The King's Lover
Chapter 218: The Wedding

Chapter 218: The Wedding

"We are here," Thomas said as the carriage stopped.

Rose thought it was odd that he would announce it when it was pretty clear. She doubted the carriage would stop moving if they had not arrived.

Thomas had an impatient look as she glanced in his direction. Rose nodded in response and picked up the fruit basket. She stepped out of the carriage, which the coachman had been nice enough to open. He tipped his cap at her but didn’t help her get down from the carriage.

Rose frowned as she looked outside. Where were they?

She jumped off the carriage. Luckily, the soft grass softened her landing. She adjusted the fruit basket in her hands, and the door shut behind her. Rose jerked back—Thomas remained seated in the carriage with clearly no plans to get off.

This was good, his attitude was not one needed at a wedding. Rose turned her attention away from the carriage.

The wedding was on a farm, and the carriage had stopped close to the entrance. Rose gripped the handle of the fruit basket as she walked towards it. There was a little wooden gate stopping her from going through. Rose doubted it was locked, but it didn’t feel right to step past the gate by herself.

The gate was intertwined with strings of flowers. They were pale purple and had been purposefully wrapped around the wood. The gate wasn’t very tall and stopped around her waist, which meant Rose could see right into the farm.

Rose looked past the gate and saw it was also decorated with flowers. There were people just past it, and they all had their attention on Rose. She suddenly felt self-conscious as she scanned the small number of people, immediately noticing that she couldn’t see Edna anywhere.

Seats had been arranged and the farm was decorated for the wedding. It was a small and simple one. There was a little podium at the opposite end—a small shed covered in flowers. Rose thought it was pretty. The ceremony wasn’t in full effect yet, but she could tell it would begin at any moment.

Rose shuffled on her feet as she wondered what to do. The gate wasn’t locked, but she couldn’t exactly walk in if she wasn’t welcome, and by the looks she was getting, the people didn’t know if she was welcome either.

The basket started to feel heavy, and Rose just stood in front of the small gate like a little lost lamb. Suddenly, a child bolted from the guests.

"Wait," a woman called, most likely the child’s mother.

The child didn’t stop running until she got to the gate. She stopped right in front of the gate. The little girl didn’t look a day over six. She had a missing front tooth, her hair tied in pigtails, and she wore a pale yellow dress. She looked up at Rose with a toothless smile.

"Are you here for the wedding?" she asked softly. She had a slight lisp, but it was clearly just because she was a child.

Rose nodded.

"You don’t know how to open the gate?" she asked and gently started to open it. "Even Papa thought it was locked when he got here, but it’s not locked. Just pull it like this."

"Thank you," Rose mumbled.

The child nodded and reached out to grab Rose’s free hand. She giggled when Rose didn’t stop her and gripped Rose’s hand tightly as she led the way.

"Mia!" her mother cried, rushing toward them. "What are you doing?"

She tried to lift the little girl, but Mia took a step back, hiding behind Rose. The mother turned her gaze to Rose, her expression shifting between worry and annoyance.

"Good morning," Rose said softly.

"Are you a friend of Edna’s?" the woman asked coldly.

"Yes," Rose said, and she looked at her. Other than looking a little older and having different hair, she was a replica of Edna. Rose could tell this was one of her sisters—clearly an older one.

"What’s your name?" she queried. "Edna didn’t tell us she had such a fanciful friend." She paused and glanced toward the carriage.

"My name is Rose," she said softly, not sure how to reply to the last sentence. Rose couldn’t tell if it was a compliment or not.

Mia gripped her hand tighter. "Mother," she cried, "won’t you let her attend the wedding?" fr\eewebno vel .c(o)m

Mia’s mother glared at her daughter. "I didn’t say she couldn’t. You just don’t rush toward strangers without asking who they are." free.webn\ove(l)(.)c(o)m

"But she’s not a stranger," Mia replied. "She has red hair! Aunty Edna said she made a friend with the reddest hair I’ve ever seen. Redder than an apple," Mia announced with glee. "And look—her hair’s so red!"

Mia giggled again, looking from her mother to Rose as if trying to ask why her mother couldn’t see it. She hopped beside Rose, very excited.

"When did she tell you this?" her mother asked, clearly not believing her. Rose wondered if this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

"Yesterday," Mia replied, still clinging to Rose. "When she gave me a red apple."

"You said your name was Rose?" she asked, narrowing her eyes as she stared up at Rose.

Rose nodded.

"The wedding hasn’t begun yet. You can have a seat." She didn’t seem pleased about it, but at the same time, she wasn’t cruel enough to turn away someone who had come all the way here.

Rose shook her head and lifted the basket. "I don’t have to stay. Just give this to Edna and tell her that—"

"I don’t run errands," Mia’s mother said. "If you have something to say to her, you better stay and tell her yourself. Come here, Mia, and stop bothering our guest."

Mia looked sad but reluctantly nodded and took her mother’s outstretched hand. "See you later, Rose," she whispered as she was pulled away.

Rose was once again standing alone, but at least she was inside the gate and Mia’s mother had called her a guest. She turned around and saw that the royal carriage was the only carriage here and was still standing where she had left it.

She turned her attention back to the wedding and took a step forward, choosing a seat just before the last one. In the case that she wasn’t wanted at the occasion anymore, she could leave without drawing attention.

Suddenly, the atmosphere turned serious. "It’s starting," Mia’s mother said.

The groom appeared first, dressed in black. He wasn’t alone—a younger man walked behind him. Rose couldn’t help the smile that appeared on her face when she saw the man Edna was to marry.

He was handsome, and in some way, he reminded her of Ander—especially his gentle expression—but that was where the similarities stopped. He gave her the impression that though he looked gentle, he was not to be messed with.

His glance briefly flicked in her direction; his eyes didn’t linger, and he looked back at the path. His walk down the aisle was brief. Suddenly, she heard a loud noise—Rose had been too distracted watching the groom to realize the bride was coming.

She turned her head and saw Edna in a pretty white dress. She held a bouquet, and a veil covered her face. Even with the veil, Rose could see how pretty she looked.

She gave a contented smile—she was really glad she came. Edna was such a pretty bride.

Mia walked in front of her, spreading flowers, and an older gentleman walked beside Edna with her hand around his elbow.

They walked in rhythm to the music, and Rose heard soft clapping. It didn’t take long for Edna to get to her side, and Rose held her breath as the bride passed. But suddenly Edna stopped and turned her head so fast it must have hurt.

"Rose!" Edna blurted out. "What are you doing here?" she asked, bringing her voice to a whisper as she realized everyone seemed worried.

"Don’t interrupt your wedding for me," Rose replied, smiling.

"Right, right," she said and turned her attention to her husband-to-be who was waiting at the front. She glanced at Rose again as though she couldn’t believe her eyes.

"Someone you know?" her father whispered in her ear.

"Yes," Edna replied, shaking her head. Her voice was still filled with surprise. "I can’t believe she came."

"Do you want me to throw her out?" her father asked.

"No! I’m glad she’s here," Edna replied, turning to face her father. It was a little hard to see through the veil, but there was no way she would miss Rose.

"I know," he chuckled. f.(r)eewe/bnov\ll.com

Edna shook her head. She had forgotten her father told dry jokes. She was still in disbelief. It couldn’t have been easy for Rose to come to the wedding, but Edna was beyond glad she did. She was the only one who had come from the castle—but that wasn’t the only reason she was happy.

The way they had separated had been a little sad, and Edna had worried she might never see Rose again, especially since she would be traveling with her husband. But this way... this way they could have a proper goodbye.