Foolish

Lady Caitlyn's rest was short lived. Her head ached but she could not shake her uneasiness. After a few hours she got up and dressed for the day which was already in full swing at the palace.

Donning a lightweight dress and cinching it up, the brunette exited her room only to find cold food in the sitting room waiting for her. "I forgot to delay breakfast, didn't I?" Caitlyn closed her eyes tightly as she tried to run through the events in her mind.

Hidden by the back of the couch, Rose popped up from her lounging position, startling the mentally fragile brunette. The princess stared brightly at her lady-in-waiting. "You were very out of sorts when you arrived earlier. I guess a servant took it upon themselves to send up some food when we did not come to breakfast. It is biscuits, jam and cold meats, so there is no harm in having it now. Please sit and let me get you a plate."

Rose stood and escorted her friend to a seat on the fluffy cushions. The princess even found a blanket to wrap around the lady's shoulders in case she should get a chill. Then the princess took to piling a plate high with delicious treats to temp Caitlyn into eating.

Caitlyn was wise to the princess's tricks. Rose would be extra accommodating when she needed the brunette to be understanding about something reckless or inappropriate that the princess had done. But just now, Cait did not have the will to fight her. She sat down on the sofa adjacent to where Rose had been and bit into the preserves which were spread on a decadent biscuit.

"The color had returned to your cheeks already. You are looking much better than you did earlier," Rose smiled warmly. "I think by the time you finish eating, you will be quite yourself again. Then all the men can return to chasing you for your hand in marriage."

Shooting her mistress and incredulous look, Caitlyn shook her head. "They chase you, not me, Your Highness."

"We should take a walk about the castle and see who gets more longing looks. I am certain it will be you. Your golden hair alone is enough to make men swoon." Rose praised her.

"I have had quite enough swooning for a while, thank you. And I doubt you will be walking freely around the castle after last night. You need to visit His Majesty right after you tell me what happened to you."

"What happened to me? What do you mean?" the princess asked innocently.

"None of that, please. I have no patience for that today. You promised you would tell me about the blood on your dress. I want to know what happened up here." Caitlyn's eyes narrowed.

'She is every bit a mother hen even when she is not feeling well,' Rose thought. 'But of course she is right; I did promise.'

With a reluctant sigh the princess laid the events of the night out before her friend. Knowing Caitlyn would not be pleased with her choices, Rose tried to paint herself in the best possible light, but to no avail. There was really no way to make her choices make sense to anyone who was not there. Rose was there and even she could not explain why she had done what she did.

The ladies continued to munch on the biscuits, jam and a myriad of other breaded goods and meats while lounging on the feathery cushions. The more Rose spoke of the events, the paler Caitlyn became.

"Let me understand…You let a maniac abduct you. Then you made friends with him, protected him from the very guards who were trying to keep you safe...and then allowed him to escape?"

Rose cringed. 'At least I didn't tell her that I saw him enter the castle and said nothing. Her head looks like it may burst as it is.'

"You make it sound worse than it is." The blonde objected. "He was not a maniac. Instead of hurting me, he healed my hand. Instead of stealing from me, he gave me this gift." Rose pointed to her hand and the necklace, now positioned around her neck. The little pixie seemed ready to burst forth in protest.

The lady-in-waiting swallowed. Her mistress was very naïve. She spoke gently to soften the blow. "Perhaps he merely wanted to ingratiate himself to the princess. It cannot hurt to have a royal on your side when you are eventually caught."

Rose wanted to explain that Silver had not known who she was at fist, but somehow she knew that would not help her case. 'Those eyes held no ulterior motive...' "I don't think that was it,"

she answered, "He looked quite sincere."

Caitlyn interrupted her, "Are you saying that you saw his face? We need to report this immediately! If they can get a sketch, perhaps they can still catch him."

"No!" Rose raised her voice. Her companion was startled. "If you tell anyone what I have told you, I'll have you dismissed."

Caitlyn was hurt, "You'd do that?" Tears welled up in the young woman's eyes.

Rose wavered in her threat. "No…" she admitted, "but please, Cait. You cannot tell anyone about this. Being in my chambers will mean a death sentence for him, and he doesn't deserve that."

"He did shoot Borit…" The brunette pressed her lips together. Under normal circumstances, this would place the man on the top of the list of wanted criminals, yet Rose held up her hands in dismissal.

"Borit will be fine. The stranger could have killed the commander. It was self-defense." Rose had been careful not to say the intruder's name. Even if she had wanted to speak it, something inside her would not allow the word to be spoken to anyone but the man himself. The princess could not shake the feeling that there was something glaring that she was missing.

Ignorant of the internal struggle going on in the princess, Caitlyn pinched the bridge of her nose. The doughy biscuits sat heavy in her stomach as the sick feeling from last night welled up in her again. This conversation really wasn't helping her nerves. "I take it you believe the miscreant over the commander." The brunette said through her clenched jaw.

"Wouldn't you?" Rose asked genuinely.

Caitlyn inhaled deeply though her nose. "It doesn't matter what I think." It was all too much.

"You are evading the question. Tell me what you think." It was an order and Caitlyn was required to comply.

"I think this requires further investigation…"

"So do I!" Rose agreed wholeheartedly.

"…By professionals."

"There we differ…" The princess shook her head. She had expected her friend to be more understanding.

Caitlyn tried again. "I'm not saying go to Borit. Perhaps we can tell your father what the stranger claimed, and he can have Rabert discover the truth."

"I want to do this myself, Cait. I need to." Rose did not wish to entrust her story to anyone else. Even telling Caitlyn had been a huge risk, but it seemed for now at least, that it had been the right choice.

Caitlyn sighed. "If you must, conduct your own inquiry. Be careful though. And as soon as you have any information, we are taking it to the king. I answer to him, you know. Now, what are you going to do?"

"I was thinking of starting at the library. There are tons of old books. Perhaps this message means something." Rose proffered the stranger's mysterious message to her friend, Caitlyn turning green as she bent forward to receive it. "Are you ok?" the princess inquired, concerned.

"No. Did the kitchen have to select such a robust breakfast?" Lady Caitlyn lay a hand across her upset stomach.

"I thought after not eating you would be starved."

Puffing her cheeks, the lady furrowed her brow. "It's better to take your time with such things. My body is rebelling from the richness of the food."

"I did not realize," the princess felt terrible for forcing the meal on her friend. But her thoughts jumped quickly as Caitlyn glanced over the words on the small slip before she returned the paper. "Well?" Rose waited expectantly.

"It could mean something, but it might just be a kind note. I wish you good luck." The lady smiled weakly and then pressed her lips tightly shut.

"You aren't coming?"

"I am doing everything I can not to be sick all over this table, Your Highness. May I be dismissed?"

Recognition dawned on Rose's face. She was being selfish. "Of course! I'll ask a guard to escort me to see father and then make my way to the library."

"Then I will take my leave." Caitlyn stood, curtsied and made a hasty retreat to her room shutting the door forcefully.

After a few unpleasant sounds, Rose tentatively knocked on her door. "What do you need?"

"If it isn't too much trouble, something to settle my stomach would be helpful."

The princess nodded as if the other woman could see. "I'll have the apothecary bring something up for you. Anything else?"

"Promise me you won't do anything foolish." Caitlyn pleaded through the door.

"I promise not to do anything foolish this morning." Rose said in acquiescence.

"Thank you."

"But the morning is nearly over and this afternoon, who knows?" She added, leaving the suites at a near run.

"What?!" Caitlyn screamed after her before the chamber pot claimed her once more.