Jonathon looked concerned at how upset and deep in thought his father was, “What does it say?”
He handed over the letter and went over to the window to look out in despair, wondering where Rosanna could be.
Jonathon read through it quickly and felt annoyed, “how could she do this to us?”
“She was obviously so upset she was driven to it,” he replied, feeling awful. “She left her own home and family thinking it was her only choice.”
“I bet Nicholas influenced her to do this,” Jonathon raged, needing someone to blame. “She would never do anything this radical and disobedient; it must have been his idea.”
“It does not matter whose idea it was, the fact is she is gone,” he replied. “I do not care what the letter says, we must find her. She could be in danger out there alone.”
“We will find her soon,” Jonathon told him strongly. “I will order the knights to keep searching until we do.”
“She could be anywhere by now,” he felt hopeless. “We do not even know what time she left.”
“What should we tell Prince Ethan?” Jonathon asked him. “Their wedding is in three days’ time.”
“Hopefully she will be brought home by then and we will not need to cancel the wedding,” he answered, trying to remain strong and positive, “but we will have to inform them that she is missing.”
“I will ride there for you,” Jonathon volunteered. “I know that you are needed here and will want to stay for when she returns.”
He nodded in agreement, “that is probably for the best.”
“I will not tell them the truth about her running away,” said Jonathon. “We cannot let them find out that she is refusing the marriage.”
They could not risk a scandal breaking out. It would cause outrage if anyone knew that Rosanna had run away to be with a peasant days before her wedding, so they were trying to avoid that. They knew that anyone who did know about it would not dare speak out for fear of being punished so they did not need to worry. It would be kept as an embarrassing secret.
Her father nodded in agreement, “Let us hope we find her before the wedding so we can avoid any dispute.”
“I will ride home tomorrow and hope that she is returned by then,” Jonathon said goodbye and left to take the royal carriage.
King Adrian went back to the court room to dismiss the meeting. He went out to make a public announcement that Rosanna was still missing and the knights would continue searching for her. All the villagers were nervous and upset about her disappearance and were ready to do anything they could to help. He appealed for anyone with information to come forward and promised a reward.
He returned to his study and looked at his maps in determination, hoping to figure out where was best to search next.
Leonardo entered the study that evening returning after the search.
“Is there any news?” he asked Leonardo desperately.
“Unfortunately, there is still no sign of her, your Majesty. We will continue our search tomorrow when it is light.”
He felt a wave of guilt seeing how devastated King Adrian looked. It made him feel a little regretful for helping her leave and knew it was partly his fault that she was gone.
“I do not understand why my daughter would do this,” he muttered sadly. “I know she was not happy with the marriage but she agreed to it in the end. I had no idea she was so against it that she would leave her home and her family.”
Leonardo looked sympathetic and didn’t know what to say.
“I wish I had realised and then this may not have happened,” he said regretfully, blaming himself.
“Try not to worry, your Majesty,” Leonardo reassured him. “I am sure the princess is safe and we will do our best to find her.”
* * * * *
Jonathon arrived at King Frederick’s castle that evening. He felt anxious about telling them as he walked up the steps to the castle. Two knights were guarding the entrance and he asked for permission to see the king, queen and prince urgently. He had to wait nervously in the hall until he was finally led through to a lounge where they were waiting.
“I apologise for the inconvenience,” he bowed respectfully to them. “Unfortunately, I bring terrible news,” he told them gravely. “Princess Rosanna has been missing since this morning.”
They all reacted in shock and horror.
“Has she been abducted?” Prince Ethan asked worriedly.
They all looked at Jonathon for an explanation. He had to be careful what he said, since he did not want them to become suspicious of the truth and offend them. He realised with relief that this abduction theory would be the perfect excuse and decided to go along with it a little without outwardly lying to them.
“We do not know for certain, but it is possible,” he answered vaguely.
“How dreadful!” Queen Cassandra looked dismayed at the thought of losing a family member. She could not bear if that happened to her son. “We are very sorry to hear this.”
“My father is desperate to have her returned and we are doing everything we can to find her,” Jonathon informed them. “Our knights will be searching every day and we will not rest until she is brought home safe.”
“I will ride back with you tomorrow morning and join the search,” Prince Ethan volunteered. “She is my future wife and I want her returned to us as soon as possible.”
“We will spare some of our knights to help with the search,” decided King Frederick. “You are welcome to stay here for the night.”
“Thank you,” Jonathon said gratefully. “We may need to postpone the wedding if she is still missing.”
“Yes, I am afraid so,” replied Queen Cassandra looking disappointed. “I am sure the public will understand if we need to announce it.”
“I hope the princess is found soon and that she is safe,” said King Frederick sympathetically. “Has King Adrian received any message or a request for ransom?”
“No, we have not,” Jonathon lied, knowing he could never tell them about Rosanna’s letter. “I can assure you that we will pay any price to get her back.”
“Let us know if there is an offer and we will be happy to contribute to it,” said King Frederick.
“Thank you. That is very generous.”
“Is there anything to suggest who might have taken her?” Prince Ethan asked concerned.
“We do not have any evidence. However, we did banish someone from our kingdom a few days ago,” answered Jonathon, feeling annoyed with Nicholas and wanting to place the blame on him. “He was infatuated with my sister and it is not coincidental that she went missing soon after he was released from our dungeons.”
“Is this man dangerous?” asked Prince Ethan anxiously. “Would he harm her?”
He couldn’t bear to say aloud all the horrible circumstances they feared might happen.
“I do not think he is dangerous, he is simply delusional and obsessed. I believe my sister is safe and I doubt he would harm her.”
Prince Ethan was a little relieved to hear this, but he was still angered and jealous thinking that this mystery person might have his future bride.
“Once she is found, I will deal with whoever has taken her,” Prince Ethan said angrily.
“If there is anything we can do to help, please let us know,” offered King Frederick. “We want the princess returned as much as everyone, especially for our son and their marriage.”
“My father and I will keep you informed by letter,” promised Jonathon, “but we are sure she will be found soon.”
Chapter 21
Rosanna was settling into her new life now that she was getting used to it. She kept herself busy cleaning their home and looking after the horses whenever Nicholas was working. She had never done basic housekeeping before and always had Isabelle to take care of that, but she had watched her enough times to know what to do.
However, she had never seen how laundry was done and had to ask Nicholas to show her. He took her down to the lak
e carrying the basket full of clothes and soap, and showed her what to do. She picked it up easily and wrung them out afterwards just like Nicholas had done. She took the basket of wet clothes and hung them out to dry near the cottage. She felt satisfied that she could finally do things for herself.
Nicholas always had lunch with her at noon; and she asked if he would teach her how to cook so she could make the meals for them. He promised he would and later that evening, she observed everything Nicholas did to prepare dinner and helped.
She enjoyed cooking but there was one part that she detested. It was impossible for her to prepare meat because she hated to see dead animals. She got squeamish and was nearly sick when he tried to explain what needed to be done. After that he promised it would stay his responsibility and she could leave the room whenever he was doing it.
Sometimes when she had no more chores to do, she would go outside and see how far Nicholas was with his latest project. She liked to watch him work, finding it fascinating how he could turn timber into furniture. She loved seeing how they all turned out once he was finished.
She met Nicholas’ friend Bernard who arrived late Friday afternoon. He worked with Nicholas transporting the furniture to the village to sell and took orders to pass onto him. Nicholas preferred to stay working in the forest, especially now that they were being searched for. The only time he planned to leave the forest was when he needed to get supplies from the village.
Rosanna smiled when Nicholas came in from work that evening, looking tired with a few wood shavings clinging to his clothes.
She went over to greet him with a hug, “I have almost finished making dinner so you can rest for a while.”
He smiled, feeling lucky to have someone special waiting at home to take care of him.
“I am so happy you are here,” he told her. “You have done well learning how to do everything. I am proud of you.”
She smiled, “I am grateful that you taught me.”
“Do you want to go for a walk after dinner?” he asked. “I promised I would show you around the forest and I know how much you want to see the wild life.”
“I would love to,” she replied excitedly.
After they had eaten, they went out for a stroll together. She admired how beautiful the forest looked and peered around for any sign of animals. She squealed with delight when she noticed a few hares leaping away in the distance and was excited to see a red squirrel darting up a tree nearby.
They stood by the lake to watch the sun set and she felt so peaceful and happy being there in his arms.
“Do you remember before we came here, when I asked your father’s permission to marry you?” he asked.
She smiled and blushed, “yes, I remember.”
He looked thoughtful, “I meant what I said that day. It was not only a way for you to escape the arranged marriage.”
“I know,” she replied, staring at him lovingly.
“I have been thinking about it and I know we never talked about marriage before then, but it is something I want. I think you deserve to be proposed to properly now that I have the chance.”
She felt surprised and excited as he got down on one knee and looked up to stare deep into her eyes.
“Rosanna, I love you so much and I want to spend the rest of my life looking after you and making you happy. Will you be my wife?”
She smiled down at him blissfully, “Yes, I will,” she answered.
She went into his arms as he stood back up and they both shared a long kiss, feeling incredibly happy.
“But how can we get married?” she asked him unsurely. “We cannot go to church without being seen and our wedding would be frowned upon. They may refuse to perform the ceremony.”
“We do not have to be in church or have a priest to be married,” he answered. “We can still exchange vows on our own.”
“I suppose you are right, but I would need a white dress to wear.”
“I will buy one for you and I will have our rings made,” he promised and held her close. “I cannot wait to marry you, Rosanna. I promise I will be a good husband to you.”
* * * * *
King Adrian was still feeling distraught about Rosanna’s disappearance, especially now that it had been a week since she had gone missing. He could hardly eat or sleep with worry. He hoped they would find her within a few days but now that confidence was beginning to fade. He felt hopeless and wondered if they would ever find her. He missed her and still blamed himself, feeling guilty for driving her away.
He felt saddened when Leonardo returned that evening with the same news.
“I expect you miss her almost as much as I do,” he said to Leonardo. “I noticed you were both close and she thought of you as a friend.”
Leonardo felt nervous that the king might be annoyed and think he had overstepped his duty by being too sociable with Rosanna. Yet, he didn’t seem to mind and smiled warmly as he thought about his daughter.
“I do miss her and wish she was here,” replied Leonardo honestly, “but I could never feel the same way that you do, your Majesty. She is your daughter and I was only doing my duty to protect her. I could not imagine how awful you must be feeling,” he looked sympathetic.
“Did she ever confide in you about how unhappy she was?” he asked.
Leonardo didn’t know whether to lie or risk telling part of the truth. Instead he just gave a vague answer, “she hardly spoke to anyone after Nicholas was imprisoned, but I could see that she was very upset.”
“Do you have any idea where she might be?”
“The only places she liked to visit were in the village or out in the forest. We have already searched them several times.”
“I wish I knew where she was, then maybe I could put things right and she could return home,” he sighed defeated. “I hate knowing how upset she was and I want the opportunity to change that. I cannot bear the thought of losing my only daughter and never seeing her again. I have already lost her mother and that caused me enough pain.”
Leonardo felt guilty for acting this whole time and keeping Rosanna’s location from him. He wondered if King Adrian truly meant what he said about making things right. If he did then he could tell him, giving her father the opportunity to find her and work things out. However, he had promised Rosanna that he wouldn’t tell anyone where she was and didn’t want to betray their friendship and trust.
“We will do our best to find her, your Majesty,” Leonardo assured him, “but what if we do find her and she does not want to return?” he asked carefully.
“Hopefully she will agree to come home,” he replied. “I am sure this would be resolved if I talked with her. Once she knows how sorry I am and I have a chance to fix the mistakes I made, I am sure she will forgive me,” he insisted.
“What about the wedding?” asked Leonardo. “Will it be rearranged once she is back?”
He sighed, “I hope it will, but if she is this unhappy about it then perhaps not. I would do anything to have my daughter back, even if it means cancelling the agreement.”
Leonardo thought about it and wondered if Rosanna would consider coming back if all her problems were solved. This was his chance to fix everything, even if it meant breaking his promise.
“I have heard a rumour of where Nicholas might live,” Leonardo admitted and wondered if he was doing the right thing by telling her secret. “I was planning to search there tomorrow.”
King Adrian looked surprised and relieved at knowing there was hope, “I will go with you,” he insisted. “Hopefully we will find her there if the rumour is true.”
“I think it is best if we go there alone,” Leonardo told him. “If we show up with all the knights we could alarm them. The last thing we want is to scare her away and risk losing her again.”
He thought about it, “I suppose that would be for the best. We will draw less attention to ourselves if there are only two of us. I only wish we could leave now but it is getting too dark to ride.”
�
�I will prepare our horses early tomorrow morning,” Leonardo promised.
He hoped his new plan would work out and not backfire, since he was risking a lot by taking him over to Nicholas’ cottage.
Chapter 22
Nicholas and Rosanna ate breakfast the next morning and cuddled up in front of the fireplace to keep warm, feeling very happy and blissful to be engaged.
“I wish you did not have to work soon,” she said, feeling comfortable in his arms. “We could have gone for a ride in the forest together.”
“We can go for a ride tomorrow,” he promised.
She smiled happily and kissed him.
Nicholas suddenly parted from her, “Do you hear something?” he asked.
She listened, hearing the faint sound of horse hooves in the distance and felt nervous.
“I will go and see who it is,” he said and went to the door. “Try not to worry. It is probably just someone passing through the forest.”
She stayed and waited anxiously for him to return. He soon ran back inside and her heart raced in fear at knowing something was wrong.
“We must leave,” he told her quickly.
She felt afraid knowing that it must be her father and the knights and they had somehow managed to find them. They ran out of the back door and fled as fast as they could, dodging trees and trying not to stumble over roots spread across the ground.
“Rosanna!” they heard a voice call.
It made them run faster now they knew they had been spotted and continued their way deeper into the forest.
They soon heard running footsteps behind them and Rosanna felt anxious, worrying what would happen if either of them were caught. Her heart was beating fast and she breathed hard, trying to run faster. She hoped they could escape or hide somewhere, but the footsteps were gaining closer.
She felt someone approaching behind her and screamed as they grabbed hold of her arm.
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