1769

The last of the trunks were packed and loaded onto the carriage, and Rosella sat in front of a gilded mirror as one of the maids brushed her hair and put a bow in it. Rosella smiled at their reflections as the maid patted her shoulder to signal that she was finished.

"Erm. . .efcharistó?" Rosella said, trying out the unfamiliar word, "Did I say that correctly?"

"Naí, efcharistó!" the woman responded, nodding and smiling, "Parakaló."
Rosella smiled again, not knowing any more Greek that she could use to speak with the maid.

I think her name is Certhe, she thought, but I don't know if that's a name or just a common word.

She resolved to start taking Greek lessons as soon as she returned home. Maybe Genevieve could even sit them with her so that she'd actually retain information.

"Rosy?" she heard her father call out, "Time to go, dearest."

"Look at my hair, Papa!" she said, leaping into his arms and climbing on his back like a monkey.

"I can't see your hair if you're on my back, lutine ," Julien reached around and spun her so that she was facing him as he examined her hair with mock seriousness, "yes, very pretty. But I think it needs. . .a flower!" He reached behind her ear and pulled a rose seemingly out of thin air.

Rosella squealed, clapping her hands and giggling. "Do it again!"

She watched with wonder as he tossed the flower between his hands, seemed to make it disappear, and then pulled it back out from behind her other ear.

"How did you do that?"

"A magician never reveals his secrets," he winked, setting her down, then said something in rapid Greek to Certhe, to which she responded with equal speed.

Rosella waved goodbye to Certhe, then caught up with Julien.

"You speak Greek?"

Julien nodded. "You know, I used to be your mother's tutor. I taught her everything she knows!" he bragged.

"Then why is Maman so much smarter than you?" she responded impishly, grabbing his arm and swinging on it.

Her father smiled down at her affectionately. "Because your mother is smarter than anyone else in the world," he paused, then amended, "Geny will likely surpass her though."

"You love Maman very much, don't you Papa?"

"Yes, darling, I do."

"Do you think I will love Prince Antonio that much when we're older?"

He squeezed her hand. "The two of you seem to be good friends already, which is very important."

"And you'll visit me often when I live here?"

"Yes, and I'll write to you every day."

"Then I suppose you and Maman can make the betrothal official," she sighed, feigning reluctance. (Even though, she would never admit this to her father, but she already considered Prince Antonio more handsome than anyone she'd ever met)

1781

Ro began to sing the first notes of the Goodnight Song for the second time that day. Her father had told her countless times that plants grew taller and stronger when they were sung to (this was not just a hunch of his; one summer he'd isolated two identical rose bushes, singing to one but not the other, and sure enough the "musical roses", as he'd cheekily titled them, were healthier than the others).

It was a habit she'd picked up from him and maintained even while living on the island, walking around picking fruit while she sang whatever melody came to mind.

And that was why, while she waited for Antonio in the greenhouse, she was walking up to each individual plant and singing to it (the same song for all of them, she wanted to be fair).

As she went into her third rendition, she heard the distinctive footsteps of a man's shoes. Not wanting to have to explain to Antonio why she was singing to the plants in the greenhouse, she immediately stopped singing, which is how she was able to hear the lyrics of a Palladian folk song about a foolish king.

She gasped. It was her father. He was coming to the greenhouse specifically to sing to the plants, just as she had been. Ro ducked behind a tree, not wanting him to see her before Genevieve had even decided whether to reveal the truth or not. But she couldn't help trying to catch a glimpse of Julien as he meandered around singing about King Dagobert putting his breeches on backward, leaning in to certain plants as though he was having his own conversation with each of them. She nearly forgot about her resolve not to talk to anyone from her family without Genevieve's explicit permission and wished she could stand beside him while he bored her with explanations of each plant's Genus, Family, and Subfamily.

"Antonio, my boy! It has been too long, how are you?" Julien called out, startling Ro out of her thoughts.

"Very well, sir. And you?" Antonio responded, eyes scanning the greenhouse in search of Ro, while she tried frantically to catch Antonio's eye without drawing her father's attention.

Julien sighed, putting on a small smile. "As well as can be expected, I suppose. It's rather strange, coming back without. . .well, you know."

Antonio smiled, putting a hand on Julien's shoulder. "Sir, I think you will be happy to know that-" he paused as he finally noticed her frantic hand motions.

Do not mention me! She mouthed, making a slashing motion against her throat. She ducked behind a large fern, as Julien turned around, one eyebrow raised.

"Er, you will be happy to know we have a new species of hibiscus here. I found it on one of my journeys and had to bring it back here."

She breathed a sigh of relief as Julien turned back to Antonio, allowing the latter to lead him away from Ro's hiding spot.

"Oh, goodness gracious!" Julien said gleefully, pulling out his eyeglasses to inspect the flower. Ro's heart broke a little at seeing that her father had gotten older without her there, that time did not stop just because she'd been on an island. And that even if she ran to him now and let him hold her like she was still a little girl, the time they'd lost would never return.

"What is it called, Your Highness?"

"This is a nearly perfect specimen of Hibiscus heterophyllus , commonly known as-" he stopped talking abruptly, clearing his throat, "as Native Rosella."

She was going to kill Antonio. Ro glared daggers at him as his eyes widened, and he awkwardly patted Julien on the back.

"Forgive me, sir. I didn't know it was called that."

"Oh, don't apologise, son! How could you have known?" he smiled, brushing Antonio's hand aside warmly, "But I'm afraid I must take my leave now. My wife will be wondering where I've gotten to."

Ro was certain that Maman knew he was in the greenhouse, but she didn't signal Antonio to make him stay. She watched the two men shake hands amicably and then bow to one another. As soon as Julien was out of the greenhouse, Antonio whirled to face her.

"What was that about?"

"I didn't know he would be here!"

"Not that! Why didn't you want to speak to him? If anyone knows the truth about your identity, it's him!"

She took a deep breath. "That's why I asked you here. I remember who I am, my family, everything."

Antonio seemed to deflate. "And it's not the Du Châtillons, is it?" he said, scrubbing a hand over his face, "I'm so sorry, Ro, I feel like an arse. I shouldn't have gotten anyone's hopes up."

"No, Antonio, you were right," she responded, taking both of his hands in hers and staring at them, unable to look him in the eye.

He let out a joyful laugh, lifting her up and spinning her around.

"This means we can be together, really together!"

"Antonio-"

Antonio kissed her as he set her on her feet, both hands still on her waist. "We can get married, Ro, none of this mistress nonsense!"

She tried again. "Antonio-"

He continued, appearing to not have heard her."Tell Genevieve to change out of her wedding clothes, thank the gods you're the same size. Or do we need to wait until tomorrow to get married since it's unlucky for the bride and groom to see one another on their wedding day?"

"Antonio," she said sharply.

"What, my love?"

"Genevieve has to be the one to decide. Whether we get married or not. It has to be her decision."

"No, Ro, it doesn't. I was betrothed to you first. We love each other. We love each other, Ro. Why should anything else matter?"

"Please don't be naive, Antonio."

"Naive? Do you think I do not understand exactly what will happen if I marry Genevieve? I lived it, Ro. My father died young, and my uncle took his place as both my mother's husband and as the man who raised me. You had a happy childhood because your parents love each other, Rosella. My parents have only grief binding them together, and that will not be what my children experience."

"I had a happy childhood? Me? I hardly had a childhood! It ended when I was six years old and I realised that my parents weren't going to come to rescue me off an island. I didn't speak to another human being for over a decade , Antonio. My family went on without me, spending summers in Dulcemia and Maguelonne, while I could not move more than ten miles without hitting the ocean. Do not villainize me just because I want my sister with me when the rest of my family leaves me on another island."

Antonio wrapped his arms around her tightly, anchoring his hand into her hair while he rubbed the other up and down her back soothingly.

"I don't speak Greek," she sobbed into his chest.

"What?" he said, pulling away only so that he could look her in the face.

"Genevieve speaks Greek perfectly. After visiting you, I wanted to learn, but you know what happened."

"You know the nobility mostly speaks French and Latin at court, yes? Some of the more pretentious nobles are refusing to teach their children Greek at all."

"But what about the common people? Should I not be able to speak to them?"

"You should. But you can still learn. My mother moved here without knowing a word of Greek, and the people absolutely adore her. She speaks Greek better than half the courtiers, simply because they refuse to use it."

Ro nodded, still not quite believing him.

"You didn't forget how to read, did you?" at her head shake, he continued, "Then you can learn anything you might need to know to be an excellent Queen. Alright?"

"Alright."

"You will also be able to write to your family this time. And we can visit them as often as you like. They could even stay in the palace for a few months after we marry!" he said soothingly, squeezing her shoulders.

She nodded again, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him lightly. "I love you very much. Did you know that?"

He smiled, letting out a breathy laugh. "I do know; because I love you just as much. So would you please marry me?"

"But Genevieve-"

"Loves you and wants you to be happy," he let go of her, stepping backward only so that he could drop down on one knee.

"Rosella, Dauphine of Palladia, light of my life, will you marry me?"

Notes:

Greek words used:
Naí= yes
Efcharistó= thank you
Parakaló= you're welcome
French words (word lol) used:
Lutine= Imp, Elf, or Goblin

And I didn't just make up the thing about singing to your plants helping them grow healthier! It's a thing, and apparently different types of music are more or less beneficial.
lifestyle/story/2020-02-28/should-i-sing-music-to-my-plants

This is the song I had Julien sing lol
wiki/Le_bon_roi_Dagobert_(song)

Also, Native Rosella was not officially discovered until 1805, so I took some artistic liberties with that lol, but I was researching types of Hibiscus for this chapter and it was too perfect.