THE IMPORTANT LETTER

Caroline’s POV:

"Can all the maids and jacks, please leave us alone?" My father, the king, asked everyone in the room. I knew it could not be good. My father almost never wanted to be alone with us. There was always some witness to his actions.

All the people who were not of our family made a small bow and left through the several doors that gave access to the dining room. When all the noise of movement was over, my father turned to me, took a deep breath, and decided to start the conversation:

"So, Caroline, I heard you had afternoon tea with your Mom yesterday, and the conversation between the two of you did not go very well, right?" He asked me.

"With all due respect, Dad, no, the conversation did not go very well, but it seems to me that the words my Mother said yesterday did not come directly from her. Do you know anything about it?" I replied. In a way, having woken up and decided that I was going to stomp on this issue gave me a little more courage to talk to my dad like that. I would be disrespectful to him, but I would rather do that than not try to defend my love life.

My father admitted without shame that he was behind the conversation I had yesterday with my mother: "Yes, I was the one who asked her to talk to you yesterday. Listen, child. There are certain things in this life that you must do because of the obligation you have to your kingdom. The sooner you understand this, the better." He explained it to me.

I crossed my arms in front of my chest to protect myself and retorted again: "And was your marriage arranged the same way that you want to arrange a marriage for me?"

Perhaps that was the wrong question, because soon his face turned red as a tomato, and his expression closed. My mother had tears in her eyes, and she lowered her head to hide them.

"I knew it!" I told them. I knew that the relationship between them was not the most loving. There was no public display of affection or anything like that. Sometimes I suspected that they barely loved each other whatsoever.

My father did not like my words at all, and he shouted at me: "You do not know anything, silly girl!" and in an outburst of anger, he spilled much of the breakfast crockery on the floor, destroying our meal.

My father never used physical force on me, but even with him just raging and throwing things around I was very afraid, because I knew he could be severe.

In fact, he was strict with many. There were employees of ours who were punished or imprisoned frequently, just because they crossed his path on a bad day. This was not justice, it was tyranny. If he did that kind of thing to the people who served him every day, I could only imagine what he would do to an ordinary citizen or soldier who did something wrong. My father thought I had no idea what was going on behind the scenes, but thanks to Lucille I could see some of his true colors.

He raised his finger at me and said, "You need to learn to respect me, girl. It is already decided and done. Get ready because your fiancé will be here in a few days."

My eyes filled with tears that was a mix of my despair with the anger I felt at having my hands tied up, but I did not lower my head, and although the tears fell in abundance down my face, I looked at him with a defiant posture.

That seemed to make him even more angry. He got up and hit the chair he was sitting on but left the room without saying anything else. My mom got up and followed him, just casting a look in my direction when she reached the door to the salon, and they left me there, alone.

Sometimes a jack or a maid would stick her head into the dining room and see that I was still there. Afraid to bother me, they all went back the same way they had come. I do not know how long I stood there paralyzed and in shock, until finally I looked at my dress and saw that it was all dirty with food and drink from breakfast. Quietly and as worthily as I could, I got up and went to my room.

Normally, I was not expected in my room at that time in the morning, but luckily the only person who was there was Lucille. When I opened the door, she was putting away my clothes in the huge closet that I had in my rooms.

"Oh, heavens! What happened to you?" She asked me in amazement, then took my hand and guided me inside the room, closing the door.

"Well, this is the result of a hell of a discussion with my father," I told her. "I'm lucky I don’t look like the dishes we were using," I mumbled.

"Oh my God! Come on, let us take care of this in an instant." Lucille told me promptly.

Lucille took me to the bathroom and started to undress me from that dirty dress.

"I know I just took a shower, but do you mind filling the bath for me?" I asked her. I needed to soak in warm water. Not because I was hurt, it was not that, but the hot water brought me comfort and there was a lot I needed to think about.

"Sure," Lucille told me and then turned on the bathtub tap and started preparing a bath with bath salts and oils, and within seconds the bathroom was scented the way I always liked it. As soon as there was enough water, she helped me by pinning my hair up and I went into the bathtub, sinking into that wonderful water.

I leaned my head back in the bathtub and closed my eyes, trying to erase the tantrum that my father had earlier from my memory, but unfortunately nothing seemed to do any good.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lucille asked me quietly.

I opened my eyes and looked at her with all my pain and said, full of irony, "You need to congratulate me. Soon I will be married," and I couldn't keep my voice steady when I said these last words.

"Oh, Care... I am so sorry. Is there something that you can do to prevent your marriage?" She asked me quietly.

"Unfortunately, no," I murmured to her.

"And who is he?" She asked me cautiously.

"I have no idea, Lucy," I told her.

"Well, we can always hope for the best, that is, for someone who truly loves you and who respects you and is ready to rule by your side, not in your place, right?" She asked me uncertainly.

"You are an optimistic and hopeless romantic," I told her and chuckled a little. "Knowing my father as well as you do, do you think that that is likely?" I asked her.

"Yeah, probably not," she murmured, then decided to change the subject. "Did you get to eat anything, or did the entire contents of your breakfast get spilled on your dress?"

“You know, on second thought, I ate almost nothing. I think that after all that fighting, I lost my appetite," I replied to her. But since I was in the security of my room and I probably wouldn't be bothered for the rest of the day anymore - by the way, it was the second time in less than five days that something like this happened to me - I felt my appetite coming back, so I asked, "Could the kitchen staff make a new breakfast tray for me?"

"Breakfast, lunch and dinner. I will order the three on time. Leave it to me," Lucille said smiling and stepped out of the bathroom momentarily.

I spent another day locked in my room. Not that I really liked seclusion that way, but I would rather stay here where it was safe than risk bumping into one of my parents. I had nothing to say to them at this time. I was hurt and angry, and I had already learned an important lesson: nothing is solved when you are upset.

So, I decided that I would take some time away from them and gradually I would return to their social life. Who knows, they might regret losing their daughter's affection, if only temporarily.

A few days went by, and I realized that it had not been one of my best ideas. My self-declared 'silence strike' did not have the desired effect, at least with my father. My mother tried to talk to me, but several times she opened her mouth, and said nothing. Then one day she started talking to me normally. And besides, my anger at her had already dissipated. I realized that I had to come up with a better plan than this if I wanted to eventually get rid of this arranged marriage.

I waited for other news about this absurd marriage, but they did not come. Every day we sat down for meals, without really saying anything to each other. Just a few words that I exchanged with my mother. Every day I expected that my father would tell me about my 'abstract fiancé' and that would seal my fate as if he was a bomb about to fall on my head. However, the news never arrived. Every day was the same tension. I knew that such news would be the first I would receive as soon as it was available. As we only talked about amenities, I knew that another day had passed and I was 'safe', so I would relax for the rest of the day, to start the same cycle, all over again, the next morning.

But as always when we are waiting for bad news, it always finds a way to get to us, and one day that bomb finally fell on my head. Two weeks after our breakfast discussion, my father called me to his royal office as soon as an important letter arrived. When I arrived at the office, my mother was also there, but there was no one else. At first, I was surprised, because this office always had someone else, even in the absence of the King, but then I realized what they could have thought. I think they did not want me to provoke another scandal like that day, so they thought it was better if we had this conversation alone.

"Ah, Caroline. I hope you have already accepted the news about your eminent marriage and that you are calmer than that day," my father started to tell me, but I had nothing to answer him, so I remained silent.

He recovered from my silence and continued: "Well, I have news about this wedding. I am happy to inform you that we have progressed in the meantime since our last conversation and now you are engaged. I offer you, my congratulations!" My father exclaimed and I wondered what kind of madness this was.

So, I decided to follow his game and mumbled a "thank you, Dad," with less enthusiasm than he had shown in giving me the news.

He decided to ignore my ironic comment and then said to me, "Well, he will pay a visit to our kingdom in two weeks, so I need you both," my father said making a gesture that covered my mother, and I, and continued, “to plan for his arrival here, his accommodations, the festivities and all the other activities that may involve such an important visit. Do you understand me?" my father finished his request.

"Yes, sir," my mother and I responded at the same time.

"Great! Now you are excused. I have a meeting soon with Lord Deveraux and I need to get organized before it."

"Would you like me to stay to help you, Dad?" I asked him.

"No, Caroline. Your presence is not necessary at this meeting," he told me. Of course, it would not be. I could bet that this meeting was to tell Lord Deveraux the 'good news' about my marriage.

So, this is it, I had two weeks as a single woman, and then I would be committed to a complete stranger. I do not know if there would be anyone genuinely happy if they were in my place, but I could only think of how I needed to come up with a plan to get rid of this whole story.