The Destitute Queen || h.s. au

15. Lena

     "Time to get to work, girls!" Edith's shrill voice startles me, and my eyes open in fright. I quickly stand up and look around me, a bit disoriented. Realizing that what happened to me wasn't just a bad dream, I sigh. The rest of the girls are already out of bed and in a line, so I stand up and quickly run over there, taking a place next to Prue.

     The nightmare was worse than it's ever been, not a night goes by where it doesn't plague my mind. It seemed more real last night, though. Like I was actually there, standing over my parents' bodies and being held back by Alec.

     "Did you sleep well last night?" Prue whispers, and I shake my head. "It's okay, you'll get used to living here. Took me a couple of weeks."

     "How can you sleep in a room with twenty other girls around you without feeling suffocated?" I whisper back.

     "It's not so bad, once you get used to it," she responds.

     We stop talking when Edith paces back and forth, looking at each one of us. I notice that every other girl has their head bowed, but I don't bow mine.

     "Bow your head, Lena," Edith tells me. "If you're ever in the presence of a Royal, you must bow your head out of respect. Might as well practice when you're with us."

     I nod and bow my head, even though I'm probably not going to do it in front of a Royal. Why should I respect them? They've done nothing to benefit me or anyone else in the kingdom, they don't deserve any respect.

     "Good," she smiles. Then, she backs away. "Lena, you will join Prue, Nellie, and Abigail in tending to young Princess Genevieve, daughter of Prince Liam, for the whole day. The rest of you will clean the princes' rooms. When you have finished cleaning, you will come back to me and I will tell you what you need to do next. Now, get going."

     I follow Prue out the door, since I have no idea where anything is. I didn't even know that Prince Liam had a daughter. Honestly, I didn't even know Liam was the Prince's name. There's no point in remembering any of their names and faces, it wouldn't have done me good in any way.

     "Prue?" I ask, getting her attention as the four of us make our way to the Princess's room. "How many children of the King and Queen are there?"

     "You honestly don't know?" she chuckles. "There's Liam, the eldest son and the future ruler of Leria. After him is Prince Louis IV, second-in-line for the throne. He's about twenty or twenty-one. Try to stay away from him. Then comes Prince Harry, the youngest son. He's turning eighteen in less than two months, and he's an absolute sweetheart. Then, there's Princess Catherine-"

     I scoff, "Wait a moment, the youngest prince is a sweetheart? Are you saying that there's someone in that family who isn't a spoiled ass?"

     She lets out a laugh, and then she shushes me, "We can't say things like that in public, someone might hear us!"

     "Sorry," I say. "I just find it hard to believe that they can be anything other than rude and spoiled."

     "Speaking of rude and spoiled," Nellie mumbles, gesturing ahead of us. "Here comes Prince Louis."

     I look to where she's pointing, and I see a man a few years older than me coming our way. He's dressed in dark blue with golden embroidery, and his brown hair swept neatly to the side. His hands are behind his back as he nears us. Prue, Nellie, and Abigail immediately stop walking, line up, and bow their heads. I stand next to Prue but I don't bow my head. The Prince walks by us and gives us a quick glance.