Reason

"Have you calmed down yet?"Stefan asked after a while.She just stared at him with puffy eyes her cheeks rosy from the tears,he thought she looked so adorable, he wanted to hug her."hmph I don't need your concern prince"she said and turned her head,her nose high in the air,he felt his heart itch.

" You do know I am older than you right? even if you hate me it is still impolite"he said,she lowered her head as he caught her blushing,he smiled."I am sorry but I still hate you so we are even."she replied.Stefan studied her,despite the fact that she hated him, she was quite naive,like a Little girl who hasn't seen the evil of the world.

His face turned solemn as he faced her "Miss I am well aware that you hate me and my family and I know that what I am about to ask will sound shameless but I have to know, why do you hate us so what did we do to you"he asked.She stared at him debating whether to tell him.He looked calm and ready to listen so she sat down by the lake and soon he joined her.He stared at her waiting for her to speak.

"My full name is Aurora Von Michelin and I were the daughter of a merchant in the land. My father was an upright man,he never failed to cater for his wife and children. I was the eldest with a little brother. I grew up in a happy family and I was happy every day was filled with content."she began the story of her past.

"We weren't noble but we were happy,but all good things come to an end at some point.My father's rival in trade was engaged in illegal dealings which when exposed would cause trouble so he reported to the authorities and he got arrested, upon further investigation all his illegal dealings were exposed so all his properties were confiscated and was exiled." she paused and turned to him and asked "Was my father wrong for reporting him?"he saw tears well in her eyes.

"No your father did great it was the right thing to do"he said,she huffed impatiently "then why did your father do that"she asked,tears fell down her face and again,his heart bled.He pulled close to her and pulled her into his arms and consoled her " please stop crying miss I was wrong I shouldn't have made you relive those memories again"he said feeling bad for making her cry for the second time.After a while she calmed down and pulled away from his arms,he felt the loss of contact but hid it well.

"Don't you want to know what happened?" she asked,seeing that she wanted to continue he asked"What happened?"her face turned serious"we thought that was the end of it but we were wrong, the illegal deals were with the high nobles some were even in the king's court"she said and watched as his eyes widened."what did they do" he asked his voice deep as though angry." they were not happy about it and sought to punish my father so they framed us." she said, Stefan frowned

"They spread the word that my father was a spy from a neighbor country and that he had stolen information of the land.They brought guards and searched my father's warehouses we didn't know they had planted the evidence so my father was arrested."she said and turned to him"Your father was there the day of the trail I watched him,prayed that he help prove his innocence but did he!? no the words that left his lips were 'I leave it to you to decide' and he walked away, he gave the power to the very people who want my father dead" she stared at him eyes filled with hatred and despair.He lowered his head not meeting her eye.The whole time he had hoped that it was all a misunderstanding and that his father had noting to do with it.

He rose his head when she spoke again " They wanted us to suffer a fate worse than death so they exiled my father and his family here where they thought we would meet our end.My father who felt in despair fell ill two months later and passed away, my mother who could endure the loss of her husband soon fell ill and also passed away leaving a seven year old girl with an infant to survive alone in a forest filled with wild animals." she stared at him " tell me what would you have done in my stead"she asked"do I have reason enough to hated you and wish for the death of your whole family"she asked again.

He rose and faced her,bowed deeply to her"nothing I say can atone for your pain, I am in no place to ask for forgiveness"he pulled a sword from his waist and knelt on one knee"this life of mine,I give to you to do as you please if it will bring you any consolation I shall not resist." he said and presented the sword to her.She stayed seated ,she was surprised to see the Prince's display." If it would bring my parents back and would restore my family's happiness then I would do so without hesitation but I gain nothing from such actions and my parents wouldn't want that for me so rise"she said.He stared at her surprised.

"Then what do you want"he asked she stared are him

"I......

***To be continued***

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