Chapter 12
Two days later, the King and the Princesses returned home to the castle. Regina had just come back from a lesson with Rumplestiltskin when her maid informed her of their return. After receiving the news, the Queen walked down the stairs to the floor where her daughter's room was located to greet her. She hoped Amelia was okay since their last conversation, seeing that it had been an uneasy one. Regina thought about how she would word things and apologize to her daughter as she went down the stairs.
Once she reached the floor she wanted to be on, she glanced up and saw the King accompanied by a few of his guards. As soon as Leopold spotted her, he began walking over to her.
"Your Majesty, I just heard that you were back," Regina said.
"Regina."
"Is Amelia in her room? I wanted to see her," Regina inquired.
"She is," Leopold paused. "But I have to say, I'm concerned about her."
"Is she okay?"
"Well, she just seemed upset about something the last two days and I was wondering what happened. Did you say something to her?"
Regina suddenly felt angry that the King would immediately suggest that it was her fault if Amelia was upset.
"Are you blaming me for this? I have no idea why she would be upset, considering that I see so little of her anymore."
"Snow told me you were upset we were leaving again. I was only asking since you're Amelia's mother."
Regina looked away and then rolled her eyes. Of course Snow would tell him about that, she couldn't keep anything to herself.
"That's right I am. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go see my daughter. Good day to you, Your Majesty," Regina said with a trace of venom in her voice.
It was hard to say if the King picked up on this because he simply nodded before she turned and continued down the hall to her daughter's room. Once she arrived there, she had to wait a moment to shake off the anger that had arisen from the conversation with the King. The two of them didn't speak a lot and when they did, their conversations were always brief but of late by the end of their talks Regina was left feeling more hatred for the man than she had ever felt before.
After Regina felt herself calm down, she opened the door and stepped inside the room. Her eyes then caught sight of Amelia standing near the bed as she handed Johanna dresses to be put back in the wardrobe.
"Hello, Amelia."
"Hi, Mother," Amelia replied, feeling a bit standoffish due to their last encounter.
"Johanna, I'd like to speak with my daughter alone for a minute."
"Of course, Your Majesty, Your Highness," Johanna said, addressing both the Queen and Princess before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.
After the sound of the door clicking shut was heard, Regina turned to her daughter who was licking her lips, nervously. Regina then came closer, took her hands and was relieved when the teenager didn't flinch.
"I'm so sorry, Amelia, I shouldn't have said what I had said to you. I was just upset because I miss you when you're away."
Amelia listened to her mother's words very carefully and could see from the look on Regina's face that she truly meant it.
"I understand," Amelia said, throwing her arms around her mother's waist to hug her. "I miss you when I'm gone, too; very much. And I'm sorry if I upset you by not staying."
"You didn't, my sweet girl. It's not your fault. You're not to blame, okay? I shouldn't have asked you not to attend to your princess duties. I know how important they are."
Amelia stepped back to look at her mother and then nodded, "I would like to take that trip, though. Just the two of us, it would be nice to have some time alone and I wouldn't mind a break from being a princess for a few days."
Regina chuckled, "We will take this trip, I promise."
"When?" Amelia asked, expectantly.
"Soon. We'll get to spend a lot of time together very soon."
"I can't wait," Amelia replied, giving her mother another hug. "Well, I should probably go help Snow with the plans for Father's birthday party."
Regina then broke the hug, "Of course, I'll see you later."
Amelia gave her mother a smile before walking out of the room. Regina watched her daughter's figure leave the room as she thought about her plans to take care of the roadblocks to her happiness. Hopefully, she would be able to make her plans into actions soon, if the right opportunities were to come about.
The next day, Snow and Amelia were in the dining hall checking over the preparations for their father's birthday. Amelia stood next to her older sister as they walked the length of the hall and Snow read off the list.
"The menu for dinner and the musicians."
"Check for both," Amelia said, using a quill to place check marks on the piece of paper in her hand that she had resting on a book.
"Good, well, I'd say we're ready for Father's party."
Amelia nodded, "I think we've done a good job, Snow."
The Princesses looked around the room at the various servants who were making final adjustments to the decorations while others brought out the fancy china.
"I agree," Snow said. "What do you say we go outside and pick some roses for the party? It's a lovely day."
"I'd love that."
Snow then grabbed her sister's hand and the two of them rushed out of room and almost ran into a servant bringing in more plates. They laughed as they continued on their way outside until they reached the gazebos. Once they arrived they saw Regina standing there tending to her apple tree.
"Mother," Amelia greeted.
Regina looked up after trimming a branch. "Hello, Amelia, Snow. Good afternoon."
"Good afternoon, Regina," Snow said.
"I didn't know you'd be out here, Mother."
"Well, I figured I'd get some fresh air," Regina replied.
"Great. We're going to pick some flowers for the party,"
"What a nice idea, sweetheart." Regina then went back to trimming branches on the tree while the sisters began picking flowers.
After some time passed, Amelia looked up to see her father coming up the steps that led to the river with a strange man she had never seen before.
"I'll be right back," Amelia said to Snow before she ran off through the other two gazebos to go meet her father.
Curiosity was getting the best of her about who this stranger was, she hadn't seen her father since breakfast and longed to tell him about the party plans.
"Daddy."
"Hello, darling," Leopold greeted, giving his youngest daughter a hug.
"Daddy, Snow and I finished the preparations for the party."
"That's very good. Ah, Genie, I'd like to introduce you to my youngest daughter, Amelia Rose."
"Nice to meet you, Your Highness," the Genie said.
Amelia smiled then followed her father as he and the Genie continued on back to where Snow and Regina were.
Later that night, Snow and Amelia danced with each other in the dining hall along with the other party guests.
"Are you having a good time?" Snow asked.
"A very good time. What about you, Snow?" Amelia asked as Snow raised her arm so her sister could spin around.
"I am, too."
The girls chuckled and continued dancing until the song was over. When the song ended the Princesses clapped their hands for the musicians then went to go take their seats for dinner.
By the time Amelia had cleared the majority of her plate, Johanna came over and whispered in her ear, "Come along, Princess. It's time for you to get ready for bed."
Amelia let out a huff; annoyed that she couldn't stay for the whole party, though she had been told she was to leave after dinner earlier in the day.
The fourteen-year-old looked over toward her father and stuck out her bottom lip, trying to look as sad as possible.
"Look at you, what's this all about?" Leopold asked.
"Do I really have to leave the party now, Daddy? Can't I stay, please?"
"I'm sorry, Amelia, but you really should go to bed. You have your lessons tomorrow. Now, go on with Johanna."
Amelia sighed; well, at least she gave it a try. The Princess then stood up from her chair and walked the length of the table with Johanna close behind her.
"Goodnight, Amelia," Snow said as Amelia went past, feeling great sympathy for her sister.
Once Amelia was at the other end of the royal family's table she gave her mother a kiss on the cheek.
"Goodnight, Mother."
Regina gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek in return. "Goodnight, sweet girl. Sleep well."
As Amelia left the dining hall she spotted the Genie standing in the doorway watching the party and as she went by, he bowed.
"Your Highness." Amelia gave him a nod before continuing on her way with Johanna.
Meanwhile inside the room, Regina glanced over at the King and Snow, which quickly turned into glare. The mere sight of them was becoming increasingly unbearable. At least she wouldn't have to see their faces much longer. The Queen looked away before her glare would become noticeable to others and then her eyes traveled to the door. There she saw the Genie just standing there, looking around, clearly not used to the grandness of the castle. Regina watched him closely but was careful enough not to draw his attention toward her. There was something about him that seemed perfect for Regina's plans. She had seen the way he looked at her earlier and if she was right about what she saw now all she had to do was bait this Genie. If other parties were any indication the King and Snow would make it easy.
The following day, Regina walked into the drawing room with a book in hand and saw her daughter playing the piano.
"Amelia, that sounds beautiful," Regina commented as she stood behind her daughter.
Amelia stopped playing then turned around on the bench briefly. "Thank you. I've been practicing."
"I can tell. You're doing a lovely job, sweetheart," Regina said as she kissed her daughter's head.
The Princess smiled and then began playing again; starting the song she had been playing when her mother walked in the room over again.
After listening to the song Amelia was playing for a minute, Regina walked over to the two large armchairs, placing the book on the end table in between the chairs and quietly left the room.
Not too long after Regina left the room Leopold ventured in when he heard the piano being played from the hallway. The King waited until the song was over before he started clapping, which startled the Princess a little since she hadn't heard anyone else come in after her mother left.
"Bravo, darling."
Amelia turned around to see her father standing there. "Thank you, Daddy."
"How long have you been practicing?"
"About an hour, I only have to play two more songs then Johanna said I can have a break to go for a walk with Snow."
Leopold nodded, "Well, don't let me interrupt. I'll just be over here."
He then went over to the armchairs and sat down as his younger daughter resumed playing. The King reached over and picked up the book on the end table, started reading it and very quickly realized that it wasn't a book, it was a diary.
"Amelia, what's this?"
The teenager turned around to face her father and looked at the cover of the small book in his hand.
"I don't know. I think Mother left it there," Amelia answered with a shrug.
That night, Regina sat on her sleeping couch reading a book when she heard a knock on the door.
"Come in," she called and a few seconds later the door opened and two of the King's guards entered the room. They then made their way to the center of the room so they would be standing right in front of her.
"Your Majesty."
Regina nodded but made no move to stand up. "To what do I owe this late night visit?"
"The King wanted us to inform you that he found your diary and discovered your betrayal." Regina gazed up briefly at the mention of the dairy then back down. "He and his counsel have decided that you should remain in your room for a few days and you won't be allowed to see the Princesses until the counsel has determined the severity of your betrayal."
Regina stood up from her chair and looked the men in the eye. "Very well, if you would ask the King to not share this with the Princesses, especially Amelia, she's still very young. Ask him to tell Princess Amelia I'm ill, for her sake."
The guards nodded, surprised at how calm the Queen seemed, having witnessed the way she spoke to the King earlier.
"I will, Your Majesty."
"Thank you." The guards then proceeded to walk out of the room.
After the door closed, Regina walked over to her vanity to compose a letter to her father to ask him to acquire something for her.
Thanks for reading.
There is more intense stuff to come and I think a certain someone won't be around much longer as a few of you have guessed. Let me know what you think.
