Jewels of the Crown

♛ 8 ♛

Knocking gently, but loud enough to be heard inside, I wait for Victoria to come to the doors and open them for me. I return my hands to in front of me looking to the guards either side of me (one of Reginald's suggestions, more for our protection than hers apparently) wondering whether their allegiance is still to me, as I hear the sounds of her moving around inside the room. She opens the doors, and I am met with a sleepy-eyed, messy-haired Victoria. She is wearing one of my old nightgowns and looks like I have just woken her from her slumber. Her face doesn't look nearly as gaunt and slim as it did, and the bags around her eyes have lessened. She looks even younger and innocent than she did before and I first thought if that's possible, and I now know for definite she lied to me about her age when I first met her on the streets. Her grey eyes widen when they see me standing there, she obviously didn't expect to see me again after I showed her here about a week ago.

Since then I have been trying to find a way, with the advisors' help, to help the kingdom in some way, much to the chagrin of Reginald. While doing so, I have been taking trips into the kingdom whenever I found the time, getting used to it more and more, almost fitting in, which I never thought possible.

On the trips, I would sometimes see Faron. If he was working, I would catch his eye from afar, smiling at him, and on the occasion he was free, we would walk around the kingdom together. We even ventured up onto the wall again.

I learned that his mother had died in childbirth with him and that his father was always tough on him growing up. He opened up about feeling like his father always blamed him, even though he never said anything of the sort. Mostly, we talked about life and our dreams.

I wanted to return the favour and tell him about my innermost feelings like he had done, but I knew I couldn't fully, without giving my identity away. I did, however, tell him that my father died when I was younger and that I haven't ever been able to get over it since, which is true. I never really had time to grieve, as I had to continue with my duty as a princess. It was a shock when he died, and I always have had trouble with it.

I clear my throat, stopping myself from thinking about it any further. I've done a good job over the past years of pushing it down, hiding it from myself. I don't need to think about it, so I try not to.

"Your majesty," Victoria says going down into a curtsey.

"Please, call me Adellia." Hesitancy touches her features but smiles all the same. We stand in the doorway, just looking at each other before Victoria looks frantic and ashamed.

"Oh, please come in," she says moving back from the door, and into the room.

"We're not going to disrupt Audrey?" I ask, not wanting to impose on them.

"No, she's awake. Please," she says, motioning for me to enter. I step in, already dressed and ready for the day, and look around the room. It's a considerable size, holding a four poster bed, and fireplace, but still measly compared to the rest of the castle's rooms.

"How have they been treating you?" I ask, hoping that she hasn't been met with hostility.

"Perfectly, ma'am," she says clasping her hands together behind her back as if she was a worker of the castle waiting for my orders.

"Let's sit," I suggest, motioning to the chairs by the fireplace. She waits for me to move and sit first before she follows. As she walks, I look her over and see that her body has filled out as well. She no longer looks all bone, like I saw through the holes in her clothes.

It's amazing what a week of food, and good sleep can do.

She sits in the chair opposite me, slouching in it before looking to me and sitting up straight, not looking entirely comfortable.