Saving Her Kingdom

♡ Chapter 19

Anna's ballgown ^^

Chapter 19 (Edited)

The next morning, Thomas and I stood in front of the door of the queen's study. Thomas glanced at me. "You have your mother's necklace?"

"Yes. And you have the book?"

He nodded. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," I nodded, determined.

He knocked at the door and we heard the queen's melodic voice say, "Come in."

Thomas opened the door for me and closed it after him. The queen was sitting in an armchair, reading a book and she raised her head when we came in, closing her book. She arched her eyebrows, "Tommy and Anna! What a pleasant surprise!"

Thomas scowled at the name but greeted her, "Hi, mother."

I suppressed a laugh and said, "Good morning, Rosalie!"

"Have a seat," she said with a smile and pointed at the sofa in front of her. We sat down and she asked, "So, what do I owe the pleasure this morning?"

Thomas gestured at me to explain, so I answered, "I told Thomas about me being the princess of Ravenport. I found a very interesting book about a secret in my kingdom in the library, and I already shared it with him. We wanted to have your opinion on this. It is about a secret that could change everything and help my father take the throne back."

The queen had opened her eyes wide, processing what I just said. She nodded slowly. "Do you have it with you?"

Thomas took the book from his pocket and handed it to his mother. "'The secret of the kingdom of Ravenport'", she read the title and opened the book.

After calmly reading the first three pages, the queen looked at us again, a glint of curiosity and excitement in her eyes. I immediately took out my mother's necklace. "The pendant of my mother's necklace is the key."

She raised her eyebrows in excitement. "Oh! You already have it!"

"Yes. I took it with me on the day of the fire."

"So, you want to discover this secret," she stated.

"Yes," I confirmed.

"And you, Thomas?"

"I'll help."

She nodded thoughtfully. "I see."

I waited for her to speak again, but she continued to stare at me, then at Thomas, an unreadable twinkle in her eyes. Just as I was about to speak again, she said, "Good. The ball is tomorrow."

What has this got to do with the book?

"You two will leave the day after the ball."

I sucked in a breath. "What? We're leaving?", I asked incredulously.

"Together?", Thomas added.

She tried to hold back a smirk. "Yes, certainly. You're leaving together. And I know where you have to go to find out what the message in the old Celtic language says."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really?", I said with a wide smile.

"Yes," she said smiling, and then explained, "To my knowledge, there is only one place where you can find someone who still knows the old languages in our kingdom. I don't know which language it is, but there's no doubt it was spoken in the area. They live in the Vast Forest, on the border between the kingdoms of Tannerson and Ravenport. I know that they are recluse and rarely seen. So, you have to look for them, and they will hopefully translate the message."

Thomas and I looked at each other. "Looks like we're going for a trip," I said and grinned.

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I looked at myself in the big mirror. Yesterday, I had played my third concert at dinner on the pianoforte, after figuring out what I would take to travel, and it had earned me a lot of compliments. Today, I had prepared myself for the ball, which started in the evening. Most ladies, including me, had ordered their lunch in their room, not to be interrupted in their preparations.

I knew that nobles and foreign people would be at the ball, because they arrived yesterday. The ladies would be in their most beautiful ballgowns, and I didn't want to dishonor Elisa, who I would be accompanying, by not wearing a ballgown of her standards.

The beautiful ballgown was light blue, with a lacy corset. I wore a crystal necklace borrowed from Elisa, with the appropriated earrings and bracelets. Lola had made an impeccable make-up. She had braided my long brown hair in a complex braid with hair pins, and ornated it with pearls. And lastly, she had tucked a few small white feathers in the braid.

I was beautiful. I looked like a princess. And that was a problem. I didn't want to attract too much attention to myself. I sighed. To say I was anxious would be an understatement. It was my first real ball.

Being fourteen when I left my kingdom, I wasn't allowed to go to balls with everyone until sixteen. The only times where I went, were when I played on a small concert on the pianoforte, the harp or the violin, and often with Marguerite. But I was never allowed to dance, eat or mingle with everyone. Luckily, when Marguerite had been to her first ball, she told me everything that had happened, so I knew what I had to do.

I took one more look at the mirror. I looked even more beautiful than I had always thought I would for my first ball. Sadly, it would be without my father and Marguerite.

Lola stepped quietly beside me. "Are you alright, my lady? You're awfully quiet. Aren't you satisfied?"

I mustered a smile. "I love it, Lola. You really outdid yourself."

She beamed at me. "Of course. I want you to be the most beautiful lady at the ball. The gentlemen will only have eyes for you. And if you're lucky, you might catch the eye of eligible bachelors."

I chuckled nervously. "Of course, of course. That's a good thing..."

Lola widened her eyes as if she remembered something. "Oh, and I have to tell you. Every lady who isn't married will be presented. That includes you. So, you have to go to the lounge to the right of the grand stairs and wait for you to be announced."

I nodded. "Alright. Thank you, Lola."

She smiled and went to open the door for me. I straightened my back and my shoulders and held my head high, with my hands clasped together on the front of my dress.

I passed the door, sending a grateful smile to Lola, which she returned, and walked down the hallway, full of other ladies who were going to the lounge, like me.

I entered the lounge and stared around me in awe. Every lady was in their finest dress and jewelry, and each looked more beautiful than the other. I saw Michelle talking with another lady and took a step towards her, but was interrupted by Elisa's overly excited voice. "Anna!"

I turned around to find Elisa rushing towards me with the biggest smile I had ever seen. "Can you believe it? I'm finally going to a ball!", she exclaimed and laughed happily.

I nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! We're going to have fun!"

"Yes! I'm so excited! Oh, and I'll use your flirting techniques by the way."

"Oh no, please don't! I agree with Thomas and Gaby on this one. You're still too young. Just dance like you learned with your teacher, and only with people you know."

She huffed. "Fine. But nobody will stop me in two years! Not even my brothers!"

I winced, imagining Gaby's and Thomas' faces at that statement.

Suddenly, the shrill voice of an older lady yelled over the loud chatter, "Ladies, be quiet and get in line! You will get announced!"

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Hi friends,

So, this was chapter 19! What do you think?

Don't hesitate to vote, comment and share!! ♡

Love,

Floriane