Chapter 86 - 86 - The Royal Archives

After breakfast, Jayden was asked by grandpa and Kyle about the palace's finances so he had to go to grandpa's office.

Before leaving, he pulled me into an empty room, pinning me into a corner.

"Hey. They'll be looking for you." I said when he started kissing me on the neck.

"I just want to kiss you before I leave." He said.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and moaned when he put his hand under my dress, caressing my thigh.

"I thought you're just going to kiss me." I said, giggling.

"Sometimes you really know how to ruin the mood." He said, nibbling my ear.

"Love?" I called.

"Hmm?"

"I'm nervous." I blurted. I wanted him to know what I was thinking and what I felt about meeting my father.

He stopped, held my hand and pulled me by the window. He carried me so I could sit while he stood in front of me.

"I'm nervous too, but we need this. I promise I will protect you." He said.

"What if he -" He cut me off by kissing me on the lips.

"I told you. Whether he is the one responsible for my mother's death or not, I don't care. All I care about is you and Caden. I love you, nothing could change that. So please stop worrying about me." He said, looking at me seriously.

I nodded and smiled at him. "I love you." I murmured before leaning forward to press my lips to his.

The kiss became deeper and we had another quick love making. He kissed me on the hand, pinched my cheek before meeting grandpa and Kyle.

I walked around the palace first and found a room that says royal archives. I went inside and there were a few people who were working there.

I can see in their eyes that they were stunned to see me. A young man rushed into me and bowed.

"Princess, what brings you here?" He asked.

"Nothing. I was just curious what your work is. I was looking around the palace and my feet brought me here." I answered.

"Oh! We are historians, your highness. We record all the details happening in and outside the palace." He explained.

"Do you have a record about my mother?" I asked.

He was surprised at first then led me to a conjoined room.

"This is where we kept the records about the royal family. This is off limits to other people, only a member of the royal family could access these records." He said.

I smiled and looked around.

"Thank you. Where do you keep the records from thirty years ago?" I asked.

"This way your highness." He pointed and we came into a bookshelves with old documents.

"Here it is. I will leave you now, I'll be outside the door if you need anything princess." He said.

I nodded. "What's your name?" I asked, curiously.

"My name is Aaron, princess. I am one of the keepers of the archives." He answered, smiling.

"Thank you again for your assistance."

He bowed and left me alone.

I was curious about my mother. I heard stories about her from grandpa and from older servants here but I wanted more.

I looked around and saw a record from the same year of the article my foster father gave me.

I opened it and searched for the date. I swallowed my saliva when I found it.

It says here that mother was betrothed to Matthew Forelli to maintain peace between the mafia and the kingdom. Mother was against it but grandpa and the council insisted. After ten days of their engagement, mother went missing and eventually, they found out that she ran away with a foreigner, Benjamin Miller. The Forelli Clan was disappointed and devastated with the news. There was an instance where father came to the palace and searched for her, believing that they were hiding her.

I frowned. Why does it say they were engaged? But from the article it was said that father was engaged to Jayden's mom.

I walked outside and looked for Aaron. He came running towards me.

"Do you also keep records about the Mafia Clans?" I asked.

"Yes princess! We do! And I know you would ask about it so I prepared this for you. This is what we have about your father, Matthew Forelli. And these records are about the Prince's family including his mother, the Castello's." He said while handing me two thick binded books.

My face lit up and was happy from his service.

"Can I take this to my room? I promise I will bring them back tomorrow." I asked.

"Take your time, princess." He said.

"Thank you! You are a lifesaver." I said, smiling.

"You're welcome, princess! My father was a historian as well and my mother worked here under your mother so I wanted to help you." He said, which actually surprised me.

"Really? Did they say something about mom?" I asked. I was expecting to hear some negative comments about her. Grandpa said that mom was a rebellious princess, that she was stubborn and hated her life in the palace.

"They said your mom was a kind soul. She was always hanging around here and to the servant's quarters. She treated everyone equally, no discrimination. Everyone knew she hated the life inside the palace, she wanted to go outside, be free and journey around the world so she always sneaks out at night but they said she was a wonderful person." He answered with amusement in his eyes.

"Thank you Aaron. At least I found something good about her."

Aaron helped me carry the books to Jayden's study. Grandpa gave him an office conjoining mine. He wanted us to start doing some royal duties while we're here.

I knocked a few times when I heard him speak. I smiled and walked inside. He looked at my direction and was curious about the guy following me.

"Are you cheating on me now?" He joked.

Aaron became pale and we laughed at him.

"Relax, it was just a joke. We are not used to palace gestures, formalities and all so you could calm down and don't stress yourself in front of us. Treat us as your friends." I said.

He took a deep breath and was happy to hear that we offered friendship to him.

"So what have you been up to, my love?" Jayden asked, looking at the books Aaron was carrying.

"Oh I found these books in the royal archives. I want us to read them together. It's about our parents." I said, casually.

Jayden frowned but stood up when Aaron put them down on the center table across the couch.

I sat down on the couch while Jayden sat beside me. Aaron gave us one of the books so we could start reading them.