One in a million (Prequel to 'Bad Blood')

Chapter 12: Give him a chance

Cassandra's POV

I woke up early the next day. I didn't go in for breakfast and left before anyone else at the castle woke up. This time though, I went by myself.

The people see how you leave to the Northern Kingdom.

Lord Gregory's words echoed through my mind the entire night. I didn't want to upset him as I actually appreciated him. So, I did what I thought was best: I dressed up and went on my own.

I carried my bag on my back while I had covered my entire body and face. I took a single horse and rode to the Northern Kingdom.

I had to admit, going through the Middledes Woods on my own certainly felt different. It was beautiful, it made me feel totally free but, at the same time, it made me feel vulnerable. If anything were to happen, no one was there to protect me.

When I arrived in the Northern Kingdom, Carl immediately came to my aide. He took my bag from me before helping me get off my horse. "Thank you, Carl." I smiled at him.

He smiled too, though I could see he clearly had something on his mind. 

"Is everything alright?" I asked him as we were walking towards my room.

He shook his head. "Nothing to worry about, Your Highness."

I raised an eyebrow and made him stop. "What's wrong?"

He sighed before looking down. He seemed to debate internally on what to say, before he looked at me. "James feels bad about how you treat him."

I then gulped.

"I don't know what happened," He sighed deeply. "But he was very upset and it hurts me to see that."

I looked down before continuing my way towards my room.

"Your Highness," Carl caught up to me. "What happened?"

I didn't look up at him, in fact, it seemed as if I was speeding up to get to my room faster. I don't know why James or even his name changes my entire being. 

We arrived at my room, without me answering Carl's many questions. He didn't give up, he really wanted to understand the situation. He's a good person. He deserves nothing but good things.

I sighed as I looked at him. I noticed him putting my bag down, his facial expression upset as I clearly had been ignoring him.

"I don't know," I said to which he looked at me. I sighed before sitting down on my bed. "I don't know what happened." I looked down then.

"Apparently you treated him badly," Carl said carefully before sitting down on a chair in my room. "That's how James experienced it."

"I get that," I sighed before looking at Carl. "I don't mean to be disrespectful towards your son, Carl," I paused. "I just don't know him and it takes some time to let a stranger take care of me."

He nodded, seemingly understanding it. "I get that."

I smiled a bit. "Thank you for understanding."

"Of course," He got up then. "But perhaps you should tell James that too," He said to which I groaned a bit. "He should know it's not personal."

I didn't reply anything to that, and Carl seemed to understand. "I'll leave you to it, Your Highness." He bowed before leaving my room.

I sighed deeply before letting myself fall back down onto the bed.

_________________________

Around lunchtime, I went to the living room. "Hey," I said as I spotted Louisa and Alden. "How are you two?" I kissed their cheeks before taking a seat with them.

"We're good," Louisa smiled at Alden, then at me. "How are you?"

"How was your trip back home?" Alden asked. They were both worried for me, as they cared a lot about me. And it felt great.

I shrugged. "The usual," I sighed. "They complained about my time here," I shook my head. "But I don't care. I like it here." I then smiled at them.

"And we like having you here," Louisa smiled as she reached for my hands, holding them in hers. "You're my best friend, do you know that?"

I smiled. "I do."

"Good," Louisa smiled before she frowned a bit. "What else is there to say?"

I sighed as I looked down. She seemed to be able to look right through me. "It's..." I looked away. "It's James," I then looked at them. "I don't feel comfortable around him as I don't know him."

"Oh?" Alden seemed surprised. "So far, I've heard nothing but good things about him."

"He does his work but..." I looked down. "I don't know," I looked at them again. "I'd rather have Carl as my personal butler instead of James."

Louisa and Alden shared a look before they looked at me. "We understand, Cas," Alden said. "But we need a personal butler too."

"Take James instead, he's younger."

"And that's the problem," Alden said to which Louisa nodded slowly. "We chose Carl as our personal butler because he would know what to do when Louisa goes into labor, James wouldn't know."

I sighed and looked down as I realized their logic made a lot of sense. 

"Just give him a chance," Louisa smiled at me as she squeezed my hands a bit. "You don't know the guy, give him a chance to show his true self."

I noticed Alden and Louisa look at me, their eyes held nothing but hope. And I realized I wouldn't get anyone else, I would be stuck with James. I guess I'll have to make the best out of it... "Ok."

Right then, James entered the living room.

"Aha," Louisa smiled as she looked from me to James. "James," She said to which James walked to our table, he bowed. "Why don't you take Cassandra with you today and show her your tasks?"

He looked from Louisa to me, before looking back to Louisa. "Yes, Milady," He then looked at me again. "Your Highness." He bowed before extending his hand.

I sighed before getting up. "Lead the way."

He cleared his throat and dropped his hand. I then realized that that could seem really rude of me to do...

James walked out first but kept the door open for me. We then walked through the hallways.

"So, where do we start?"

He looked at me. "At the beginning, Your Highness."

---

And that, my dearest Amelia, is how your father and I started talking.