Lori looked stricken. "No I don't want to." she backed away. "I don't want to leave my bakery or you to rule the kingdom. I don't want to marry Cas!" she shook her head clinging to the paper like it was a shield.

Alex blinked at his brother. "Any idea what's going on?" he asked noticing he had a paper in his hands.

"Th-then what do we do?" Rosemary was clearly panicking. "What do we do Lori? Is this...this is my fault. I convinced you to leave. I...Lori, I'm scared."

Cal quietly handed over the paper for his brother to read. "I don't know what to do about this." He admitted quietly.

"I'm glad you made me leave but this." Lori buried her head in her hands. "This is aweful." her mind was spinning. "I don't want to go back." she mumbled.

Alex took a breath then hurried to Rose and pulled her into a tight hug. "Its alright." he squeezed her tighter.

Rosemary made a move to hug her sister, but suddenly found herself in Alex's arms. She sobbed. "What do we do?"

Carefully, Cal approached Lori. "You don't have to go back." He said quietly. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. You're free now. Unfortunately, freedom comes with difficult decisions. But you're smart, and strong...I know you'll make the right choice. No matter what you decide. And if you need any help with anything...you can always ask me. As a...friend." He hesitated to call them friends, but he wanted to clarify that he wasn't going to pursue anything more with her when she didn't want it.

Lori reached forward and pulled Cal in crying on his shoulder. She knew the truth, there was no one else to take the crown if her mom died. Her mother had no siblings and neither did her father she was all there kingdom had. "I hate this." she sobbed.

"Do you think...do you think its on purpose? do you think there just trying to get you to go back to trap you?" Alex frowned holding Rose tight.

Cal froze, shocked by this sudden development. Carefully, in case she decided to hit him, he hugged her back, rubbing her back gently to comfort her. "I'm sorry." He said, and he meant it. He wanted to fix this for her, but didn't know how.

Rosemary looked up at him, a stunned look on her face. "You don't think...no, not even mother would be that cruel...would she?" She didn't want to think it was possible, but knowing her parents as she did, she couldn't deny it. "There has to be a way to find out."

"I don't know." Lori hiccuped. "We could ask Abigail! She still without the kingdom taking care of her mother!" She had gotten in touch with her friend a few days ago. "She could try and find out."

"That sounds like a good idea." Alex agreed. "If it's true we can go from there if it's not then we don't have to worry about it."

Rosemary nodded. She'd almost forgotten that they still had a contact. "Yeah, let's do that. As soon as possible." She said, hoping beyond hope that this was just a cruel trick of their mother's.

"Do you need any help?" Cal asked. He wanted to do something for them, at least.

"I just want a hug." Lori admitted burying her head into his shoulder. When she got upset she liked to be held since her sister was taken Cal would do and he kind of felt like home.

Alex combed his fingers threw Rose's hair. "It will all work out you'll see."

Blushing profusely, and not knowing what to do, Cal hugged her back. He'd never been much for physical contact, but hugging Lori felt good. It felt right.

Rosemary nodded, leaning her head on his chest. She had to believe him, for now, or she'd go insane.

Lori took a moment then pulled away. "Sorry." she rubbed her cheeks and sniffled a little.

Alex held Rose and kissed the top of her head.

Cal shrugged, unable to look directly at her. "It's fine." He said.

Lori sighed. "I'm going back to the shop before my helper burns it down." she walked away shoulders down and eyes sad.

Alex slowly let Rose go and pushed the hair from her face. "I need to get back to work as well but we'll talk later if you want."

Rosemary nodded. "I'll help you. I've got the day off and I need a distraction." She said.

Cal watched her go, then turned and headed off in a random direction, not sure what he wanted to do.

"Alright." Alex got her a brush. "The colt needs a brush. Do you want to learn how to brush her?"

Lori was miserable at work and it showed in her baking. Eventually Arielle closed up and threw all the burnt food away. She slipped away and went to find Cal worried for Lori who had been just standing in the kitchen looking out the window when she left.

Rosemary nodded. "Sure, I'd love to learn." She said.

Cal had found himself at the beach, staring out at the ocean.

"Alright." Cal guided her hand gently over the colts coat. "Nice and gentle." he urged "There you go." he smiled. "Get all the tangles and knots."

Rosemary gently brushed the foal's soft fur, taking her time and making sure to do it right. She knew some of this from watching the guards at the castle care for their horses, but it was different with a baby horse. As it turned out, she was a natural.

"Perfect." Cal smiled and handed her a blanket. "If it's cold they get blankets and warm water. If it's hot no blanket and ice cold water." he dumped hay into the feeder.

Rosemary nodded, keeping this information in mind. "And it's important to make sure they're dried off thoroughly and brushed before leaving them in the stables. Leaving them damp with water or sweat could result in several different ailments." She recited, remembering this lesson from the stables at the castle.

"You do know what your doing." Alex ruffled her hair. "Its not hard when you know what your doing." he kissed her forehead gentle.

Rosemary smiled, blushing a light pink color. "I've told you before, I'm more capable than a princess should be. It happens when you spend your whole life actively trying to not be a princess." She said.

''unlike your sister who only really could be a Queen. She seems happier know that she's living the dream she was hiding even from herself." Alex smiled a little.

Rosemary nodded. "She was always a natural leader, which is why everyone assumed she was well suited to be a queen. But I always knew that wasn't what she wanted. She just wanted to be a free woman."

Alex smiled softly. "You two are really close aren't you? I can just imagine Lori's face when she got to see you for the first time."