The week that Risa, Rolando, and Vincent had arrived in France was when The Rosenberg Family gathered at Stella Bearenia's house to talk about what had happened in the past month. A lot has happened and this was the only time they were able to get together and hoped to keep it this way.

Persia hasn't changed that much, she still was as beautiful as she had been eleven years before. "Oh, this is just hopeless, just hopeless. We'll never find Clarissa. Our oldest daughter is gone, there is no way she can be alive." Just saying those words out loud was making her feel horrible.

She took a deep breath trying to collect herself. "I hate laying low while Medusa is still out there laughing at the fact she killed us when she didn't, but she doesn't know that. What if Medusa already killed her years ago? It's a gamble for any of us to keep hoping she is alive." Her heart tore up every moment she thought about her daughter.

Nathan nodded his head, he had changed a little, the worry throughout the years was taking its toll on him. "It's been eleven years since then. Persia is right, there is no way that she's even alive. The chance of meeting her again is very slim and not likely. Anything could have happened to her during that time, it is foolish for us to keep believing such a thing." There had been way too much of a gap.

Willard ran his hand through his salt and peppered hair, having to admit his son was right about something. "If she escaped with you then there is a chance that she is alive. She might just be lost. She'll find her way home and she is a smart girl."  He was being optimistic and his icy blue eyes showed it.

He gave them a gentle smile as he pursed his lips. "Don't give up hope. I know it must be tough for you not to know what happened to your daughter, we must hold on to the hope that she is alive. Persia you have always felt that way." He pointed out hating to see them so discouraged.

Persia nodded resting her cheek in her hand. "You are right. I can't help but be discouraged. It doesn't mean we don't love her because we do. I will always love her. She is my daughter. There are just too many reasons and the years that have passed make it harder to believe she is alive." Many who had a missing child felt the same way.

Willard reached over and rested a hand on top of the hand that was resting on the couch. "It is alright to be discouraged. Yes, it can be tiring and emotionally draining to wait all these years in hope she will return. I have faith we will see her again or at least find out what happened."

Persia gave him a gentle smile. He was right, they all needed to have hope she was alive, even if it seemed impossible. "Thank you." She softly spoke, touched by his words to her. They made her feel better since she had been so down for so long. 

Willard gripped the arms of his chair moving onto a different subject. "Now something that has been bothering me ever since then: how dare she threaten you. And how dare she try to kill you. She had some nerve doing what she did. I'm glad you banned her from the kingdom. She was a bad apple. I never liked her." He sneered thinking back to that night and how it made his blood boil.

Persia frowned at her father-in-law's words. He had always been a little cold towards anyone. "She was my friend. It is hard to imagine she did the things she did. I was heartbroken to know what happened and yes perhaps we should have escorted her out ourselves, that is in the past." She pushed a lock of hair from her face.

Nathan looked over at his father and gave him a look that said he was not pleased with his father's words. "Now father, we can't dwell on the past. What's done is done. It's none of our concerns anymore. We have moved on and had a new life far away from Canada." He pointed out, knowing it was merely impossible for anyone to know they were alive.

Willard frowned at what his son had said and shaken his head, balling his fist and shaking it. "If she tries anything, we'll be ready for her this time and I will not let anything happen." He gripped in a sour tone, rubbing his temples and sighing gently.

Persia pursed her lips, knowing how silly he was thinking. "Willard, never underestimate Medusa. She's powerful. She has many connections and her rumors are what ended our rule. I don't want to lose to anybody else. It would be hurtful to go through it all again. Stella knows how much we were hurt when none of our closest friends could find her. It was like a piece of my heart was broken. Gone forever way too soon." She placed her hands over her heart.

Nathan frowned, bowing his head and trying not to cry. "This whole process has been very hard for all of us. I worry with every girl that passes by we will forget what she used to look like. A parent can only guess how they would look after all these years, and seeing the faces just brings up no memories. You would think if we did lay eyes on her we would immediately know." He spoke, picking up his teacup and sipping it.

Willard could understand where Nathan was coming from. "That seems all too cliche. Even if she was right before us, it would be hard to recognize her. I suppose the only thing that we could go on is our memories, but if she doesn't remember then we have a problem." It was frustrating that no matter what they did they couldn't win.

Persia couldn't have felt more discouraged by his words. She had been avoiding thinking about that for quite some time. Why did this have to happen to them? She couldn't understand. "I don't know what to think anymore. It's just too upsetting to keep dwelling on it." She sighed gently.

Stella pushed her curly brown hair to her back as her eyes focused on making sure the water for her tea got poured into the teacup. "Indeed, it was very upsetting. " She said in her thick French accent as she walked into the room interrupting their conversation. "I have dozens of girls still to interview. I'll come up with hard and more personal questions if that helps in finding my niece." She was dedicated to finding her niece. 

Persia looked over at her sister with a soft smile. "Perhaps showing them some of her personal items I still have and see if they could remember anything about them?" She questioned, spinning her wedding ring around her finger. That was something she did when she was stressed, it was oddly calming.

Stella took note of that. That did seem like a good idea. After all, memories could be brought back by trinkets of her past. "Please, get them to me as fast as you could. Let us hope that it works! I have the previous mademoiselles a few things I used to have and family members but none of them could tell me anything about them or if they did they lied about it." She sighed heavily.

Beretta fixed her tight low bun that had been falling out as her peridot green eyes looked to her son and daughter-in-law. "Nathan, Persia, it's up to you if you don't want to see any more girls. It's very understandable. I wouldn't want to go one like this for days, weeks, months, or even years to hopefully find my daughter." She pointed out.

Stella agreed. She knew it hurt her heart with every hope she had gotten up that had come crashing down. "It is heart-wrenching to hash up the pain just to find her again. I don't understand why this had to happen? To Clarissa of all people. She was mature for her age and she was so independent, even if she occasionally made a mess of things." She laughed at the memory.

Persia knew her sister had a point. It did hurt to bring up old memories of the past. "I know. I don't think I want to do this anymore. It's heart-wrenching when you get your hopes up then it all comes crashing down." She shook her head at the very thought and picked up her teacup, taking a sip from it.

Cyrene had grown into a beautiful young lady. She turned towards her parents from looking out the window. "I miss Clarissa. I looked up to her, she was a role model for me. Maybe not the hair-pulling and playful punches, just having her around -" She suddenly stopped talking for a second before looking at her mother. "Mother?"

Persia set down her teacup and looked over to her daughter. She had always taken it the hardest. Plus at the time she was too young to understand what had happened. "Yes, Cyrene?" She wondered what her daughter could be wanting to ask her. Hearing what she said made her heart get torn into pieces, she barely remembered her sister.

Cyrene walked over to her parents and sat down on the ottoman. "Whatever happened to the copper watch you gave Clarissa from Grandmother and Grandfather? The one with the picture of the Eiffel Tower and the lullaby? Even your gold heart locket that Papa gave you on your first date, whatever happened to that?" She asked, always having it on the back of her mind but never having the courage to bring it up.

Persia couldn't recall what happened to those trinkets. She had other things to worry about. They didn't matter to her since they were just mere objects. "I don't know what happened to it. It could have fallen when we were escaping or someone stole it. It is just an object, they mean nothing to me, they are replaceable." She reminded her daughter.

Cyrene understood that it was just an object, it held no real value other than being sentimental. "It bugs me, that is all mother. I need to stop worrying about it." She sighed sitting back on her hands on the ottoman. "Also, I have no idea what I haven't brought this up before: If Clarissa was lost all this time what makes us think that she'll remember all that stuff?" She had a good point.

Persia had to admit the thought had never crossed her mind and she had a good point. "Oh, It could go many ways. She could remember but can't trust her memories as real, or she could have them but doesn't think we would believe her. She could have been taken in by a family. She could be in an orphanage. She could even have passed on. There are too many possibilities." She frowned gently at her own words.

Cyrene did not want to hear that. It had put a damper on her mood. She was hoping for something a bit more optimistic. "I suppose the only thing we can hope is that providence is watching over and will work everything out." That was what she had to keep reminding herself not to despair about it.

Nathan turned to his sister-in-law and waved his hands. "Stella, please send out a message to everyone that we no longer wish for girls that claim to be our daughter. I can't keep doing this. As much as it hurts, we just have to face facts: Clarissa is forever gone. And if she is alive we'll meet up with her sometime in the future. Trying to find her has been pointless." He felt partly like a bad father for saying those words 

Stella nodded her head. She didn't blame them for wanting to stop, it had been just as painful for her just as it had for them. "Sure, I can call my friend and tell them to put out the word. I'll be back in a snap." She said, walking out of the room to make a few calls to make sure that everyone would get the memo about the quest being put out. 

Willard looked at his family that sat in this room. These past years had been a blessing and a curse. "I'm just glad you'll all be safe. I am also glad that the Rosenberg name will be carried on by Gideon." He said, looking at his eleven-year-old grandson who was looking out the window, tapping on the glass.

Gideon's hazelnut brown eyes lit up at what his grandfather said as he turned around. "I will make the name Rosenberg known all over the world again! I am proud to be the only male in the family because I have a lot of responsibility." He exclaimed puffing out his chest and putting his fisted hands on his hips after he blew some hair out of his eyes.

Cyrene giggled at her younger brother. He was so proud to be a Rosenberg. He knew of their past and how they used to rule a small kingdom in Canada, Frontance. "Gideon, you're still too young for all that responsibility. Focus on having a childhood because before you know it, it will pass you by." She reminded him.

Nathan gave his father an unimpressed look. He had to agree with Cyrene on this. It was too much responsibility for an eleven-year-old boy. "That's years away, father. Don't put that type of pressure on Gideon. I don't want Gideon to be something that he's not. I just want him to be himself and have a normal childhood." He explained to his father.

Willard scoffed, waving his hand in dismissal at what his son had said. "Oh, I did the same to you and you turned out just fine. There is nothing wrong with aiming for that responsibility as a child." He grumbled, picking up a teacup with tea his wife had poured in it, up to his lips, and took a sip.

Nathan frowned, rubbing his chin. "I would beg a differ there, father. Yes, I may have turned out well, but I never had a childhood. I want that for my son - my children, even if it means keeping our past a secret and limiting his interaction with other children until I know for sure they are alright." He was a bit overly cautious but you couldn't blame him.

Stella walked back in, a bright smile on her lips. She was happy and had a spring in her step. "It's all done." She said happily, happier than any normal person would. Everyone could tell Stella was in a good mood, and there had to be a reason why. She was normally a happy person, but this type of happiness was a rarity.

Persia was the first to bring up the subject. She could tell that it certainly wasn't from the call to her friend about seeing no more young ladies. "Stella, what's up with you? You seem much happier than when you left." She asked curiously, wondering what could have changed in such a small amount of time.

Stella's face lit up, she was glad she had asked. "Since you ask: Rolando is coming. He said he has a surprise for me! He could have called, but he hand wrote this letter and had it delivered to me from his parent's house. How romantic." She said dreamily as she held the letter close to her chest and fell on the back of the couch.

Persia softly laughed gently, happy to see her sister so in love. "Oh? A surprise for you? I wonder what Rolando could have for you? He has always been such a good man, sad we couldn't tell him what happened and that we are alive." She mused, resting her elbows on the armrest, then lacing her fingers together and resting her chin on her hands.

Stella sat up and grabbed a pillow off the empty couch and hugged it. She spun around the room then leaned against the wall. "He said he is someone very special, along with bringing his guardian child, Vincent. Which I truthfully have never met, since he raised him since that fateful night and he never had a chance to come to visit." She replied by opening up the letter and showing them what it says.

Willard had no idea who this Vincent boy was, he had never heard of him before. "Who? Rolando took in a child? How could I haven't heard about this until now? How old is this boy?" He asked, wondering when did this happen. Of course, he didn't know Rolando that well, although he did know of him.

Stella looked at her father-in-law and rolled her eyes. "Vincent Convilment. Rolando told me he had been abandoned as a child, he took him in and raised him. It wasn't easy but he did his best and he wished that I would have been there to give him some motherly guidance. I believe he is in his early 20s, not entirely sure." She explained with a smile, happy to gush about how amazing he was.

Nathan smiled fondly at how much Stella gushed about him. "Rolando was a good militant sergeant himself. He had a heart of gold. Did his best to make violence a last resort and even then, he did everything he could to never hurt a soul." He said, wrapping an arm around his wife.

Persia gently removed his arm from around her. "Don't forget how you abandoned the kingdom and left it in his hands. He was a good man, who you betrayed. Although you don't want to admit it, you should have stayed." She mumbled under her breath, glaring at her husband.

Nine-year-old Ariel looked up at her mother, her brown hair falling out of its braided bun, the braid falling on her back. "Mommy?" She asked, her jade green eyes focused on her mother as she set her dolls aside to give her mother her full attention. 

Persia looked down at her youngest daughter and gave a gentle smile. "Yes, Ariel." She asked, wondering what her daughter wanted. She always had been a bit curious about what was going on, especially when she never understood what was going on. She knew that most of what they spoke of they shouldn't be speaking in front of them, but it was too late to send them out now.

Ariel stood up and picked up her dolls, putting them in her basket. She was gentle with them because they were precious to her. "I never got to meet Clarissa and I have heard so much about her. I hope I will get a chance to see my big sister." She pouted cutely looking up at her mother. She had heard stories and seen pictures of her but never got to meet her.

Persia's gaze saddened a little bit as she let out a sigh. "Oh Ariel, I know you have always wanted to meet your big sister. I am not sure that will happen, we can always hope." She knew her children were old enough to understand death to a certain degree, though they always thought dead didn't mean dead unless you saw it with your eyes.

Thirteen-year-old Marilla tied her brown hair in a low ponytail with a ribbon as she listened to what her younger sister and mother had said. "Oh Ariel, they are right, Clarissa is probably dead or has moved on, there is no need to hold onto such faith." She said with contempt in her voice and a roll of her golden-brown eyes. She had spent too much time with her grandfather.

Cyrene interjected before anyone else could enter. "Now Marilla, that is awful rude of you to say. A lot of us have faith she is alive, even if the possibility is slim. Ever since those boys cut your hair in school you have been such a downer." She bluntly said, not caring if it hurt her feelings. She had noticed the change and truthfully, she didn't like her sister being a downer all the time. It put a damper on everyone's mood.

Marilla frowned and sighed leaning against the window. That wasn't the first time she had been scolded by her older sister with her pessimistic views. "I have always been pessimistic, that was the mere icing on the cake." She crossed her arms over her chest then crossed her right leg over her other as she leaned her head back on the window glass.

Persia sighed and gently shook her head at how her daughter was acting. She chose to let it go instead of making matters worse. She then turned to her sister. "Stella, may I ask a favor from you?" She had been wanting to ask this for a while though she had never been able to ask before since she hadn't found the right time.

Stella nodded looking at her sister and giving a gentle smile. "Of course, ask away my dear sister." She would be happy with any favor her sister wished. She knew it would never be anything impossible, she was the type to ask for small things, never big. However, no matter what it was she wouldn't hesitate to say yes and do it. That was simply the person she was.

Persia was glad to hear her sister was okay with her asking a favor. She sometimes wondered what she ever did to get such a wonderful sister. "Can you ask Rolando if he would like to make time to let us explain everything about why we let everyone believe we were dead? I feel we owe it to him." She felt bad for all these years keeping it a secret.

Stella would be glad to relay such a happy message to Rolando. She knew that he didn't know they were alive and she would have told him sooner, but she promised never to tell a soul. "Oh of course I can. I am sure he is not mad, all the times I have spoken he misses you greatly. Besides, he has some other news for me." She was enjoying all this good news she had gotten lately.

Baretta turned to the woman and simply raised an eyebrow. There was other news? What else could there be? "What other news? There can't be that much news he wants to talk with you about." She huffed, hearing them all get mushy, and chatty was not her forte. Besides, Rolando was still in Canada, she was glad to have left that country.

Stella gave her a sideways look and crossed her arms. Her mother-in-law wasn't the nicest person to be around. "Persia has been knowing the news I have been waiting to hear, it is less news and more like the four words I wish to hear. I think he might ask me to marry him since he hinted that he has something /very/ special planned!" She was getting a bit out of hand with the theory but they did talk a lot about marriage.

Persia was happy to see her sister so happy. She wanted her to find love like she did and get married. It was never too late to get married, plus she and Rolando were still young. "I do hope he does, you two deserve to finally get married and live a happy life! There are no two more in love than you two are." She was pointing out the obvious, they were what everyone wished to have.

Stella blushed a little waving her off with an immovable smile. "In his letters, he has been saying he wishes to spend the rest of his life with me and has only loved me. All the romantic things he had written make a girl's heart flutter." She dreamily said looking up at the ceiling and sighing constantly.

Baretta raised an eyebrow at what Stella had said and signed. "Well, he sounds like he truly loved you and who knows. I may not be your mother, but if I was, I wouldn't want anyone but him to marry you. He is a trustworthy man." It was refreshing to see young love at every age. Besides, everyone knew Rolando was a good man, his heart was of pure gold.

Stella was blushing bright red at her words. They touched her and she had recalled the last time she spoke with her parents. "Yes, my mother just adores him. She is constantly asking when he is going to marry me. I insist I am in no rush to do so, neither is he." She, unlike most young ladies and women her age, would be rushing off to find a man. However, she was content with her life as it was.

Persia sighed. That was typical of mothers back in their time growing up. "Mother was in a rush for me to get married. As soon as I had met Nathan she was insisting we get married. Yes, a few years later we did, but I would never rush my children into getting married as mother did with me. I am truly glad that my younger sister didn't have to go through that." She meant her words. She would have never wanted her sister to go through that.

Stella had always been touched by how sweet Persia was. "I am truly blessed. I did feel bad that as soon as you turned eighteen, our mother insisted you find a man. You had dreams of becoming an equestrian, however, that crumbled when you married Nathan." She admitted, knowing how much she loves horses and wanted to show off her skills to so many people.

Persia did have quite a passion for horses, she still did. However, she had other priorities.  "Yes I didn't do it as a profession, and yes I was quite good, I was content with riding for fun with Nathan. Moving from France to Canada was quite a culture shock but it wasn't all that bad." She had some trouble adjusting to life in Canada.

Stella remembered how it was and couldn't help but laugh. She recalled when they first had met Nathan. "Nathan, do you remember when we first met you? It was at that wedding party for your aunt's daughter's daughter, the grand occasion was held right here in Paris. You don't admit it, but you were painfully shy." She teased, sipping her tea.

Nathan rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to admit he was shy, although it was the truth. "I was not shy, Stella. I was busy recalling all I needed to know for when I took the throne. I knew my parents wanted to hand it down, but I must get married first. When I laid eyes on Persia, I knew she was the one." He looked over at his wife with a smile on his lips.

Persia blushed a little and waved him off. She recalled how reverently she tried to get it out so his mother wouldn't get upset, which she was prone to do.  "You were so infatuated you spilled punch all over your shirt. I, of course, knew how to clean it up so it wouldn't leave a stain. I let you borrow one of my father's shirts and you didn't give it back until a few days later when you slyly asked me out on a date."

Nathan was glad she had offered. He knew his mother would have made a huge scene, although she always denied it. "I had been thinking that whole time about what to do to catch your heart. I figured that was the easiest way." He was a romantic and he use to have many tricks up his sleeve to capture her heart 

Persia glanced at the clock and frowned, she sighed and stood up. "It is getting late and the children's bedtime is in three hours, not to mention I still have to make dinner." She said reaching down and grabbing her purse, putting the strap over her arm.

She glanced at her children and gently clapped her hands. "Come on, say goodbye to grandpa, grandma, and Auntie Stella." She told them to walk over and hug Stella. "Thank you so much for having us over. You are the best sister ever, never forget that." She smiled.

Stella smiled at her words. She loved it when her sister came to visit. She always loved seeing her nieces and nephew. "You are most welcome. Anything for my sister! I will see you soon alright? I will be calling you when Rolando comes." She had to gush whatever happened to her sister. They had always been that way. 

Persia was so proud that her sister had found love and hoped Rolando would ask her to marry him. "I will be waiting for it. Goodbye, everyone." She turned to the others and waved as she watched her family say goodbye and walk towards the door leaving the house. 

It had been a good day apart from not finding Clarissa. It was awful not knowing what happened to the oldest princess and having finally stopped seeing young ladies, was disheartening. For all they knew, she could be right under their noses and they wouldn't even see, because so much time has passed since they last saw her.

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A/N:
Sorry for the delay. I have been quite busy and I may have been procrastinating just a little. I am working on my other novels as well so I am one busy bee when it comes to writing. Not to mention I am trying to keep up with a few shows so I don't fall behind on them.

Chapter talk:
Well, this chapter is shorter than I hoped but that is only because I didn't have much inspiration besides what already had been written. I will fix it up later, add some more minor details if it pops into my head. I just wanted to get this done for you guys!

So, you guys know officially know the royals are indeed alive, which you already knew that since they had escaped. Lol, but they have gotten older and hey, the Persia and Nathan had three more children during this time, which you will be seeing more of and getting to know as well as Cyrene and see how much she has grown.

The chapter after this next one is when Stella will meet Rolando and Vincent, so I am excited for that! I will be changing that chapter up a whole lot but I will do my best to keep most of it in the chapter.

And lastly, anything else I forgot to ask away my pals. I am happy to answer anything!

In closing, all rude, impolite and mean comments will be replied to in a diplomatic way, reported or deleted if I feel like it is attacking me personally.

Thanks for reading!