Pauper Syndrome

3

"Ma'am, would you like some water?" asks the woman as she gently escorts me inside. She sees my dirtied face but doesn't seem to think much of it. In fact, I don't even think she recognizes who I am.

I nod my head slightly. She promptly sits me in a chair and walks towards the area that I would presume to be the kitchen. I find myself in a small and dusty house that is too cold for my liking. The only source of heat is the fireplace located in the middle of the room which, even at my close proximity, I can barely notice. The floor creaks every time she walks. There is a silent threat that looms around the house giving you the feeling it could collapse at any moment. Still, it is the only place that has welcomed me.

A small glass of water appears in front of me as the lady smiles. She walks to the other side of the table and sits down, facing me. She's got dirty blond hair and blue eyes. A face aged with wrinkles. She's got a slim build and wears a typical outfit for people in the outskirts. Simple and shabby, even our servants can afford better fabric.

"So where are you from my dear?" she asks sweetly.

I take a sip of my water. There is a strange chemical aftertaste. I flash her a well rehearsed grin. "I'm from the capital."

Her eyebrows raise slightly, her generous smile showing no hint of retreating. "That's lovely! I've always wanted to see what it was like. My son tells me all sorts of stories about it."

This strikes me a bit odd. "Have you never been to the capital?"

She shakes her head. "I've been here all my life."

"Oh," I can think of nothing to say. I could never imagine living in the Palace my entire life, and I don't think I've even lived for half as long as she has. "Well maybe you should get your son to take you sometime?"

She shakes her head at this. "No, I could never bother him so much. You've seen him, he's on patrol even in the middle of the night. The captain won't let him rest even though the others have long since gone to bed."

It's as if someone has just smashed a giant coconut against my head.

My mouth drops open. "That was your son?"

She laughs. "Yes, he is my son. I look away for two seconds and he's already turning nineteen in the fall."

I instinctively take another sip of water. "He's the same age as me then."

For some reason he felt much older.

"That's wonderful, you two would get along."

I shake my head immediately, a half hearted smile on my face. "No, no. I'm afraid I've already made a bad impression. But do tell me what his identification number is so that I can bring this up with the captain that patrols this area. We can't have him work more than he's supposed to."

She shakes her head once more. "Oh, I can't have you do that. It wouldn't be fair for the others who are like him. The royal forces were tough enough to be recruited as is."

"Well, at least let me get his name."

"His name is Liam. Liam Hall," she replies smiling up again. "Which reminds me, I have yet to introduce myself. My name is Louisa."

I feel a smile stretch across my face as if I am in kindergarten and making friends with the class. Only I've never gone to kindergarten, having been tutored all my life.

"My name is A-" I stop in the middle of the sentence.

Three more coconuts falls off the tree and smack me in the head. At this rate it would be most efficient to strap a basket to my head so I may collect the fruits.

Louisa raises an eyebrow.

"Ana," I say with a smile, trying to laugh it off.

"Well then, Ana, welcome to our little home. I don't know why you're here but as long as you are my son's friend, you are welcome to stay for as long as you like."

Still trying to laugh it off, I thank her as much as I possibly can. This is bad. I feel like an imposter. As if I was a duck that people have convinced others to believe is a chicken. This Liam guy, could he have actually been a nice person?

"Now then," she says with a bit of a smirk. "May I recommend a bath for you?"

I imagine I must look like a Santa who has fallen down the chimney and burnt his butt. Through my dirt splattered and tear ridden face, I desperately want to hug Louisa. She, however, must be wishing the exact opposite.

Finally taking off that muddy dress, I took what had to be the best bath ever. Although the tub was small and comparable to the size of a medium barrel, the feeling of fresh clean water on my skin was more than I could have hoped for. After all, I was so close to being sent back to hell itself. As I get dressed in some extra clothes Louise managed to find in the basement, I can't help but look around at my surroundings some more. There is only one bathroom in the entire house and it is by no means big. From what I observed, I could see the toilet from the bath tub. Goodness, people must really have it inconvenient around here. I mean, what if someone needed to go really badly whilst someone else was taking a bath? The thought sends shutters down my spine. I decided right then and there that the first thing I will do as Queen is build bathrooms with separate bathtubs and toilets.

As I tuck myself into bed, I find it just a bit hard to fall asleep. Just two hours ago I had been at the palace getting into bed until Mr. I'm-so-obnoxious-but-I'm-still-a-prince-so-you-can't-do-anything-about-it decided to come and harass me like the scum of the earth that he is. The room smells faintly of sandalwood, a scent I've come to realize I like very much. I toss and turn and realize that really, it is very impossible to fall asleep. In the past two hours I've encountered a jerk, met another jerk who turned out not to be such a jerk, befriended a nice lady, took a bath in a barrel, and, am going to sleep in a stranger's bed. There was more action today than there would've been in years at the Palace. My heart skips a little when I realize that I'll probably be spending some time around here, longer than I care to admit. Who knows? Maybe I'll even encounter Liam again. Maybe then I can finally ask him the question that's been on my mind this entire time. Since the moment he brought me here.

How come your mother is so much better company than you?

I throw the covers over my head in laughter. Who am I kidding, the first thing that will come out of my mouth is a thank you.