{Eleanora's P.O.V}
"Please my love, be safe and be sure to take your fruits and your food. Tonio cooked it. Also be sure to call and make sure you don't get too-"
"Yes, yes, yes. Babe. I'll obey every single one of your instructions and be sure to be safe. No worries. Besides, I'll be coming home today once the meeting has been finalized". My husband said as he removed my hands from his blazer.
I smiled and dropped my hands. "I love you". I told him.
I was expecting a 'love you too' reply but he just kissed my forehead and entered the car. I couldn't even tell him one last goodbye before the car bolted out the gates.
It's only my husband that takes a race car to work!
I sighed heavily and walked into the mansion, running into Kalia on the way.
"What about Mary?" I asked her as I walked up the stairs, not knowing the exact room Mary was. Ever since I got married, I haven't had time to explore the mansion. The only six places I know is My matrimonial bedroom, my bathroom, the dinning hall, the garden and the fireplace. The rest,I haven't set a foot there. Even the kitchen.
"She's in her room, your highness" she replied.
"Which of the room upstairs?"
"Your highness, all workers in this mansion have their rooms downstairs". She replied me which made me stop right in my tracks. I smacked my forehead with my palm before turning back around to go see her.
"Any appointment for the day?" I asked Kalia while she showed me the way to Mary's room.
"Today's the nation's women's day and normally the queen sees all the noble women in the land, but now that the Queen passed away and the King's current wife hasn't been coronated, you'll have to represent the Queen, your highness". She replied.
"Is that the only appointment for today?"
"No, your highness. You were also called by royal entertainment to talk about life as a married woman and how it's changed you" Kalia said, as she directed me another hallway with a lot of doors.
"These are the rooms for all workers in the mansion, your highness". Said Kalia when she saw how confused I was to see another hallway of doors.
"Where's Mary's room?" I asked her.
"Do come with me, your highness". She replied and led the way.
"Is that all the appointments for today?" I asked her.
"The prime minister also wants to see you this morning before you go to any of you appointments. He said it was very important". Kalia said.
"Well, it seems I have a lot of places to go. Once you take me to where Mary is, you walk up to my room and get me a beautiful Pantsuit to wear. I'm tired of gowns anyway. Once you're done with that, you go and look for Lucas, tell him to be ready for me before I gets out of the mansion and also, tell Tonio to prepare something for I and my husband before we get back home at night" I ordered and she nodded.
"Yes, your highness. We're here, your highness". Kalia said as she opened the last door in the room.
I walked inside and saw Ciara sitting beside Mary who was shivering under the blanket.
"Good morning, your hi-" I touched Ciara to stop her from ridiculously greeting me. Ciara stood up from her chair which I sat on, holding Mary's hand.
"Yo...ur...hi...gh...ness" Mary stuttered as she tried to sit up but I stopped her before she had the chance to.
"Stay here, Mary. Be good and recover fast. As for Leila, I'm coming for her". I promised, then stood up from chair.
"Ciara, stay here and take here of Mary. I won't be around today. Got some places to go but as soon as I'm back, I'll come back and check on you". I assured the both of them before I walked away.
I didn't want to spend more time with Mary than I should, or I wouldn't have peace of mind and the more guilt hits me, the more anger in me towards Leila.
Treating the lives of maids as a warning or as a threat or even as a shield is what some royals do nowadays, smearing the royalty blood. Despicable is all I can say.
It wasn't quite easy to find my way out of the workers hallway but I eventually did, after accidentally barging in on two workers having fun.
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"The king remarried three weeks after the death of his Queen... The truth behind the whole story"
" Despite having a friendly deposition, Duchess Leila and Princess Eleanora don't seem to be as close as they seem"
"The difference between Princess Eleanora Andrews and Princess Eleanora Henia... It's no doubt that Princess Eleanora has changed after she got married to the love of her life, Duke of Welinba. Her dressing has improved..."
I felt a little tap on my laps. I traced the hand slowly to see the owner of the hand, and saw Lucas. I shot him a glare, I'mmediately he removed his hand and adjusted himself.
"I just... just wanted to let you know...that we're here, your highness". He explained but I wasn't ready to hear excuses.
"What happened to your voice that you couldn't speak up?"
"I tried to tell you...your highness, but..." He trailed off.
"But what?"
"You were busy with your phone and you didn't hear me, so I thought..."
"Let this be the first and last time, you try that with me!" I warned, not interested in his answer, I walked out of the car, where the butler of the Prime Minister's mansion was waiting for me.
"Good morning, your highness. This way, please" the butler said leading me into the mansion.
I followed the butler into the mansion, every worker greeting on the way to where he was leading me to until he brought me to a garden.
"You can have your seat, your highness. I'll go get my master". Said the butler before he closed the glass doors, leaving me alone in the garden.
I sat on one of the cushion chairs close to the water fountain, I removed my pumps and put my legs in the fountain. The feeling of rushing water falling on my legs triggered something I couldn't explain and before I knew it I was kicking the water, playing with the water in such a crazy and funny way.
"I'm glad you're having fun, Princess". I heard. I traced the sound to the source and saw the Prime Minister sitting on picnic chair and holding a document.
The prime minister was a good friend of my father and he's already old but he still allows me to talk to him so informally.
"When did you arrive?" I asked him.
"Not long ago". He announced and I smiled. I removed my legs from the fountain and sat properly like a princess should.
"So?... How's life, old man?" I asked him. The last time I had a conversation with him one on one was eight years ago, when Annabelle ruined the party I arranged for grandma and I went to him for a back up plan. That on its own, is a long story. In other words, it's been a long time since we could talk like this.
"I should be asking you that, Nora. I mean, with everything that has happened..." he trailed off, trying not to touch the emotional topics.
I sighed and smiled. " It is well". Was all I could say.
He stood up and walked to my side, then sat on the fountain stone, looking down at me.
"As you know, the Consorts family has taken over the royal court now" he started.
"That's because grandpa gave them the chance. If I was king, the first thing I'll do, is clear the way for whoever will be an obstacle for me" I said angrily, clutching my fists as I remembered Grandpa's wedding to his consort.
"Being a king is easier said than done. It carries Respect and honour but also carries responsibility and tolerance".
I scoffed at him, even though I already knew what he wanted to say.
He studied me well, like he was trying to choose his next words carefully. Then he asked me "Are you that angry with your Grandpa?...To cut off all ties from him?"
I glared at the old man, then rolled my eyes at him in disrespect "He told you" I muttered in anger.
"I understand he's an invincible king to you, but even with all those Façade, he's just a normal human privileged to be born into royalty".
"What happens between my grandfather and I is none of your business! Do mind your business, old man!" I told him, rudely which I honestly didn't mean.
He sighed and stood up. Then looked to the skies. "One day you'll understand. This thing called royalty is just one big game". He told me.
"Well, before the game ends, why don't I enjoy it while it lasts"
"Nora... You'll understand one day, what it means to try to balance power but not being able" He said, holding his hands at his back. Then he turned around to look at me, giving me the brown file in his hand.
"What's this?" I asked him, totally and clearly confused why he's giving me a random document.
"Something you should keep away from even your soul". He answered and I must confess, my heart jumped for a minute there. But then I got confused. He must have seen my confused face because he sat down, with eyes suddenly filled with fire he said "Your grandmother protected this with her life. Your grandmother died for it, your father was killed for it, your mother also died because of it and your grandfather is currently being pressured to release this document. In other words, except you have a death wish, don't show this document to anyone, including your soul!"
" What do you mean by my father is dead?...He just decided to travel the world. He didn't die!" I fiercely defended him. He looked at me with a smile on his lips and I could swear that I almost struck his face for being so ridiculous at this critical moment.
"I forgot to tell you. Your grandmother lied to you and ordered those around you to tell you so that you could be willing to recover". He announced and it was as if an arrow shot through my heart.
I was sitting down and I knew it but it felt like the ground was opening up and I was falling into a weird hole as Alice in the wonderland was.
"Eleanora" he said as he held my shoulders.
"Yes uncle" I answered.
That's right, he was my grandmother's younger brother. The prime minister, that is. And he was closer than a father to me.
"Listen to me... You're the only one left. No one else to trust only you. This brown file took the lives of your family to tell you how important it is. Do not let anyone, I mean anyone, get hold of it". He begged.
Tears rolled down my eyes as I took the brown file from him.
"Can you promise me that you'll keep it safe?"
I looked at the brown file for long while and squeezed it in pain and anger.
I promise to get to the root of this matter. And I'll do whatever it costs! I made up my mind before nodding to my uncle's request.
He sighed a sigh of relief then he stood up. "I was scared you'll decline. Thanks for understanding how important that brown file is". I wasn't interested in what he was saying.
"Uncle... Can you please tell me how my father died?" I asked with pain in my heart.
It was actually heart aching to find out that I was angry with a dead man all along. I was actually angry with father for abandoning me, if only I had knew he was dead a long time ago.
"He died from a stab in the heart. He was stabbed to death and then his body was burned. No one knows who did it. But here's one fact, the person who killed your mother, father and grandmother are the same person. And they all died for the same reason... " He trailed off. I stood up in anticipation of what he wanted to say.
"Eleanora, anyone who asks you for that file, is the killer!" He announced and left.
At that point, I vowed in my heart to never let the file get into the hands of anybody and this would be the only secret I'll keep from my husband.
My parents and grandma... Must not die in vain!
I folded the file into a little square and kept it in my little purse, thinking of where exactly to keep such a precious item.
__________________________✍️
I decided to pay Prince Andrew's mansion a visit. Green wasn't home. According to the workers, he travelled. Nanny wasn't home too, only the workers.
I asked Lucas to drive me home but I didn't let him know what I wanted to do. I just walked straight to the garden of the mansion which I must confess, I rarely visited. I walked to the old treehouse. The last time I visited the treehouse, I was eight years old. That was seventeen years ago. I climbed up the treehouse which was still stable and kept the file in a safe I used as a child. The safe was just like the wood in the wooden house. It looked like a wooden wall but if you knock on it, you'll realize there's a safe there.
Before I kept the file in, I looked inside the file and brought out the piece of paper inside the file. The only thing scribbled on it was a strange word. D3ÚØGOÜ. It was more like a code or something.
I kept the file and left the treehouse faster than I could so that no worker would catch me there. I had asked Lucas to pack outside the gate so I'd just meet him outside so that no one would suspect I ever came here.
I can't believe grandma lied to me! Why would she lie to me?... It's funny how adults tell you to not do something but are doing the exact same thing even in a worse manner!
I mean, just letting me know that I was fatherless wasn't so important?!
After a long while of thinking, I decided to visit her grave. Grandma, that is.
On getting to the main hallway, I ran into Nanny who was busy cleaning windows and she looked quite absorbed in it. Her old hands aggressively held the napkin as she scrubbed on a particular part of the window. She scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed until she was sure whatever the stain was wasn't there anymore.
Watching her clean the glass was like watching her clean my life. After grandma, she was the next mother I never had. Even though we've argued a number of times, quarrelled and even ignored each other but I still can't look down on the moral support she gave me. That still means a lot to me.
So I walked up to her side and sat down on the stool she just got down from trying to wash the napkin in the bucket. I watched as she squeezed the napkin dry and spread it out in her arms.
When she turned to climb the stool she got down from, she was so shocked that she almost slipped and fell. Thank goodness, I caught her on time.
"I'm so sorry I startled you" I apologized, helping her to stand up straight.
"Nora?... What are you doing here?" She asked , after a long while of staring at me just to be sure her eyes weren't deceiving her.
I led her to the stairway which wasn't far from where we were standing and asked her to sit at the bottom of the stairs.
"This is an honour. For Princess to remember home after getting married to her lover". Nanny said, looking at me with a smile as I sat beside her. I faked a smile, I didn't want her to know about my mood.
"What happened Nora?... Why are your eyes swollen? Did you cry?" Nanny asked as she put her hand on my face, my eyes glistening with tears once again in a way I couldn't control.
She knew me too well. She knew me behind my façade. She knew who I was in and out and so hiding from such a person was close to impossible.
I broke down into tears, fallen on her shoulders, using my arms as support. Even in my pain, I could tell that she was calm. She patted me gently and kept whispering into my ears "Everything will be fine, Nora". Then I felt her arms on my back too.
Her arms felt like home. I looked up at her and cried "Nanny, Someone told me father died a long time ago". Her eyes were filled with so much warmth that I could feel it deep down. But those eyes didn't look surprise.
"You knew?!" I said in disbelief.
"Nora..." She trailed off as she held my hands. Her eyes held sympathy for me and it soon started to disgust me "It was your grandmother's idea to keep it a secret from you, so you'd be willing to recover".
I slowly stood up and snatched my hands from hers.
"In other words, everyone knows except me?" The statement came out more like a question.
"Yes, your highness" she answered.
I aggressively cleaned my tears, saying nothing more to Nanny, not even a goodbye, I walked away.