Chapter 69: Chapter XXXII Day One of Truths-3

"Of course not! You are the Royal Princess of the United Kingdom and this is the most improper and scandalous thing you could have done to tardy our name! Dyeing your hair, I can fix that, but you opted to change your sexuality to spite us?!" my jaw fell at this. "Change? Change?! You think I can change my sexuality?! It isn't a choice, Dad! I didn't suddenly wake up one day and decided to spite you by becoming gay! But even if I could change myself, I wouldn't have done it for you because you don't deserve one bit of my hospitality! You never did!" our raised voices grew and grew and Cornelius's sobbing sounded but only his other half seemed to notice over the noise. The Royal Guards were all disturbed and the palace maids were tearing up at the sounds. The palace, once thought to be the safest and most peaceful place in the world, suddenly turned into a battle ground where the scars run deep and the blood flows in rivers. My mother joined our yelling, and we all accused each other of things that were untrue. We were ridiculous and the entire thing was pointless, our adrenaline running high until finally my father said the one thing that we all dreaded, and it was the one thing that send us over the top. "Fine! Melanie! Bartholomew! If you hate this family so fucking much, then why don't you just leave already?!" Cornelius broke, but this was far worse than when I found out about Caleb. His scream was loud and Bartholomew covered his ears at the close proximity. My brother looked like a mess, with the tears staining his cheeks like tattoos and his eyes non-existent as he kept them close. He willed himself away from the situation, and soon his body followed his command. His feet rushed to the end of the drawing room, all of our voices equally sounding to call him back but he had no care for our tedious words. He headed through the open doors to the outdoor chess are and used the elevation from his adrenaline to jump over the railings. He landed skilfully on his feet and disappeared into the gardens, most certainly headed towards the secret exit to the palace only us three knew of. "Get him back!" the King ordered of the surrounding Royal Guards, and soon a manhunt was underway in search of the missing prince. Bartholomew and I were seated down in the drawing room, our mother looming over us like a hawk checking out her prey. "Do you have any idea what you have done?" her words sounded venomous, but I still wasn't thinking rationally. "The right thing?" my rhetorical question sounded at the same time Bartholomew spoke. "Told you the truth?" my mother sighed, absolutely defeated. She slumped into a chair, miserable at every crease on her face. She placed her hands over her face and snickered, as if starting to tear up. Her crown was crooked on her head, and I thought to myself: This is what our family has come to. "I regret it," she told us in a whisper, barely audible. "What?" I forced out, and Bartholomew retorted his own opinion. "Stopping birth control?" my mother sighed once more, and I started to think how grey her hair would be after all this. "Not listening to my mother," she answered and my thoughts immediately went to the Mother Queen. Was my mother rebellious with my grandmother? That was a strange thought. "I should've attended parenting lessons," Bartholomew snickered. "Yeah, and while you're at it, throw some therapy session in there as well. You have all gone bloody mental!" I grew angry at my brother's words. "Says the one who vandalised Dad's bloody jet!" I retaliated. "Excuse you! I'm not the one who suddenly came out! You're the reason Dad got so worked up and why Cornelius freaked out!" "You're pinning this on me?! You -" my mother cut us off. "Enough!" we both looked at her with wide eyes. "We will discuss all of this later! For now, we have to find your brother! Who knows we would have to deal with another manhunt?!" she spoke with such determination that I remembered why she was a valuable Queen. She looked at me as she spoke and I remember all those weeks ago when it was I who had run away from the palace. But this was more serious, because back then at least one person knew where I was going. A Royal Guard entered the drawing room about an hour later with a defeated look. Bartholomew sat up straight when he entered, finally speaking after an hour of silence and contemplation. "Rodger? Was he there?" he sounded, his voice full of hope. Rodger looked down. "No, Your Highness. Prince Cornelius was not with your friend, Andrew, nor at any of the places he usually preferred," Bartholomew bit into his nails, concerned an underestimation of his feelings. "The Prince is nowhere to be found," and with that, Bartholomew broke down as well.