Stand By Me Darling
Chapter 108: The Princess Made Her Choice (1)

Chapter 108: The Princess Made Her Choice (1)

That guy didn’t even leave a clue as to what he was going to do. Why is he doing everything he is doing?

No one is pulling these articles back and leaving them around for anyone to bash her. There should be a reason right?

Talia paced to and fro in the living room trying to guess what is the reasoning behind all these. She didn’t have to think too hard, but she got the answer.

She ran to the door and opened it. These days since Rebecca is staying with her Talia was dressing in sweatpants and shirt the whole day and it made it easy for her to open the door without looking for a coat too.

"Mr. Ed!" Talia stood in front of him with a polite smile while the poor uncle was startled by the sudden burst of energy he saw on Talia.

She was moping around for the past few days since she couldn’t get the visa and now she became this energetic?

Not to mention all the stuff going on back home... Could she be ignorant about all that? She has a phone right? She might have known everything right?

Too bad no one wants to do anything about that which is surprising.

"Your Highness," Mr.Ed bowed his head politely hiding all his thoughts.

"Leak informations about my grandfather’s illness. And I want to make an official statement about the rejection of my visa application," Talia said with determination.

Mr. Ed looked at her with confusion.

"I’m done staying silent. I will fight for my right. If I want to go back to my homeland, I will go. No one, not even the Head Council has any right to stop me. They want me to pick one nation or the other? Well, tough luck! I - Talia MaryAnn, choose both!"

Talia stood straight with her lips pursed and her head bobbed with assertion.

’Behold the Royal Princess of Rosandale. ’

Mr. Ed wanted to shout standing in the rooftop of the Cheverny Palace. The woman who was in her sweatpants exuded a regal aura with her back straight, eyes unwavering and words commanding.

Slowly his memories drifted to the past...

He is with the Kingsguard for more than two decades and has earned a place near the Dowager Queen, hearing her orders for the past twelve years. It is considered the highest honour among the Kingsguard to guard the Dowager queen since she chooses her guards.

She even attended his son’s christening. That was a blessing.

When the sixteen year old "Princess" was brought from Esteria, he himself had many misgivings regarding her. They knew about her for three years before she was brought to Rosandale.

And for him, even though the child was raised in nobility which was obvious, she seemed to be characterless. She would just stare blankly and will only talk one word or two per day. There were even bets among the maids to guess how many words the Princess would speak other than ’Yes’, ’No’ or ’Thank you’. Most days it can be counted with fingers.

Even though she was polite, he didn’t like her much and couldn’t understand the Dowager who saw her as someone with potential. The Princes were a handful at times but he liked them more. At least they acted like normal teenagers.

But he kept his thoughts to himself. One day, the entire Palace was in a frenzy since the Princess was gone. Her long locks were cut with a fruit knife and were left in her room but she was not there.

Everyone searched and even the military was involved since they considered her disappearance as a possible kidnapping. But no one contacted them asking for ransom or other demands, resulting in more frustration. No stone was left unturned inside and outside the Palace.

The King, the Princes everyone pushed back all of their work and made it their sole purpose to search for her. Every camera footage was checked and they were more surprised there were no abnormalities and no unknown vehicle had left the Palace. It was a mystery.

He who was with the Dowager, watched the resilient woman who withstood severe storms in her life, collapse out of sorrow. The doctor was called and thankfully it was just a hike in blood pressure which soon was fixed with medications.

The weather was weird too even though it was early spring. It was raining heavily that day and the next day it was sunny like summer.

After forty hours of intense searching, guess where they found her?

She was found stuck in the highest roof of the Cheverny Palace. No one brought her there. She got there herself by her own admission later! How incredibly senseless of this Princess!

The Dowager personally tasked him to bring her back safely.

When he saw her on that roof, clinging to the chimney, all sunburnt and dehydrated with her unevenly cut hair all messy, he didn’t feel pity for her. He got angry.

What a reckless fool!

Other guards feared to get near her in case she let go of her grip. They feared the repercussions in case she died on their watch.

Cowards!

He stepped on the roof tiles and walked to her. He wasn’t scared she would let go. He saw her grip on the coarse stones of the chimney was so tight. He knew she wanted to live.

As he closed in on her, that dishevelled girl with her usual politeness apologised.

"I’m sorry," she said, her voice was so coarse he feared her throat will bleed if she talked anymore. Her lips were cracked so badly due to dehydration. Her entire face was red with burns. But despite that, her big bright eyes had a certain quality to it that made his heart skip a beat.

What he saw was strength within her. Who knows how long she was holding on to that chimney not willing to let go? Not to mention the extreme temperatures and the fact that she didn’t eat or drink for more than a day.

He recognised that look. It was the same look he saw on the Dowager when her husband the Great King died. She didn’t want to live on, but she needed to live on. It was a poignant memory embedded in his memory at his young age. Now the Princess had the same look.

He could now understand what the Dowager might see in her.

He carefully got to her, trying to hold her. She seemed to have no energy left and was about to pass out. She had a very high temperature which he realised when he touched her.

"I don’t want to die, it seems and... I think I’m not lucky either..." she whispered, "Sorry for troubling you."

Her voice was like the voice of an injured little kitten from the bottom of a well. So low and so despaired.

"You shouldn’t be apologising, Your Highness," he mumbled and with a painful smile she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and he lifted her.

"I’ll thank you then, good sir!" her voice couldn’t get out and all he heard was a hiss.

As he picked her up, he was surprised. For him who carried his six year old son regularly, she felt the same weight. He could feel the bones in her back as he carried her.

Princess, huh? She feels like a malnourished child from a third world country.

His eyes teared up unknowingly .

’Not lucky? Is she considering the fact that she survived the outdoors and the bad climate for more than a day, unlucky?’

"You young lady need to be taught lessons! Do you know how worried you made your elders?" he wanted to hit her but he could not since she was a Royal.

If she was his daughter she’d have been grounded for life! How dare she speak so easily about dying? That old lady suffered as much as her these two days.

"Fred used to say that..." she mumbled before she passed out. He didn’t know who that Fred was back then. If he knew, he’d have twisted her ears for not caring for her life just for a boyfriend.

Only after seeing her, the Dowager felt relieved and then she was treated for severe fever for the next few days. He was the one who guarded her those days and her sunburns healed and she ended up looking in orange hue due to tanning in her exposed skin. Prince Lambert would visit her regularly just to call her ’orangutan’ while she would stare blankly.

He was mad at Prince Lambert for bullying a suffering soul but he later found out he was just trying to make her react. He was the same age as the Princess which has to be noted. Both were just kids.

And then, maybe Prince Lambert’s provocation finally got her, she opted to get treated for depression and the Dowager asked him to watch her from a distance.

The Dowager was worried the entire time as the doctors said she was not improving and was petrified when this girl wanted to leave the country.

"Bobby... Am I being too strict with her?" the Dowager asked that day after their Princess just refused any help from the royal family. "She does not feel home here."

He wanted to say something but he had no words to say. That little girl must be blind to not see how much the Royal Family loves her.

"Let’s keep her on a long leash," The Dowager decided a couple days after and he was dumbfounded there was a person who could go against the Queen Dowager in this universe and succeed.

Even Princess LillyAnn couldn’t!

The Dowager gets what the Dowager wants with no compromise. This was the first time she has compromised.

He wondered if the Princess is that strong to even move the Dowager. Or it might be just that the Dowager got softened with her age.

"She is young, Bobby... and opinionated. She will never accept our country as her homeland. I fear she’d return to Esteria one day, leaving me behind..."

He saw the Dowager sigh for the first time to his knowledge, when the Princess refused to accept the money from her great grandmother for her university education.

And yet she gave in to the Princess.

At this point he just decided that the Princess is just a heartless person who used the Royal family to escape from the murder charges in Esteria and since now she doesn’t need the support, she is trying to go back.

He didn’t know how wrong he was back then.