She woke up the next morning in the same position. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Destrian had in fact gone to his own bed last night and didn’t stay with her. But she wasn’t sure if it was a dream or not.
There was a small knock on her door and Avalon came in, saying, “Come on, we’re having our weekly breakfast with the king.”
“But we did that yesterday,” Rose said tiredly.
“Apparently, there’s an important meeting that’s happening at breakfast. The king wants all his council there.”
Rose nodded and got out of bed, getting all of her nice gowns out so that she could choose which one to wear for breakfast.
The three women walked to the dining hall together. As they passed Destrian’s door, he came out, following Rose, who was in the back.
Rose was blushing the whole way to the dining area, wishing what she remembered was just a dream. If it wasn’t a dream, she didn’t know what to make of it.
Rose sat down in her usual place, staring down at her plate. She couldn’t help but thinking of that scene. It kept replaying in her mind. Destrian coming in, crawling next to her, hugging her, waiting until she slept just to make sure she was alright.
‘No, that couldn’t have happened. He wouldn’t like a girl like me. I mean, I'm probably just a commoner with no family,’ she thought as the servants brought the breakfast dishes.
After everyone finished their meals, the servants gathered the plates and utensils. Rose felt an uncomfortable tension in the air and she knew something was wrong.
“As you know, one of our own men, Ormond, has betrayed us,” the king spoke. “He has decided to side with Aelfric.” A few of the council members shook their head.
“We know this, and we already have our plan of attack. What is the meaning of this meeting?” William asked.
“I have thought long and hard about this. We must move the Announcement a couple weeks,” the king said, sighing.
A small murmur went thru the council members.
The physician, Merlin, spoke up. “You mean to move the Announcing of Children?”
The king nodded. “We need as many Dragon Keepers as possible for this war.”
William Thatcher looked outraged. “You mean to tell us that you want to risk the lives of innocent children?”
“Now, I know what you’re thinking, William. They won’t actually be in the war, they will just be behind the scenes, to make us seem intimidating.”
William calmed down a little, but he was still upset. “Then when is the proposed date?”
“We shall do it tomorrow.”
Everyone got quiet.
“But what about all those children? Don’t they want to wait?” someone asked.
Rose raised her hand, as she was taught in school.
“Yes, Rose?” the king said. “Please stand.”
Rose stood, slightly embarrassed.
Speaking with a loud and confident voice, Rose said, “Speaking for the unclaimed children, being one myself, I think we would much rather be Announced before the actual time, even though it isn’t tradition. If it helps us with the war, I say yes, let’s do it.” She nodded and sat back down, her heart pounding and her face red.
William and the king exchanged a glance, and nodded.
The king stood up and claimed, “The Announcement shall be held tomorrow before noon in the council room. Thank you all.”
Slowly, one by one, everybody left the dining hall. Rose was the very last one to go, telling Avalon that she was going to watch the Dragon Keepers train.
Rose walked outside. She already had her brand new cloak with her, so she put it on and slowly placed the hood over her head, as to not be seen by anyone.
As she came to the training arena, there was already a tall figure standing in her usual spot.
“Um. May I help you?” Rose asked cautiously.
The figure turned around and said, “I just came here to talk to you.”
“Benvolio, what are you doing here?”
“Like I said, I just came here to talk to you.”
“But what are we going to talk about?” Rose asked, getting nervous.
“About three years ago, when I told you I really liked you,” Benvolio said, a little bitterly.
“Oh, yeah. I never really got the chance to apologize for that,” she said, starting to feel uncomfortable.
“Yeah, it doesn’t matter. I understand why you wouldn’t. I mean, I treated you like dirt all throughout school.”
Rose didn’t speak. She knew how short tempered he was, and didn’t want to upset him.
Do you like me back?” he asked quietly.
“I'm sorry,” Rose whispered, turning away from him.
He sighed sadly and said, “Yeah, I was expecting that. But hey, I heard a few other girls like me. I could try with them and see what happens.”
Rose nodded as Benvolio walked away. She thought she heard a faint but bitter,
“Well, hello, Your Highness.”
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