The Forgotten Princess Rose-Chapter 226

When Willow entered the room where Lilian was kept for now, she expected to find the former queen changed into the dress she picked out. Something old and close to ripping if not careful with it just as Lilian had offered to her in the past.

Instead of the sight she looked forward to, Willow walked in on Lilian still wearing her dress and crown which no longer belonged to her.

"I knew you were too stubborn to remove that crown from your head but I was still so foolish to look forward to it. Then again, I enjoy that you’re still the same stubborn woman I got glimpses of. I will feel less guilty about what I want to do to you," Willow said, her eyes glued to Lilian who avoided her.

"Doing this isn’t going to bring back your mother or siblings," Lilian said, finally looking up at the bastard before her. "I don’t see why you care for half-siblings. You should have taken care of yourself or I should have killed you first. You were the one going out of their way to care for them, weren’t you?"

"They are only my half-siblings but I treat them better than your children treated each other. I never tried to kill my siblings like your children did with each other. You should stop worrying about us and focus on your children. Oh, you can’t anymore," Willow said as she took a seat opposite Lilian.

Lilian’s hurt over the loss of her children grew from hearing it from one of James’ other children. This young girl before her should have been taken instead of her children. Henry, Mateo, and Kiara didn’t deserve their deaths.

Lilian couldn’t help noticing that Willow still wore the dress which belonged to Kiara. Her daughter was still warm wherever she had been and Willow didn’t show any respect not to search through Kiara’s things. "Take off that dress."

"That is what I have to say to you. I picked out a nice dress for you. One that would last you a month. If you bleed or stain it, you will need to put up with it. The palace doesn’t have spare dresses to replace it. That is what you told us," said Willow, using Lilian’s punishments back on her.

"I’m numb over the loss of my children. Nothing you do or say to me will get the reaction you seek. I will enjoy knowing you have dictated so much time into wanting to get revenge when you should be focused on being named queen. The people will be happy to know they have you as a queen," Lilian taunted Willow.

It was still a child sitting before her so it was quite easy to win this battle.

"I am not different from you with getting distracted since you focused on us each time your husband was not loving you. You were the queen, loved by all who didn’t know what you were truly like yet you focused on the bastards as you would call us. You don’t get to judge me," Willow said, refusing to sit still as Lilian tried to get under her skin.

"I’ve snuck around pretending to be a maid many times to get food or medicine for my siblings. Once, I was almost picked to become the princess’s maid. Before then I had to act as one of the servant’s daughters. I was so afraid then," Willow said, remembering the courage she had.

She was the oldest after the others left and did not return. It felt like her duty to be the one to step out of that room to save the others.

"I got very close to the room you shared with my father. I only saw his face from the portraits on the wall and I wondered, if I had just got close enough to him to show my face, would he take us from that place? Would he love us if I got rid of you?" Willow still wondered.

"You should have killed me," Lilian advised Willow. "You will never get what you want when you hesitate. That’s why the only daughter he loved was Kiara-"

"You didn’t give us the chance to be loved!" Willow yelled, wanting to cover Lilian’s mouth to shut her up.

Willow took a deep breath, trying to control her anger. They would remain in the same place if she got too angry and yelled. "I am not just angry with you. I am angry that the man who made us never spared us a glance but you, you went out of your way to pick us off one by one. Do you think we wanted to be bastards?"

"I was saving you from your father’s plans-"

"No, you were not. You got rid of us because you hated knowing he had children with other women. Isn’t that why you went out of your way to take Rose when her mother had already moved on? Getting rid of one child after the next didn’t stop that place from welcoming another," Willow said, refusing to believe Lilian was saving them.

Willow overheard plans of using the girls for arranged marriages and to be used to entertain visitors but Lilian wasn’t saving them from that.

"You were trying hard to protect your children’s position. Be honest instead of lying now when you have nothing to lose or gain from lying. I will let you be the only one to know this. If this kingdom won’t sit still knowing a woman will rule, among the children you tortured had been a boy," Willow revealed.

Willow didn’t fear Lilian sharing this secret as she was going to personally escort Lilian with the help of Zayne’s guards to the dark room in the corner of the palace where no one visited.

Willow also bet on the fact that though Lilian despised her, Lilian wouldn’t want it to get out that there was a prince left alive. All the attention had to stay on her sons who were meant to be the only princes.

Lilian wasn’t falling for Willow’s tricks. "I had it checked and there were only princesses left. I got rid of any prince."

James had no interest in his bastards since he believed he was stuck having more girls he did not need.

"There was someone who cared for us and helped to hide him amongst us. All his life he had to pretend to be a girl and now he cannot stop because he fears what will happen if anyone finds out. I might be a child to you but you should start worrying about your life," Willow said, standing up from her seat as she spoke.

Willow walked toward Lilian who still did not view her as a threat and pulled on the crown which was pinned into Lilian’s hair. Willow pulled it harder, forcing Lilian to fall out of her seat. "This crown is mine now. You are not the queen so get out of that dress and give me the crown."

Lilian held onto the crown in an effort to stop her hair from being pulled. There was a burning pain in her head as Willow relentlessly pulled the crown.

Not long after, a ripping sound was heard and the crown was in Willow’s hands.

Lilian looked up from the floor to Willow standing over her. She was not to be treated like this by anyone.

"Get undressed," Willow ordered Lilian. "You will know what it is like to be tortured."