King Draco realized, in between his harsh words, he actually made an effort to give Rowena things that made her hold out and hope for his love. Fear was a good teacher, but love was far more effective at making a person do his bidding.
King Draco's late wife fell for it in her naivety, but their daughter was going to be better than them. He had ensured that, and that was why King Draco needed to be more on guard now that his daughter was showing signs of rebellion and growth.
"If I were in your position," King Draco made his way back to the door. "I have much need to watch my own back lest you stab me. It shows how much you've grown, my daughter. I am proud."
The door shut behind him
***
When Rowena woke up and her eyes fluttered open, she felt that her side was empty. There was someone missing, a lack of warmth that made her feel cold. A phoenix was normally hot, but when she hugged Lucent, he was so comforting.
Now he was missing from her side.
Rowena stifled a yawn and rubbed her eye idly. She sat up and smiled a little sleepily. "Ah, did I squeeze him too hard? Lucent? Lucent? Where are you?"
She glanced around the room in search of the phoenix and didn't see him.
Her room was devoid of the presence of Lucent and Rowena felt something become stuck in her throat. Even though King Draco gifted Rowena with Lucent inside of a cage, she never used it because Lucent had no need for confinement.
He was a perfectly well-behaved bird that didn't need any cages or bars to hold him. Even when Rowena left the window open and he could escape easily, Lucent never once attempted to run away at all.
That was why Rowena was comfortable.
It meant that Lucent truly thought of her as a friend and chose to be by her side, not simply because he was restrained to stay with her.
But now Rowena remembered that her father attempted to kill Lucent before… and now her precious friend was gone. She couldn't see him at all even though she kept calling him for the past five minutes.
"No…" Rowena's voice became hoarse.
Tears stung her eyes and her shoulders trembled. She stood up and walked towards her window, hoping that maybe Lucent actually flew out today, but there was not a single bird in the sky.
Instead, there was only one beautiful red feather left there.
She gingerly picked it up and smiled sadly. "Did he try to escape but failed to do it? Since he's not here, it must mean that…"
Rowena's thoughts jumped to the worst conclusion because there was nothing else she could expect when it came to her father. She was convinced that King Draco went through with his plans and killed Lucent.
It broke her.
"Why did I let this happen to him? I should have stayed awake." Rowena broke down as tears slid down her cheek. "I should have locked the door. I should have done everything so father wouldn't touch Lucent…"
Painful memories returned to her mind and made her chest ache even further.
Leia died because of her inability to follow the rules her father made for her. Lady Liz, Jarvis, and the other knights would have faced severe punishment because Rowena failed to return back to the castle.
They were only spared because they were not close to her. Julian nearly died because she was unable to speak up and confront her father properly.
And Lucent died because of her failure to be the daughter that King Draco wanted her to be…
Rowena stared sadly at the last feather from Lucent and then paused.
No.
It wasn't Rowena's fault.
"Why… Why do I keep blaming myself when it was my father who'd done this and not me?" Rowena asked with a bitter realization. "I didn't ask for Lucent to die… My father was the one who did it out of his own volition."
She could have done everything she could to make her father, King Draco, happy, but he would never be pleased with her. Julian was right when he called Rowena's father a terrible king. The man was cruel even to his own daughter.
Rowena was led to believe that everything that happened for the past years was her fault and mistake. That it was she who had erred and not the other way around, but now, she could see the truth.
King Draco placed too much weight on her shoulders, made others suffer, and called them just consequences for her actions. He had fed her lies just to keep her in check.
Never once in his life did the man make himself accountable.
This was the last straw.
"Enough is enough." Rowena wiped her tears furiously and pulled herself up from the floor. She looked around the room and remembered what Julian told her. She was never going to be happy here in the castle with her father.
That was true.
Rowena only hesitated yesterday because she was worried about Lucent, she didn't want to leave him behind and she had been terribly afraid of the consequences that might happen… but now she was no longer afraid.
"There's nothing left for me here," Rowena said bitterly. This castle was her whole life, her home, but she knew right at that moment that she must go for her own safety. What awaited her out there… she didn't know.
She would leave the only world she had ever known. Would she be happy outside? She didn't know. But she sure knew she was not happy here. She couldn't expect to get different results if she kept doing the same thing.
If she stayed here, she already knew what was in store for her, more years of abuse from her father and she would live in fear. Finally, three years from now she would be married off to any man that her father chose from her.
Would she want to live such a life?
No.
