The Destitute Queen || h.s. au

36. Lena

     "Please bow in the presence of His Majesty, King Louis III..." I sigh as I sweep the floors, listening to a man announce the Royal family. It's not as though I want to be down there, where the ball is taking place. I prefer being alone up here, but the amount of dust filling my lungs is rather unpleasant.

     I do, however, wonder they look like. I have met Prince Liam and Prince Louis, but I do not believe I've had the dishonor of meeting the King and Queen yet. I also have not become acquainted with neither Prince Harry nor Princess Catherine. From what I heard, Princess Catherine is a spoiled brat. But I'm willing to bet she can't be that bad. She is only fifteen years of age, after all.

     I get lost in my thoughts as the image of Henry suddenly crosses my mind. I haven't seen him at all today, I wonder if everything's alright.

     Of course everything is alright, I tell myself. It's alright for two friends to not see each other every day. A small part of me does wish that I could see him soon. I think he may be one of the closest friends I have here. Other than Prue, of course. Funny, I haven't seen her today, either.

     Come to think of it, the only servant I've seen today is Nellie. Where is everyone?

     I cringe at the thought of Nellie. She showed me her hands earlier, and they looked horribly blistered and painful. She's a strong woman, I don't think I would be able to handle it if that happened to me. Just the image of it sends pain to my own hands.

     Before I know it, I'm finished sweeping. The floor looks bright and beautiful, I can even see my faint reflection on the golden tile. I realize that I have to go back down now, but I don't want to. I suppose it would be alright if I just stayed here for a while longer.

     That's when I notice the glass doors to the balcony that Nellie and I had hung the curtains on last week, and I head toward it. Once I step outside, I breathe in the fresh air. The sun has barely began to set, casting a golden glow on the kingdom.

     I must've spent nearly an hour up here already, but I just cannot separate myself from this balcony. It's so peaceful out here, as opposed to the loud mess of people in the ballroom. I can, however, hear the lovely music being played.

     "Lena!" I jump in fright when someone shouts my name, and I quickly spin to see who it was, my heart racing like never before. I sigh in relief when I see that it is only Henry.

     "Oh, Henry. You startled me," I breathe.

     "Sorry," he apologizes. "What are you doing up here all by yourself?"

     I turn back to the sunset as he walks towards me. "Edith wanted me to sweep the floors. I guess I stayed up here after I was finished because I don't really do well in crowded areas."

     "Neither do I," he says with a smile. "These royal balls always made me uncomfortable."

     "How many have you been to?" I ask in a way that is going to tell me how long he's been here.

     He chuckles. "More than I can count. Oh, I brought a plate of sweets with me, would you like some?"

     He holds the plate out, and I feel a bit embarrassed in saying, "I've never really eaten any sweets, I'm not sure if I'd like any of them."

     "Really?" He widens his eyes. "How about chocolate? Surely you've had chocolate before."

     Alec once told me that Papa had given us some chocolate when we were young because he had been saving up coins for us, but I don't remember it because I was only three years of age. "No, I haven't. Chocolate is hard to come by in the village." What I didn't want to tell him is that we were too poor to afford chocolate.