[Music Recommendation: The English Affair ~ Howard Harper-Barnes]
Oriana walked until she was far away from Adric’s room. She dropped the wood on the floor and sighed, clenching her hands into small fists as she started hitting the air.
"That annoying sister of mine! I should squeeze her neck like this..." Oriana picked up one of the pieces of wood and imagined it was Sophie, then she squeezed it before throwing it away.
"Why did she have to show up at that very time?! What cooking that little- I should go back and really whack!" Oriana cursed, hitting the air with her hands as she let out a frustrated sigh. Sophie always had a way of getting to her nerves, in the past she would have ignored her sister but right now it concerned Adric.
And Oriana was fully interested in everything concerning Adric. She wanted him for herself and not willing to share with anyone. A boiling bitter taste rose in Oriana’s throat when she remembered how Sophie’s hand moved down Adric’s bare body.
"Oooooshhhhhh!" Oriana shouted, shaking her head so she could destroy the image in her mind.
"I hope I’m not interrupting something?" a male voice asked Oriana from behind.
Oriana closed her eyes; she was ready to beat literally anyone up at this point. Ruffling her hair, she turned around with a frown on her face to see who it was that was disturbing her little vent. If it was still Caspar, she was ready to really beat the man up.
"Your Majesty," Oriana’s expression changed when she saw the King. She tucked her hair behind her ear, arranging her gown properly. She was a little embarrassed that the King had seen her in this state.
Fidelis smiled. "I am interrupting something," he gave her a knowing look.
Oriana waved her hands, shaking her head. "No, no. I was just taking fresh air." She looked down at the wood she had scattered on the floor. When she raised her face, the king was still looking at her. She gave him a small smile.
"It’s okay; the palace can be stressful, I know that much." Fidelis smiled. "I hope I’m allowed to join you in taking the fresh air."
Oriana nodded. "Sure, it’s your kingdom after all. I’m just a guest," her voice now sounded relaxed. She used her leg to move the wood out of the way so the king wouldn’t stumble on it.
Fidelis hummed, with his hands behind him, and started walking with Oriana beside him.
"Do you still consider yourself a guest here in Avon?"
"Sometimes I feel like I’m still a guest. I see how most of the servants look at me like I don’t belong here. Also, the members of the royal family haven’t accepted me," Oriana confessed. She still didn’t feel like a part of the Galgani Royal family. She just felt like someone disposable, as everyone still treated her like a total stranger.
The King sucked his teeth. From the girl’s words, she was feeling suffocated in the palace. And anyone in her situation would feel the same. He hadn’t been looking into what was happening in the palace, but recently, he had seen that the princess had nobody on her side.
And the cooking event proved his point because the meal the princess had prepared wasn’t what was on the list he sent to her. Also when he saw the shocked look on Oriana’s face. Fidelis knew that some persons were out to bring the girl down.
"You don’t need to worry about that. If you have me, the king, by your side, I think that grants you the protection you need," Fidelis spoke matter-of-factly.
Oriana covered her mouth with her hand. "Is this like a secret alliance? I thought kings were supposed to be neutral," she asked with her eyes wide open, feigning shock.
"Then you better take this alliance to your grave. I have no choice but to support my daughter-in-law. I need to be the best grandfather," Fidelis cleared his throat, looking around as if someone would catch their little secret.
Oriana blushed when she heard the king talk about having children with Adric. She could already picture in her head having a child with Adric’s hair and personality. This led to more flushing of her face.
"Why? Are you not planning on having children? Is that why you both don’t sleep in the same room?" Fidelis asked. Though he had noticed the recent changes in the princess, where she now always had her eyes glued on Adric and had an interest in everything that concerned him. It was only the oldest feeling ever existed that could bring about such a change in a person’s personality. It was love.
At first, Fidelis thought the princess had allied with Adric’s opponents to bring him down. But seeing that most of the persons in the palace plotted for her downfall, he realized that the princess was also alone like his son. So both of them needed each other to survive.
Oriana didn’t know what to tell the king. She was clearly the one who asked Adric to stay away from her and sleep in another room. How was she supposed to tell him to come back now?
"Do you hate my son?" Fidelis asked, seeing that the princess wasn’t replying.
Oriana shook her head. "No!" Her voice louder than intended. She calmed down, " I mean no, I don’t hate Prince Adric."
The smile on the king’s lips broadened, and he nodded his head. "I understand." He continued walking towards a tree that stood alone in the palace. It was a cherry blossom tree, but all the leaves had already fallen, leaving the tree bare and empty.
Oriana remembered this side of the palace from the first day she arrived. The tree looked very lonely, standing all alone, not close to other trees.
"Why is that tree all alone?"
"That’s where Adric’s mother was buried. She loved playing her music in that part of the palace. So when she passed away, Adric asked that we lay her to rest there," Fidelis replied as they got closer to the headstone.
Oriana nodded. She saw the headstone and remembered how much Adric loved his mother. She stood there, wishing to see the woman’s face; the woman who had made such a significant impact on Adric’s life.
"The flowers have all fallen. You should come around when it blooms again. It makes this the most beautiful place in the palace," Fidelis suggested. He had always wanted to visit his wife, but he couldn’t because he felt guilty. The King got on his knees and used his hand to push away the dead leaves.
Oriana joined him, moving away everything that was on the tombstone. She read the name engraved on it,
"Queen Charlotte."
Fidelis nodded. "The most beautiful name. I’ve missed hearing her sweet voice." The King’s voice now sounded very distant, his eyes filled with longing. The days he lived with just his son and wife flashed in his mind.
"She must have been a sweet woman," Oriana commented, standing on her feet, and she cleaned her hands on her dress.
Fidelis let out a wry smile. "Charlotte was sweet, yes, but not everyone understood her. She always said things the way they were without mincing words. She didn’t care about what people thought of her, so it got her quite a number of haters in the royal court." he got on his feet.
Oriana nodded, hearing about the woman she got to understand where Adric got his attitude from.
"Your Majesty, I haven’t had the opportunity to thank you. Though it didn’t work as we planned but your help during the cooking event,"
Fidelis raised his finger to his lips, "Shh.. we don’t want anyone to know that," he said with a serious face, then winked. Oriana chuckled at the king’s playful nature.
"The next event is the music rendition. Do you have something planned already?" He continued, pointing his hand forward, "Let’s go."
Oriana bit her lips. She knew how to sing a few lines of different songs, but she wasn’t perfect. "I haven’t thought of something yet."
"Maybe you should try using the harp. I heard that Adric let you inside his mother’s room. He stopped everyone from ever going through Charlotte’s things, but he let you," Fidelis remarked. He’d been surprised to hear from his personal servant that Adric let the princess clean the room that belonged to his mother. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
Oriana clapped her hands. "That room was Queen Charlotte’s?" She totally forgot about cleaning the room, thinking Adric was only trying to frustrate her with too much work.
"Yes, that was my late wife’s room. If I’m not wrong, her things are still there. You can find some songs to work with," Fidelis suggested, touching his chest gently.
Oriana was very happy with this new revelation. Not only did Adric trust her with his mother’s belongings, but she was also going to have access to the late Queen’s musical instruments. "Thank you so much, Your Majesty. What should I call you? Fairy king?" She joked.
"Fairy king, that sounds like a good name." Fidelis grinned giving Oriana a thumbs up.
Oriana returned the smile, she was grateful that the man was willing to help her again even though she had almost disappointed him during the cooking event.
"No problem at all. Just remember that I’m always by your side. And if you need anything, don’t wait. Just come and let me know," Fidelis said. "You can go ahead and have your rest now. Today must have been a long day for you."
Oriana bowed. "You too, Your Majesty. Please do have a good rest." She bowed one more time before leaving the palace.
The King’s eyes followed the girl, with a smile still on his face. "Oriana is our son’s woman... She and Adric make a perfect union, just as you would have wanted, Charlotte." The man’s voice trailed.
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