The Unforeseen [EDITING]

Chapter Thirteen

"You cried to your mother?" Samuel's eyebrows raised in disbelief.
     Eurina chuckled as she continued to sweep the kitchen floor. "How do you feel about it?"
     Timena's face contorted with confusion, "It felt like she understood. You know it's always felt as though she never paid me any mind for obvious reasons, but last night it felt like she cared." She looked away, feeling strangely comforted by the thought.
     "This arrangement might be the thing to bring you two together." Samuel teased.
     A dry laugh escaped Timena's lips, she turned to glare at him. "Let's not get crazy."
     "Sam might be right, dear," Eurina said, agreeing with him. "Maybe something good could come out of all of this."
     "And maybe, just maybe if I look to the sky, I'll see a pig flying." Timena retorted.
     Eurina's lip twitched as her narrowed gaze landed on Timena's face, Samuel broke out in laughter almost immediately.
     "No need to look at the sky darling, they roam right beside us every day, they're everywhere." Lady Halen tactfully made her presence known as she entered the kitchen.
     Samuel instantly straightened up as Eurina moved to get back to work.
     "Don't worry, I've just come for Timena, if that alright."
     Eurina answered with a reserved smile. "Of course, Lady Halen."
     "Would you take a walk with me, dear?"
     Timena nodded slowly before getting up from the wooden stool and promptly following her up the staircase.

     The castle halls were quiet as they walked together in silence, everyone was either in their chambers or outside enjoying the sun's warmth.  
     "It suits you," Lady Halen said, referring to her attire. "I think better than any dress ever could."
     Timena beamed with delight at her remark, "Thank you, Lady Halen."
     "A lady, I know that I am, I think you can call me Halen now." She joked, linking her arm with Timena's as they continued through the large hall then making their way past the courtyard.
     It was relatively quiet as they stepped outside, that was until the high pitched giggles resounded throughout the garden. Delacroix sat with her waiting maids and a few of the remaining princesses, including Emandalyn and Hanleigh. They all grew silent before standing to greet Lady Halen, she smiled politely before waving them off and leading Timena to the farthest edge of the garden.
     A small pavilion sat at the end of the garden, offering shade to Lady Halen and Timena as they sat across from one another at the small, rounded table.
     "I hope you don't mind that I pulled you away, I just thought that it would be nice for us to get more acquainted." There was a gleam in her eyes as she spoke. "Without my nephew nearby."
     Timena nodded her head as she understood.
     "How did this engagement come to be?"
     "Silas didn't tell you?" Timena asked, wondering if he had mentioned anything to her at all.
     "He's secretive, with just about everything." Halen tapped her fingers against the table absentmindedly. "Opening a dried-up coconut would be easier than getting him to tell me anything." She huffed.
     Timena snorted as she sat forward in her seat. She wanted to tell Lady Halen the truth in its entirety, but thought better of it.
     "It was arranged." She said simply.
     Halen nodded slowly, "I thought so, and how do you feel about it?"
     Timena took a deep breath, "What does it matter?"
     "It matters a great deal... it's a life more suited for someone like your sister, don't you agree?"
     "No, that is where you're wrong." She answered, feigning seriousness. "I have been waiting my entire life for this moment." Their eyes met again, a smirk appearing on Timena's lips almost immediately. 
    Halen rolled her eyes as a deep laugh left her lips. "You're a piece of work, you know that?"
     "I'm aware."
     After a moment, their laughter quieted. "What was it like, when you married King Robin?"
     Halen thought back to her late husband, a warm but pained smile came to her lips. "I was young and it was sudden, we married within days of meeting each other. I was very reluctant at first, creating as much distance between us as I possibly could, but he was relentless." She chuckled lightly.
     "He was sweet and caring, I assumed maybe it was a ruse, but even after we married and went back to his home in Trentaq, he was determined to make me love him." She said reminiscently. "As you can imagine, his people weren't very welcoming, and rightfully so, they believed me to be like my father and brother."
     "Did you ever worry you would lose yourself in the process?"
     Halen pondered her question for a short while, "Of course, and I did, but the most important parts stayed." She answered, reassuringly. "There will be pieces of your life that you will have to let go, but that's a fact of life," Halen said, truthfully. "I don't see you letting go of the parts of yourself that you value most, and I'm sure you'll put up a fight if confronted." She said with certainty.
     Timena sighed. "What if I don't realize it? What if it doesn't occur to me until one day I'm sitting in a very uncomfortable dress, gossiping about-"
     Halen lightly placed her hand on Timena's arm. "You know that won't happen, if you need some reassurance, I'll slap you as soon as I see you in a dress." She said jokingly.
     A faint smile spread across Timena's face. "Please do, and hard." She emphasized.