To Have Hope

Katherine thanked and excused everyone, and just as she was about to go with Jasper so that they could leave, she felt a hand on her arm. She turned to look at the culprit and saw that Charles was the one who had stopped her.

He still looked more excited than even Katherine did as he spoke. "Have you eaten yet? Would you like to grab breakfast with me?"

"Sure," she said without taking time to think about it. She knew Jasper probably would not be happy about Katherine spending more time with Charles, but she truly did enjoy his company.

Over the last couple of days he had shown her so much more support and empathy than most people did, and he always seemed to be a good distraction from her worries.

His high spirits and happiness were exactly what Katherine would need to calm her nerves for the day while she anxiously awaited for word on her mom.

Charles's smile somehow got bigger when Katherine agreed to breakfast with him, and he held out his arm for her to take. Usually Katherine rolled her eyes at that sort of thing, but she did not want to hurt his feelings, so she weaved her hand through his arm as they left the battle room to go to the dining room.

They started to walk and Jasper followed, which made Charles turn around to address the guard. "I can take her from here, thank you."

Jasper quickly looked at Katherine before looking back to Charles as he shook his head. "I stay with the Queen at all times to make sure she is safe. Where she goes, I go."

"I can assure you that I've probably been trained just as thoroughly as you, so I can protect her if needed...not that she can't protect herself," Charles said with a small laugh as he glanced sideways at Katherine.

Jasper was about to argue, so Katherine interrupted, "It's ok Jasper. I'll give you a call when we're done so you can come meet me."

He looked at her as if he was still unsure and like he had something that he wanted to say. Katherine knew he would have been more vocal had Charles not been around, but he had to keep up his act and pretend as if he and Katherine were not as informal as they actually were.

He bowed towards Katherine without looking at her. His face had turned to stone so that he could hide his emotions from Charles; Katherine knew Jasper well enough to know that she would hear about them later.

Jasper turned and walked down the hall in the opposite direction, leaving the royal pair alone.

Again, Katherine felt her heart tug as guilt filled it. She hated that she couldn't just outright be with Jasper for the world to see, but he was right-- with her engagement to Charles, it was too dangerous for Jasper, and she would do anything to keep him safe from harm.

She faced forward so that Charles did not see her watch Jasper as he left, and they made their way to the dining room for breakfast.

"How did you sleep last night?" Charles asked as they walked through the long halls.

"Very well, and you?" she asked in return. Her mind was still very much on Jasper.

"Like a baby," he replied with a small laugh.

Once they were seated in the dining room and had told the butler what they wanted prepared for them by the kitchen, they sat there in silence across from each other.

Katherine was lost in her thoughts, so she did not notice that Charles had his brown eyes on her the whole time.

Finally, he was curious enough to ask her, "What are you thinking about?"

The truth was, she was thinking about so many things. She was thinking about Jasper and how much she could see that her being around Charles was hurting him, she was thinking about the armies that were leaving to go see the mines, and she was thinking about her mom and how she was doing. Katherine missed her so much it hurt.

"My mom," is what she decided to share.

She finally looked up at him and saw the sadness in his eyes. He gave her a small smile and said, "Hopefully by this time tomorrow she will be home with you."

"I know," Katherine said with a smile. Her happiness quickly faded though as she felt a pang of something in the pit of her stomach. Something she had been trying to ignore.

Worry filled her and she confided it with Charles, not knowing what else to do. "This whole time I've been so fixated on finding her that I never really stopped to think about what would happen if I actually did."

Charles's brow came together in confusion, and he waited for her to explain what she meant.

Katherine, who was filled with anxiety over the topic, took a second before all her fears came spilling out. "There's a good chance that if we find her that she won't be alive. But, even if she is, what state will she be in? The rebels are ruthless. What if they hurt her? Not only physically but mentally? She's been gone for so long. Will she be the same when we get her back?"

Her breath hitched at the last sentence, and she leaned forward to put her face in her hands. She had to hold it together and be strong for her mom, but everything that had happened this last week had nearly broken Katherine, and she was not sure how much longer she could hold a strong face.

At least she knew she could just be herself with Charles. He was never one to shy away from difficult emotions.

He had seen her cry more the last couple of days than anyone had seen Katherine cry ever. If he were anyone else, Katherine would have been worried about what he would think of her emotional outbursts.

But Charles not only could handle her difficult feelings, he knew how to support her through them.

As Katherine took breaths to calm her anxieties, Charles got up and moved around the table so that he could sit next to her. He placed a hand on her back and rubbed circles as she continued to hold her face in her hands.

When she heard the staff returned with their meals, Katherine immediately put her hands down and sat up straight. Just because she felt able to let her guard down around Charles, it did not mean that she was comfortable with her servants seeing her in distress.

Charles thanked the staff for the both of them, but he kept his hand on Katherine's back, his body angled towards her. He did not seem as if he was going to move to eat until she did.

Having realized that, Katherine picked up her fork and started poking at her pancakes and fruit.

Still not convinced that she was alright, Charles kept his eyes on her as he said, "I'm here for you, Kit, regardless of what happens today."

"Thanks," she said as she kept her face forward. She brought her fork up to her mouth and started eating.

Katherine could not wait to be done with the destruction that the rebel attack had caused. She knew the rebels would still be a problem for her throughout her rule, but the not knowing of what would come from her mother's kidnapping was exhausting.

Next to her, Charles let out a small sigh and he started to eat as well, but he kept his left hand on Katherine's back throughout breakfast.

Once they had eaten a bit, he asked her, "Do you want me to stay with you today? I know the waiting to hear must be difficult."

"No, that's alright." She had pushed around her food a bit and forced herself to take a couple of bites, but she just was not all that hungry; too many nerves were filling her stomach. She looked over at Charles who had his eyes on her again, and she asked him, "Can we still meet at the garden tonight though? Regardless of what happens?"

He gave her a genuine smile as he answered, "I promised you we would everyday, remember?"

She let out a small laugh, "Good."

When they were done trying to eat, Charles walked Katherine back to her room in silence. That was another thing she appreciated about the innocent prince-- they could just be in each other's company without pressure to entertain the other. It was easy to be his friend, and she doubted he did, but Katherine hoped that he felt the same way about her.