Chapter 60

Phoenix

"What the fuck has gotten into you, Brandon?! Are you nuts?! Everyone knows that Tobias is crazy for Isla, and she loved him too." Said Phoenix.

"So, what? That doesn't mean I can't give in; I must try at least. Besides, I heard they are in a fight, and I haven't seen them close these few weeks." Said Brandon.

"So, what? Brandon, if they are in a fight or not, that doesn't concern you! Plus, I think she's already in to marry the prince in a few years." Said Phoenix.

"What?!" said Brandon as Phoenix covered his eyes and nodded.

"Then I will fight for her and!" said Brandon, but Phoenix stopped him.

"No, you will not; the king already decided this, well, the former king, Randolph. Besides, this isn't a fighting range; it's an arrangement that Randolph always wanted to do with king Laurent before he died. Sorry man, but you never had a chance with her except defeat and move on." Said Phoenix as Brandon nodded.

"Trust me, girls will come your way again soon." He said.

"What if I try with Hadley next then?" said Brandon with a smirk as Phoenix got serious but knew his friend was kidding, it killed him, and his veins boiled anytime anyone wanted to be with her.

"Bro, don't even try or think about it, or I will kill you." Said Phoenix as Brandon laughed.

"Just stay out of trouble, or Derek will have to cut your head off." Said Phoenix as he laughed, which only made Brandon laugh even more; they knew Derek would never do that; it was the expression for being in trouble with him.

"Alright, then I'll keep it cool; I'm ahead to sleep. I have an early shift tomorrow; you should return with your girl before anyone takes her away." Said Brandon as he left and laughed at Phoenix.

As he was going to return, he spotted Angel, nowhere to be seen for a while now; he thought that was very odd because he was never sent for a mission, and he didn't want to leave either.

He made his way back in, and at least Derek was With Genevieve and Henry; he was in relief; he didn't like it when Derek wasn't around because something was fishy to him about Angel, especially when he was around the queen.

He spotted Hadley talking with his mother, 'oh' boy he thought.

He could tell from the laughter their sharing his mother had told her some things about him; he made his way but not too close to try to hear the conversation.

"Well, hello there, son, please come in closer. I was talking to Hadley about your little brother trying to bake." Said Charlotte as he came in closer and rested his arm on Hadley's waist.

"Mom, you don't have to..." he said but was cut by his mother.

"Have you ever baked Hadley dear?" she asked, and he listened too because he also wanted to know a few things about her.

"Yes, I helped in baking that chocolate cake that Liam and Lilian are eating." Said Hadley.

"Really? Well, how is it, kids?" asked Charlotte as she took a bite from Lilian's cake.

"Mm, that is one delicious cake; how did you learn to bake and cook?" asked Charlotte.

"My mother taught us a few things before she died, I was young, very young when she died, but I still remember most things she taught us." Said Isla.

"Really? Like what?" asked Phoenix.

He knew that none of the girls liked to talk about their mother because it made them sad, but she had him now, and they understood each other's pain, so he knew that after the first time she talked to him about her mother she would never feel that same thing again.

"Many things, like how to read, bake, cook, sew, paint or draw, even though I wasn't good at it, I was naturally better at using stilts, sewing, baking, and dancing. But dancing is in our blood, it was mother's favorite thing to do, but the one who has her talent is Genevieve." Said Hadley.

"I never knew that." Asked Phoenix as Hadley chuckled.

"You never asked." She said.

"Mama, I'm tired." Said Liam as he was rubbing his eye.

"You want to go to bed already?" asked Hadley as he nodded.

"Come on then, I'll take you to your rooms." She said as she led them; there was something about Hadley that had Phoenix stumped.

She didn't care like most princesses or girls he met about his social status or how his family was; she was primarily a simple girl, as she explained.

They reached an end, and she opened the door to reveal a large room with a huge bed and a closet door to the right of the bed; she opened that to expose a big washroom.

"This bed, closet, and washroom are for you, Charlotte, and for you kids; yours is at the start at the door on the left of the room." Said Hadley as she opened the next door; it was like the first room, but it was a bit smaller, but it still had a closet full of clothes with a washroom, a huge bed, and a door on the right.

"This room is for Liam, I thought he would feel better if he were closer to his mother, and finally, Lilian, your room is the door at the back of the room." Said Hadley as they opened the door to find the same as the previous rooms, but she had a small balcony.

"Wow, this is amazing; Hadley, this is too much; we can't accept this." Said Charlotte as Hadley smiled.

"You have to, kings orders, no takebacks." She said as the three smiled and gave her a hug.

"Thank you so much, Hadley. You, Derek, and his wife have no idea how much this means to us." Said Charlotte, and she hugged her.

Phoenix decided to leave his family in the room, and he and Hadley made their way back to the party; they returned to their first spot before being interrupted.

"You're an amazing person; I will never be able to repay you for everything you've done for my family and me. You barely know us; why would you help my family and me?" questioned Phoenix, although he guessed he wanted to hear it from Hadley's lips.

"Haven't you guessed yet? I thought it was obvious when the whole thing happened," she asked, and he simply shrugged and chuckled.

"Maybe I know, but I want to hear it from you; the whole thing was a kiss." Said Phoenix as he stroked her hair.

He could see her eyes shining better than any star, "Phoenix…." Said Hadley as she closed her eyes and pulled her head down as Phoenix bent down to join their heads together.

He had one hand on her cheek while the other was at her chin; he pulled her up as she whispered the three words he always wanted to hear from her.

"I Love you." She said as he pulled her in close, clashed his lips with hers, and said those three words back to her.

"I Love you too." He said as they kissed under the stars and moon.

Queen Genevieve

Genevieve loved this day; ever since the first Christmas she and her husband shared, she always looked up to the next one. To her, this was an excuse to be in her husband's arms to dance.

She had put their son to sleep because it was passed his bedtime, but since she didn't want him to be alone, she would turn him in as well.

But Charlotte offered to take care of him for the night since he was like her first grandchild since Derek was like a son to her.

The song ended, and they bowed and went over to get a drink when she saw through the window that her sister Hadley was having fun with Phoenix, but when she tried looking for Isla, she found her sitting with the triplets sitting with her.

"Honey, I have something to discuss with Tobias, and since the party is almost over, I'll meet you back in our bedroom." Said Derek as she nodded, and he gave her a kiss on the cheek; as he left, she made her way towards Isla.

"Girls, it's late papa made his way to bed; you three should too; tomorrow is Christmas, and you want to get up to open presents, don't you?" said Genevieve to the triplets as they nodded but also protested.

"But Genevieve." Asked Janessa.

"Can't we stay up?" said Kathleen.

"Just for a little bit more?" added Lacey.

"No, I'm sorry, girls, but it's late; come on to bed." She said as they all grew and made their way to bed.

"What's wrong, Isla? You don't look so happy." She asked her sister.

"I'm fine, Genevieve, I just…. I miss mother." She said as Genevieve took a breath; she knew what she was feeling; she too missed her mother.

Every day but during this time especially, she even wished she could have been at her wedding and met her son and Derek.

"I know, I miss her too, but I'm always here for you, and if you need someone you have met and mother to talk to, even though you don't think so, she's always listening to us, guiding and protecting us." Said Genevieve as Isla smiled and nodded.

"Genevieve, what do you think of arranged marriages?" asked Isla, as this surprised her.

"Where does a question like that come from?" she asked her sister.

"Papa arranged for me and Tobias to marry in a few years or sooner." Sais Isla, as Genevieve began to understand.

"Well, that's great news, isn't it?" she asked her sister as she shrugged.

"Don't you love him?" she asked her.

"I don't know what love is anymore, I trusted him, and it feels as if he betrayed me." Said Isla.

"Well, to answer your question, I don't like arranged marriages at all, but I see that papa did it out of love; he also picked Tobias because we all know you like him, and he likes you; there's no lie about that. If you didn't love him, papa wouldn't have arranged that; he doesn't like seeing you both suffer, but you are both stubborn." Said Genevieve chuckling at the last part.

"Either way, it's not till a few years unless you guys say otherwise, Isla. I want you to think about what you want and feel for him; if you say you don't have strong feelings about him, I'll help you cut it off." Said Genevieve.

"I think it's already over either way." Said Isla as Genevieve got confused.

"What do you mean, Isla?" She asked her.

"Tobias and I had a fight earlier after he and Brandon fought; he said he couldn't take it anymore, that I was free to do what I wanted and that he would talk with my father about the arrangement he didn't even know; about." Said Isla as Genevieve understood everything now.

He tried to return to his kingdom because she was sad and why Tobias wanted to talk with Derek.

"Isla, he's planning on returning to his kingdom, and trust me on this, you need to talk to him before he leaves, or you will never see him again." Said Genevieve as she left to let her sister think about it.

Cole

Cole felt more than just a hunter today; he felt like he was a part of a big family, something he didn't think about in a long time.

He had sent his brother to sleep; he was still a bit mad with him for pushing him to dance with Fallon; he had nothing against the princess; he just didn't want to get attached.

"May I sit with you?" asked Fallon as he turned around, surprised that the princesses had come to keep him company in the garden; he simply shrugged at her.

"If you wish to your highness." He said.

"Ugh?! How often do I have to tell you to call me Fallon, not princess Fallon on your highness? It's Fallon, Cole; we're friends; you should start calling me Fallon." She said as he chuckled.

"Sorry, but you have to admit you are a princess." He told her.

"I am only a princess by title, but I am still human; I can do what most people can do." She said as he gave her a laugh.

"Sure, you can, princess; you wouldn't even last a day in the wilderness." He said.

"I bet I can." She said as Cole turned around to face her, and with one hand, he touched her chin and brought her closer to him; they were so close that their noses were touching.

"Fallon, you're a princess; your life is at the palace, you don't know the life outside your perfect world, your life is here, princess, not at the woods, in case you ever do end up there, you would die." He said as he stepped up and began to walk, but Fallon stooped him.

"Put me to the test." She exclaimed.

"What?" he asked, surprised.

"Put me up to test." She said.

He was so surprised that this princess wanted to compete with him; to him, this was a surprise because no one dared to compete.

"You'll quit on your first try and run home screaming." He said with a smirk as she stood up and got closed to him.

"Like you said, I'm a princess, but I am also a determined girl to do what she wants if she chooses to." She said as she looked into his eyes and said those words confidently.

"Take me hunting with you." She said as he was shocked.

"Absolutely not; my job is to protect you all, not get you killed. Besides, that's half of it. I'm here to track down Levi, not teach you things that you may be hopeless at; you're just a pretty face." He said as she frowned at him.

"I may have a pretty face, but I'm also full of surprises; if you let me, I'll show you tomorrow." She said as he raised an eyebrow at her; for one, this doesn't sound like a good idea to him, but he now knows that this princess is stubborn.

"Fine, tomorrow after dinner we go, only because dinner is earlier than usual." He said as he was about to leave, but Fallon gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and as he was about to tell her something, she took off running; he tried to snap out of it but couldn't and simply smiled as the princess left.