Clearing her mind of everything but the task at hand, Rose blew out her lungful of air slowly. When she answered, it was barely more than a whisper.
"I wasn't running away. I was running toward. Did Caitlyn not give you my note?" The princess watched as Rhodri glanced nervously up at the soldier by the window.
Second guessing his decision to let Gilbert stay, he softly cleared his throat. "Would you excuse us, please? I will send someone for you when it is time for dinner. You will be my guest of honor this evening."
Really, there was not much need for Gilbert to leave. The soldier knew more about Silver--and Rose's relationship to him--than probably even Rose herself. But as the princess did not want to bring attention to that fact, she stayed silent.
Gilbert bowed. "It would be my honor, Your Majesty." He headed for the door, and upon seeing that the guard had indeed been changed, he headed out in search of the rest of his company.
The door shut noiselessly behind him, leaving the two royals utterly alone.
"I got your note," Rhodri said at last. "I just hoped that I had not understood it properly."
The princess sighed. "I suppose I will start at the beginning then." Rose collected her thoughts. She wanted to be as honest with the king as she could. At the very least that meant giving the reason she left in the first place. "It all started just before I left. Like you, I received a note of my own which shocked me."
"From whom?" Rhodri asked a little too eagerly.
Hesitating, Rose bit her lip. "That isn't important. What mattered was what the note indicated. It told me of the existence of a family member that I thought I had lost long ago. Do you remember the day you found me, father?"
The princess watched Rhodri's face pinch. The king never wanted to talk about that day. Rose usually avoided the subject at all costs, but this was a special case.
"Every moment of that day will be forever etched in my memory:" Rhodri looked down and traced the lines in his left hand. "I know it better than my own palm."
The blonde looked long and hard at her father. "Then you recall that on that day, I told you that I needed to return to someone who was protecting me, but I never told you who…"
"I never asked. It seemed wrong to pry," the king's word seemed to ring somewhat false, but Rose wasn't sure why.
"Yet, you helped me search for someone I wouldn't name. That person was...my brother. I did not want to get him into trouble then, and I do not wish to get him into trouble now. Suffice it to say when I got the message that he was alive and well, I needed to investigate." Rose spoke slowly, allowing the words to register in the king's mind.
"But...but it could have been a trap! You cannot trust every slip of paper sent to you, my dear." Rhodri wanted to scold her more, but he could see this was not the time.
If he did not listen, then the princess could shut down entirely and he would never know what happened while she was gone. Rhodri stopped his wagging tongue.
"I know it wasn't the wisest thing, but I also knew it wasn't a trap. At first Philip and Cole were going to go in my stead to investigate, but I knew they would not be able to find out what I wanted to know. I needed to go myself...."
The king inhaled sharply. "Why did you not tell me? I would have sent a platoon of soldiers to protect you. I would have..."
"You would have never let me go." Rose cut him off. Her words were not meant unkindly, but she could see the shock on her father's face by her outburst. Yet she finished her thought. "You treat me like a bird in a gilded cage sometimes, especially lately. The extra guard, wanting to monitor my every move--it is all too much. I was beginning to feel like I was suffocating here. The note brought me something I was craving, and I fell at the chance--literally."
Rose gulped, remembering the incident where she nearly plummeted to the ground from her window in her haphazard escape.
"Do you really think that I limit you so much that you had to run to someone else in order to gain freedom?" The king's face fell. "Am I really that bad?"
"I do not think you are bad. I think you are protective. But after the adventure I have had, I can understand why you want to keep me safely locked away." Rose patted the king's arm gently. "Even if I don't always agree with it," she added.
"I suppose a platoon of soldiers following you around the palace was a bit excessive," Rhodri admitted. He remembered when he was a youth and his father had done something similar to him. Rhodri had resented the action immensely.
Hearing the king's realization, the princess nodded and gave a small smile. "And even if you had allowed me to go, taking all the soldiers with me would have only made my brother flee. Most people don't stick around to find out why a small army is coming for them. I couldn't risk losing his trail. I needed to see him. I needed to know he was alright. I had so many questions, father, that only he could answer."
"I see..." Rhodri's mind waged a war against itself. What exactly had the man told her? What had Rose told him? "Did you get the answers you sought?"
"Some of them, but not before nearly being captured by bandits!" Rose leapt into the story of how the inn had been attacked, how she had been forced to flee on Fireball. Her enthusiasm as she told it kept Rhodri enthralled.
"Then when all hope was lost, the Fates themselves smiled on me and sent someone to heal me. My arm was badly broken, but the old woman miraculously mended me." Rose could see by the king's face that he was both horrified and relieved.
"Thank the Maker!" Rhodri exclaimed. "I hope the rest of your journey was smoother."
"Yes, and no. I ran into many friends and yet another foe, but in the end I fell into the arms of family." The princess summarized.
The lovely blonde was not quite ready to go into all of the details of that part of her journey. While she had already processed a lot of the trauma with being attacked at the inn thanks to Silver, the emotional ties with Rynnlee were something Rose still needed to hold close for fear of revealing too much too soon.
Thankfully, Rhodri did not seem to want to ask any questions. 'As he said, he doesn't like to pry.' Rose reminded herself. The king had always been careful where Rose's personal feelings were concerned.
"I am glad your family was welcoming. I suppose that your brother wondered what happened to you that day." The king treaded carefully, unsure if he wanted the answer to the question he really wanted to ask.
"Yes, he was happy to know I was alive and well. We both were quite relieved to have it all sorted. It was such a nice visit that I was reluctant to ever leave." Rose fiddled with her skirts, remembering all the happy moments that had been shared while wearing it. As such, she missed the look of longing in her father's face.
Rhodri stared at the closest window. With great effort, he forced out the next words from his lips. "I suppose you will want to return to him as soon as you can then…"
The princess's eyes widened. 'He thinks I want to abandon him!'
While Rose had asked to stay with Silver, it was not because of the loving man who had raised her. The fear of Borit has been the driving force behind that request.
Seeing how forlorn the king had become, Rose quickly threw her hands around his neck and kissed his cheek.
"You will have to do better than a long-lost relative to get rid of me, Father. I could never leave you or Lady Cait permanently. Like it or not, you are my family too!"
Rhodri's shoulders straightened. An immeasurable weight suddenly lifted from his shoulders. "I am glad to hear it." He draped his arm across the couch and hugged her gently.
"I do have one request." Rose decided to push her luck.
"Name anything in the whole kingdom, and it shall be yours," Rhodri promised.
"Lessen the number of soldiers that follow me around like puppies…down to one or maybe two."
"But!" Rhodri shut his mouth quickly when the girl pouted. The king sighed. He was a man of his word. "It shall be done."
"Thank you." She laid her head on her father's shoulder. It was a much more pleasant weight than the burden he bore earlier. Rhodri kissed the top of the woman's head.
"Welcome home."