Serenah sat just inside the balcony doors, staring out at the snow-covered ground. She had heard of snow and wintertime but never experienced it in the old world. The capital of the Poten kingdom was in the south, where the weather was more temperate than in the north.
"My Lady?"
She turned to look at Lael standing next to the bed. Her maid was frowning, concern radiating from her. Serenah sighed. Ever since her beating, Lael hovered even more than before. She felt somewhat stifled by it, but didn't have the heart to rebuke her worried servant.
"Lael, I'm fine. I'm not even cold," she replied softly. It was true, she had a small heat spell keeping her warm.
Lael nodded and turned to leave when Serenah's phone rang. She picked it up and handed it to Serenah.
Serenah glanced down and smiled when she saw Romeo's name. She answered the call.
"Hello, my prince," she teased and giggled when he groaned.
"You're not going to let that go, are you?"
"Nope. It fits you well, Romeo. You are a prince to me, even if no one else sees it," she insisted.
"Well, then, my Princess, how are you feeling today?"
Serenah flinched. Since she had woken from the beating, Romeo had asked about her health on every phone call. She couldn't shake the feeling that he somehow knew what her father and sister had done to her. She didn't want to drag him into her family drama and had remained silent on the issue. She didn't know how much longer she could keep him from finding out the truth.
"I'm fine. Just enjoying the view."
"The view?"
"Yes, I have an amazing view of the forest and the snow."
"Hmm, so you don't live in town," he murmured.
Serenah stiffened, cursing silently at her slip of the tongue. Time to do damage control.
"That's right. I'm not in town. Father wanted a place that was not near a ton of people. Where I grew up was in a city, and he wanted a change of pace, which is why we came to this part of Virginia."
"That's cool. I, too, grew up in a city, but I am finding mountain life to be far more enjoyable. I don't miss the hustle and bustle of the city as much as I thought I would before we moved."
Serenah smiled. It was nice finding out they had some more things in common.
"So why did you call today?"
"I called for a couple of reasons."
"A couple?"
"Yes, my beautiful princess, I called, one, because I wanted to hear your voice, and two, because my father got your father to agree to letting you have dinner with my family."
Serenah gasped in surprise. Her father had agreed? There had to be a catch.
"What were the conditions?" She found her heart racing. No way would her controlling father let her have dinner without some kind of stipulation or leash to keep her from being happy.
Romeo sighed. "Well, your sister must come along. And the dinner date is in two weeks. That's the best my dad could manage. Your father is a hard sell."
Serenah slumped in her seat, her eyes closing to keep the tears of frustration from falling. She knew it. Her father was subtly telling her that the happiness she found with Romeo would be taken away if he willed it. Her life was so unfair.
"Sera? You still there?"
"Yes," she whispered, choking on that one word. Her emotions were roiling about at the injustice of her life. She wanted desperately to escape this hell.
"Don't worry. My father has a plan to make sure you can enjoy the dinner and not have to worry about your sister."
"Okay," she said, her tone gloomy.
"I can't wait for Monday to get here. I'll get to see your beautiful face."
"Just my face?"
Romeo chuckled. "All of you is beautiful. It's why I fell in love with you. The outer and inner you are sweet, kind, beautiful, and amazing. None of the other girls can touch what you have."
Serenah blushed at his words. "You are trying to charm me now, aren't you?"
"Nope. I'm speaking the truth. Cross my heart and hope to die."
"That's such a morbid thing to say."
"Well, you know how these adages go. I believe our ancestors were very savage people."
"That is true," she agreed.
"Oh, before I forget, the internship resumes on Monday, too."
"I know. I marked it on my calendar."
"Did I mention how much I love your organizational skills?"
"No, you didn't," she laughed. "It's nice to hear it, though."
"I shall make sure to say it more often, my princess."
Shaking her head at his antics, Serenah smiled, her earlier gloominess dissipating at his words. This man held her heart in his hands, and he didn't even know it. She would have to tell him soon, the truth about herself and her family.
Her heart raced in fear at the thought Romeo might reject her. If he did that, she didn't know if she'd be able to oversee it. Stop thinking of the worst case, she chided herself.
"Sera, I'm going to hop off here. Got some chores to take care of. Looking forward to seeing you on Monday."
"Me, too. See you Monday, Romeo."
She ended the call, her gaze staring off into the distance. She was glad to hear his voice. The warmth from his words lingered in her heart. She just had to keep a low profile this weekend so that she could go to school on Monday without any issues.
She prayed to Autem that her father and sister would leave her alone. She wanted the next few days to be quiet and peaceful. Surely, that wasn't too much to ask for.