Sorry for such the long wait....busy busy busy!! *sheepish grin* Hope you like it!!!! :D

For future reference (you'll know what I'm talking about when you see it), Chey means girl or daughter, Pral means brother, and dat means father in Romani.... :) 

"Amelia?" Somebody shakes me and jerks me out of sleep. I look up through bleary eyes to see that my father is standing over me.

"I want to talk with you. Lala put some tea and biscuits out...I thought we could catch up?" he speaks to me, his voice rough yet comforting. 

"Catch up?" I ask, my voice still rough from sleep. I meant it to come out colder than it did. I don't want to be here, and I can't afford to be pulled back into this life. 

"Yes. Catch up. Father to daughter. Me to You. Chat by the fire with some tea and biscuits, like we used to do."

I close my eyes as I sit up. What he says seems so foreign to me. I've grown so used to the rough and negligent life of a pirate that sitting by the fire and chatting with my father seems like a dream...a stupid dream full of fantasies. 

"My father? What father? Where have you been all my life, Father? Did you ever try to find me, to let me know that you were alive? Did you ever try to make contact with me? Do you think that you can just randomly become a father to me now, just because you feel like it?" By the time I finish talking I'm standing on my feet and in my father's face. My eyes are wide and my breath is coming in gasps.

My father swallows as he reaches out to pull me to him. "I tried" he whispers, his voice pained. "I thought you'd been kidnapped. I searched for you all over. I only found you after news about the raid of the castle spread. They said the pirates attacked the castle, killed most of the princes, and destroyed the village...all to find you. I was in despair, thinking my only chance of getting you back had been ruined, but then I heard of Prince Gabriel. He wanted to search for you, he knew of some young pirate that could lead the way to you. I took my chance and found the Pirate Jasper that he raved about. I-"

I pull back from his embrace, tears filling my vision but not falling; I will not allow them to fall over this man. 

"Prince Gabriel? Japser? You know him-them? You-but..." my voice trails off as the thoughts become too much. 

My father knew of them both. Both of them never mentioned anything of my father, but they must have known! They must have known of my father, my true identity...

They lied. Both of them. Prince Gabriel and...and Jasper. I've been lied to for so long about so much. 

I no longer know what to think, what to do...so I act without thinking.

I grab my father's arm and twist it around to where his hand is touching his opposite shoulder blade.  I growl as I force him down to the ground. Before I have time to react, my father has me in his grip and down on the floor beneath him.

"I taught you that move, Chey" he chuckles, letting me out of his tight grip. My cheeks turn red.

"Papa?" I cringe as I let his old nickname slip out. A grin crosses his face before he hides his happiness.

"Why didn't you come get me? If you knew how to find me...why didn't you protect me?" I can't keep up my anger toward him. Papa has never lied, and if he's telling the truth now, he even tried to find me and bring me back...home...

 "But I did, Chey" he says so low that I barely hear the words.

"What was that Papa?" I ask, hoping for the truth.

"Would you like some tea, Chey?" Papa asks, changing the subject and getting up, pulling me to my feet as well. "Ion will be joining us soon."

I stiffen. "Ion?"

"Yes, Ion, Chey. Your pral" he replies, a twinkle in his eye.

"But I don't want a brother" I say as I sit down in a chair and rip a biscuit apart. Papa tears the biscuit out of my hand and gives me a look of disappointment. 

"You need better manners Amelia. No Romani man will want to marry such a rude young lady."

I choke on my tea. "Marry!" I gasp.

Shock crosses Papa's face as my pats me on the back.

"Yes, Chey, marry. You should have married long ago, so it is only logical that your wedding occur before the end of the season."

"I will not marry" I assert, slamming my cup of tea down on the table. The glass shatters as tea spills onto the floor.

"Amelia..." Papa says in warning as the door to the room swiftly opens.

"I take it she took the news of her marriage well, dat?" Ion's annoying voice laughs from behind me.

I swear, I am so close to hurting him.