smile would only be curled upwards in one end of his lips. I knew that when he was happy, he'd grin and laugh a lot, but, I also noticed that something was bothering him. I knew it wasn't me, he would've ignored me or been mad at me if it was something I did, and he was just simply acting strange. Whenever his stepmother, Queen Clara, would be around him, he would tense up, almost freeze and stutter. I decided I had to ask him, I thought I deserved to know.

I walked towards him in the rose garden, where he was sitting near the fountain. I picked a white rose (his favorite), and sat down beside him as I handed it to him. He smiled slightly, thanking me and accepting it, before resting his head on his knees. "Now, what's wrong." I bluntly asked, lifting his chin so he would look at me. "I — It's nothing, Jonah." He said, not meeting my gaze. I sighed, "I know that something is wrong, Zach!" I calmly said, starting to feel frustrated that he didn't trust me enough to tell me. He sat up, "Jonah — please just drop it." I sighed as he left me in the garden, also forgetting his rose.

[ Prince Zachary ]

|| In His Room ||

I felt the tears run down my cheeks as I laid down on my bed, staring at the white, boring ceiling. I didn't want Prince Jonah to pity me because my stepmother... Well, raped me. I didn't want him to think that I was weak, but it's just that I was. I was weak, I was scared. I was scared that she'd touch me again, I was weak when she pried herself onto me. I sighed as I wiped my cheeks with a droopy expression, and stood up slowly. I leaned against the wall for a few seconds, regretting that I shut Jonah out, before walking into my bathroom.

A little over one hour later, I was finished with my bath, and got ready to eat dinner with my fiancé. I was nervous, terrified of what he'd do. What if he hated me after I shut him out?, I wondered as I straightened my wine red tie and walked down the stairs to the dining room.

[ Prince Jonah ]

My gaze lingered at his figure as he stood in the doorway, studying me for a few seconds before sitting down in front of me. We ate in silence, an uncomfortable silence. I felt bad for invading his private space, and wanted to apologize. "Zachary, I'm -" He sat up within a few seconds after I opened my mouth, interrupting my apology, "you have no right to invade my privacy, Prince Jonah." It stung my heart to hear him call me by my formal name, and I felt my eyes shut as he quickly exited the room in a hurry. I had to do something, anything, to get him back.

I had to make him open up to me, and win him back by gaining his trust.