Finding The Queen

Chapter Five

"I don't mean to be rude... But that is quite ridiculous and impossible." Rosa laughed slightly as the once Queen and the late King's Mother bowed down to her.

"I assure you child it is quite possible." Helena Saville said.

"But... I can't be Queen. I don't know anything about being Queen... I just know how to sell lace." Rosa said, she was starting to panic.

"Oh my dear child, we will teach you. Lilla is a lady, she dated my son since she was thirteen and then well she had you at sixteen." Helena said as she indicated to the woman beside her.

"I never thought I would see you again. My beautiful girl." Lilla cried as she grabbed Rosa into a tight hug.

"The bells!" Helena suddenly gasped. "We must ring the bells! Laith! Laith!" She called and the squire from earlier on in the day burst into the throne room.

"Yes your grace?" He asked as he bowed his head to the King's mother.

"Ring the bells." She demanded

"But your grace, it is very late. The city would not appreciate it." He tried to reason with her.

"This is a matter of high importance Laith. Dorland has found it's next Queen." The King's mother beamed as she indicated to her Granddaughter. Laith suddenly gasped and bent so low that he was nearly kissing the floor.

"The city will be alerted at once!" He declared before he scurried off to the bell tower.

"Now we need to prepare you for what is to come. You must be recognised by the people, and crowned and then we need to prepare you for all the rules that comes with a life at court and then, of course, you must be married." Helena started to say, but Rosa wasn't listening, she was too busy focusing on trying to breathe. Her chest was tightening and her head was spinning, this was all too much.

"Rosa, just breathe. In and out." Isaac chanted into his daughter's ear.

"What's wrong?" Lilla, Rosa's birth mother questioned as she pushed aside the mother of her only love.

"She's having a panic attack, she can't breathe." Isaac explained.

"She's just being dramatic." Helena, said trying to downplay the momentous scale of her previous conversation.

"No. You were overwhelming her." Lilla snapped at the woman she once hoped would be her mother-in-law. "Help me get her to a char." Lilla said more gently to Isaac as she supported half of Rosa's weight the other half was supported by Isaac.

The pair placed Rosa on the large centre throne, the one that was built only for the reigning monarch. Once settled the pair backed away down the stairs to join the King mother.

"Rosalind, I know that it may be strange, at first, but you can't deny that you feel a sense of belonging - no matter how small." Lilla almost whispered. And for a moment, sat there on that throne, Rosa did feel like she was born to sit there.

After a night spent in the most comfortable and lavish room that Rosa could have imagined, the day that followed was full of chaos. Helena had already set the plans for her formal recognition as the rightful and only heir of King Nelson.

"Obviously, all the dignitaries will be there, along with the royal families from the bordering countries. Rosalind, it's important that you keep good communication with these countries... Doreland doesn't need a war at this present time. The privy council will be there also and the Archbishop of the Capital will recognise you as the rightful heir. Is there anyone that you wish to invite?" Helena questioned as she checked off things on her list.

"Um, I would like my adoptive parents to be there and my best friend, Lily Heads, and her family to be there."

"Of course." Helena smiled as she indicated to Laith to jot the names down on his long list of invitations. "Laith they need to be sent out tonight at the latest."

"Yes mam."

The pair walked towards the altar where Rosa would be recognised by the Archbishop.

"When will all of this be taking place?" Rosa questioned, she tried to sound as dignified as possible, she was of course supposed to be the next Queen of Doreland.

"Two days from now. Before then we have a few more errands to run. The rest of this afternoon you will have meetings with people who will catch you up to speed with the country's well being and what exactly your job as it's ruler entails. If you wish, I can serve as your regent for a few months until you get the hang of it." Helena offered Rosa as Lilla approached the two of them.

"I'm sure that that won't be necessary Helena, I'm sure Rosalind is a fast enough learner that she'll get the hang of it." Lilla added as she butted into the current conversation between Grandmother and Granddaughter. "Come Rosalind, we have a dress fitting to get to." Lilla smiled as she linked arms with the daughter that she thought she would never see again. As the pair walked away from the altar, Lilla leaned over to whisper into her daughter's ear. "Helena may seem like she wants to help, but she is skilled in the art of manipulation. She more often than not gets what she wants. And what she wants is power, the power that your throne will give her. Watch your back my child." Lilla finished saying just as they reached Rosa's new quarters.

"What do you mean?" Rosa asked confused. Her grandmother had her chance of ruling Doreland, why would she need to do it again?

"Not here, later." Lilla said as she looked around at all of the dress designers who were dying at the chance to design something, anything for their next queen. "Ah Ezra Cunningham, I have not seen you in ages." Lilla smiled at a man that looked to be around the same age as her, maybe a couple of years older.

"Lady Greerson, a pleasure as always." He smiled before he bowed lowly to Rosa, which the rest of the designers followed. After a few minutes of Rosa staring at them bowing down to her, she caught Lilla's eye who signaled to her that she should use her hand. Following her advice, Rosa used her hand to beckon the men upwards. "If I may your grace, I would show you the dress that I made for your recognition as well as the designs for your coronation dress."

"Of course Mr Cunningham, please." Rosa said as she indicated him forward. He led her first to a red dress, that was mainly constructed from lace.

"And this is my design for your coronation I plan to make the dress in ice blue now that I have seen you, it would really compliment your complexion. Please keep the design so you can compare with the others." He smiled as he handed her the parchment.

"That dress is stunning Mr Cunningham, however, I feel that red may be a little too bold for my recognition ceremony." Rosa explained, she had something a little bit more subtle in mind. "Tell me what is it that you plan to do with this dress now that I have rejected it for my ceremony?"

"I will sell it your grace, and if it doesn't sell then I will have to throw it out." He explained.

"How much were you planning on selling it for?"

"I used good lace your grace, expensive lace. Maybe twenty thousand desos your grace."

"I will buy it from you." Lilla said quickly. "And I will give you an extra five thousand to fit and tailor it to our queen. It will be my present on her recognition day."

"You don't have to do that, that's expensive." Rosa whispered as she moved onto the next designer's dress which was a ghastly monstrosity full of feathers.

"No gift will ever be too expensive for you now. Now, you are a queen." Lilla smiled down at her daughter. The pair analysed every single dress in that room until they decided on a black and gold that would be perfect for the ceremony. They then went back over the designs and finally picked Ezra Cunningham's ice blue dress.

"May I say your grace, you will be the desire of every man's heart." Ezra smiled as he bowed and kissed the hand of Rosa. And looking at how charming she was, Lilla couldn't help but agree.