The Damned Princess

Chapter 37

The whole palace was heavily guarded, everybody was on high alert but I knew there was no need for this. He won't come here; he's waiting for us to go to him. My mother was waiting for us in the private dining area. We straight away went to her.

Her eyes watered up the moment she saw us, she immediately pulled me for a hug. "My baby" she cried. She has this beautiful soothing scent, when I was a child it would always calm me down. "Noi troveremo Jayson, per favore non preoccuparti Enna (we will find Jayson, please don't worry Enna)" she said trying to make me feel better.

I have heard it so many times in the past two days that I don't have any strength left in me to respond, so I just nodded at her. She met with everybody else too and cried even more because she was meeting with her children after so long and yet it was not a happy time.

"I know this isn't a good time for us but I want my children to sit with us for dinner today" she said. "I'm sorry mama but I don't have any appetite right now, I want to go to my room" I asked. She wanted to protest but my father stopped her and said "you go rest Amore; I'll send food to your room". I thankfully nodded at him and left.

When I entered my room, it felt like I walked back into time. Everything was just like how I left it. Mama knew how much I hated it if anybody would move any of my stuff out of the original place and now after I don't know how many years, everything is still exactly the same.

I took a long shower and when I walked into my closet, I saw the stuff was re arranged such that one wall was totally empty now. She must have done this when I told her about Jayson, I quickly got dressed and left because I was feeling empty just like the closet and I don't have the time to cry.

I was going to father's office but couldn't move past the door next to my room. I took a moment and then opened it and went in. I turned the lights on, everything was layered with dust because nobody is allowed in here, not the cleaners not even my mother.

I never changed one thing in this room, I had hope that he will come back to me. I always thought that there will be a day when he will realize that the love, we share is too pure to be tainted with everything he wanted and he will accept his mistake, but it never happened.

Heracles loved to paint, there are so many portraits he made of me and both of us together. Some he hung on the walls. I used to love his art back then and when he left, I'd come to his room and cry looking at all this. Now, it feels like poison to me, I hate everything and I really want to set this room on fire.

One painting caught my eye, it was a landscape. Beautiful mountains and a small castle on one of them, with ocean on its outlines. I remember, one day he asked me, "when you decide to settle one day, where would you like to go Amore" Heracles asked. I frowned "how many times have I told you Heracles, only papa calls me by that name".

He rolled his eyes, "tell me". I thought for a moment and answered "Tuscany". "So many places in the world and you don't even want to get out of Italy" he asked. I smiled "I've been all around the world Heracles, not one place I found was more beautiful than Tuscany. That place has my heart, plus it'll be close to my family".

He made this painting for me then and said that this painting represents my dream and one day he will make it come true for me, then he will give this painting to me. After that, I never got a chance to go to Tuscany.

I realized something which I should have understood long ago. I ran to my father's office shouting for everybody. Becky and my mother came running as well and Liam and papa were already there. "What's wrong Amore" my father asked.

"Jayson's in Tuscany, he took them there papa" I said breathing heavily. "How do you know Enna" Liam asked. "You remember how I always wanted to live in Tuscany after I'd find my mate" I told them. Liam's eyes widened, "he has been under our nose all along".