The King's Lover
Chapter 29: Swallows

Chapter 29: Swallows

"Rose," a voice called, and she lifted her head from the floor she was scrubbing. She was dressed in maid’s clothes and an apron, she wore a scarf around her head to hold her hair in place and keep it from covering her eyes.

Rose frowned, but her expression brightened a little when she saw who it was. She scrambled to her feet and curtsied. "Mister ’enry," Rose called.

He stood in the doorway and gestured for her to step out of the room. Rose glanced at the floor, hesitant. She had only just begun cleaning this room, and it was still mostly a mess.

"Don’t worry, someone else will take care of it," Henry said when he noticed her reaction.

"Okay," Rose replied, wiping her hands on the back of her clothes. She stepped over the bucket and walked out of the room, partially closing the door behind her. "Is somet’ing wrong?" she asked.

"No, some things arrived for you."

Rose frowned and noticed he held a bag. However, she didn’t say anything and just waited for Henry to give her more information.

"Here," he said, handing the bag to her. "You can take a break for now while you check it. His royal highness insisted that I make sure you go through the items as soon as I give them to you."

Rose accepted it and nodded, her breath catching in her throat. She didn’t know what she would find inside, and she was almost scared to check. "Thank ye," she replied.

Henry shrugged and walked away without another word. He didn’t have to bring it himself; he could have sent a servant to hand it to her but the crown prince’s order made him deliver it himself. Rose tore her gaze from his retreating back and turned her attention to the bag. It was a little heavy, but not too much.

She held back her curiosity and slowly made her way to the room she shared with Martha. She unrolled the hay bed and sat on it. It was either that or she would have to sit on the bare floor. Rose undid the bag and frowned. It was a bit of a mess, and she wondered if it had been ransacked before Henry gave it to her. It slightly upset her, but she figured things that came into the castle tended to be checked.

Instead of delicately pulling out the items one by one, Rose overturned the bag on her bed, and the contents spilled out. There were some clothes, her favorite scarf, some snacks, her flute—Rose’s eyes widened when she saw this—and the wedding present.

As soon as she laid eyes on it, she knew. It was small—not too small—but she knew it was smaller than her father would have originally made it. It was also incomplete. Rose felt tears welling in her eyes as she held it in her palms. It was a pair of birds on a branch, her favorite bird, the swallow.

They stood side by side on the tiny stick, but one was visibly missing a lot of features. There were no eyes, just a beak, and while there was a shape for wings, there were no carvings for the feathers. It also faced away from the other swallow, while the completed swallow’s gaze was locked on it.

Rose held it to her chest, and tears spilled down her face. It was certainly her father’s work, and she knew what he meant. Her father hated incomplete works. He had to finish them, no matter how long it took, no matter the interruptions that might occur. But he had clearly sent her this one. Rose could only interpret it to mean he believed he would one day complete it.

Rose lifted the carved piece to her face before slowly setting it down. Her father was alive, and not just that—he also had faith that she would return. Rose thought so too. The crown prince couldn’t keep her here forever. As soon as he had what he wanted, he was sure to let her go. She just had to give him what he wanted. f|re(e)web.n\ovel. (c)o.m

What if that wasn’t enough?

Rose squashed the thought and began putting away the things brought to her. She was glad she had more clothes to wear. Leaving abruptly had been so chaotic and had left her disheveled more often than not. She arranged everything in the bag. The satchel had been a little too small, but at least she had something bigger now.

She kept the carved piece underneath the other items. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust the maids, but she’d rather avoid any unnecessary accidents. Besides, she was sure Martha might do something to spite her.

Her hand touched the flute, and Rose instinctively brought it to her lips. She closed her eyes as she played a simple tone. It was something her mother used to hum. She quickly placed the flute back in the bag, deep in the corner, wondering why her father had sent it. She doubted she would be able to play to her heart’s content here. However, Rose was happy he had sent it.

She was a little sad that there was no message from Ander. It wasn’t like she could read, but Ander could write a little, even if it was just a word he wrote. It would have meant the world to her. Her parents couldn’t read or write either so sending her a letter was out of it. Besides, even if they did send her a letter, she would probably just stare at it.

Satisfied with the arrangement, Rose tied the bag. The crown prince had done exactly as he had said he would, and she hadn’t exactly done her part. Rose staggered to her feet. Something told her he would take his end of the bargain soon enough. She adjusted her dress and retied the scarf around her head.

Her back didn’t hurt as much as it had the night before, but it was still a little sore. Edna had said it was healing nicely and, at this pace, should be completely healed by the end of the week. Rose had wondered if she was just trying to be nice, but wounded or not, she had run out of chances. She’d best prepare for the night.