Royals and Rebels 2: Love and War

Twenty-Two: Prince Cadoc

Chapter Twenty-Two

Prince Cadoc

King Ashford of Wales was an imposing man who was like looking at myself forty years older. Staring at my father was an unnerving vision of the future, the man I would become as the future ruler of our nation. What was worse, I don’t think I had ever seen him so unreadable. That included every parliament meeting I had ever been to.

“You got caught sleeping with a girl in the astronomy classroom,” he said.

“It’s not some girl, father,” I said, “it’s Penelope Peters, who is the woman I intend to marry. There was no s*x. We slept.”

“Half naked?” He asked, sounding unimpressed.

Of course, with my father it was difficult to tell.

“Cadoc, I don’t know what I’m going to do with you. You wouldn’t marry the James heir.”

“She was already married,” I reminded him, “and pregnant, might I add.”

“You helped destroy a monarchy.”

“It was already on the brink of destruction; we staged a rescue mission.”

“It’s like you don’t care anything about your family, or responsibilities. You represent this country, son. You’ve got to start acting like it, and sneaking around with this girl---”

“Penelope, father,” I said, “Penelope. She’s not some girl. She’s my future wife.”

“You’ve an understanding, then?” King Ashford asked.

I paused. I should have told him that there was a great likelihood that she hated my guts and would never speak to me again. But I couldn’t speak those words into existence. “Yes, we do. She’s coming for New Year’s.” I didn’t know if this was true. There was a chance she was never going to speak to me again. But I wanted it to be true.

“Is she?” he said. “I don’t remember approving that.”

“You said I could have friends over, remember?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn’t realize that she was part of your group of friends.”

“She is,” I said, “besides, you should be happy. It was only this summer that you were telling me that I should broaden my horizons. Pen’s a scholarship student. She’s smart, father. She wants to be a writer.”

“She could be using you,” he warned.

“She’s not,” I said, “trust me, I’ve tried offering her everything. Even setting her up with a scholarship with Margot March. She got angry at me for it. She wants to make it on her own.”

He leaned back in his chair, stroking his beard, looking almost impressed. “What makes you so certain that this girl is the one?”

“She stands up to me,” I said, “she challenges me. I’ve never had anyone do that before.”

“Gwyneth,” he reminded me.

“Gwyneth is different, and you know it.”

He nodded. “I suppose that you’re right. Have you declared yourself to this girl?”

“I’ve tried,” I admitted, “she thinks that we’re too young, and that we should wait. I want to scream to the world that I love this woman. She’s the one that keeps on putting everything off, but I’d marry her tomorrow if I could.”

“She keeps on putting it off?” he tilted his head to the side. “Smart girl.”

“She is a smart girl,” I said.

“But you know, she might not be an option. You’re a Prince. We’ve got a responsibility to keep our country safe. There are dark times coming.”

“It’s getting worse, isn’t it?”

He nodded. “I’m afraid that the tension from Coleum has seeped into our own country. People don’t want the refugees here.”

“They didn’t ask to have their home destroyed,” I said.

“I know they didn’t,” said King Ashford, “but people don’t understand that. The villages are more populated than they’ve ever been before. There’s been riots and protests in the city.”

“I haven’t seen any of that in Owain,” I commented.

“They’re not foolish enough to do it here,” said the King, “but they have been doing it at Pendragon, off by the boarder. I’ve had to send some of the guard there to keep them safe. Jasper’s volunteered to go keep it safe too.”

I gripped the arm rest of my chair. “Jasper?”

My father’s eyes softened. “Son, I know you think of him as your brother, but at the end of the day he is a Jefferies. He is in training to take over his father’s position. To be your Captain of the Guard, as a matter of fact.”

“He can’t go there, father,” I said.

“Why not?”

“If he goes there, if he’s in the middle of it, he’ll get hurt. Or die. If that happens, I don’t have a shot in hell of being with Penelope.”

“Oh?” he straightened in his chair. “Does she have feelings for young Jefferies too? You should find someone a little more honorable, son.”

“She’s completely honorable,” I said. "But they were together, and she broke up with him because she couldn’t sort her feelings out for him and me. Whatever you do father, don’t let Jasper go to the front.”

“You know he’ll have to stay here,” said the King, “at a desk job, away from the fighting.”

“Then do it,” I said, “but don’t let him go to the front. I know we're not be at war now, but I know what the tension feels like. I’m not stupid enough to think that there isn’t war coming. But Jasper can’t go to the front.”

“Alright,” he said, “I’ll be sure to let old Crom know.”

Old Crom was Cromwell Jefferies, Jasper’s father. He was the Captain of the Guard. At Twenty-one, he had lost his right eye protecting my father from a terrorist attack. He had a silver eyepatch, and a scar on his lip from burns. He was an intimidating figure. I could only imagine what his reaction would be to me not wanting his son at the front wouldn’t be pleasant.

But Old Crom’s disappointment I could handle. I had been putting up with it my entire life, with him always looking at me as though I didn’t deserve to be a Prince. Crom liked my sister more than me, which had always been something of a surprise. He was a royalist, loyal to the crown until the bitter end, and most of them were old fashioned about who ruled. But I suspected he felt Arwen took her role a little bit more serious, and that I wasn’t quite up to snuff.

If I kept his son from doing his job, it would only give him more reason to hate me. I didn’t care. If something happened to Jasper, Penelope would never forgive me. Even if we were never together.

Father stared at me. “You know, I never thought I would see the day when you put someone else’s feelings before yours, Cadoc. This girl will be the making of you yet.”

“She’s already started to be,” I said. “I know I’ve not been acting like myself, especially when I took her to the training grounds---”

“Yes, that was not your most responsible moment,” Father said.

“But I needed to make things right with her. She was with Jasper for a time, and they’re not together now but I know he’s important to her. I had to deal with that. I had to be supportive of that. It was the only way I could keep two people I cared about happy, and not destroy them, and that’s why I had to take her there. Because I love her, and I will do whatever it takes to keep her happy.”

“Even if it means doing a disservice to Jasper?”

“Even if it means doing a disservice to Jasper,” I said.

“Then, we’ll do what’s necessary to keep the boy safe. You know as well as I do, I care for the lad, and I would never want anything bad to happen to him. But that is the nature of the job, son.”

“I understand.”

“Where does your Penelope live?” he asked.

“Hay-on-Wye,” I answered.  “If Jasper is going to get sent anywhere, I’d feel more comfortable with him being there.”

“Oh?” said father. “Why’s that?”

“I’m not stupid,” I said, “Penelope lives in a place that’s populated with refugees. Sooner or later, words going to get out that she lives there. That she’s someone that I care about.”

“You think it wise to send Jasper to the home of the girl you love?”

“I do,” I said, “if anyone is going to protect Penelope the way that she should be, it would be Jasper.”

“Alright,” he said, “I can have that arranged.”

There was something like respect in my father’s eyes, which was something that I hadn’t seen before.

“You’re becoming a King, son,” he said.

“She makes me want to be one,” I confessed.

I left his study, breathing a sigh of relief. I expected that there would be arguing. That he would tell me how much of a disappointment that I was. When I got outside, I found my sister standing outside the door waiting for me.

“Well?” she looked at me.

I stared at her. “You talked to him before, didn’t you?”

She smiled. “Someone had to be in your corner, little brother. I was doing you a favor. He was ready to wring your neck. You got caught naked with a scholarship student. In one of the school classrooms. It's a miracle the pope and the Archbishop were not called."

“I was only half naked.”

“I talked Penelope up for you,” Arwen explained, “I told him that she was helping me with one of my initiatives.”

“Is she?” I asked.

Arwen nodded. “She agreed to let us photograph her, so we can show the coed program has been working at Hollow Hills Academy. That feature will get the other private schools to want to do the same.”

I smiled. “She’s going to be perfect for that.”

“I agree,” said Arwen, “have you talked with her since everything that happened?”

I frowned. “I tried. She told me to stay the hell away from her.”

Arwen winced. “Then, that might be for the best. But don’t give up on her.”

“I’m never going to give up on her,” I said.

She smiled. “I’m so happy to hear you say that. Isn’t she coming for New Years?”

“I don’t know,” I said, “I don’t know if she’s ever going to want anything from me ever again.”

“Give her time,” Arwen told me, “let’s celebrate Christmas together. We’ve got the ball, and then your birthday.”

I sighed. “I don’t give a s**t about my birthday. Unless she’s there.”

“It will work out for the best. It’s alright that you two aren’t together now. You’ll get together. All in good time.”

“How can you be so sure?” I asked.

“Because,” said Arwen, “I know you. I know my brother. You can convince anyone to do anything, especially the girl you love to be in love with you.”

“She might not love me after everything that happened. Also, I thought I liked her because she was someone I wanted that I couldn’t have. But we’ve got a history, and that complicates things.”

“A history?” Arwen raised an eyebrow. “She started at your school this year. How could you have a history?”

“She lives at Hay-on-wye,” I explained.

I rummaged through my jacket pocket and pulled out the poem. Written on The Black Lion stationary that I had kept with me since the night I’d been with Penelope Peters. “Pen was poetry girl.”

“Oh my gosh,” Arwen squealed, “are you serious?”

I nodded. “Eddie confirmed it. He remembered seeing her leave my room.”

Arwen looped her arm through mine and walked me away from father’s study. “It might be better for the two of you to not be serious right now.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked. “I thought you were our biggest champion.”

“I am,” Arwen said with a nod. “But I know father told you about the problems we’ve been having in Pendragon, the border city, and the protests. The Royalists don’t want the refugees here. If anyone finds out about Pen, and that she lives in a town where they’re staying….”

“Nothing’s going to happen,” I said. “She’ll be fine. Besides, I told father that if he had to send Jasper anywhere, it should be Hay-on-wye.”

“Are you alright with that?” Arwen asked. “I know they dated.”

“They’re friends,” I said, “they're still friends. I’d trust Jasper with my life, and she’s my life. But I know that I can’t send him to the front. If I did, and something happened, Pen would never forgive me.”

Arwen nodded. “You’re right about that. They might not be together anymore, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t still care for him in some way.”

I didn’t particularly like thinking of that notion, but I knew that she wasn’t wrong. Penelope and Jasper had a history. One that I couldn’t erase even if I tried.

“Do you think Jasper’s going to be mad?” I asked. “About not being able to go to the front?”

Arwen paused. “I wouldn’t tell him that you were the one that gave the command.”

“Why not?”

"Jasper always feels like he plays second fiddle to you,” she said. “If he thinks that you’re undermining him in his job too, it will only make things worse between you two. Especially if it’s because of you trying to keep in good standing with Penelope…. tell him I asked you to do it.”

I stared at my sister. “You?”

She blushed. “You’re not the only one that cares about Jasper, you know. We’ve all grown up together. He’s as important to me as he is to you.”

“I know that,” I said, “but you talk as though there’s some sort of history that I don’t know about. Has something happened between the two of you?”

“No,” Arwen insisted, “besides, it doesn’t matter. In a few weeks, I’m meeting potential suitors.”

“Suitors?” I stared at my sister. “Since when?”

“Since father decided we need allies, in case war breaks out,” Arwen explained. "Everyone’s uneasy since Coleum fell. They might have been a small monarchy, but they were a monarchy. Positions of power are not respected in the climate we have right now. We have to do everything we can to keep our country safe.”

I let out a groan. “Christ, that’s why he’s not fighting me on any of this, isn’t it?”

“No,” said Arwen, “brother, I don’t want you thinking that this has anything to do with your happiness.”

“But it does,” I said, “I was supposed to be betrothed to Rose James. I was supposed to help us solidify power.”

“She was already married,” said Arwen. "There was no universe where you were going to take that girl away from the man that she loved. She made up her mind long before you became part of the picture. This isn’t your fault. It’s no one’s fault. I’ve always known what my future would be.”

“He’s going to marry you off to a tosser,” I said, “and you know it.”

Arwen laughed. “I’m a big girl, Cadoc. Remember, I’m the older sister. Even if the monarchy as an institution doesn’t acknowledge that, I’m the one that takes care of you. I don’t mind marrying someone as an arrangement if it means that my little brother gets to be happy.”

I stared at my sister. “I swear, if he marries you off to that Scottish prick---”

Arwen chuckled. “Prince Declan isn’t in the running, by choice.  Although that hasn’t stopped father from trying to convince him. Something about an au pair that's staying with them for a summer."

“He’s an ass,” I said.

  “Well, it does take an ass to know one.”

“Point, my dear sister,” I said, “who is in the running anyway?”

She hesitated. “You’re not going to like any answer that I give you. It’s best that we discuss a much more pleasant topic.”

“Arwen,” I said, “tell me who’s in the running. Now.”

“The Russian Tsar,” she confessed.

I froze. “You can’t be serious.”

“He has the largest army,” Arwen explained.

“He’s a bastard who likes to behead people for fun. You can’t marry that monster.”

“Well, it’s either I marry him, or Wales falls at the hands of the Royalists. Is that what you want?”

“No,” I said, “but I don’t want my sister married to a man who killed his servant once for bringing him the wrong drink.”

“He killed his servant because he thought there was poison in his cup,” Arwen said. “Anyway, he’s coming to escort me to The Christmas Ball. We’re going to see if we like each other, and then if it’s amicable, we’ll announce the engagement after your birthday.”

“Arwen, no. That’s not right. You should get to marry who you love too.”

“We’re royals, Cadoc,” she said, “love isn’t always in the cards for us. Sometimes, sacrifices are a must. Besides, I’m willing to sacrifice whatever I have to if it means that you can be happy. That our country will have a good King. I know Penelope Peters is the woman that will make that happen. So, I don’t need you to feel sorry for me, Cadoc. Or angry. But be supportive. Alright?”

“If he hurts you, Arwen, I won’t stand for it,” I said, “you know that, right?”

She shook her head. “I’m a big girl, Cadoc. I can take care of myself.”

Not against a man like Tsar Alexi the Third. Known for scooping men’s eyes out who so much as looked at his sister wrong. With a spoon. Or the man that had harbored Mason Macdonald when he’d from Coleum. Or the man that had a priest in his castle that consorted with the dead, if you believed such nonsense.

The Russian court was one of mystery, bloodshed, and harsh winters. I couldn’t imagine my sister, who was pure sunshine married to a man from such a place. I couldn’t even imagine her surviving a place such as that.

It would destroy her.

Wales might stand, but Arwen would not.

I had seen my sisters face when she had talked about Jasper. There was something unspoken, and not acted on, but a feeling. Even last summer, when I’d helped Rose James sneak back into Coleum, I had seen a moment between the two of them.

There were feelings there.

Of course, Jasper had never been good with feelings. It was why he had punched Andrew Addington for a slight insult. Instead of actually talk to him about their hookup that summer. But if he knew Arwen’s happiness were on the line, he would do something.

To man up and….

I don’t know.

Even if he did confess his feelings, my father would still have to approve. I knew with the way things were there was a slim chance of that happening. The only other thing for me to do to save Arwen was for me to enter into an engagement. With a girl from a royal as powerful as ours.

But I would have to give up Penelope. Forever.

Arwen saw the sad look on my face, and she wrapped her arms around me. “Don’t look so glum, dear brother. Plenty of Princesses such as myself got married off and survived. It will be alright. Now, have you picked out a Christmas gift for Pen?”

I shook my head. “I got a tattoo for her, but I don’t think it’s a Christmas gift. I wanted something so she would know that I was all in.”

Arwen smiled. “Come with me! We’ll take a look at my family jewelry collection and see if we can find something. I’ve loads of things that I will never wear, and I would love to see Pen have something of mine.”

“She has to talk to me first, you know,” I reminded her, “you didn’t see her after we got caught. She looked so embarrassed.”

Arwen brushed back a strand of her blond hair behind her ear. “Well, then this will help. We’ll find the perfect thing for you to give her. A symbol of your love. Something she can cling to when things get dark.”

“You don’t have to do this you know.”

“I want to,” she said, “someone in this family should have happiness.”

Arwen and I walked away from my father’s study. Not stopping until we reached the tower where we kept the family jewels. Arwen had her own special section, dedicated to the Princesses jewels.

“We need something that looks like Penelope,” she said.

“How can jewelry look like a person?” I asked.

She smiled. “Well that’s what you’ve got me here for.”

I looked at a pink, diamond necklace. “What about that?”

Arwen shook her head. “No, that’s not Penelope.”

“It’s pink. It’s pretty.”

“I know,” she said, “but Penelope is different. A free spirit. You need something that represents both you and her.”

“If it represents me, she won’t wear it.”

Arwen smiled. “Well, she doesn’t have to know, does she?”

There were lots of red for the Welsh royal family. Our symbol was a red dragon. It hung on our banners, roaring, ready to blaze down our enemies. I would have loved nothing more than to have our symbol tattooed on her. So that the whole world knew that she was mine and not to touch. But I knew that she wouldn’t appreciate that.       

In my own family jewel collection, I had a necklace that I would one day give my wife. The Welsh Queens Pendent. But it was too soon for that.

“What I want,” I said, “is to tattoo my name on her body so that the world knows that she is mine, and no one can touch her but me.”

“Well, that’s very territorial of you,” said Arwen, “but, she isn’t yours, not yet, and we don’t want to scare the poor girl off.”

“I’m the future King. I should be able to make her fall at my feet,” I grumbled.

“If she were, you’d get bored.”

“True enough,” I shrugged, running a hand through my blond hair.

I roamed through the tower, searching for something that looked like Penelope. But everything was too loud, too bold, to overstated. Things that Penelope was not. If I had tried to give her the Welsh Dragon Heart necklace I had considered, she would have cut off my d**k.

“Ah!” Arwen smiled, looking delighted as she stopped in front of one of the jewelry cases. “I’ve got the thing.”

There, on a blue velvet pillow, was a brooch. The brooch was ruby red, shaped like a bird. A cardinal pin.

“Great Grandmother’s cardinal pin,” she said. “It was her engagement present from Great Grandfather. Remember, she was too young to have an engagement ring, so he gave her the brooch. No one could know about the engagement either, because of the war. It can be your secret promise, and the cardinal is the Queen’s symbol.”

It was tiny, delicate, and perfect. And if anyone from court saw it, they would know that Penelope was mine.

“Perfect,” I said, “but what if she won’t see me to give it to her?”

“Give it to her anyway,” she said, “you’re a Prince. You’ve got your ways.”

Yes, I did. And yes, I would.