Page 68 of A Valiant Prince

“Yes. We had seen ‘lover’s eyes’ that were part of a friend’s private collection. She found the history of them fascinating. So, I had that made for her as a gift after you were born, because she said you and I had the same eyes. I had no idea she had kept it,” he reminisces.

He gets a far-off look on his face and smiles, clearing his throat, and handing the locket back to me. “But you want to know how we met,” he begins. “It was at a press conference for a charity event. That’s where I first saw her. She was beautiful, the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen,” he says. My father continues to tell me everything over the next hour. He tells me about falling for my mother, about keeping their romance a secret, about how she confided in him about her real occupation after she had to warn him of an assassination attempt on his life. He talks about secretly keeping tabs on her and me. He tells me all about my birth, how I was as a baby, and the photos my mother would send him every month. He talks about the decision he and my mother made for us to leave, and how it was the hardest thing he ever did besides keeping us a secret. I’m surprised to hear all of this. The more he speaks, the more I realize how much I really didn’t know my own mother. It saddens me.

“I think that’s everything,” he says. We’re both quiet for a long moment, letting the last hour sink in.

“I’d like to hear more about your life,” my father says, and then looks down at his watch. “But perhaps we should save that for later. I’d like to peek in on Lara before we leave.”

We stand and head back toward Lara’s room. “You know Michael and Lara well?” I ask.

He nods. “Yes, very well. Our families spent a good deal of time together when we were young,” he explains. “Michael and I, well, we hit it off. He’s more like another brother to me.”

“Are you close with Sten?” I inquire.

My father looks at me. “I know Sten is…a little wild. He has a harder time with being royal, always has. But he’s a good person, just give him a chance. You’ll see,” he says. I want to shout out that I think Sten might be who is trying to kill us, but I think that conversation is best had later as we approach the room and find Sten sitting in the hallway.

“They invited us in. I already paid my respects to Lara,” Sten says. And for a split second, I see immense sadness on his face. I suppose they were closer than my father explained to me, having grown up together and all. I wonder if he’s behind all of this, does he feel bad about hurting Lara?

My father’s arm on my shoulder drags my attention back to the door as he opens it, and we walk inside. It’s a solemn scene. The only sound is the beeping of the machines, the swish of the air of the ventilator, and the sniffles coming from Anna.

I walk over to where she sits in a chair, her hand on Lara’s arm. When she sees me, she launches herself out of the chair and into my arms, a sob escapes as she does so.

King Michael’s hand on my shoulder has me looking toward him. He motions for me to take her out of the room, and I nod.

“Come on, let’s go outside and get some air,” I say to her. She walks with me out of the door. I look back to see my father sit in her place and put his hand on Lara’s arm.

Sten looks up as we walk by him, I take Anna down the hall and into an empty room, helping her sit on the bed.

I just hold her as she weeps. I pull a Kleenex box off a side table and hand it to her.

“Th-thanks,” she stutters in between sobs.

“Sure,” I say as I rub her arm. She blows her nose and her sobs quiet to sniffles.

“I-I don’t want her to die,” Anna whispers. I squeeze her in my arms.

“I know, baby,” I say to her as I kiss her forehead.

“The doctor came in and said while she’s stabilized, there’s not much hope of her recovering from the damage to her organs. He basically said she would either start improving over the next forty-eight hours, or she would start declining, but odds aren’t favorable for a recovery,” she says.

“I’m sorry, Anna,” I say because I don’t know what else to say. Lara sustained serious injuries, smoke inhalation, and burns. The fact that she made it this long is somewhat of a miracle.

“At least we’re here,” I offer. She nods against my chest.

“You want to go back home?” I suggest. She shakes her head.

“I want to spend more time with her,” she says.

“OK,” I say as I help her up. She looks up at me, and it nearly breaks my fucking heart. Her eyes are rimmed in red and her nose is red from crying. She looks so young and so vulnerable.

I help her back to Lara’s room. My father stands as we enter.

“We should head back to the palace,” he says to me.

Anna looks up at me. “Stay, please,” she pleads.

“Of course,” I say to her as I help her sit. She grabs my hand as though afraid I’ll leave her.

I look up at my father. He gives a small nod at me and walks out of the room.

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