Amber POV
When we arrived at the gazebo, my uncle was sitting there pouring the three of us cups of tea. He motioned for Damien and I to sit across from him at the table. "Do you both take sugar in your tea?" he asked us without even looking up.
We both nodded our heads yes and gracefully accepted the cups that he handed us. Clearing my throat after taking a sip of tea, I focused my attention on the man sitting across from me. "So, Uncle Adam, what is it that you are wanting to talk to us about?" I questioned him. I oddly felt more comfortable around him than most other people in my life, with exception to Damien of course.
He stared at me intently, as if deciding on what he was going to say. "Well, Amber, that is a loaded question. There is so much information that you need to be told, So many things that you need to be taught. I'm having a hard time deciding on where to begin."
Damien quickly stopped him there. "How about start with the truth?" Damien demanded. I could see the frustration written all over Damien's features.
My uncle looked at Damien incredulously. "Listen here young man," he scolded, "I have not been dishonest in the least with my niece. My only concern has been for her safety. Don't begin to sit here and demand things from me in a rude manner. You aren't the one who had to watch Amber growing up from afar, never being able to be seen."
I was a little shocked by his words. Hesitantly I interjected, "But Uncle, WHY? Why did you have to watch from afar? I don't understand why I was left with my mother and no one else could be around me. No one else could come for me." I looked down at the table when finished my question, sadness engulfing me.
"Amber, Darling," he began, "There are a lot of things you don't know. Us staying away from you was for your own safety. With so many people being out for royal blood, we couldn't risk anyone thinking you had our blood running through your veins. There is a long story, but to make it short, a little over ten years ago your mother had been kidnapped. It took forever for your father to find her, she was held up in a cave somewhere by a mad rogue wolf. It turns out that there wasn't just one rogue, but an army of them. Their goal was to eliminate your father when he came for your mother, but we overtook them and saved your mother.
After your mother being kidnapped she was never the same. When I tell you that your mother used to be the sweetest woman I had ever met I am not lying. She was so full of life, and loved living it to the fullest. There was never a moment she was not trying to put a smile on your father's or your face.
When she came back, it was as if she had no love left for your father or anyone connected to your father. She was so hateful towards him, but she still at least treated you decently. Your father tried moving all of you from the castle to your house where you lived, but things got even worse when not at the castle. Your mother used to say such hurtful things to your father; he would call me upset every other day. He still loved your mother so much, but he feared she would end up being the death of him.
Then one day your father came home from town, he was going to surprise your mother with a bouquet of flowers and a tennis bracelet. Something to try to make her smile again. He had come home I guess before your mother expected him to, and that's when he found her in bed with another man. Not jut any other man, but that piece of shit boyfriend of hers, Jared.
Your father didn't make a scene; at first she didn't even know he was home. He took you outside and pushed you on the swings for a while. When your mother came out of the house with Jared, she spotted your father and instantly knew that he found out. She wasn't even upset, she just laughed. She laughed at the fact that he was broken hearted, that he was so hurt he could barely look at her let alone speak to her.
Your father tried to take you with him. He had sent you inside and told you to go play with your dolls while he spoke to your mother. He informed her that he would be bringing you back to the palace, but she went ballistic. She demanded that you stay with her, and threatened that if he even thought of taking you from her, she would out him to anyone and everyone that he was a royal.
I will admit she put up a good show. She told him all the right things. About how she loved you and you were the only good thing left in her life. She told him that you would be much safer with her than you ever would be with him, and then she threw the fact that she was kidnapped back in his face. She played on his fear of anything bad ever happening to you. That was when he agreed that he would leave peacefully in the middle of the night.
He left you a note and a necklace. I can see that you have still never taken it off. But what I am sure that you don't know is that the necklace you wear holds special powers inside of it. That necklace gives you protection, and also gave your father and I peace of mind all these years. You see, if you open the locket and you take the picture out, you will find a few crystals. These crystals will look meaningless to the naked eye, but for us, they allow us to sense your life.
So you see my dear sweet niece, I know I have only basically summarized the events that led your father to leave, but I hope you have a better understanding of why. My brother never wanted to leave you behind, and he thought about you every. Single. Day. I know you hold a lot of anger inside of you right now, but I also know that it isn't really anger. Did you know, that anger is the easiest emotion to feel? The easiest one to express? So many people that are hurting and heartbroken will find a way to get angry, because after all it is easier to be angry then to feel broken."
I sat there quietly processing my uncle's words. I was not expecting ANY of that. His words were replaying over and over in my head. I felt so overwhelmed I just put my head in my hands and started to cry. Damien stood up and I felt his hand come down on my shoulder. His deep voice breaking through my sniffles as he addressed my uncle. "Well thank you Adam for the information. I believe Amber needs a little bit of time to process this bomb that was just laid on her. It's a lot of information to process and I am sure that her emotions are all over the place. If you will excuse me, I will bring her back to our room to get some rest." Extending his hand out he shook my uncles hand and then turned to me.
"C'mon baby girl, let me take you up to our room." He must have sensed that my energy was drained because he bent down and picked me up bridal style. I lay my head on his shoulder as he carried me through the gardens and into the house to our bedroom. "Thank you my love." I said to him as I closed my eyes."
Thanks everyone for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I look forward to seeing your feedback, would love to see your comments and votes!
-XOXO Swift_Sonder