His Royal Princess Page 10

  "Bored, Nari? Why don't you run along and see if you can bother someone else for a change?"

  Nothing else happened. She opened one eye and squinted up into two eyes burning with fire.

  Shanna, Prince Joqua's second wife, stood beside Celina's chair. She hid her surprise. Usually the Dragon Lady kept away from the prince's offspring.

  "Why did you come back?" Shanna asked.

  "Ask your husband."

  "You ungrateful piece of trash. Answer me." Shanna's voice dripped with venom, and her eyes glared with pent up anger. She kicked Celina's chair.

  Celina's chin came up. Shanna had no reason to know what happened outside the palace, and if she wanted to question someone, she should go to her husband. "It's really none of your business, Shanna. You're. Not. My. Mother."

  Celina gathered her unused towel and rose from the chair. With the girl's swimming, it meant their room would be empty and she could rest. She ignored Shanna, and swept past her without a glance.

  Usually the prince's wives all behaved well together and enjoyed one another's company. In a sense, they became one very large family. Except Shanna, who had an insane streak of jealousy flowing through her veins. Everyone learned early on to stay clear of the mother and daughter team.

  If only the prince realized the evil side to Shanna. None of them were brave enough to step forward and call her out—the wrath of both Shanna and Nari together meant life would only get more difficult. She suspected Prince Joqua saw a very different side to his wife than everyone else.

  The afternoon sun leaked into the bedroom window, warming the top of Celina's bed. She lay down on the blanket and sighed. Heat soothed her skin and brought her comfort. Like the dogs at the market, she sought her spot in the sun, ignoring the hustle and bustle around her.

  She closed her eyes and shut out the light, the worries, and the constant thought of Drake. Sleep saved her sanity. It allowed her an escape from the knowledge of Drake's betrayal. To have heard him confess their love affair left such a burn mark on Celina's soul, she ached every waking moment.

  Her dreams remembered only the good things. The way Drake protected her, taught her how an American woman lived, and how he'd teased her unmercifully about her competitive nature. The way he held her after making love, and the way his eyes twinkled at her.

  Her heartstrings became the rope in a cruel game of tug of war. To believe Drake loved her...yet she'd heard the proof that he didn't. He'd confessed all to his father and shamed her. She yearned to sleep all day, and nights brought blessed relief. In her dreams, her world remained perfect and included Drake in her life.

  Reverting inside herself wasn't healthy. Celina knew better, but she couldn't stop herself from seeking relief. She wanted to believe in the love he spoke, but that would be foolish.

  The commotion of the girls scrambling around in the room woke her up. She shivered. The sun had left, and she lay nude atop the bed.

  "Celina, get dressed. Papa is back from his business trip." Tressa hurried to dress herself.

  "You'll have to hurry," Danika added.

  The news gripped Celina in a way her sisters would probably never experience. Did Papa come back to announce her punishment? Did the time away make him come to a conclusion on what to do with her?

  "Wake up, sleepyhead, we mustn't be late. This is an important dinner." Danika shook her shoulder.

  Someone had replaced her old dress with a different one while she slept. She lifted the material up and recognized one of Danika's new outfits. She caught her sister peeking at her, gauging her reaction. She mustered a smile and blew her a kiss. She loved Danika. Her sister had only good thoughts and actions toward others.

  "I wonder what Papa brought back with him?" Nari swung her hair in front of her to brush the ends free of tangles.

  "You are selfish, Nari. We are celebrating him being home, not wondering what kind of gift he might have brought with him." Tressa curled her lip and snorted.

  "Where was Papa anyway?" Nari asked.

  "How are we supposed to know? We are his children. If you want to know something, you need to ask your mother." Tressa liked to follow the rules and often set her sisters in their proper place.

  "Papa banned Mama from his room." Nari concentrated on untangling her hair.

  "What for?"

  "How would I know? Besides, it's none of your business, remember?"

  "Then you should keep your mouth shut." Tressa shook her head.

  "Shut up, Tressa," Nari snapped.

  Tressa and Danika sought out Celina and raised their eyebrows. Celina shrugged. She did not know why Shanna displeased the prince. Although maybe Prince Joqua had come to realize what everyone else had already learned. Shanna was born cruel.

  All four sisters walked down the passageway together and joined up with their brothers in the main hallway leading to the dining room. Beebe was the first to catch sight of her and sucked in his breath. Celina smiled. The obvious joy on her brother's face warmed her, and she winked at him.

  The shuffling feet and swishing dresses came to a halt at the entrance to the dining room. The children's mothers sat in their chairs to await the arrival of the prince.

  "Come, children. Sit. The prince has asked if we could all be in our place on time." Marti nodded at Danika, who took a seat beside her mother.

  The mothers with their offspring lined the sides of the table, leaving both end chairs vacant. Celina took her usual seat at the other end of the table, opposite the prince. It never failed her notice she belonged to no one and sat alone at the end of the table. Never quite feeling like part of the family, and separated from the prince.

  Her siblings peeked over her shoulder at the door and waited for their father to show up. Celina's hands balled in her lap, and she bowed her head. She counted the threads in the placemat under her plate. By memory, she already knew there were forty-three lines of green thread and one hundred sixty-six lines of red thread.

  At the arrival of the prince, she lost count on the blue thread. She slowed her breathing to hide her accelerated heartbeat. Papa always announced his daily news after dinner. If a punishment needed handing out, everyone at the table witnessed it. The act of eating would be impossible for her.

  "Family. We have guests for dinner tonight." Prince Joqua sat down at the head of the table. "When they arrive, let's try to keep conversations down to a low roar, shall we?"

  "Who's here, Papa?" Beebe asked.

  "Beebe..." His mother, Marti, laid her hand on his shoulder, shushing him.

  Dinnertime was the best part of the day for the whole family. For all his rules of obeying society standards, Papa allowed everyone to let loose and relax during the evening meal. He enjoyed listening to the children talk about their day and joined in with the wives bragging about the children.

  During this occasion, the siblings talked freely without worrying about breaking the rules. A joyous event and one Celina had always looked forward to attending. In the near future, one by one, the adult children would leave the table for their husbands' table, or their wives' table, and end the family time they shared. She always thought she'd leave first.

  Tonight, the witnesses who would hear her punishment sobered her mood. She dared not look up at Prince Joqua, and instead tried to concentrate on the conversations buzzing around her. Her trepidation over what would come after dinner slurred their words in her head and deemed it impossible to follow along.

  Prince Joqua cleared his throat to grab everyone's attention. Celina picked at her thumbnail under the table and waited.

  "Children, wives...you remember Charles Randall? This is his son Drake, and the lovely woman with him is Natalia." Prince Joqua motioned his guests to enter. "Please sit. Enjoy our meal with us."

  Someone kicked Celina's foot under the table. She ignored it. Her head bowed, she fought to gather air into her lungs. Drake? Here?

  The woodsy scent of Drake's cologne tickled her nose. The pressure in her head pounded. Wasn't
it enough she would suffer a punishment? Did Papa bring in Drake and his family to witness it too?

  Drake's bare forearm came into view, and he took the empty seat to her right. She squeezed her eyes shut. She remembered those gentle hands and the way they worked magic on her body—and she came alive.

  The children continued to talk, and plates heaped with food circulated the table. She wanted to run back to her room for safety, but it might only bring embarrassment down on the prince.

  "Hello, Celina. Will you talk with me?" Drake's hand lay inches from her plate. "I've missed you."

  No. Why are you doing this to me? There's nothing to say.

  "Look at me, babe."

  She kept her head down and squeezed the tears from her eyes. She wasn't the American woman he wanted. Soon, Papa would announce her punishment, and once satisfied, Drake could leave the island knowing he'd completed his plan.

  "This might be the only time we can talk freely. Please, Celina."

  She shuddered. A teardrop fell on her arm.

  "Did you run away because you heard what I discussed with Dad in his office?"

  Celina tried again to count the blue threads in the placemat. She lost count on eight. Why did he want to talk to her now? He'd already confessed to his father.

  The platters reached the end of the table, and she willed her arms to take one from Drake. His hand touched hers, and she dropped the dish. It crashed to the table, spilling the fruit.

  All conversations came to an abrupt halt. Her heart beat erratically, and tears spilled down her cheeks.

  "I'm...I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Papa." Celina hurried to pick up the pieces, but her trembling hands lost hold of the platter again and it crashed to the floor.

  "It's okay, Celina. Why don't you excuse yourself and fill another platter from the kitchen?" Prince Joqua moved the direction of his eyes to the exit.

  "Yes, Papa." She stood. "Excuse me."

  She picked up the fallen plate and rushed to the kitchen. She sank down to the floor and wound her arms around her legs. Rocking back and forth, she clamped her lips together to keep from wailing.

  "Celina?"

  Drake kneeled down in front of her. She lowered her head onto her knees. Just leave, Drake. Let me keep my dignity.

  "You have to listen to me..." He reached out and ran his hand over the top of her head, lingering at the base of her neck. "There are things you don't know."

  She lifted her head. "W-Why did you come here? Does it make you, an American, happy to make love to me and turn me in afterward?"

  "You ran off before you knew what we were talking about, Celina. Let me explain. You are not going to be punished for what you did." He blew out his breath and hung his head. "What we did...Celina, listen to me. Making love to you was the most beautiful and wonderful thing I have ever experienced. Not something to be punished for, but to be celebrated."

  She shook her head. "You lie."

  She stood and ran to the safety of the women's area. Between Drake and Prince Joqua's displeasure with her, she wondered if she'd simply die from a broken heart or wither away to nothing. She couldn't go on this way. Punish her or send her away from everyone, but she couldn't stand another minute around those that she loved.

  Dinners at the palace ran late into the night or until conversations grew slower and children nodded their heads over the table. Celina hunched under her blanket on the bed and tried to escape into her dreams, the one place she could escape from real life, while upstairs her family laughed and enjoyed the Randalls' visit.

  A hand caressed her back, and Celina froze. She peeked out from under the blanket ready to tell Drake to leave the girls' area immediately. Instead, Charles' girlfriend sat beside her on the bed.

  "I think we need to talk."

  Celina folded her arms under her breasts and shook her head. "Does the prince know you are in the private sleeping area?"

  "Yes. He gave me permission to come and talk with you. I meant to fix this years ago, but..." She covered her face. "It's my entire fault."

  Why say such a thing? Celina didn't know her until she went to America.

  "I don't feel like talking, I just want to be left alone, please. I-I told Drake to leave...it's over between us." She pinched her lips shut.

  "Twenty years ago, I met a wonderful man." Nat fingered the bracelets on Celina's wrist. "I fell deeply in love and thought I would be with him forever."

  Celina snorted and pulled her arm away from Nat's touch. She didn't want to hear about anyone else's love life.

  "I traveled with him to his homeland, and at the beginning of our relationship I believed the sun rose and set with him. He was so good-looking and charming, every woman in the village was half in love with him." Nat smiled, and her eyes softened. "But, the way he expected me to live didn't agree with me, and I became sad."

  Celina frowned. She didn't want to hear this.

  Tears fell down Nat's face. Celina cocked her head.

  "I was so far from home, and I felt all alone. One day, a man came to my husband's house and I found out he came from America too." Nat dropped her hands in her lap and gazed at them thoughtfully. "We met by accident in the garden one morning, while I was taking a walk. He talked to me. I was polite and answered him back. He filled my head with stories from back home, and the more he talked, the more homesick I became."

  Nat lifted her head and gazed into Celina's eyes. "I had stopped sleeping with my husband months before because of my unhappiness, and I'm ashamed to say, I made love with the American."

  "No!" Celina covered her mouth as the horror of what Nat was saying hit her. "Why are you doing this to me?"

  Nat ignored Celina and licked her lips.

  "Celina, I became pregnant with you. The prince sent me away. He did the right thing. You need to realize what it would do for him, for his people, to know I betrayed the Prince of Antaka, and he did nothing."

  Celina shook her head. She scooted farther back on the bed, seeking the darkness in the corner of her room to hide from the truth she observed in Nat's face.

  "You're wrong. Papa stoned my mother to death, in front of witnesses. Why are you being so cruel?" Celina's balled her hands into fists to keep from slapping the woman who hurt her with this made-up story.

  "I don't know who told you the prince stoned me to death. The person who told you such a horrible thing deserves punishment for hurting you. Prince Joqua promised me that in time, he would tell you why I stayed in America. He swore to me you would want for nothing."

  Nat reached out and grabbed Celina's wrist. The older woman slipped off the bracelets lining Celina's arm, walked over to the table in the room, and lit the lantern.

  "Come here, Celina. Please..."

  Celina stomped over to the table. She didn't know what Nat planned to do with her bracelets, but wanted them back on her wrist. She held her arm to her stomach, feeling naked without her beloved jewelry.

  Nat picked each bracelet up and placed them in a row on the top of the table. Celina clenched her teeth. "Just leave my bracelets and go back to the table. I'm done talking with you."

  "Here, Celina. Hold them together, and read the back of the bracelets. What does it say?"

  "They say nothing." Celina refused to play her game.

  "Just look, and then if you want, I'll leave your room."

  She tilted the bracelets toward the light. She squinted. Made of plain silver, they lay on her wrists every day. She'd notice if they—

  Her eyes widened. She found the letter C on the first bracelet. What?

  Twenty-one bracelets all together spelled out a message that brought truth to everything Nat told her.

  "I sent one bracelet each year to you on your birthday. It was my way of telling you what I couldn't say to you in person. Prince Joqua promised me, when you turned twenty-one, he would send you back to me. Until then, I sent you bracelets and thought of you every day, and missed you...like missing my own heart beat."

  Celina set the bracelet
s on the table. No longer a gift from her papa, she no longer wanted to put them back on her wrist. All these years she'd believed what others told her, and there was a message right in front of her this whole time saying differently. Every time she cried herself to sleep, because she didn't have a mother...when she really did. Every time one of the other kids ran to their mama for help, she returned to her bed, alone, crying inside, missing out on having her own mother.

  C-e-l-i-n-a-I-l-o-v-e-y-o-u-f-o-r-e-v-e-r.

  All these years, and a message from her mother was with her the whole time. Words she would have loved to hear. She sniffed. It didn't matter. She was now an adult. She didn't need a mother to wipe her tears or rub her back until she fell asleep after a bad dream anymore.

  "How could you leave your own child?"

  "I never planned for it to end up this way. When I finally went back to America, I married your father. You were one month old, and we were traveling to the coast for the weekend. Another car hit us head-on. Your father...your father died instantly, and I broke my back. I lived in the hospital for over a year."

  Footsteps and ruffling material came from the outer hallway. Celina frowned. Now what?

  "Celina, Natalia, come. The prince wishes to speak with you both right away." Shanna hurried the two of them out into the hallway.

  Natalia scowled at the other woman and reached out to grab Celina's hand. Celina frowned at the expression on Nat's face.

  "Celina, something is..." Natalia leaned over to tell Celina something, but Shanna pushed her aside.

  A cloth flew over Celina's head, surrounding her body in darkness. She fought to get her arms free, but the material tightened around her. She screamed, but the cloth pressed against her face muffled her cry for help.

  Somebody lifted her off the ground. She groaned. A shoulder dug into her abdomen. Stars flashed behind her eyelids, and she braced herself the best she could.

  "Put them in here, quickly," Shanna hissed.

  Celina's body jostled and dropped. She screamed and landed against a flat, hard surface. She scratched at the covering, but with her arms bound against her sides, her attempts only exhausted her.