"Guinevere," Paytah said as we walked back to my rooms.
"Do not talk to me," I snapped.
"But I must know if what he said was true." I heard the hope in his voice as he spoke to me. He truly believed that he had a place in my heart, like Youko. How wrong he was. True that I adored Paytah as a friend. He had comforted me when I was upset and he had taken care of me when he and Kimball and Varun "kidnapped" me. Youko hadn't been there for that. But I could never love Paytah. He had a place in my heart for his honor and his caring spirit, but nothing more.
"No, Paytah, Youko was not true. I do not have feelings for you at all. I cherish you for your honor and friendship and you ability to heal, but nothing more. There could never be anything between us," I said trying not to hurt him, but I had. His faced dropped and he quickly became professional with me.
"Then I will bother you no more about it. We will go back to being our roles, you a Princess and I your guard. Forgive me for thinking too much. Now I must go."
Before I could stop him, he walked off and I was left alone. Why couldn't my life go right? Why couldn't I have at least one thing that I wanted? Was that too much to ask? I wanted Youko, more than anything, but it was clear now that I would never get him. I wanted to stay home, in this castle, but that would ever happen because I was to marry Prince Wyatt and go up North, to the Arctic. I wanted to cry, but that would get me no where and besides, I had no more tears to shed.
"Guinevere," I heard him say behind me.
I turned around and faced him, afraid of his reaction. "Yes, Father?"
"Forgive me, child," he said, hugging me, "I did not mean to put you in your place. I did not mean for these things to happen. I wish I could change everything I have done. I have lost your mother and you and soon my kingdom."
"You have not lost me, Father," I said.
"Sweet child, I have. I tried to stop you and Youko from being together by marrying you off to Prince Wyatt. It was an insolent move on my part, but I wanted so much for you that I figured Youko would give you nothing."
I was silent. My father had never been this caring to me before. We walked up to my room and sat down. He held my hand in his as he tried to finish what he already begun to say.
"I guess I was so afraid of what might happen if you and Youko were together that I forgot that I can't force you into not doing something you don't want to do. I blame myself for that. I gave you too much freedom so you would be here, at home. I never thought that he would kidnap you on my own ground, but I hear that you set yourself up for that on."
Despite the subject, my father was smiling. "From Jackie huh?"
He nodded. "Yes, she told me as soon as you jumped. I didn't think anything of it until I heard that you were kidnapped from Jason. I sent him off in a fit of rage and later regretted it until I met Paytah. But, my dear, I truly am sorry for what I have put you through. My own fear clouded my judgment along with my anger. I know I will not get forgiveness from you or your respect, but I do ask for your loyalty. Will you remain loyal to me, Guinevere, my daughter, Princess of Princesses?"
I stared at my father. He was old beyond his years, but I felt sympathy for him. He had never deserved this fate. True he had made mistakes, more than I could count and knew of, but that was no reason to punish him this much. He was betrayed by almost all the women in his life. His wife and his eldest daughter, but I didn't hate him. I had already forgiven him. He did everything, no matter how bad they seemed now, because he wanted to protect me. I was his eldest daughter. His baby girl and his firstborn child. He had the right to do it, but he thought he deserved this punishment.
I squeezed his hand. "I forgive you, Father."
His eyes widened. "You do? After all that I have done to you?"
I nodded. "I forgive you. I love you, father. I respect you, even after all of this. I will always be loyal to you, but I also must be loyal to my heart. Do you understand?"
He kissed me on the forehead. "Of course I do, sweetheart. I love you so much."
"I love you as well, Father. I apologize for betraying you. It is I who should be asking you to forgive me. Please forgive me for hurting you. I never meant to. I understand what I have done and how much the pain of betrayal can hurt. Please, Father, I beg for your forgiveness."
Tears came into his eyes for the first time in my entire life. "You truly are a Princess, Guinevere. Of course I forgive you. You are my daughter and I would have it no other way. You understand what you have done and understand what I am going through. Most people wouldn't even consider it. I trust you with my life, Guinevere and legacy. Never forget that, promise me. Promise me that much, Guinevere."
I nodded and hugged him. "I promise, Father. I promise you that much."
We sat in comfortable silence for a long time. My father held my hand as he let tears fall silently. I ignored them as much as I could, but sometimes I would dry them with my sleeve and hug him. He needed more support than I.
"Guinevere," he finally said as I rested my head against his shoulder. It was dusk now and the waxing moon shown through the window.
"Hmm?"
"We must talk about Prince Wyatt and the arrangement. I know that you do not want to marry him, but it would be for the best of everyone. Just hear me out."
"There is no need to, Father," I said, "I will marry Prince Wyatt and move up to the Arctic with his family."
My father stared at me stunned. "Are-are you sure you want to do this, Guinevere?"
I nodded. "I want too. Wyatt is a nice man and besides…."
"Yes?"
"There is no one to interrupt it," I said, trying to hold back the tears that were so close to falling.
"There, there, Guinevere," my father said, rubbing my back comfortingly, "It's alright. You'll get through this. I know you will. You are the strongest woman I have ever known. I am honored to be your father. You have gone through more things in the past few weeks than most women go through in a lifetime. Just relax and let it come when it needs to. Take everything one step at a time. Okay?"
I nodded. "Thank you, Father. Are Prince Wyatt and his family still here? I would like to see them and tell them the news."
My father stood up. "Yes they are. You cannot imagine how happy and relieved this makes me, Guinevere, to know that you want to be married to a nice and safe man. I am glad you have made your decision."
"It's a pleasure to please you Father," I said, trying not to let my emotions show.
He smiled happily and began to talk about preparations. He talked about when it would be and what would be there and who would be there. He talked on and on until we reached the quarters of the Arctic Family. My father knocked on the door and was welcomed by an emotionless guard. We stepped inside and braced ourselves against the bitter cold that everyone was used too, except us.
"King Matthias," Queen Jasmine said coldly, glaring at me, "what a pleasant surprise."
"We have some interesting if not pleasurable news for you," my father responded calmly.
Just then Wyatt and his father walked in. I had never seen Wyatt so calm and relaxed with his chest bare and in white wool slacks. I blushed and looked down as he looked at me. Before I looked away, I had noticed he became stiff and different. I did not like that.
"Yes?" the queen said.
"My daughter would like to present you something that we think you might enjoy," my father said, looking at me.
I began to shiver from my drenched clothes and the cold temperature. A frost had formed on me and I knew I was blue and purple on my skin. Wyatt noticed it as well since he disappeared from one minute and came back with a wool blanket in his hands. He put it around my shoulder and smiled at me. He wasn't that bad after all.
"Thank you," I said, still shivering.
"My pleasure."
"Now that that is settled," his mother said icily, "what did you want to tell us?"
I swallowed a few times before I found my voice. "I would like to accept your offer of marriage to your son. It would not only be a great honor, but a great pleasure as well."
There was silence for a long time. I wrapped the blanket around me even tighter to try and keep warm, but it was no use. Then, Wyatt spoke to me mentally. His voice was rough against my mind, but this hand been the first time I had ever communicated with another so I suspected that's how it was.
They will not ask this, so I will. What of Youko? Is he still a threat to us or no? Tell me.
Youko is no longer a threat. He has returned to his clan and if that is not true then he has certainly left me. I give you my word.
Then that is all I need.
He came up to me and hugged me tightly. Never in my life had I been so grateful to have him touch me or anyone else. His body gave off an extreme amount of heat that was welcoming to my entire cold and wet body.
"I accept," he said to his mother and father and to my own father.
My father smiled, but Queen Jasmine seemed disappointed. "Are you sure? She seems different to me."
"Yes, mother," he said slowly, "I am sure. I would have no other."
She sighed. "Oh, alright then. Welcome to the family dear. I hope you enjoy it."
"Thank you," I said, tugging the wool around me, "Thank you so much."
"Shall we leave them?" my father said.
"I suppose," the Queen sighed, "we might as well start to talk about the wedding."
And so they left, Wyatt and I to talk while they went to talk of the wedding. He led me to his room which was still incredibly cold, but I was getting warmer by his body. He sat me down on his bed and began to search through his closet for something. He pulled out a white sleeveless dress and handed it to me. It was lined with wool on the inside and I quickly took it from him. He turned around and waited until I was done. I stripped off my ice covered dress and slipped into the new one. It fit me perfectly and I became warmer already. I smiled at him as he turned around and stared at me.
"I am the luckiest man in the world to have you as a wife," he said breathlessly.
"Wyatt," I said, "I will marry you regardless of what I saw, but you must do something for me first."
His eyes became serious. "Tell me, Guinevere. What is it?"
"I want you to always be like this," I said, touching his hand lightly, "I want to act the way you are now every time I am with you. I do not like the way you act when you are around my people or my family. You are a jerk and a pig. I am sorry to say it, but I enjoy you much more when you are like this."
He sat down next to me. "I am sorry, Guinevere, but I get uneasy when I am around foreigners. I do not know how they will react to me when I am "normal". I assure you, I act like this all the time at home."
I hugged him. "I'm sure you do, but you must try to act like this around others, especially foreigners. It will be better for the both of us."
He kissed me lightly on the lips. "I will, Guinevere, for you are my wife and I will do anything you ask me too."
It came involuntarily, but I remembered the words that Youko spoke in the dungeons about him. He will follow you to the ends of the Earth, Guinevere. Force him to come with you to my people. Only you can form the bridges between us and them. I held back the tears as I remembered that day, but Wyatt saw them he wiped them away from my eyes and kissed me lightly again.
"What bothers you?"
"It's nothing," I assured him, "I'm just tried."
"Will you do something for me, Guinevere?" he asked.
I looked at him in question.
"Will you share my bed tonight?" He averted his sapphire blue eyes away from me and I saw a pink tint to his cheeks. I kissed him on the cheek and it became red.
"Yes, Wyatt," I said in his ear, "I will share your bed with you as long as it is only for sleep."
"I would have it no other way."
Hope you liked it. More surprises to come. Please Review and more chapters on thw way. We are getting to the end of the story:( I'm sad now. LOL. I hope you all enjoyed it.
