Desmond's POV
I was walking through the hall when Fiona bumped into me
"I'm sorry, your majesty" she said and I could see she had been sobbing
"Princess Fiona, what did Adrian do to you" I asked in concern
"He told me to get out of his room" she said on the verge of tears
"I'll talk to him, you can rest in your room" I said with a frown
"Yes, your majesty" she said and left.
I walked into my room furiously and saw Ariana there
"Des, what's wrong? You look like you want to kill someone" she asked, walking up to me
"Oh, I want to kill someone, and that someone is Adrian" I said in a tone that clearly showed my anger
"What has he done now?" She asked, probably wondering what he had done to me this time
"I told Fiona to see him and he sent her out of the room, what does he take me for?" I said
"A tyrant?" Ariana said softly
"What!?" I exclaimed, shocked
"That's what he sees you as, he thinks you hate him" she continued
"But, I've done everything for him, this is for his own good" I defended
"Is it? Or are you just doing this for the sake of the kingdom?" She asked and it caught me off guard
"Well, forming an alliance with Belvemur through marriage will strengthen the relationship between both kingdoms, besides Adrian and Fiona have been friends for so many years" I tried to defend myself
"But now they're not"
"Well they could just sort out their differences and everything will be fine" I said
"Maybe that's not what Adrian wants, maybe he wants to be allowed to make his own decisions"
"But he's a prince, he can't just make his own decisions, he needs to do what's best for the Kingdom" I said
"Adrian loves going outdoors, it's a part of him that you just can't change. And about Fiona, I think it's more than just sorting out differences, Adrian refused to talk about what happened at that all royals camp four years ago and Fiona didn't either"
"I'll talk to him" I said
"He's still recovering, you can't use violence on him right now" Ariana advised
"Who said anything about violence? I'm just going to talk, I feel like I don't even know my own son anymore"
"Okay, be gentle with him, and try to understand him" she said
"I will"
I went to Adrian's room and entered "Father? What are you doing here?" He asked, obviously not very excited to see me
"I came to see you" I said and he scoffed
"Tell me the real reason you're here. Is it because of Princess Fiona?" He asked indifferently
"No, it's not because of her, I really came to see you"
"I highly doubt that" he said and I sighed
"Adrian, I'm sorry I haven't been the best father, I just wanted to do what's best for you"
"Oh, so setting me up with my worst enemy is part of what's best for me?" He asked sarcastically
"Adrian, Fiona was like your best friend. I'm sure you can sort things out with her" I said and he turned furious
"Thank you for using the word 'was' and I don't want anyone to talk to me about her"
"Adrian, what exactly happened at that camp four years ago? You've refused to go ever since" I probed gently
"I don't want to talk about it" he said in a low tone and I could see he was really hurt
"It's fine if you don't want to talk. Meanwhile you have to know that you're a prince and you have responsibilities so I'm just trying to make sure you can take care of the Kingdom....."
"I can take care of the kingdom in my own way father!" he said and an idea popped into my head
"You know what,you're right. I'm going to give you a test, if you pass, you get to do things your own way. If you don't, you still have to follow my orders" I said
"What's the test?" He asked
"You'll be the king for three days, if you do well I'll let you do most things your own way, if you don't. I still get to decide what you do"
"You're entrusting the kingdom to me? For three good days?" He asked
"Yes, your mother and I will be gone for three days to have some time to ourselves, and you have to rule the kingdom, Philip will be here to evaluate you" I explained
"But dad" he tried to argue but I cut him off
"No buts, you said you can rule your own way, I'd like to see how that'll turn out. You will start ruling a week from today" I said and left without waiting for his response