The Forgotten Princess Rose
Chapter 222

Chapter 222: Chapter 222

Lilian looked out the window of the carriage soldiers forced into her. She hadn’t said a word since they stormed her father’s home, brutally killing him before her eyes and dragging her out to return to the palace.

She was worried about her children. James should not have listened to Kiara and sent her from the palace. She couldn’t trust James to protect her children.

’Are they safe?’ Lilian wondered, having a bad feeling she tried hard to ignore.

Lilian didn’t love anyone more than she loved her children. She was concerned about Kiara being surrounded by so many men even though Kiara had turned on her. Kiara was still her daughter so Lilian would have love in her heart for Kiara.

Lilian was most concerned for Henry. Would they be so kind as to spare Henry and just kill James?

"My son," Lilian touched her chest.

She could accept James’s death but not her son.

Lilian’s nervousness grew the more guards she saw walking around the town. It wasn’t like this the day James had sent her off. She knew it couldn’t be that James had sent her off because he knew a war was coming. James would have saved Kiara and then fled until the fight was over.

Lilian had been living in bliss for the last two days not knowing that her kingdom was lost to the hands of Zayne and his soldiers. If Kiara had listened to what she was told and gotten Zayne to fall in love with her, they could have avoided this but Lilian wasn’t confident Kiara would spare her brothers.

Lilian’s thoughts went to the state of her children’s relationships with each other. She couldn’t count on them to not argue with each other and try to find a way out. They were at each other’s necks with daggers ready to stab them.

"Where did I go wrong?" Lilian wondered, not understanding their hatred toward each other when she had showered each with love.

Henry was well-loved as the crown prince. He was the firstborn and the son who made her spot on the throne strong. Mateo was loved dearly. He was her shy little son and because James focused more on Henry, Lilian liked to be near Mateo to comfort him. Then there was Kiara, her only daughter. Kiara had her evil ways but she was the precious daughter of the family.

Lilian fidgeted with her hands as the palace gates were in view. It wouldn’t be long before she heard what had become of her children.

The door was opened right after the carriage stopped and one of the blue-eyed bastards stared at her, waiting for her to move.

They didn’t know how to treat a queen in Lilian’s opinion. Regardless of their taking over the kingdom, they were standing before a queen who demanded respect until the day she died.

Lilian exited the carriage before they could pull her out and shame her before any of her servants watched. They would not see her crumble as they wanted.

Lilian walked with her head held high. She could be walking right into her death but she would be remembered as a queen who wasn’t scared.

"Queen Lilian," Zayne greeted Lilain.

"Bastard," Lilian returned the greeting. "We were looking for peace but you had this on your mind. Mothers, wives, and sisters are now worried about the men not returning home because of you. This could have been avoided."

"It could have been avoided," Zayne agreed with Lilian. "It would have been avoided if your husband fixed the issue with slaves. You’ve been living good off of the slave trade. How unfortunate for you that one business caused your kingdom to fall into my hands."

Lilian refused to admit to their slaves in the kingdom. "Where are my children?"

"They received the proper burial fit for a royal. I’m not cruel to hang their bodies to be displayed or leave them to rot. I’m a kind bastard, aren’t I?" Zayne said, referring to her greeting.

Lilian glared at Zayne, her hands gripping the front of her dress. She didn’t know if she could believe his words. He had been playing with them from the start. "I want to see my children."

"I’ve always been told not to trouble the dead-"

"You!" Lilian yelled, reaching to grab Zayne’s shirt. She’d kill him with her bare hands if he killed her children.

Zayne raised his hand to stop his soldiers from coming to peel Lilian off of him. She was less of a threat than her daughter.

Zayne peered down at the sad state of the queen. He didn’t feel even a little bit bad that she had lost her children. "I’ll reunite you with them soon, just wait."

"How could you be so cruel? They were royals and you killed them like they were common people," Lilian said, her anger mixing with hurt. She didn’t get to see her children before they were buried. To hold them so they were treated well before they rested.

It wasn’t fair that she wasn’t present to protect them. To offer her life so they could be saved.

"You are crying? You have the nerve to cry?"

Lilian’s anger turned to the person questioning her tears over her children. She was their mother so she was going to mourn for them.

Willow couldn’t believe the nerve of Lilian to be crying and putting on such a show. She knew a mother would mourn her children but it just didn’t feel right to see Lilian holding onto Zayne and speaking of what was cruel.

Lilian was puzzled by the sight of one of the children she kept hidden away. She was even more puzzled by Willow wearing a dress she knew belonged to Kiara. "Take that off right now."

Lilian let go of Zayne as she set her sights on the bastard before her. That dress shouldn’t be worn by anyone other than Kiara.

Lilian started to walk in Willow’s direction but her arm was grabbed by Zayne. "Release me."

"I can’t when you are about to attack the future queen," said Zayne.

Lilian laughed. Everything that came out of Zayne’s mouth had to be a joke. Why would it ever be one of her husband’s bastards who took the title of queen from her? He killed her children to put a bastard on the throne? A girl who was meant to die long ago.

"She’s never going to be the future queen. She’s one of what is left behind from my husband’s affairs," Lilian said, refusing to let the child before her become queen. She would rather see Kiara become queen.

"Nothing changes that I am a royal because of my father’s blood. I am going to make you suffer as we did for all those years. I don’t want her dead. Please let her suffer in the room just as we did," Willow requested from Zayne.

Willow wanted Lilian to suffer as her innocent siblings did. Lilian should know what it was like to suffer in that room without a window to show the world outside. To not know when the next meal was coming and not be offered the medicine needed.

Willow wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if Lilian was let off so easily after what she had done over the years. She had taken mothers and children from each other instead of taking her anger out on her husband.

"We’ll get to that later. I will send for you when it’s time for you to question her. Stay safe and out of sight until then. Come," Zayne pulled Lilian’s hand to take her to where she would be questioned.

"Let go of me," Lilian said, fighting against his hold. This wasn’t any way to treat a queen. "I am the queen-"

"You are not the queen anymore," Zayne interjected before she could give him a speech about how to handle a queen. "You were the one behind Madeline Ambrose’s daughter going missing, weren’t you? She remembers."

Lilian froze, shocked by this revelation. That child was supposed to be dead. It had cost her a lot to get rid of her before James found out. What was she to do when her father suspected the child Victor claimed as his to be James’s child?

Lilian had only visited once to see that it was the right child taken. It was promised that Rosaline would die so she didn’t need to be concerned about Rose pointing her out. Though she showed her face, how did the child remember it was her?

"Your silence gives it away. You have called me a bastard and cruel yet you have been harming children. Why not leave your husband instead of hurting innocent children who couldn’t control coming into this world?" Zayne asked, looking down at Lilian.

"Who leaves a king?" Lilian replied. It was foolish to think that once married to the king you could escape him and Lilian didn’t want to leave James.

Her father made way for her to become the queen and Lilian was going to hold that spot forever. Lilian loved James despite all his flaws and his inability to love only her.

"Madeline did. You chose to stay because you wanted to so I don’t feel sorry for you. I can’t feel sorry for anyone who hurts the innocent," said Zayne.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.