Queen for a Day

Ch.10: My Father's True Nature

(I'm trying to get these out as quickly as possible, so if they suck I'm sorry. Only eight chapters left to go, and one week to write them! Let's do this!)

What happened directly after that will forever be engraved in my mind...as one of the biggest eye openers in my life...

I never noticed the mess that Roxy had left behind, and still didn't notice when I slipped over a few torn up pieces of paper on my out of the door. All I could think about was running after her and bringing her home.

"DAD! DAD!" I called out in a panic as I ran down the stairs, tears still streaming down my face. I barged into the dining room, breathing heavily. Dad was sitting all by himself, finishing up the last of his meal. Luckily, he was the only one there.

He looked up from his plate and immediately jumped out of his chair. "What's wrong, rockstar? Why are you crying? Are you hurt?" He asked frantically.

"N-No...it's something else..." Dad dashed over to me and put his hands on my shoulders.

"What is it?" He actually sounded worried. I took a deep breath, gathered up my courage, and told him the news:

"Roxy is...gone...she ran away..." I looked down at the ground, half expecting him to tell me that everything was going to be alright, and that we'd pack up the angler bus to go look for her right away.

But instead, he said, "Good riddance."

My heart stopped. I was stunned. When I looked back up at him, his expression had gone from worried to annoyed.

"What do you mean "good riddance"?" I cried. "We have to go after her! She could die out there by herself!"

"It's called natural selection, rockstar. Why should I care?" I could hardly believe what I was hearing. I mean, I knew that dad didn't like Roxy that much, but I thought it was just an act at the time. I was furious!

"WHY SHOULDN'T YOU?!" I yelled at him. I curled my hands into fists as hot tears streamed down my face. "SHE'S MY SISTER! SHE'S YOUR DAUGHTER, TOO!"

"No, she is not!" Dad slammed his fist down on the dining room table, making me jump. "She's not either of those! You want to know what she really is, Katheryn?" He walked closer to me until he was only a few inches away from my face. I could smell his rancid breath. Disgusting...

"She's a freak! An abomination!" he whispered to me. "She serves absolutely no purpose here, and has done NOTHING but get in my way!"

I was starting to get fed up with him. I didn't need his help. "Fine then...if you're not going to help me go look for her, I'll go find her and bring her home myself!" I turned around and started to walk back out the door, when I felt dad grab my arm and yank me back into the room.

"No you won't," he said through his teeth.

"Why can't I?" I grumbled. That's when dad lost it.

"WHY?! BECAUSE I SAID SO!" he roared. Whatever confidence was left in my soul quickly disappeared once he started yelling at me. My ears drooped and I lower my head.

"But...mom told me to never be afraid to do what's right! I thought a great queen...must always do what is right..."

"YOU'RE MOTHER IS DEAD, KATHERYN! SHE'S BEEN SIX FEET UNDER FOR NEARLY TEN YEARS! AND DON'T YOU DARE TALK LIKE YOU'RE ALREADY THE QUEEN, BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT YET! I AM STILL THE KING! UNTIL I CHOOSE TO GIVE UP MY CROWN, OR I WITHER AWAY AND DIE, WHAT I SAY BECOMES LAW, REGARDLESS OF WHAT OTHERS THINK! THAT INCLUDES YOU!"

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, but it was no use. More tears kept falling down my face. Before this day, dad had never talked to me like this. It was completely unexpected, and I was in no way mentally prepared to be talked to like this.

"Oh for gods sake, Katheryn...wipe those tears away and stop acting so childish! We are NOT going after her, and that is final! Do you understand, rockstar?"

I didn't respond. I felt like I couldn't. So, I just stared at the ground, wishing that I could crawl into a hole and disappear. But dad didn't like my silence.

"ANSWER ME!"

"Y-Yes...father..." I managed to squeak out. My hands were shaking. I was terrified, but dad didn't seem to care. He made his way past me and started walking out the door.

"W-What do we do now?" I asked in a hushed voice. Dad stopped in his tracks and sighed.

"What every other rock troll does..." he huffed. "From this moment on, you will act as though she never existed. If I catch you talking about her, crying over her, or if you so much as speak her name, there will be SERIOUS consequences..."

"I...I don't know...if I can do that..." I clung at my chest; my heart was pounding so fast I thought it was going to burst at any second. It felt like I was on the verge of a heart attack.

"Oh you can. And you will. You don't have a choice." Instead of standing up for myself, I decided it would be best not to argue with him...so I took the cowards way out...

"Of course, father...whatever you say..."

Then he turned down the hallway and left without another word. I followed him and watched as he walked away from me. As I wiped the tears from my eyes, I couldn't help but think that maybe he was right. Perhaps it would be best to forget about Roxanne...

I shook my head. No...I'll never stop thinking about her...but he's my father, and the king, so what he says goes. There's nothing I could do about it now.

Even though I knew what he truly was now, a greedy, selfish tyrant, I still loved him.

I didn't realize that I should've stopped loving him a long time ago, since there was nothing good left in him to love.

"I love you, dad..." I called after him. But, for the first time in my life...

He didn't say it back...