Free Royal Affliction (The Anti-Princess Saga) by Jennifer Marsh

help?”
    “Of that, I am not quite sure.”  His face became quite firm, looking like he was trying to figure out how to say what he was thinking.
    “What is it?”
    “I would like you to stay, for good.”  It was a plea, not a command.
    “Why?”
    “I have heard horrible things are brewing in the human world.  I wish you to stay for your own safety.”
    “What have you heard?”
    “Nothing that I wish to speak of in front of you at this time.  I just want you to be safe, daughter.  Please tell me that you will stay.”
    “I will never marry Kafkus.”
    “I will never accept a half-breed as your husband.”  There was such resentment in his voice.  He didn’t even bother to hide it.
    I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms.  “Then I can promise nothing.”  Not that I wanted to marry Clifton, but I would like to know that I could if we ever reached that point.
    “I told you that I will not kill him and you should be satisfied with that.  You ask too much daughter.  I will never accept him as Zolera nor as a prince of our kind.”  He shook his head.  “No, Quartessa, you will not make me choose between your safety and your happiness because you know which one will win.”
    His mind was set, but so was mine.
    My mother walked into the room.   She appeared uneasy after she saw the look on her husband’s face.  “Your food is ready dear.”  She was gone.
    I gazed into my father’s heated face and my own anger matched.  There was nothing that I could say.  Nothing I wanted to say.  The reason he had called me back here was so he could control me like he always had.  He’d called it keeping me safe. Ha! I knew that it was much too late for that.  My life was being sucked from me as I sat there, staring at him.  If I was going to die, it was going to be in a place where I was free.  I hated him for bringing me here, to the place that I loved more than any other.  It had been hard enough for me to leave the first time.
    I left my father to rage alone.  I didn’t care much about anything else he had to say.  I was pissed!
    I made my way to the dining room.  Food was scattered on the large oak table and empty plates were set off to the side.  They had already eaten.  Clifton and Violet were sitting at the table laughing.  They looked so comfortable together that I felt like I was intruding.
    The moment that they saw me, the laughter stopped.
    “Am I interrupting?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.  I couldn’t believe it, I was jealous.
    Violet rose from her chair and bowed.  “No.  Sorry, Princess.  Clifton was just asking to hear stories about you.”
    I sighed.  “Sorry guys, I didn’t mean to take my frustrations out on you.”  I sat myself down in the empty seat between the two of them and Violet rejoined the table as well.  “I see the two of you are hitting it off.  Violet is my best friend.  We’ve known each other since we were about six.  I’m sure that she has about a million embarrassing stories about the stupid things that we have done together.”
    She laughed.  “There was the other time when we drank too much Maja and we—”
    “Ok, let’s not embarrass me anymore than you already have.”  I gave her a glare that plainly said “shut up.”  I loved Violet but she never did know when to keep her mouth shut.
    Clifton placed a hand on my shoulder.  “Oh, come on Tessa, I would love to hear more.”
    “ Tessa ?” she giggled. “Is that what you are going by now?”
    I shrugged.  “It’s more…human friendly.”  I grabbed a plate and filled it with salmon and calamari (my favorite!).
    Clifton let me finish eating before asking about my father’s request.
    “He wanted to ask me to stay.”
    “Why can’t we stay?  I like it here.”
    I looked into his soft face.  I didn’t have the heart to tell him that, if we stayed, it would not be a happy existence for us.  My father had agreed not to kill him, but he did not order