Never Royals, After All

9 - The Morning After

AS DAWN APPROACHED yet again after a long night, Zamira came to a seated position at the edge of the forest. She waited with excitement, wondering what stories Charlotte would have about the ball and how the royals treated her.

Zamira watched the horses prance around in the stables and the curious lower-class children play a game of who'll-dare-to-get-the-closest-to-the-castle-gates. Their carefree laughter made the dragon think of her own childhood, her own brothers and sisters and friends that would dare her to do things she knew she shouldn't be doing, and she'd do them anyways to prove that she was just as big and brave as the rest of them.

She did grow to be the biggest and bravest of them, too. So much that she was the only one who could survive the hunters.

As time went by, she grew more nervous. What was taking the maid so long?

Eventually, after about an hour or two, the dragon concluded that Charlotte just wasn't coming today. Perhaps she got in trouble for not cleaning something properly, or she slept in again and missed her chance to go to the forest, or maybe she had already made new friends and realized that women who crawled around in the dirt were near insanity.

Well, it's true, She thought to herself, lighting candles in the woods and praying to crystals is enough to get her burned at the stakes.

It was a good thing her stash was well-hidden in a forest that few people cared enough about to venture into. Zamira didn't even want to think about what would happen to her friend if her practices were discovered.

Speaking of her friend, Charlotte was having quite an eventful morning.

"What do you mean she won't be my handmaid anymore?!"

The entire castle heard Princess Greta's wrath that morning.

"Sweetheart, she's marrying your brother. She's going to be queen someday, that means she can't-"

"She is NOT going to be queen! She can't be queen!" She screeched, cutting off her reasoning father's voice.

"She can, and she will." Unraed said with authority as he walked into the tense room.

Charlotte caught herself sighing in relief at his late presence to the table. Although he was currently the royal at the top of her hit-list, he was the one who could save her from the other three.

The prince slid into his seat next to Charlotte, leaning in to whisper by her ear. "I'm sorry for leaving you alone with them. I had a situation with a servant that I had to take care of."

She simply nodded in response, knowing there was nothing she could do.

"And where have you been, Unraed?" The queen asked after swallowing a piece of vegetable.

"Who cares where he was? He should've just stayed there." Greta spat.

Her mother glared at her, shutting her up temporarily.

"I do apologize- I was caught up in the hall with that little chef boy that was serving the snacks last night. I simply had to correct him." Unraed explained.

He went on, and the others moved into a more casual conversation. Charlotte, however, found herself staring hard at her plate in thought. She couldn't shake the feeling that the hungry little boy had been more than just 'corrected'. It made her abdomen twist into uncomfortable knots, until she had to excuse herself from the table. As she politely but awkwardly scurried out of the room, the queen mumbled about the girl's future image.

"She'll learn, honey. Give her a bit of time." The king reasoned with his wife.

She nodded, trying to trust in him while Greta and Unraed glared at one another. Meanwhile, Charlotte was picking up her natural pace down the hall until it turned desperate. She raced through the castle, searching for any signs of the serving boy.