Royal Rebels

Rose had to admit it was a huge relief to escape political obligations for a day and hide in the gardens with Felicity. She felt a little bad that Eli had to hold down the fort for her, but it was nice to forget she was a queen just for a little bit. Her own mother used to bring her out into the gardens or the forest at every opportunity, hopping barefoot into rain puddles or falling into leaf piles. They were the most vivid memories Rose had of Arabella, and she wished every day that her mother was still here to help her now that Rose had her own daughter.

“At least you’re pretty perfect though, aren’t you?” Rose asked, watching Felicity trying to pull herself up to bat at a flower. They spent a lot of time out here in the rose garden Eli had planted for her as a wedding gift. The roses were grown with an enchantment so that they always bloomed no matter the season; so Rose and Felicity were surrounded by vibrant red and pink blooms even though it was autumn. Rose had been awed by the beautiful garden but even better than the flowers had been the beaming, excited look on Eli’s face when he first showed it to her after their wedding ceremony. Rose was smiling at the memory when she heard someone approaching. She looked up and was relieved to see Maria.

“Just like your mother, always needing to be around plants,” Maria said, smiling.

“Eli said I needed a break today,” Rose replied as Maria sat beside her and tickled Felicity, who giggled and cooed.

“Eli is right,” Maria said. “Of course that means our husbands are running things so hopefully the castle will still be standing by tomorrow.”

Rose laughed. “I think they’ll be careful. All we need now is to have to oversee castle reconstruction.”

Maria stayed with her through the afternoon, patiently answering any baby questions Rose had. Maria and Tobias had never had children of their own, but being a healer, Maria had helped a lot of mothers with their babies. And she was the closest thing to a mother that Rose had. They walked through the gardens and the orchard, picking some apples. They took a few of them to the stables, since Felicity loved looking at the horses. Rose clucked softly and Tiberius lifted his head and moved to the door of his spacious stall to nudge her arm.

“Hello, beautiful boy,” Rose said, giving him an apple. Felicity watched him with big fascinated eyes, reaching out a tiny hand to touch his soft muzzle. The big stallion was always gentle around the baby, watching her with intelligent eyes. He blew out a breath, tickling Felicity and making her giggle.

“I’m supposed to have dinner with Eli tonight, would you mind babysitting?” Rose asked.

“You know I’d babysit little Fee every day if you wanted,” Maria laughed. She and Tobias had never been able to have children of their own, and as a result they treated Rose and Charlie like they were their kids, and both of them doted on Felicity. The girl was six months old and already completely spoiled. Rose didn’t mind; she was just glad that Felicity had people who would never fail to shower her with affection.

Rose and Maria spent the whole afternoon together playing with Felicity. Thinking again about how playful her mother had been, Rose pushed together a big pile of crisp red and gold leaves. She took Felicity from Maria and held her close as she carefully fell backward into the leaves. Felicity let out a pealing laugh, grabbing delightedly at the leaves while Maria laughed. Rose simply lay there, enjoying the feel of the sun on her face as Felicity began to doze off on her chest.

“Now how did I know I’d find my wife outdoors somewhere?”

Rose smiled and sat up to see Eli walking toward them. Felicity stirred and made a little babbling sound when she heard his voice. Rose laughed as Eli pulled her to her feet and tickled Felicity’s cheeks before giving Rose a kiss.

“Because our Rose has roots,” Maria joked. “She needs to touch soil on a regular basis.”

Eli grinned and brushed some leaves from Rose’s hair. The four of them went back to the castle and Maria took over Felicity duty so Eli and Rose could have some time just the two of them.

“I already asked the kitchen staff to make some of your favorites and have them sent to our rooms,” Eli said. Rose wrapped her arms around him and snuggled against his chest.

“And what did I do to deserve such a special day?” she asked.

“Well let’s see. Between you being a brilliant queen who works too hard, and my beautiful wife who for some reason loves me, and the mother of the most perfect baby ever; I’d say you deserve a special day every day.”

Rose laughed, leaning up to kiss him. He pulled her close to deepen the kiss and she had to gently push him away with a giggle when someone knocked to bring them their dinner. They sat at the table by the window while they ate.

“Was it terrible today?” Rose asked.

“Tobias helped me out,” Eli said. “I had to talk to a bunch of people and he had to remind me who most of them were.”

“You poor thing,” she said apologetically. “I’m sorry you had to deal with all this.”

“Did you have a nice day with Felicity?”

“It was a great day,” she admitted and he smiled, reaching over to squeeze her hand.

“Then dealing with the council stuff is more than worth it,” he replied. “I like seeing you look happy instead of stressed out.”

“Well I am happy. Fee and I spent most of the morning in your rose garden and then we went to see the horses, and this dinner was amazing and I love you.”

Eli smiled. “I love you too. And you’re an amazing mom, you know. Since we have the evening to ourselves, maybe we should work on giving Fifi a sibling.”

“Eli!” Rose shrieked as he grinned and scooped her out of her chair. Then she laughed and kissed him.

Rose still wasn’t sure when the royals from Akretha would arrive, but Eadric Standish and King Fillius both arrived two weeks later amid the first light snow of the year. They arrived nearly at the same time, and Rose was on the front steps with Eli, Tobias, and Felicity to greet them. Felicity was captivated by the little snowflakes falling on her face and sticking to her little winter coat. The color matched the dark lavender shade of the warm cape Rose wore over her dress.

Eadric climbed out of his carriage and approached her, bowing. He was just barely older than her and she’d met him quite a few times when she was younger. She had always politely pretended not to notice the crush he had on her.

“It’s good to see you, Your Highness,” he said, straightening. “I’m sorry I couldn’t visit sooner.”

“That’s alright, Eadric. I was sorry to hear about your father’s passing. I wish I’d been able to see him again.”

“He would’ve been very happy to know you were alive, and to see you on the throne where you belong.”

“Eadric, you remember Tobias Bristol I’m sure, and this is my husband, Eli. Eli, this is Lord Standish. Our fathers were good friends.”

Eli and Eadric gave each other awkward nods and Tobias said a polite hello and asked Eadric how things were in Tarsfeld. Then another gleaming carriage rolled up and a tall, colorful figure hopped out before it had even stopped.

“Fillius!” Rose exclaimed. “I wasn’t expecting you so soon!”

“Are you kidding, we didn’t even stop to sleep once we set out. I couldn’t wait to see my darling Rosalie again, and this must be the baby. Look at these two fairy creatures, I can hardly believe you’re even real.”

Fillius reached her and pulled her into a hug; he was less concerned with proper behavior than other royals. He was also one of the few who was genuinely nice to Eli. He was in his forties now, but Fillius still had boyish light brown curls and twinkling blue eyes; and a fondness for colorful cloaks.

“Felicity, right?” he asked, taking the baby and bouncing her slightly. She looked enamored with him.

“Yes, that’s our Felicity.”

“Well it’s very nice to meet you, little Princess. Don’t you look so much like your pretty mama, you lucky thing. Elijah, you’re going to have to beat the boys off with a stick when this one grows up.”

“Please don’t remind me,” Eli said and Fillius laughed.

“I have a gift for this little lady,” he said, handing Felicity back to Rose. He gestured to the servants who had traveled with him and Rose laughed when she saw the gift.

“Fillius, you didn’t,” she scolded.

“Oh, I did, my dear Rosalie.” He winked. It was a little baby pony. Her fur was a pale golden color and she had a creamy white mane and tail and a stripe down her nose. There was even a little crown of pink flowers on her head.

“Pretty princesses need their own ponies, don’t they?” Fillius said, beaming. “Her name is Sundrop and when she was born I knew she’d be perfect for your little girl.”

Felicity squirmed and cooed in Rose’s arms, enchanted with the pony.

“Thank you so much, Fillius. This is entirely too much.”

“Too much? I haven’t even started yet. That extra carriage is full of gifts for your little family.”

Fillius’s gifts didn’t leave a bad taste in her mouth like the necklace she’d gotten from Akretha, though she felt a little bad for the poor servants who would have to haul it all inside. They went to the stables to find a place for little Sundrop and let Felicity admire her some more. Fillius kept up a steady stream of cheery chatter.

“You look truly fantastic, my dear. You have your mother’s natural beauty and chicness, and it would seem being a wife and mother suits you. Your shy giant of a husband here must be treating you right.”

Eli turned red as Rose smiled.

“He’s wonderful,” Rose agreed. “Here, we can put Sundrop in this stall right next to Tiberius.”

“Honestly, I’m in danger of getting emotional here seeing all five of you together,” Fillius said. She saw Tobias roll his eyes and suppressed a giggle.

“Why don’t we go inside for a bit,” she said. “Fillius, you can get settled in your room and then we’ll all have lunch together.”

“As always, dear Rosalie, that’s an excellent idea.”