1768

Rosella leaped out of the carriage as soon as it stopped, Derek close on her heels. Genevieve had taken the footman's offered hand and stepped down like the proper four-year-old lady she was, before immediately sprinting after them. The doors to the palace opened, and Rosy could see two children running towards them too. She picked up her speed, squealing with delight,

"Johannes! Brigitta!"

She and Johannes were the first to one another, being the oldest two and all, and he immediately hugged her so tightly that it felt like all the air was being squeezed out of her.

"Alright Johannes, give Rosella room to breathe." Aunt Erika said with a laugh, pulling Johannes off of her.

Rosella beamed up at her aunt. Her face was one she knew as well as her mother's (because, well, it was the same face) and loved just as much.

Erika was less concerned with royal protocol than Annelise was, so she would often hike up her skirts and play in the forest with the children, while her parents and Uncle Dominick would sit under a sunshade with the refreshments talking.

"My god Rosy, you look more like your mother than I do!" she said, lifting her up and kissing her cheek.

Rosella smiled even wider, resting her head on her aunt's shoulder. She loved it when people told her she looked like her mother, especially Auntie Erika, because in her opinion, Erika was the only true judge of who looked like Maman. And Maman and Auntie Erika were the two most beautiful women in the world, and she would grow up to look exactly like them.

1781

Antonio kissed her hand as the dance ended, eyes flicking up to her face as he gave her that smile that made her insides turn to butterflies. She knew that the way they were looking at one another was considered improper for a Crown Prince and his future wife's lady-in-waiting, but Ro could not find it in herself to care. She pulled herself away from his gaze long enough to remember that she needed to meet Uncle Dominick in less than twenty minutes.

"Antonio?"

"Yes, love?"

She smiled at his endearment. "Where is the greenhouse?"

"Straight out those doors, about a hundred feet away from the palace," he said, pointing to the double glass doors that led outside, "Why? Are you meeting a secret suitor?"

"No! Of course not, why would you. . .oh," she said, shaking her head as she realised he was joking. She still wasn't quite used to anyone not saying exactly what they meant, "I'll tell you why later, I promise."

Antonio nodded, kissing her hand once more. Ro couldn't help grinning as she left the ballroom.

I love him, I love him, I love him, she thought with a little skip in her step. Honestly, she couldn't wait to tell Erika about how in love she was. If she couldn't talk to her own mother about Antonio, Erika was an excellent substitute.

As she walked into the greenhouse, her eyes filled with tears as she came as close to seeing her mother as she had in twelve years. A slow smile came over Auntie Erika's face as she opened her arms and embraced Ro tightly, kissing her hair.

"You know Rosy, you might actually be more beautiful than your mother," she said, pulling away and waggling a finger at her, "but only I can say so."

Ro laughed, wiping her eyes. "How is she? Have you seen her recently?"

Erika smiled sadly. "As well as one can be, I suppose. She's happy, but she misses you terribly. Truly, if she wasn't going to be here tomorrow morning for the wedding, I'd drag you back to Palladia myself."

"So what are you two doing here? Can you not come to the wedding?"

"When your sister wrote your parents about you, they asked us to come and find if you were really, well, you. They couldn't get away sooner. Some political emergency that I don't understand in the slightest." Erika said with a self-deprecating smile.

Ro honestly felt a little stupid asking, but she wanted to know. "And how is my canary?"

"Croissant? She died years ago," she said sympathetically, "Serafina and Wolfie too."

Ro honestly felt like crying then. The only animals she loved more than the ones on her island were Croissant the Canary and those silly cats.

Erika tipped her chin up with the hand not on Ro's shoulder, forcing Ro to make eye contact with her. "So Dominick says you don't want to tell your family the truth about who you are. Why, sweetling?"

Ro looked at Uncle Dominick helplessly, not wanting to explain to Erika. It would be too much like speaking to Maman. He seemed to understand, standing up and saying,

"She doesn't want to marry the prince and then have her family go back to Palladia. She also thinks Genevieve would be a better queen than she would."

"Rosy, you don't have to marry the prince, you know. The two of you were never even officially betrothed."

"But I love him, Auntie! I want to be with him, but I know he needs a queen who knows how to be a queen."

Erika looked at her with compassion and understanding, taking both of her hands in hers. "And I understand that more than anyone else. But Rosella, you are such an intelligent young woman. You learned how to thrive on an island for over a decade! Being a queen should be easy compared to that."

"But Gen-"

"Gen deserves to know, darling," Erika said kindly, giving Ro's hand a little squeeze, "wouldn't you want to know, if your roles were reversed?"

Ro nodded, knowing Erika was right.

"Tell Genevieve the truth, at least. If she really wants to be Queen of Apollonia even after knowing who you are, let her be the one to decide that."

Ro let Erika wrap her up in another hug before Erika said,

"Now, tell me all about how you fell in love with this prince!"

Ro giggled and began gushing about Antonio, as though she and Auntie Erika had seen each other just yesterday, instead of twelve years ago.