So This is Love (Disney Twisted Tales) - Elizabeth Lim Page 0,42
of a learned and knowledgeable king, but there was more to ruling than that.
The prince signaled for the carriage to slow down.
“What is it?” asked his aunt, startled by the apparent change in plan.
Charles opened the door, escorting his aunt into the town. It was still early, and no one paid him a second glance, but Genevieve was starting to get a few stares. They couldn’t stay out long. “I spent almost my entire childhood behind the palace walls. Going to the university was the first time I got to see the rest of the world.”
“What did you see?”
As they turned the corner, wending down a curved path, Charles spoke softly. “Poverty. Our people, starving. Orphans and beggars without anywhere to go.” The prince reached into his trouser pockets and took out a gold coin. “I see it in the capital now, too. I’d never noticed before.”
He placed the gold coin by a sleeping mother and child, wishing he’d thought to bring food as well. But it would have to do. It was only a start. Once he gained his father’s confidence, he would do more. Much more.
When they returned to the carriage, his aunt watched him thoughtfully. “Going away did change you.”
“I heard rumors, Aunt Genevieve, that your husband cared deeply about improving conditions for the poor. That my father sent him away for it. Why . . . why would he do that?”
“That wasn’t the reason your father sent him away,” said Genevieve abruptly. “I don’t want to talk about it—it’s better left in the past.”
“Forgive me, Aunt.”
“If anyone should be seeking my forgiveness, it’s Ferdinand, not you.”
When she wouldn’t elaborate, Charles gently changed the subject. “The Grand Duke isn’t exactly in my good graces, either. He wants me to marry the Princess of Lourdes. I would consider it if I truly thought we were in danger of war. But I fear his real motive is to expand Aurelais’s power to Lourdes.”
Charles continued, “My father and I should be looking to improving this country for our people, not enlarging our territory. Times are changing. While I was at school, I would slip into town occasionally, unnoticed, and observe the people. How it surprised me to see them unhappy, some of them barely able to afford a roof over their heads, others begging on the streets. There were riots, too—riots against the nobility that Ferdinand denies ever happened. If the council won’t address the problems arising within our own country, then I must.”
“What would you do about it?” said Genevieve quietly.
“That is the difficult part, is not it?” confessed the prince. “I’ll make enemies of powerful men like the Grand Duke, and the people will dislike me by nature for being the head of the regime that oppresses them. But I want to help them. Truly, I do.”
“Your father and mother were blessed to have you as a son,” Genevieve said. “They tried for many years to have a child, you know.”
Three brothers and two sisters had died before him. Charles had never met any of his siblings, and the physicians had pleaded with his mother not to try for a sixth child, citing her health and her age. She had persevered, but in giving birth to Charles, her health had suffered.
A familiar wave of guilt overcame Charles, and he turned to the window, sucking in a gulp of air.
His aunt touched his arm. “Your father only wants the best for you. He doesn’t want you to be alone.”
“I understand, but I just returned home. I don’t know why he’s in such a rush for me to marry.”
Genevieve hesitated, then she drew the windows closed and lowered her voice. “George plans to abdicate.”
The confession sent a jolt through the young prince. He blinked back his surprise. “What?”
“I’ve already said more than I should have. He will tell you himself, when the time is right.” She frowned. “Best to keep this to yourself, Charles. I don’t trust the Grand Duke. Lord knows what he’d do with this information. The transference of the crown always brings about a period of uncertainty and unrest. It wouldn’t be above the duke to take advantage of that and rally the lords to take more power for himself. ”
“I would dismiss him before that ever happened.”
“It wouldn’t be that easy. Ferdinand has great influence. The nobility trust and revere him.”
“He’s a manipulator. Every time I try to tell Father so, he won’t believe me.”
“You must not blame your father. Ferdinand has been his friend longer