The Destitute Queen || h.s. au

101. Milena

     The sun shines brightly through the glass door, waking me from my dreamless sleep. It takes some time to pry my eyes open, the blinding light from the sun making it difficult not to squint. Why is it so bright? It's the first of February, and it's been gloomy every day since December.

     A smile creeps up on my face when I realize that today is my wedding day. It's just so hard to believe that, today, I will become a wife and a queen. Both titles are quite intimidating.

     I look around the room to see that I am alone. Harry had said yesterday that it's bad luck for a groom to see his bride before the wedding, so he slept in Prince Liam's room last night. That explains why he isn't here, but what about the women who were supposed to help me get ready?

     The clock shows that it is already eleven in the morning. The wedding is at one in the afternoon, they should be here by now. I get out of bed and put some slippers on, deciding to look for any one of them on the off chance that they forgot.

     I leave my room and look both ways down the hallway. That's odd, it's never empty. I go down the left side of the hallway, hoping to run across someone. No one shows up.

     Then, I begin running. I check every room I run across, only to find them all empty. Rushing to the maids' room, I hope I can find somebody there who can give me some answers as to why everyone has seemingly disappeared. The wedding is in less than two hours, and there's not a single person in sight.

     It starts to get harder to breathe as I run, but I don't stop. When I get to the maids' room, I use my remaining strength to push the doors open. Empty.

     The entire maids' room looks spotless. The beds are all made, the floors shining, and the sun beaming through the glass door leading to the balcony. Where the hell is everyone?

     I rush over to the balcony, looking out over the garden in the hopes that someone will be out there. I notice a figure in the garden, someone is sitting by the fountain. Sighing in relief, I rush out of the maids' room and through the halls. Before I know it, I reach the garden.

     I can't tell who's sitting on the bench by the fountain, but it seems like a woman.

     "Excuse me," I say to the dark-haired woman, who's back is facing towards me. She turns around when she hears me. She seems awfully familiar, but I can't seem to remember exactly who she is. "Do you know where-"

     Suddenly, it hits me. This woman, who I haven't seen in years, has my eyes. She smiles warmly at me and stands up.

     "Hello, darling," her sweet voice brings me comfort, but I am unable to respond.

     After a few moments, I find my voice. "M – Mama?" All she does is smile in return, opening her arms. I waste no time in running into her arms and hugging her as tight as I can.

     "I must be dreaming," I mumble, refusing to let go of her. Either that, or my mind is playing tricks on me. I don't care if it is, my mother is here with me, and that's all I care about.

     "You are dreaming." She responds. "But that does not mean this isn't real."

     I look up at her with tears of joy in my eyes. "I don't understand. How can this be real if it's all a dream?"

     "Sit with me, sweetheart, I've come to tell you something." Mama says, and we both sit down. She wipes the tears from my eyes and warmly smiles. "I've been watching you grow into a beautiful, intelligent, strong young woman, Mila."

     I had nearly forgotten that she used to call me Mila just like Alec does.

     "Ten years..." I whisper in disbelief. "Ten years have passed."