A/N: Can you guess what happened to Nabare in the previous chapter? If you really wanna find out re-read the part in chapter 15 when he reveals to Isabella what his plan had been to kidnap her. Then do the math.... or you might not really care. I just wanna tell everyone something before I move on to the thankyous and that is: I am not going to kill Nabare. I'm sorry I know most of you want me to but does he really deserve to DIE?...Thanks so much: ElvenYoukai (It sounds like you're calling Nabare a good chap when you say good chap. after re-reading it a couple of times I realized that you meant good chapter...am I right? I am aren't I?), Mage Light, gayle and Soulist21(ur review was the longest I have EVER gotten! I can't answer all your questions and thoughts cos the replies will come in this chapter...Ella didn't tell her kids about her past cos she wants to forget about it and talking about it just reminds her of the misery...). A special round of thankness to ElvenYoukai for beta-ing (her word for editing) this chapter as well as some previous chapters. I think we need three cheers! Hip hip! (You: Hooray) Hip hip! (You: Hooray) Hip Hip (You: HOORAY!!)
Chapter 17:
"I WILL NEVER FORGIVE HIM CHAR! NEVER!" Ella barked at her husband. "MY...MY...FATHER...HE IS MY FATHER AND...HE...HE..."
She broke into tears. Char put his arms around her. His left hand was wrapped around a crumpled pieces of paper. A letter from Sir Peter. It had contained eight words:
"Isabella is gone. I have sold her. -Peter"
"We will find her." He assured Ella. "We...we'll find her. I will make sure we do." His eyes were filled with tears as well but he did not let them fall.
The family had woken up this morning, however Isabella was not there at breakfast. The servant who was sent to awaken her had reported that she was not there. Everyone had searched for her frantically, inside and outside the palace. Leonardo had found the note on a sofa in the parlour.
Char pulled away. "I am going to have to draw out a search plan."
Ella nodded as she wiped tears off her face. Midway to the parlour door Char turned around. "Do you think your magic book might have something?" he asked.
Ella's eyes widened. "It must!"
It did not take them long to reach Ella's "study". Ella took the book out from under the table and opened it. The first page had an entry from Elizabeth's diary. "This might come in handy...but not right now." Ella said. The next page had a journal entry from Leonardo. They skipped it. The page after that had an image of the scene in the kitchen right before Isabella had fainted. The other pages were blank. Char turned the pages back to the image.
"Do you think it's...trying to tell us something?" He asked.
Ella frowned. "It would usually just come out and say it instead of giving hints..."
"I get a feeling that it's something important." Char said. "After all...Isabella fainted not long after this..."
"If you look closely...her eyes have a look of slight horror."
Char looked closely. He turned his head to he right, then too the left. He squinted. "No. I can't see it."
Ella rolled her eyes. "Is there anything else strange about her? She asked Char.
"Not really...her hand is on her stomach...her left foot is slightly tilted... she isn't smiling-"
"Alright! I get it! Nothing much... Go make your plan." Ella closed the book, she was smiling a little now.
Char pecked her cheek and went to his study. He closed the door and let his tears fall a little. He did not have much hope of finding Isabella.
Char had just sat down on his chair when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" Char called as he quickly wiped tears off.
the door opened and John entered. His eyes were slightly red as if he had been crying too but Char did not notice that.
"Your majesty..." John said bowing. "I know this is a bad time but there is something that...er...came to my attention that you must know about...of course if you are busy with the princess problem then I will leave you...but...um..." His voice trailed off.
"No...no." Char put down his quill. "I won't let personal difficulties get in the way of being a good king. What is wrong?"
"Personal difficulties...what an interesting way of putting it!" John wiped a bead of sweat off of his forehead. "I fear for your daughter too your majesty. Quite a bit."
"Is that your problem?" Char inquired, confused.
"No...no...it might be...your...er..." John stopped. "Sir... I am not really doing this well. What I mean to say is that I have been seeing..."
The door swung open and Leonardo ran in. "Father! They found Isabella!" He exclaimed excitedly as he ran to Char's desk.
"Pardon me, John...I apologize...We shall talk later."
Leonardo ran out, Char at a steady pace behind him. John was paralysed. He sighed deeply. "Isabella..." he whispered to himself and left the study. He followed Char and Leonardo to the front door of the palace, over there Isabella was being embraced by her mother. She hugged Leonardo and Elizabeth. Then embraced Char as he approached her.
John could see her looking at him over her father's shoulder. He winked and could tell she had smiled.
After Isabella had been hugged and kissed by all her family, including her grandparents and Cecilia, they began asking her what had happened.
Isabella told them tearfully, "I cannot...I just want to rest, please... All I can say is... it was grandfather... Not you grandpa Jerald... mother's father.... May I go now? I need to rest... I must..."
Ella offered to accompany her to her room.
"Please mother, I want to be alone... please..."
Isabella ran up the stairs... through the halls and into her bedchamber.
She let herself fall onto her bed. For the first time in a long while she remembered that she bore John's child.
Isabella got into her bed covers. She pulled the quilt over her head and lay there counting the seconds until John would come in. There was a knock on the door. Her heart started beating fast, she wanted to pour her heart out to John as soon as possible. "Who is it?"
"Your gardener ma'am." Came John's voice.
"Come in."
He came in. Isabella took her head out from under the covers. John helped himself next to her. He pulled up the covers as well. "Tell me everything." He said.
Isabella told him all of what happened starting from an introduction to Nabare and Sir Peter, tight up to getting into her covers and counting the seconds to his arrival. The only thing that she forgot to mention was the fact that she was going to give birth to his child.
John's face was red with anger. "I am going to kill him."
Isabella sat up. John was usually the kind of person who would laugh and joke around but when he was angry he was extremely angry. Isabella knew John never forgot his anger on something and if he said he was going to do something he was going to do it, whether it was making sure his friend got paid what he was supposed to, or kill somebody who had tortured Isabella.
"It's alright... I'm fine now." She said.
John sat up next to her. "I have vowed already... it's too late to say anything against."
Isabella kissed John. They closed their eyes and seemed to have fallen in to their own world.
"Isabella are you quite sure t-" Ella poked her head in to the room.
They pulled away and got up, blushing madly as Ella stepped dazed into the room.
"You...and you...and-" She looked from Isabella to John seeming frustrated, shocked, and confused at the same time.
Slowly she sat down.
Isabella put her head in her hands briefly. Stood up straight and said, "I think father needs to be here... we all need to... talk."
Isabella asked for a maid to bring Char. Char walked in whistling, but his whistling faded away soon enough.
"Did somebody die?" He asked smiling.
"Yes..." Ella murmured. "I just did... from shock."
Char frowned "John, what are you doing here?"
Ella got up and seemed to have had everything sink in. "Char, honey, sit down. You are going to need this chair more than I." He sat down.
"Alright," Ella said "Here are the facts that I know; you two," she waved her hand at John and Isabella, "were kissing when I got in, and you must have been lying in the bed together before, and these secret meetings have been going on long before today, I presume."
Char was pale. "Is this a joke?" he asked.
"No, father." Isabella told him. "Me and John have been seeing each other for two years."
"Two years?!" Char and Ella exclaimed at the same time.
"It took you two long enough to find out..." She added hastily. "We were going to tell you very, very soon... but you see, Mandy and Aunt Cecilia and Grandma Daria and Leonardo and Elizabeth... they all knew."
"Excuse me... you mean to tell me that each and everyone of them knew and they did not say a word to us?" Ella raised an eyebrow.
"Yes."
"I don't think I can believe that." Char said standing up.
"Father it is true... you can ask them all... oh and I think most of the servants know as well... all of the gardeners and just about everybo-"
"Yes, Isabella, we understand. A longer list won't be necessary."
"I don't understand, why did you not tell us?"
"Because, it was just one little meeting and then it was two, then three, not much, why worry you two? Four, five six, seven, nothing serious yet. Then all of a sudden it was serious and... and I just... kept the truth hidden. All of the people who know found out on their own... we did not say anything."
"We need to talk about this." Ella said "Excuse us... and do... stay apart please."
Ella gabbed Char by the sleeve and pulled him into the hall, closing the door behind them.
"Well?" she looked upon Char piercingly.
"Well what?" Char asked confused.
"What shall we do?"
"Oh er... we should start preparing for the wedding!"
"Char! What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. It's just that there is nothing we can do. Isabella is a woman, we can't stop her."
"I suppose you're right... but... she started seeing him at 15! She was surely not a woman then."
"If I recall correctly, you were sixteen when we got married, and at fifteen we were writing to each other in secret. Sort of. Our families did not know but it was not really romantic, except for that last letter. Only, you did not send a love reply. But-"
"Char, you're right. We should go-"
"Pardon me, what did you say?"
"We should go-"
"Before that...?"
"Char, you're right?"
"One more time please."
Ella rolled her eyes "You were right Char!" she pinched his cheek as
they re-entered the room.
John's face was a little pale. "Your majesty," He bowed. "I would like to marry your daughter."
Ella opened her mouth to speak.
"You have our permission." Char said before she could start.
Ella punched his stomach lightly. "Since when were our roles switched?" She muttered.
Char laughed.
"Mother, father... we're still here."
Char and Ella stopped looking at each other and turned their attention back on Isabella and John.
"Oh... we're sorry!" Ella said.
Isabella went over and hugged her mother and father "Thank you!" She said.
She went to John and kissed him. Ella cleared her throat.
Isabella blushed as they pulled away.
"You kno-" She started but grabbed her mouth "I... I... I'm going to-"
She ran out of the room.
"Should we not tell them first?" John called after her.
"Tell us what?" Char asked frowning.
"You tell them!" Came Isabella's muffled voice from the distance.
"Oh my goodness!" Ella's eyes were wide open.
"What?!" Char was still quite confused.
"She isn't?" Ella asked John, ignoring her husband.
John nodded.
"Char, you need to sit down!"
"What is going on?!"
Chapter 17:
"I WILL NEVER FORGIVE HIM CHAR! NEVER!" Ella barked at her husband. "MY...MY...FATHER...HE IS MY FATHER AND...HE...HE..."
She broke into tears. Char put his arms around her. His left hand was wrapped around a crumpled pieces of paper. A letter from Sir Peter. It had contained eight words:
"Isabella is gone. I have sold her. -Peter"
"We will find her." He assured Ella. "We...we'll find her. I will make sure we do." His eyes were filled with tears as well but he did not let them fall.
The family had woken up this morning, however Isabella was not there at breakfast. The servant who was sent to awaken her had reported that she was not there. Everyone had searched for her frantically, inside and outside the palace. Leonardo had found the note on a sofa in the parlour.
Char pulled away. "I am going to have to draw out a search plan."
Ella nodded as she wiped tears off her face. Midway to the parlour door Char turned around. "Do you think your magic book might have something?" he asked.
Ella's eyes widened. "It must!"
It did not take them long to reach Ella's "study". Ella took the book out from under the table and opened it. The first page had an entry from Elizabeth's diary. "This might come in handy...but not right now." Ella said. The next page had a journal entry from Leonardo. They skipped it. The page after that had an image of the scene in the kitchen right before Isabella had fainted. The other pages were blank. Char turned the pages back to the image.
"Do you think it's...trying to tell us something?" He asked.
Ella frowned. "It would usually just come out and say it instead of giving hints..."
"I get a feeling that it's something important." Char said. "After all...Isabella fainted not long after this..."
"If you look closely...her eyes have a look of slight horror."
Char looked closely. He turned his head to he right, then too the left. He squinted. "No. I can't see it."
Ella rolled her eyes. "Is there anything else strange about her? She asked Char.
"Not really...her hand is on her stomach...her left foot is slightly tilted... she isn't smiling-"
"Alright! I get it! Nothing much... Go make your plan." Ella closed the book, she was smiling a little now.
Char pecked her cheek and went to his study. He closed the door and let his tears fall a little. He did not have much hope of finding Isabella.
Char had just sat down on his chair when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" Char called as he quickly wiped tears off.
the door opened and John entered. His eyes were slightly red as if he had been crying too but Char did not notice that.
"Your majesty..." John said bowing. "I know this is a bad time but there is something that...er...came to my attention that you must know about...of course if you are busy with the princess problem then I will leave you...but...um..." His voice trailed off.
"No...no." Char put down his quill. "I won't let personal difficulties get in the way of being a good king. What is wrong?"
"Personal difficulties...what an interesting way of putting it!" John wiped a bead of sweat off of his forehead. "I fear for your daughter too your majesty. Quite a bit."
"Is that your problem?" Char inquired, confused.
"No...no...it might be...your...er..." John stopped. "Sir... I am not really doing this well. What I mean to say is that I have been seeing..."
The door swung open and Leonardo ran in. "Father! They found Isabella!" He exclaimed excitedly as he ran to Char's desk.
"Pardon me, John...I apologize...We shall talk later."
Leonardo ran out, Char at a steady pace behind him. John was paralysed. He sighed deeply. "Isabella..." he whispered to himself and left the study. He followed Char and Leonardo to the front door of the palace, over there Isabella was being embraced by her mother. She hugged Leonardo and Elizabeth. Then embraced Char as he approached her.
John could see her looking at him over her father's shoulder. He winked and could tell she had smiled.
After Isabella had been hugged and kissed by all her family, including her grandparents and Cecilia, they began asking her what had happened.
Isabella told them tearfully, "I cannot...I just want to rest, please... All I can say is... it was grandfather... Not you grandpa Jerald... mother's father.... May I go now? I need to rest... I must..."
Ella offered to accompany her to her room.
"Please mother, I want to be alone... please..."
Isabella ran up the stairs... through the halls and into her bedchamber.
She let herself fall onto her bed. For the first time in a long while she remembered that she bore John's child.
Isabella got into her bed covers. She pulled the quilt over her head and lay there counting the seconds until John would come in. There was a knock on the door. Her heart started beating fast, she wanted to pour her heart out to John as soon as possible. "Who is it?"
"Your gardener ma'am." Came John's voice.
"Come in."
He came in. Isabella took her head out from under the covers. John helped himself next to her. He pulled up the covers as well. "Tell me everything." He said.
Isabella told him all of what happened starting from an introduction to Nabare and Sir Peter, tight up to getting into her covers and counting the seconds to his arrival. The only thing that she forgot to mention was the fact that she was going to give birth to his child.
John's face was red with anger. "I am going to kill him."
Isabella sat up. John was usually the kind of person who would laugh and joke around but when he was angry he was extremely angry. Isabella knew John never forgot his anger on something and if he said he was going to do something he was going to do it, whether it was making sure his friend got paid what he was supposed to, or kill somebody who had tortured Isabella.
"It's alright... I'm fine now." She said.
John sat up next to her. "I have vowed already... it's too late to say anything against."
Isabella kissed John. They closed their eyes and seemed to have fallen in to their own world.
"Isabella are you quite sure t-" Ella poked her head in to the room.
They pulled away and got up, blushing madly as Ella stepped dazed into the room.
"You...and you...and-" She looked from Isabella to John seeming frustrated, shocked, and confused at the same time.
Slowly she sat down.
Isabella put her head in her hands briefly. Stood up straight and said, "I think father needs to be here... we all need to... talk."
Isabella asked for a maid to bring Char. Char walked in whistling, but his whistling faded away soon enough.
"Did somebody die?" He asked smiling.
"Yes..." Ella murmured. "I just did... from shock."
Char frowned "John, what are you doing here?"
Ella got up and seemed to have had everything sink in. "Char, honey, sit down. You are going to need this chair more than I." He sat down.
"Alright," Ella said "Here are the facts that I know; you two," she waved her hand at John and Isabella, "were kissing when I got in, and you must have been lying in the bed together before, and these secret meetings have been going on long before today, I presume."
Char was pale. "Is this a joke?" he asked.
"No, father." Isabella told him. "Me and John have been seeing each other for two years."
"Two years?!" Char and Ella exclaimed at the same time.
"It took you two long enough to find out..." She added hastily. "We were going to tell you very, very soon... but you see, Mandy and Aunt Cecilia and Grandma Daria and Leonardo and Elizabeth... they all knew."
"Excuse me... you mean to tell me that each and everyone of them knew and they did not say a word to us?" Ella raised an eyebrow.
"Yes."
"I don't think I can believe that." Char said standing up.
"Father it is true... you can ask them all... oh and I think most of the servants know as well... all of the gardeners and just about everybo-"
"Yes, Isabella, we understand. A longer list won't be necessary."
"I don't understand, why did you not tell us?"
"Because, it was just one little meeting and then it was two, then three, not much, why worry you two? Four, five six, seven, nothing serious yet. Then all of a sudden it was serious and... and I just... kept the truth hidden. All of the people who know found out on their own... we did not say anything."
"We need to talk about this." Ella said "Excuse us... and do... stay apart please."
Ella gabbed Char by the sleeve and pulled him into the hall, closing the door behind them.
"Well?" she looked upon Char piercingly.
"Well what?" Char asked confused.
"What shall we do?"
"Oh er... we should start preparing for the wedding!"
"Char! What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. It's just that there is nothing we can do. Isabella is a woman, we can't stop her."
"I suppose you're right... but... she started seeing him at 15! She was surely not a woman then."
"If I recall correctly, you were sixteen when we got married, and at fifteen we were writing to each other in secret. Sort of. Our families did not know but it was not really romantic, except for that last letter. Only, you did not send a love reply. But-"
"Char, you're right. We should go-"
"Pardon me, what did you say?"
"We should go-"
"Before that...?"
"Char, you're right?"
"One more time please."
Ella rolled her eyes "You were right Char!" she pinched his cheek as
they re-entered the room.
John's face was a little pale. "Your majesty," He bowed. "I would like to marry your daughter."
Ella opened her mouth to speak.
"You have our permission." Char said before she could start.
Ella punched his stomach lightly. "Since when were our roles switched?" She muttered.
Char laughed.
"Mother, father... we're still here."
Char and Ella stopped looking at each other and turned their attention back on Isabella and John.
"Oh... we're sorry!" Ella said.
Isabella went over and hugged her mother and father "Thank you!" She said.
She went to John and kissed him. Ella cleared her throat.
Isabella blushed as they pulled away.
"You kno-" She started but grabbed her mouth "I... I... I'm going to-"
She ran out of the room.
"Should we not tell them first?" John called after her.
"Tell us what?" Char asked frowning.
"You tell them!" Came Isabella's muffled voice from the distance.
"Oh my goodness!" Ella's eyes were wide open.
"What?!" Char was still quite confused.
"She isn't?" Ella asked John, ignoring her husband.
John nodded.
"Char, you need to sit down!"
"What is going on?!"