a second chance in love

Chapter 17

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"The picture of perfection
Is only in your mind
For all your expectations
Love can never be designed

We either take each other
For everything we are
Or leave the life we've made behind
And make another start"

- Love Me For What I Am by Carpenters

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Some would say he, who held no status in society primarily due to a lack of wealth, prestige, or education is of no importance. They are not well respected or even outcast by society.

They who work more hours than necessary to put bread on the table at home.

They who put other's needs above their own, not out of their own will, but as a means of living and surviving.

She hears about her before she sees her. They say she was kind, albeit a bit shy but in an adorable way. Say she was too young for the prince, or too naive to be part of the royals. However, the more they gossip, the more she realizes this lady is but another aristocrat, another person born fortunate, another person who may be considered God's favored. She doesn't really care either way, she was never the one for gossip.

It wasn't like it was her fault the lady had been brought up to this world with a silver spoon whilst she, with a rag.

Her Queen is more important. The monarch who will lead its people towards the greater good. That's where her loyalty lies. So, she shrugged the gossip aside and spent her days, scraping the marble floors and wiping the windows until they glisten like a sun in the sky.

Right, she is nothing but another person who is tasked to keep the Balmoral Castle spotless and unstained.

When she sees her for the first time, she passes by her in the hallway. She is walking beside the son of the current monarch, Charles the Prince of Wales. The afternoon sunlight dances on her skin and hair, enveloping her in a warm shine. She is utterly mesmerized, and so she allows herself to stop for a second and admire the sight in front of her.

This did not go unnoticed by Diana who approached the girl, leaving the Prince on the sideline watching them interact.

The lady stood a little higher than her, whether it was due to her status or just her towering figure compared to her small ones, she didn't know.

"My name is Diana," she offers, still smiling. She knows it, of course. It's hard not to when she's practically infiltrated the little talks of her fellow workers.

"I'm Leah," she answers.

"It's very nice to meet you, Leah. I hope we'll get along." the lady smiled— offering a hand for a handshake she presumes, taking Leah aback.

It was weird, the lady squeezing her hands firmly, and then she was gone.

Leah stares after her for a solid minute, standing in an empty hallway like an idiot and watching them, her, enter the drawing room.

It was just a simple touch, but a very uncommon gesture between those of high status and those who are not. It leaves Leah shaken to her core, she was a mere royal staff after all.

It feels familiar, Diana feels familiar in a way she has yet to comprehend. Leah feels like they've met before, and feels like she knows the lady, even though she doesn't. She just met her, but it doesn't seem this way.