Chapter 12

The office was huge with a big desk in the center of the room, a big chair on one side of the desk, and two smaller ones on the opposite side of it. In a corner, shelves were reaching the height of the roof. The corner itself looked like a small library with all the books and files neatly arranged on the shelves.

Diana was again surprised to see the library. She felt so overwhelmingly happy seeing all the books arranged there. Eric could feel the happiness radiating from her. He bent down and whispered, "You wanna see the royal library after this?"

Diana suddenly turned to him with big eyes and her mouth hanging open. "You have a royal library?!"

Eric nodded while trying his best to ignore the sudden closeness. "Yes. And it got books from all around the world."

"Is it bigger than this?!" Diana asked with the same expression.

Eric nodded again and said, "Mhm, yes. If you want, I'll take you there."

Diana gave a huge smile and excitedly nodded. "Yes, please!"

Eric was about to reply when suddenly an old man with a white beard came from behind the shelves with glasses and a book in his hand.

"Eric?" The man called. "What are you doing?" He looked at Eric and raised an eyebrow at him bending down to a lady's height. He then turned to Diana and asked, "And who is this lady with you?"

"Oh. My. God. Eric? Is he the bookkeeper here?!" She asked with an excited face. The old man raised an eyebrow, silently asking questions to the guy next to her.

Diana excitedly went near the man and said, "What are you reading, mister? Can I have a look?" The old man looked at her and turned to Eric again, demanding answers. In response, Eric just straightened up and gave a small shrug.

"Mister? How long have you been here? Ah… no. Let me change the question. How many books have you read so far?" Diana was still very excited about the man.

The old man turned to her and smiled, "My dear lady, I have been here all my life and for how many books I have read so far, I have lost the count. But… I guess I have gone through every book in the library at least once." He ended with another small smile.

Diana kept looking at him with a surprised face and with an excited voice, she said, "You are so cute when you smile, mister bookkeeper!"

"Okay, that's enough!" Eric suddenly stepped in. He took Diana by her arm and pulled her to his side. "I'll do the talking now."

"But…" Diana opened her mouth to say something when Eric gave her a small glare and said, "And I will personally take you to the royal library. So, keep quiet now."

Diana pouted and crossed her arms. She glared at him but didn't say anything.

The old man again raised an eyebrow at the sudden possessive behavior. He smiled to himself and waited for an explanation.

Eric took a breath and pointed towards Diana, "Father, meet Diana." He then pointed turned to Diana and said, "Diana, meet Father."

"Dad?" Diana asked confused. Eric nodded. "So, if he is your dad then… he is the king too?" She asked again making Eric nod once again. "Is he the king?! Is he the king, Eric?!" Diana finally realized and asked him surprised.

"Bravo, you got it," Eric clapped sarcastically.

"Are you being sarcastic?" Diana frowned.

"Honestly Diana, you can be so stupid sometimes," He complained.

"Aww. Don't be so mean. Besides, he does look like a cute old bookkeeper," She said stubbornly.

"No! He does not!" He bickered back.

"He does!"

"He doesn't!"

"He does!"

"He…"

'cough, cough'

"The old man you are talking about is still here." The king said when he got their attention.

"But father…" Eric tried but the king raised his hand to stop him.

"That's enough! For the both of you." The king said and started to walk towards his desk.

Diana freed her arm from Eric and hurriedly followed the king. "So, your highness, you aren't a bookkeeper?"

Eric looked at the hand that he was holding Diana with. "I can't believe I am getting jealous of my father." He looked at the two of them and ran towards them, "Hey! Wait."

When he reached them, the king was already seated at his desk and Diana was standing in front of the desk asking him questions.

"Hey, Diana. How come you call him 'your highness' and not me?" Eric asked.

"Because… I don't like you," Diana replied.

"Aw… Diana! That's not fair. You just met him, and you have known me for so long now." He complained again.

The king held his head and massaged his temples. At last, he called out, "Eric."

But the two kept bickering ignoring him. He called again, "Eric."

Still no response.

"Prince Eric!" The king yelled startling the two of them.

"Yes, your highness!" Eric stood in attention at once.

"Woah, Eric. His highness is scary." Diana whispered to him.

"Shh," Eric whispered back.

"But he is so cool…" She whispered excitedly making Eric turn to her.

"Diana! Stop!" He whispered yelled again.

"Can you both stop acting like 5-year-olds?" The king scolded them.

"Of course, your highness," Diana replied obediently.

"But Father…," Eric tried again.

"That's enough Eric," The king ordered. Eric nodded with a small pout. The king looked at each one of them and finally asked, "Eric, who is this kind lady exactly?"

Eric took a deep sigh and said, "Father, she is Diana. She lives in the town and works in a bakery. Also umm… Father, she is the one I told you about."

"Yeah. I figured," The king replied and gestured for him to continue.

"What did you tell him about me?" Diana asked curiously.

"Uh… Nothing." Eric replied awkwardly. Diana made a face at him and turned to the king.

"Don't mind him, your highness. I'll tell you about me."

The king signaled her with his hand to continue causing Eric to make an annoyed face.

"You already know my name, your highness, and that I live in the town and work in a bakery as he said." the king nodded.

"I'll tell you something else then. I live with my dad in a small house at the end of the town, his name is Robert. I work in a bakery. My dad sells vegetables and fruits that he brings from the forest and a distant valley at the back of our house. I also sometimes go with him to help hi…"

"Wait!" The king suddenly cut her mid-sentence causing Eric and Diana to look at him with shock.

"What did you say? What is the name of your father?" The king suddenly got up from his desk and asked. His eyes were big with concern, making the other two confused and worried.

"Are you okay, Father?" Eric asked concerned.

"Answer the question, first!" The king shouted making Eric take a step closer to Diana.

Diana who was in shock from the sudden outburst suddenly became serious and replied, "Robert. His name is Robert, your highness."

The king was sweating, and he looked very concerned about something. He thought for a second and asked, "Diana! Is there any letter for me?"

Diana nodded hesitantly.

"Give it to me, now!" The king demanded making Eric and Diana frown.

"Father, Is everything all right?" Eric tried to ask again.

"Not now Eric!" The king shouted again and took his hand forward. "The letter, Diana." He was breathing heavily and was sweating profusely.

Without a second thought, Diana took out the envelope from her bag and handed it to him. The king saw the seal on the envelope and froze for a second.

He gulped and took out the letter. He read the first line and sat down with a thump as if his legs had bailed on him.

"Your highness. What's wrong?" Diana asked with a small gulp. "What did dad say in the letter? Huh?"

The king looked as if he was in a trance with his eyes filled with water. He looked as if he was he had lost all his power and was in no condition to speak.

When he didn't answer, Diana got desperate and yelled, "What's wrong with my dad?! Why aren't you telling me?!" She held the chair in front of her and shook it vigorously.

Eric held on to her and turned to his father in concern, "Father! What's wrong?! Why aren't you saying anything?"

The king looked up at him, then towards Diana, and finally, his tears were set free.

Diana saw his tears and realized what they mean.

"No. No. No, no, no, NO!" She kept saying 'no' and held her head. Eric tried to hold her again, but she didn't let him.

Eric kept trying but she pushed him and ran out the door. Eric turned to his father with a confused and worried face.

The king took a big gulp as if trying to regain his strength to speak. Finally, he looked at his son and said, "She needs you. Go after her and stay by her side."

Eric was still confused and concerned about everything that happened. But he realized it would be best to not ask anything at the moment. Without another word, he ran after Diana leaving his father alone in his office.

The king looked at the letter again and started to read it. Once he was finished, he broke down into tears again.