6. Moving Day

The next morning the four of them got into the carriage Henry prepared and made the journey to Rory's home. It wasn't long before they arrived there. They noticed that the palace had already sent a few carriages for their things ahead of time.

"Mom!" Rory shouted as she exited the carriage.

When her mother turned to face her Rory quickly realized what the doctor meant. Maybe she hadn't paid much attention to her mother's health before because she was always so worried about her father. But now she realized that her mother wasn't doing the best. Rory ran over to her mom and gently embraced her.

"Hey baby," Diane smiled.

"Are the kids excited to move to the palace?" Rory asked.

"Oh my... when they found out I could barely keep them sitting... they immediately starting packing up everything," Diane explained as she gestured around her and pointed to all of their items neatly packed away and piled onto a carriage.

"I'm glad they are taking this change so well!" Rory smiled and looked behind her and found the three she arrived with behind her, "Mom this is Sir Henry, Prince Sawyer, and you've met Stevie."

"Nice you meet you Prince Sawyer," Diane smiled at him.

"Nice to meet you as well," Sawyer smiled, "how are you feeling today?"

"I'm feeling as well as I can," Diane smiled.

"I'm glad," Sawyer said, "Hopefully the ride to the palace doesn't take a huge toll on you."

"Diane!" Rory's father shouted.

"Yes James?"

"Everything is packed and the boys are waiting in the carriage... the girls wanted to meet the prince," James smiled as she showed the three younger girls to the Prince.

"These are my younger sisters... this is Annabelle she's 12, Olivia is 10, and Delilah is 8... girls this is Prince Sawyer," Rory introduced them.

"Nice to meet you girls," Sawyer bowed and the girls giggled and curtsied.

"Alright girls let's get going," Diane said.

The girls followed their mom to the carriage. Soon after that the four piled back into the carriage and headed back to the palace.

"I guess my siblings had it covered," Rory shrugged.

"Your family seems nice," Sawyer noted.

"Yeah they are... they are what shaped me into the person I am today," Rory smiled.

"I'm glad your family is moving in with us!" Stevie squealed, "I'm sure it will make things easier for all of you... father said he would give your family jobs and pay them and they wouldn't even have to pay lodging fees like any of our normal staff."

"I would like to personally thank your father... is that possible?" Rory asked.

"Of course... I will have Henry set up a time," Stevie smiled.

"Thank you."

The rest of the carriage ride was quiet since they were only a few minutes away. Once they arrived Rory was the first out of the carriage. She ran over to her family and her brothers Oliver who is 10, and Olivia's twin, and Gregory who is 7 were unloading the carriage with all of their family belongings. Rory rushed over and grabbed some of the bags. Henry, Stevie, and Sawyer followed suit and started helping the family unload.

"Come on follow me," Stevie said with enthusiasm, "I'll show you to your quarters."

Stevie lead the way to the east wing of the palace. This is where the rest of the staff lived. Stevie lead them to a door nearing the end of the hall and opened it to reveal a common area and then 4 doors leading to different rooms.

"This room will be your parents then the bathroom here then the boys room and then the girls room," Stevie said pointing at the doors starting from the left most door and ending at the last door on the right.

The girls ran to their room to pick beds and the boys ran to their room. Diane and James lingered behind to thank Stevie and Sawyer for their hospitality. While Rory helped her siblings get unpacked.

"No need to thank us... your daughter is a great soul and we are lucky to have her... now Diane you should really get some rest," Sawyer smiled as he offered his arm.

Diane smiled as she took his arm and let him guide her to her and her husband's new room. James was following behind with some of their belongings in his arms. Sawyer pulled back the bed sheets and allowed Diane to get situated before pulling the sheets over her. He took the warm moist cloth that was in the dish on the bedside and placed it on her forehead.

"This should help with the headaches... get some rest Diane," Sawyer smiled at Rory's mother as he walked over to the window and drew the curtains shut, "Take good care of her James."

James let out a soft chuckle, "Of course," this was not something he was expecting from the Prince. To show such attention to detail to a commoner family... it was unheard of. He wasn't sure how big of a role Sawyer would play in his life, but he was sure about one thing and it was that this was the kind of man he had always envisioned to marry his daughters one day. Good men such as Sawyer were always hard to find. James knew he had to keep Sawyer close. If there was even the slightest chance that they could be family he'd take it and swiftly.

"You should get some rest too, sir... I'm sure you are tired as well... if you need anything please don't hesitate to ask the guards stationed outside your residence," Sawyer said as he made his way to the exit of the couples room.

"Thank you so much for everything your family has done for ours," James smiled.

"Of course... Rory is becoming very important to both my sister and I... we all want what's best for her and her family," Sawyer said before leaving the parents alone shutting the door behind him.

"Let's let them get settled... we should visit again tomorrow... for now how about we get the kids and show them around," Sawyer suggested when he saw Stevie and Rory setting some things up in the room.

Rory left to common area of the room to grab her sisters and brothers upon hearing Sawyer's words. Stevie turned to look at her brother.

"Wow... look at you," Stevie smiled.

"What?" he chuckled softly.

"It's only Rory's third day here and I can already see a great change within you... you seem more... confident," Stevie answered pausing to find the right words.

"You think so?" Sawyer smiled as he saw Rory re-emerge into the common area with her siblings close behind her.

"You guys ready for a fun day?" Stevie asked them.

"Yay!" they cheered in response.

"Lead the way Sawyer, this was your idea after all," Stevie smiled.

Sawyer showed them around the palace. the girls followed close to him while the boys lingered by Rory's side.

"So I think next we should check out the stables and maybe take some of the horses out on a ride?" Sawyer suggested.

The children's faces lit up as soon as he said so. The boys seemed most excited of all of them. Once to the stables Sawyer had instructed a few of the stable hands to get some some horses prepared to go for a ride. Once that was done he helped the younger girls on the saddles. Rory and her youngest brother Gregory rode together since he was so little and Sawyer had Rory's youngest sister Delilah with him since she claimed she was scared, but Rory knew she just wanted to be closer to the Prince. Henry was paired with Oliva. Once they were all seated and ready to go Sawyer gave them a quick guide on how to ride the horses and then they were off on their journey. Sawyer and Delilah were leading everyone while Stevie was in the back making sure no one was left behind while Rory was in the middle and Henry was beside her with Olivia.

Sawyer lead them down a dirt path away from the palace and to a wooded area still within the palace grounds. The area was surrounded by trees and flowers. Sawyer led them to a open area with a pond in the middle of the area. Once looking around the area everyone realized that there were a few blankets set on the ground and baskets on each of them. Two maids were stationed at the area as well. Sawyer got off his horse and picked Delilah off and set her on the ground.

"I had a few maids set this up for us a little bit ago... I figured this would be fun," Sawyer smiled.

Everyone got off their horses and the kids ran to the blankets accompanied by Stevie and Henry. Sawyer stayed back to enjoy this moment. He looked forward to having younger children around. He always wanted younger siblings, but his mother went through hell during her pregnancy with him and his sister and it was suggested that she didn't have anymore children. Rory also lingered behind for a moment.

"Thank you," She said as she placed her hand on his shoulder, "This means so much to all of us." She didn't want to let on just how much everything he had done had meant to her just yet.

"Of course... you guys have been through so much... you deserve a day to be normal kids," He replied as he turned his face to look at her. He noticed her red cheeks and smiled, "I know how much moments like this mean."

"Come on Rory!" Gregory said as he ran toward her and Sawyer.

"Alright we're coming!" Rory said as her little brother pulled both her and Sawyer to the picnic area.

After everyone finished their food the kids started to run around playing tag. Rory and Sawyer were sat next to each other enjoying the kids joy. He rummaged through the basket next to him and pulled out two books and handed one to her.

"I figured you might want one to read while they play," Sawyer smiled as he opened his book.

Rory smiled and thanked him before opening hers. Stevie and Henry were playing with the kids and while her attention was mostly on the game of tag it was also on Rory and Sawyer.

"Tag! you're it!" Oliver shouted at Stevie as he tapped her arm.

"Darn!" She said as she chased after the kids.

She caught up to Annabelle and tagged her.

"Tag you're it!"

Annabelle laughed and then paused for a second, "How come you wear pants?"

"Well because dresses are hard to run in," Stevie smiled at her. She gave her the simple answer rather than a rant about how she hates dresses and going into all of her reasons.

"You're right... dresses are so annoying!" She shouted as she ran off to chase her siblings down.

Many games were played and as the day went on the kids got tired so Sawyer suggested that they headed back for dinner. On the ride back Annabelle rode closer to Stevie and asked her more questions.

"So can I wear pants?" She asked.

" I don't see why not... but you should ask your parents first!" Stevie smiled back after she answered.

"What if they say no?"

"I can always sneak you some if they say no," Stevie smirked.

"Good... because I'm done with dresses!" Annabelle said firmly.

Stevie laughed, "We're going to get along just fine aren't we?"

"Oooh can you teach me how to be a tough girl like you, Stevie?"

"Of course!"

Once they got back to the palace everyone changed into clean clothes and headed to the dining hall. Their parents joined them soon after.

"How was your day with the prince and princess?" Diane asked.

"Mom it was so fun!" Delilah smiled.

"Yeah we got to ride horses and we played tag with Stevie and Henry," Oliver said with excitement.

"But Rory and Sawyer read the entire time!" Gregory pouted.

"Oh come on, you know that's your sister's favorite thing to do!" James said to his youngest child.

Just as the kids started going on and on about their fun day the King and Queen arrived.

"I'm glad to see everyone is adjusting just fine," The Queen smiled as the King pulled out her chair for her to sit at the head of the table with him.

"Sounds like everyone had a great day!" The King agreed.

"It was a great day father... thank you for making this possible," Stevie beamed.

"Thank you for being so hospitalable your Majesty," James smiled.

"No need for formalities now... we're going to get quite close... I have a good feeling," The king responded, "How are you recovering James?"

"I am doing so much better thanks to you," James said thankful to the King.

"I'm glad to hear that... Diane how are you feeling?" The Queen asked.

"I'm feeling better today... thanks to all the help of your wonderful kids!"

"That's great... so James are you feeling well enough to start your training with my father General Draco tomorrow?" The King asked.

"Of course!" James smiled, "Thank you for this opportunity... I won't let you down."

"I'm sure you won't... I'm sure you will make your way through the ranks to a fine general in no time!" The King smiled.

"As for the little ones... are you excited to start schooling?" The Queen looked over to them.

They all cheered in excitement. They have always been eager to learn since their sister had always shown such enthusiasm in her studies. She had always been a great role model for them.

"That's good to hear and as for the older children after your studies are you willing to help out around the palace?" The Queen beamed.

"Of course!" Annabelle smiled.

Olivia and Oliver also responded with enthusiasm.

The dinner went on as did the conversation.

"After you and Stevie are done with your studies and whatever else you guys do you think you'll have time to meet me in the library?" Sawyer asked Rory who was sitting beside him.

"Of course!" Rory smiled, "I can't wait to see all the books you guys have!"

Sawyer smiled. He was excited to get to know Rory as his friend these past three days and he was excited to get closer to her.