The Wings of the Beautifully Fallen

Chapter 17: Illiana

Chapter 17: Illiana

"My lady. It is time to wake up else you will be late for dinner!"

A groan escaped from me as I turned away from the voice, my body curling up underneath the blanket. I did not want to get up, I did not want dinner, I just wanted to sleep. The voice let out a small giggle which was followed by a hand falling on my shoulder and shaking it gently.

"Well, she did just arrive a few hours, she has got to be exhausted." Another voice sounded a few feet away.

"Still, we were asked to wake her up and get her ready for dinner." The first voice responded and that was when I realized that the voice was a female. Her hand fell on me once more and gave me another small shake. "Come on, my lady, you can sleep more after dinner."

With a small whine, my eyes cracked open and I glanced up at the girl who stood above me. She had black hair that was wrapped around the top of her head and her dark brown eyes stared down at me with a smile.

"See, that was not to hard!" She laughed loudly, taking a step away from the bed and held her hand out for me to grab. "Come, my lady, it is time to get dressed."

"Who are you?" I questioned her, my gaze sweeping over the room that I was in. It was far bigger than the one that I had at home and was much more comforting. The room had a cream white colorization throughout. Even the bedding was so. It had a darker cream-like color that casted swirls on the top of the blanket and the pattern matched those on the curtains that draped over the two windows. Across from me was the door leading out to the main hall and to the other parts of the castle. To my right was another door, a different one, that was much smaller than the first. It was a pale brown wooden door that connected to the bathroom.

"I am Isabella and this is Elizabeth." The first girl motioned to another one that stood on my left, beside the giant wardrobe that protruded from the wall. The other girl, Elizabeth, had blond hair that was tied up into a bun at the top of her head.

"You can call me Lizzy if you would like, my lady." She responded as she walked forward, my blue dress in her arms. "After you eat, we can get you ready for bed once more, but for now we want to make sure you eat well." Elizabeth explained as she draped the dress on the edge of the bed.

"We can help you get dressed if you like, if not then we can leave you to do it on your own." Isabella smiled softly as I slid my legs out from underneath the blankets and shoved myself onto my feet and onto the cold floor beneath. I shook my head, my hand reaching towards the dress on the bed.

"I will change in the bathroom if I may." I muttered softly, unsure of what else to say. I wanted to change on my own, to have at least some control over myself even if I could not really have any control in the situation I was in.

"That is fine, my lady." Elizabeth smiled brightly and I nodded my head once and hurried to the bathroom, quickly changing into the gown that they had given me.

There was still a part of me that did not want to accept that I was here, that I was forced to be here against my will. I did not want to be married, did not want to have children, and did not want to suffer. Why could I not make the choice on my own? Why did others have to choose for me? To force this all on me?

There was only one part inside of me that made me feel better, one par that allowed me to be calm about all of this. Well, as calm as anyone could be. I slowly stepped back outside and saw the two girls standing beside the table in the center of the room.

"We should brush your hair real quick, just so it is no sticking out all over when you are eating." Isabella walked towards me, her gentle hand slipping around mine as she pulled me forward and placing me into the chair at the table. Elizabeth was the one with the simple brown brush and, as she stepped up behind me, I could feel the brush tugging through my hair. Not that it really hurt, it was just a surprise as I had never allowed anyone to touch my hair. It was one of the things that I wanted to continue to have control over, something that I wanted to have for myself and no one else. That was what I had always wanted, to be able to control what I wanted and needed.