The fireplace was in full flaming glory and the drinking chocolate a perfect temperature to warm the chill out of their bodies from their snowy weather fun. "I've missed you very much so." Adrien said, feeling lighter in spirit than he had in days prior just by her presence as he took a sip of his drink. It was bitter yet sweet and overall very pleasant.
She followed Adrien into the warm library. They sat near the fireplace, Rosalyn close to the king. Two cups of drinking chocolate already sat in the small sitting area, piping hot.
The king had brought her some on one of his visits, but she never got the chance to enjoy it. Though she felt horrible for it, she had traded it to the baker for fresh bread. The man had gladly accepted the trade and promised her bread for several days. The villagers knew she was in courtship with the king, but they showed no form of kindness. The greed of coin still shrouded them.
"I missed you too, your majesty. But your bird, Merlin, makes some wonderful company," she teased and took a sip from her cup.
"I do have him fed well before he departs, so he doesn't make too much noise while he awaits for a letter to be recieved before he returns to me. I am glad you find his company enjoyable while we are apart." Adrien stated, as the two sat comfortably on the couch next to each other.
Now that winter was in full bloom he couldn't help but wonder what Rose did with her time away from him. Her father had been a artist and tinkerer. She hasn't learned either of such skills. He had died to close to winter for her to seek out a job to work in the fields to provide for herself.
"How are you, Rose?" He asked sincerely. He had on numerous ocassions thought of offering her a job but that was improper for her to work in the castle while in courtship with him.
This was the first year they had plenty of crop and actually were able to give out winter rations to everyone just before the first snowfall. Everyone had grain that could be made into barley soup or baked into bread. They would only need to barder from the baker to use it for baking a loaf of bread or pay him to bake it. But compared to previous years where even barley soup had been a meager meal for many a winter days. Having the grain for the baked bread to eat in winter was a huge improvement. Nobody would die this year from starvation.
"I couldn't be happier, your majesty," Rosalyn said, obviously avoiding the question he had truly asked. Emotionally she was well, but financially... Well, her troubles were beginning to catch up with her. The gold she had given her father after she sold Gustave's estate was almost gone. She had started trading things where others were interested, but a baker was not interested in books and a seamstress wasn't interested in tools and trinkets.
She would not being these troubles upon the king though. He was a busy man and had more to care for than just her. Rose was not a beggar and she would never ask anyone for anything.
That wasn't the answer Adrien had been looking for, but he let it suffice for the time being. He had another topic in mind to ask her about, "I'm glad to hear of that. Your happiness is something I value greatly." he said sincerely.
He moved onto something else that was on his mind, "Would you be interested in a job as a tutor? To Chandler, specifically. The lad has only ever known of this castle. He was not raised in the village, nor did he attend school like other lads his age. I hope to make him a member of my counsel someday. A boy well educated would be of great benefit. Without the ability to write or read, he would be destined to remain a servant. Perhaps join a member of the palace guard or take the place of his father as the horse caretaker. I think he has potential for something more if he had a teacher."
"I would love to, your majesty, but I am not sure how well of a tutor I would be," Rosalyn said. She would love to teach Chandler how to read and write, plus it was a way for her to make some coin. But would she live here in the palace? Her residing with the king during courtship was preposterous, but with the harsh winter ahead of them, she would not be able to make it to the castle every day.
"Nonsense. I have faith such a task is within your capabilities. The boy has proven fit to travel to the village alone on horseback. He will ride to you every morning after breakfast for a short lesson, a couple hours each day will suffice. Then send him back around midday. He has other duties to attend to after all. If the weather becomes treacherous, he will come at least thrice a week."
Adrien knew Mr. John Pom had a few younger horses in the stables that would appreciate the exercise. It was a ideal situation for everyone. Except for Adrien of course who would rather spend every day with Rose, but had other duties to attend to that didn't allow him that luxury.
Rosalyn nodded. All her life she had been learning anything and everything she could. She had never taught someone something before, but she felt it was an easy enough task. After all, being a teacher came with the job of being a mother, which she hoped to be one day. "I will accept this job, your majesty. But only if it means I can accompany the lad home on occasion," she said, her voice light and joking.
Though she adored Chandler and would love seeing him every day, she also wanted to see Adrien as well. Their letters sufficed on days when the weather was bad, but nothing could ever compare to the feeling she got in her chest when she was with him.
Days passed and Adrien found himself in a counsel meeting with the seven members he had carefully selected. One was a lord over the farmland that provided grain for the castle and the village. A few were members of the village such as the blacksmith, the potter, and the graveyard keeper. Of the seven men they each had one thing in common. They did not have families. They were all bachelors or widowed, never having children. Therefore, none of them had ever been required to attend the dances that Adrien had taken a Chosen from for the past seven years. These men were not privy to the town gossip, but had skills and insight that made them suitable for being counsel members.
"Gentlemen, let's begin. Lord Luxbury, spring and summer allowed your fields to have a great harvest this year. Did the winter food ration estimation distribution go as planned?" King Adrien asked, he wore his crown and cloak and very royal blue elegant apparel for this meeting as the men sat around the oval table in one of the study rooms that was used to discuss politics.
"Yes, your Highness. Every family received enough grain to carry them through the winter should it be used well." Lord Luxbury answered.
"Onto the next topic. Upon the new year I will be sending out a letter to the neighboring kingdom, to foretell them of my intention to visit their Court, their flower festival, and if all goes well gain a ally in contract."
Another man raised his hand and Adrien gave him permission to speak, "Sire, why would another kingdom become our ally simply because we seek out them due to close proximity? Do you plan to establish trade to make them an ally or perhaps seek a marriage?"
Adrien answered, "We will be establishing trade. I will not be seeking out a royal marriage. I am in courtship already."
"But Sire, a trade treaty can be broken. If either kingdoms economics falter, so does our alley. A marriage would be wiser and unbreakable. Is this courtship with a noble woman?"
Adrien's jaw began to clench in irritation. "No, but . . . "
The men began to say in turns.
"Consider the strength we would gain..."
"What about an heir of only half royal lineage?"
"How will that bode for negotiations later?"
"Could this woman you are in courtship with be made a mistress?
"And a royal wife be established for the good of the kingdom?"
Adrien slammed his fist down on the table and everyone fell silent, "Who I desire to court and therefore potentially marry is my choice. It will not be used as a means to gain political advantage. A happy king is for the good of the kingdom. To force me to marry not for love would bring unimaginable torment to this kingdom. The next person who speaks any of the ideas of mistress, marriage, or heir may find himself restrained and the tip of his tongue removed. I am understood, gentlemen?"
The men fell silent and spoke no more, merely nodding their heads. Adrien sighed, "You are dismissed." Once they all left he retired to the music room where he had a few of his mothers memorial objects in a curio glass cabinet. One was the windmill music box that he had picked out for her as a lad. Her crown. A few necklaces that she had worn or been gifted by his father on a few occasions. Adrien however was looking for something in particular. He went to a shelf that had a cushioned box, no bigger than his hand and opened it. There he found a woman's gold ring. It held a round red diamond with small clear diamonds on either side. Underneath the red diamond in the interior of the gold band was the DeLavergne crest. With it was a man's ring. It too had a red diamond but instead of gems on either side it had the DeLavergne crest on one side and the letter A in beautiful craftsmanship calligraphy on the other. A testament to the tradition the DeLavergne family had followed for generations by naming males that started with the letter A.
He knew exactly what he was going to give her for Christmas in a few days time.
Chandler's tutoring began immediately. The next morning, he came to Miss Rosalyn's home and knocked quietly on the door. She would have not heard it at all if she hadn't been passing into the living room. "Good morning, Chandler. Are you ready to begin your lessons?" She greeted him with a warm, bright smile and led him into her home. They sat at the small kitchen table with a single piece of parchment and a quill and inkwell. On the page she had already written the alphabet. If he was to learn to read, he must first know the individual letters.
Several hours later, Chandler recited the alphabet back to her. When she questioned which letters were which, he promptly pointed them out. "Very good, lad. The king said you were only to be here a couple hours a day since you have other chores to attend to." She stood from the table and rolled up the paper, handing it to him. "Take this with you and practice them if you have time."
Chandler smiled ear to ear and took the paper. He gave Rose a hug. "Thank you, Miss Rosalyn," he said. To her surprise, the lad took her hand and gently kissed her knuckles before giggling. "I see the Master do that all the time and I wish for you to admire me as you do him."
"I admire you greatly, but in a different way than I admire his majesty. Now hurry home, and be safe," Rose said and ruffled his hair before sending him off back to the castle. She watched the boy ride off out of sight before returning to the confines of her home.
For the past several weeks, she had been studying her fathers work. His music boxes and painting skills, practicing the skill herself. She had removed the bottom panel of one of his smaller boxes to study the gears and cogs which caused the music to play. With every passing day, her skills improved, but she only had a few days left.
Adrien was well accustomed to the size of Rose's hand, particularly her fingers. He was almost certain that the ring would fit. But it simply wasn't enough to just give it to her. He got to work polishing and shining it, making it appear as if it was new from the blacksmiths shop and not a family heirloom. And he needed to encase it in a special way. He found himself summoning all manner of tools and material for him to do this by hand. He even consulted Maddy for a bit of fabric. When the task was done, a sense of relief and accomplishment flooded him. It was the Eve of Christmas. He had sent a letter to Rose earlier that day, stating a carriage would arrive to her home on Christmas morning to bring her to the castle. She was not made aware that he would accompany the carriage also.
Chandler did not have any lessons on Christmas Eve or Day, in honor of the holiday. Though before the Eve of Christmas, she had taught him how to read short words such ascatanddog. The lad loved their lessons and she hoped that the king would be satisfied with her teaching abilities. A letter arrived the morning before Christmas from the king, stating that a carriage would arrive to escort her to the palace. The last time she had been one, she had also been on her way to the castle, but on much more unwanted terms.
She had finished the gift for the king only hours before the carriage arrived to take her to the palace. She placed it in a medium sized box and carefully wrapped it in red paper, tying it with a white hair ribbon that had been hiding in the bottom of her wardrobe. Rosalyn dressed in a light blue gown and slipped on a matching cloak before exiting her home, gift in hand.
The carriage had a driver and a footman that readily, held the door open for her to enter the exquisite mode of transportation.
However it was Adrien that stood outside the carriage. The smile on Adrien's face held now bounds when he saw her. "Merry Christmas, Rose." he greeted in courteous bow, taking her hand in his and kissing it softly. The gift he intended to give her deep within the pocket of his vest. A gift that would be presented later. He had a few other plans for the two of them before that time came.
They entered the carriage and the driver called for the horses to move. Going East of the Village, toward the cemetery. Adrien held up a satchel that contained six stones. "I thought perhaps you would like to visit your father today before we make our way to the castle."
Her heart fluttered in her chest when she saw Adrien. He hadn't told her he was going to arrive in the carriage as well. "Merry Christmas, your majesty," she greeted with a curtsy. The two climbed into the coach, Rose sitting across from Adrien with his present in her lap.
It had been months since her father's death, but this would be the first time she had visited his grave. She did not deal well with the deaths of her loved ones, so she though it would be best if she stayed far from the cemetery. But perhaps with Adrien by her side, the visit would be easier for her. "I would like that very much, Adrien. Thank you."
They came to a stop and Adrien helped her out of the carriage. The land had received snowfall that morning, giving the cemetery a very surreal feeling. There foot prints were the only one to mark upon the ground as they walked arm in arm to her father's grave. The wooden cross marker weathered, but still legible.
He pulled out two round stones from the pouch and presented one to her. He placed his down first at the base of the cross and spoke, "In moments when we are faced with the fragility of life, there is permanence amidst the pain. While a body fades, stones remind us that souls endure."
Rosalyn held the stone tightly in her grasp. The cemetery was quiet and blanketed in a fresh layer of snow. She still did not believe that her father was gone. It seemed like it was only yesterday that he father had left his world, but it had been so much longer. She would do so many things to get the opportunity to see her father again. To take him in an embrace and tell him everything that had happened since he passed.
But she knew it could not be done. She did not think that even magic would be able to reverse this. She laid the stone in the snow besides the king's and wiped a tear from her cheek. "Merry Christmas, Papa," she whispered.
After Rose placed her stone and said her piece, Adrien wrapped an arm of comfort around her. She had lost her mom while Rose was in her infancy. So she probably felt a loss at never having a mother, but never truly felt a miss for someone she had no recollection of.
But her father had always been there for her. The loss she felt for him was to the same degree that Adrien had felt when his mother had died when he was a lad. "People say it gets better, but it doesn't. It just gets different." He said, sharing with her the empathy he had learned over the years as he mourned the loss of his mother.
They departed from the cemetery and with heavy hearts they made their to another destination on the castle grounds. The royal cemetery. Each plot had an above ground tomb made of marble or other stone. The surface of each one engraved with the name, birth, and death dates. Adrien lead her to two side by side. One with his mother's name and one wit h his father's name. A few stones were on his mother's tomb. They had been there for quite some time. His father's held none. He hadn't visited their graves for seven years.
"Merry Christmas Mother. You too, Father." Adrien said as he withdrew two stones for and gave them to Rose and used the remaining two for himself to place down upon the tombs first.
When they left the cemetery, Rosalyn had to keep herself from looking back. She did not want to dwell on things she could not control. Christmas was a happy holiday, one she had always enjoyed deeply. Though visiting her father's grave was sad, it also made her the slightest bit happy. She knew her father was in pain no longer and that he was with her mother again, happy.
Then the pair visited the royal cemetery, where Adrien's mother and father were buried. He handed her two more stones before placing his own on his parent's tombs. She followed suit, placing her's beside his. Rosalyn reached out and placed her hand in the king's, entwining their fingers. She could tell he missed the two deeply and wished there were something she could to do. Instead she gave him a gentle smile and his hand a light squeeze.
"Let's go home." Adrien whispered to Rose a few seconds after she gave his hand a comforting squeeze. They turned and began to make their way to the castle.
He spoke once more trying to lighten the mood. This was supposed to be a happy day after all.
"I am certain Mrs. Pom is awaiting for our arrival with the most plentiful Christmas breakfast."
The castle had minimal staff. Those who chose to work that day were paid extra. Of course in Mrs. Pom's case she lived on the grounds in a cottage not far from her home, so the castle was like a second home to her.
"Merry Christmas, Master. Merry Christmas, Miss Rosalyn! So good to see you dearie. I hope you are hungry. I've made all the holiday favorites." She announced as they entered the dining hall and Adrien assisted Rose with removing her cloak and pulled out her seat at the dining table.
The soft blue gown she wore complimented her eyes and brought out and elegance as her brown locks of hair cascaded down just past her shoulders. As Mrs. Pom promised the table was covered with all manner of breakfast foods. Biscuits, sausage gravy, hot cakes, baked cakes, muffins, fruits, and even bacon!
Rosalyn sat in the chair the king had pulled out for her. "This is a feast indeed, Mrs. Pom. Perhaps you'd like to join us?" She offered with a warm, inviting smile.
During her say in the palace, Mrs. Pom was like a mother to her. She cared for her when she was sick, did her best to make Rose feel safe and welcome in the palace. The least she could do for the woman was invite her and her family to share breakfast with them. "There is much more food here than his majesty and I will be able to finish." Rosalyn gestured to the food, then at the empty spaces along the length of the table. "Besides. I fear it has been far too long since this table has been fully occupied."
"Rose is correct. Mrs. Pom call everyone in at once. Let's all eat together." Adrien ordered kindly and the older woman gained this look of joy over her face. "Of course, Master." She said and hurried about toward the door, disappearing from view.
Within less than a minute everyone had come to the dining hall and joined in to share the delightful breakfast meal. Colin, Lothair, Misses and Mister Pom, Chandler, Maddy, Maestro Caden, his songstress wife, and a few others who chose to work that day. Everyone had a ample plate full of food, but all awaited for Adrien to enjoy his first bite. He stood up and addressed the table that did not have a single empty seat and raised a glass of champagne.
"Merry Christmas, everyone! I propose a toast to those we love and care for, near and far. Past or present. For they are the true gifts of any season." Nods of heads and cheers could be heard as everyone took a sip of their own raised glasses and he sat down and began to eat. The sound of silverware and chatter in the air. The sound of a Raven's caw from a nearby window pulled Adrien's attention away momentarily before the bird disappeared from view.