Hidden Princess

Chapter 18: Distant memories.

"Daddy! How do I look?" Tiny Tatyana ran over to her father and he picked her up.

"One word. Fabulous!" The king said while putting his daughter down. The child in response giggled.
"My darling, why is it that you always dress up while going to that little prince and never dress up for daddy?" A fake pout could be seen on the King's face. The small child blushed and hung her head down. She then looked up to her father.

"Can I tell you a secret?" The king nodded his head. The girl walked up to her father and raised her hands. Her father knew what she meant. He picked her up so that she could whisper in his ear.

"Because I like Rylls!" She half whispered and half shouted in her fathers ear. The king put on an exaggerated shocked face and put the child down.
"Then what about daddy?" He asked with his back facing his daughter.

"Oh! Daddy? I love, love, love daddy!" she said with a big smile on her face. The king could not resist his daughter's cuteness. He picked her up and gave the little one a bunch of kisses on her cheeks. The child giggled nonstop.
"But you have to keep this a secret from your mother okay?"
The girl nodded her head and she heard footsteps.

"What secret should be kept from mommy?" The queen asked as she stood in front of the father-daughter duo. Both of their backs stiffened. The king gave a nervous laughter and put his daughter down. The queen decided to let this one slide for now. She would interrogate her husband later.

"Come, come honey! The carriage is waiting at the gate. You don't want to keep the little prince waiting, do you?" The queen asked gesturing for her daughter to hold her hand. The girl ran to her mother and took her hand. She was taken out of the castle and into the carriage heading to the neighboring Metuza kingdom.

"I hope this will work out sweetheart." The king said with a worried look on his face. The queen rubbed his hand to soothe him and gave him a small smile.

****Metuza castle****

The little prince was pacing  infront of the castle. His palms were sweating. It had been a long time since he last saw his best friend. The carriage came to a stop at the gate. The driver got out and helped the princess out of the carriage. The prince ran to her and gave her a big hug.

"I'm so glad you could make it Taty!" He smiled and pulled back. The little girl just nodded as she followed the prince. They headed over to a beautiful garden and sat under a gazebo filled with mouthwatering food on the table. The prince bent down and took a rose from the bottom of his chair once he sat the princess down.

"Here you go milady. Only the most beautiful flower for the most beautiful girl I've come to know." The prince offered the flower to the girl. She took it and breathed in its wonderful smell
"Why, thank you good sir." They sat down and started to eat. Even though they were still seven and eight, the children knew their table manners and ate like adults.

"My mother told me that we'll get married when we grow older Taty. What do you think?" The prince asked once he finished wiping his mouth with a napkin.
"My mother and father are married and they spend most of their time together. So, if it means spending a lot of time with you, I don't have a problem with it!" She said with a big smile plastered on her tiny face.
"She said that it also had something to do with love and attraction to one another."
"Well, I love my father and my mother. But I don't know what attraction means." The girl said with a confused look on her face.

"Rylls, will you come to my birthday?"
"I dont know, I asked mother and father and they didnt give me a sure answer."
"I hope you'll be there." The prince nodded and continued eating. They talked for a while about nothing in particular. But they had a good time in each other's company.

Tatyana woke up to see the sun's rays peeking through the curtains. She shook her head. This time the dream was about Daryl. Did Daryl know the girl?

Daryl laid on his bed ready for a good night sleep. He tossed and turned on the bed but couldn't find any sleep. He finally drifted off to sleep way into the night.

"Daryl, we have something to tell you". The king and queen stood behind their son. Their son didnt to know what they were telling him. He was too annoyed and angry at his parents to even look at them.

"You want to talk to me, when you didnt let me go to my best friend's birthday? Worst of all, you didnt throw me my birthday today! You kept me locked up in my room!" The prince said with his anger boiling.

"Daryl, we prevented you from going for a good reason." The King said with his tone cold and distant. The Prince ignored his parents and was heading out of the room.

"Daryl, Tatyana is dead." The queen said with no emotion whatsoever. The prince froze in his steps. He turned to look at his parents and laughed out loud.
"What? You think lying to me in such an obvious way will make me wither and listen to your commands?" He said with an evil smile on his face. It was true that the apple didnt fall from the tree. The prince and the king's expression matched.

"I'm not lying Daryl. I saw to it myself. Their whole family is dead. So as your best friend." That was all it took to make the prince burst. Tears started flowing from his eyes but his rage was not concealed.

"What do you mean? What do you mean she's dead?" He walked up to his parents and looked at them in the eye.

"We had to do so, so as take back what was ours from them. We had to fully take charge of the grid so that you could rule as the most powerful king, son." The king said.

"How can we take back what was ours, when it wasn't even ours in the first place? From what I've learnt in those stupid history lessons you put me through, is that all the kingdoms in the grid belonged to Aruza!" The prince's chest was moving up and down.

"That is how it works in the real world son. If you want something, get rid of the opponent when you get the chance."

"What happened to me marrying her? I could have achieved the same thing and their would be no blood loss!" The prince was very well versed in the kingdom affairs.

"What is done, is done son." The king said while bending down and rubbing his son's hair. The prince slapped his father's hand away from his head.

"How can you even say this with a straight face? Don't you have any shame? And you expect me to see you in the same light as I used to before?! You are just cold blooded murderers! Get out of my room! You two disgust me!!" He said while pointing towards the door. His parents got out of the room thinking that he would thank them later on.

Daryl fell on the floor and cried his heart out. My best friend is dead. How, how can I even go on without her?

Next up on Hidden Princess:

"Taty, hey."

"Daryl, hi."

"Aren't you happy I came to pick you up today?"

"I really am. Why would his lordship spare his precious morning sleep to come and pick up a lowly servant like me?"

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