Chapter 17: Illiana
"My lady. It is time to wake up else you will be late for dinner!"
A groan escaped from me as I turned away from the voice, my body curling up underneath the blanket. I did not want to get up, I did not want dinner, I just wanted to sleep. The voice let out a small giggle which was followed by a hand falling on my shoulder and shaking it gently.
"Well, she did just arrive a few hours, she has got to be exhausted." Another voice sounded a few feet away.
"Still, we were asked to wake her up and get her ready for dinner." The first voice responded and that was when I realized that the voice was a female. Her hand fell on me once more and gave me another small shake. "Come on, my lady, you can sleep more after dinner."
With a small whine, my eyes cracked open and I glanced up at the girl who stood above me. She had black hair that was wrapped around the top of her head and her dark brown eyes stared down at me with a smile.
"See, that was not to hard!" She laughed loudly, taking a step away from the bed and held her hand out for me to grab. "Come, my lady, it is time to get dressed."
"Who are you?" I questioned her, my gaze sweeping over the room that I was in. It was far bigger than the one that I had at home and was much more comforting. The room had a cream white colorization throughout. Even the bedding was so. It had a darker cream-like color that casted swirls on the top of the blanket and the pattern matched those on the curtains that draped over the two windows. Across from me was the door leading out to the main hall and to the other parts of the castle. To my right was another door, a different one, that was much smaller than the first. It was a pale brown wooden door that connected to the bathroom.
"I am Isabella and this is Elizabeth." The first girl motioned to another one that stood on my left, beside the giant wardrobe that protruded from the wall. The other girl, Elizabeth, had blond hair that was tied up into a bun at the top of her head.
"You can call me Lizzy if you would like, my lady." She responded as she walked forward, my blue dress in her arms. "After you eat, we can get you ready for bed once more, but for now we want to make sure you eat well." Elizabeth explained as she draped the dress on the edge of the bed.
"We can help you get dressed if you like, if not then we can leave you to do it on your own." Isabella smiled softly as I slid my legs out from underneath the blankets and shoved myself onto my feet and onto the cold floor beneath. I shook my head, my hand reaching towards the dress on the bed.
"I will change in the bathroom if I may." I muttered softly, unsure of what else to say. I wanted to change on my own, to have at least some control over myself even if I could not really have any control in the situation I was in.
"That is fine, my lady." Elizabeth smiled brightly and I nodded my head once and hurried to the bathroom, quickly changing into the gown that they had given me.
There was still a part of me that did not want to accept that I was here, that I was forced to be here against my will. I did not want to be married, did not want to have children, and did not want to suffer. Why could I not make the choice on my own? Why did others have to choose for me? To force this all on me?
There was only one part inside of me that made me feel better, one par that allowed me to be calm about all of this. Well, as calm as anyone could be. I slowly stepped back outside and saw the two girls standing beside the table in the center of the room.
"We should brush your hair real quick, just so it is no sticking out all over when you are eating." Isabella walked towards me, her gentle hand slipping around mine as she pulled me forward and placing me into the chair at the table. Elizabeth was the one with the simple brown brush and, as she stepped up behind me, I could feel the brush tugging through my hair. Not that it really hurt, it was just a surprise as I had never allowed anyone to touch my hair. It was one of the things that I wanted to continue to have control over, something that I wanted to have for myself and no one else. That was what I had always wanted, to be able to control what I wanted and needed.
"There we go, that should work." Elizabeth smiled in front of me when the other one finally stopped brushing, the hair falling gently down my back and over my shoulders. "Now, we will see you after dinner or whenever you get back here.
*
My eyes stared down at the plate, unsure of what to think about what I had eaten. It was a simple meal, at least that was what I had thought with how the queen and Princess Rebecca reacted with the food, but it was far more than what I was used to or expecting.
Neither of these two seemed to think that this was out of the ordinary, rather it was like it was something they had eaten more time than not. Do they always eat like this? Better food than just bread and cheese? Is this really so different that there would be little that was similar to what I knew back home?
The longer that I was with them, the more that I heard them speak and the more that I saw, I felt like was in a fairy tale, a story where everything would end happily. But that could not be it, there was no such thing as happy endings. Nothing like a fairy tale actually existed in this story.
"Tell me, Illiana, are you wanting to return to bed now or would you like a tour of the palace? Even if it is just a few places, it will give you an idea of where things are here." The queen spoke, her voice breaking the silence that had befallen on us as we ate.
"It does not matter." I told her. How could I tell her that I really did not want to see her home, to have tour on it, especially when it was something she seemed so proud of. So content with.
"Well, allow us to show you some of the most important parts of the palace and then we can call it a night." She offered, standing up and glancing down at me, her hand motioning for me to follow.
"Can I come too, mama?" Princess Rebecca pleaded, her chair scooting back as she jumped upwards, her feet carrying her around my chair.
"Did you get your work done? You do have your lessons tomorrow." Was the queens response and I stared at her in confusion, my eyes glancing back and forth. What kind of lessons did she have that resulted in her have to do work?
"Already done, mama. I finished it when Princess Illiana was sleeping!" The girl laughed, her eyes turning towards me with a bright smile. "Plus, I think the one thing we should really show her is the library."
"Well, obviously." The woman responded, her eyes rolling upwards and then turning to me, her eyes twinkling with laughter. "More than likely, you will be having a young girl following you around." Her gaze glanced over to her daughter who smiled in response, her hand slipping into mine.
"I am used to it with my sisters." I told them and smiled softly as I glanced down at the girl. She was almost as tall as I was, the top of her head reaching the same height as my chin. I was not sure is she was tall or if I was short, either way, she really was about my height.
"That is true, you did have a lot of siblings. It must have been hard to have any time to yourself." The queen stated as she turned and walked towards the door, Princess Rebecca and I were following close behind. The first place that the queen led us to was right across the hall and into a large, gigantic room. The marble walls and the shiny marble flooring was breathtaking to say the least. The light from the chandeliers glittered off the floor, casting a gentle light across the walls. At the far side of the room was a large table draped in a white cloth with a small vase of flowers stood.
"This is where everyone is going to celebrate after the wedding!" Princess Rebecca giggled loudly, rushing towards the middle of the room before spinning around, her arms spread out beside her. "I cannot wait to see you fly, Princess Illiana!"
My shoulders tensed and I stared at her in horror and confusion, but she did not see. She was to lost in her thoughts and in her dreams, perhaps that was for the best. I swallowed nervously, my arms wrapped around my middle and holding myself close. How could I fly since I was never taught? How could I be taught when there was nothing that I could do to stop my wings from being removed. Had Rebecca not been told about what was going to happen or was I really the one who was so confused that I had no clue what was happened around me?
"You cannot fly, can you?"
My heart froze and I held my breath in surprise as I turned to see Reginald's mother standing behind me, her eyes watching me skeptically.
"Your father never had you taught to fly and, by conclusion, I think it might be safe to say that you do not know how to use your magic either?" She questioned as she stepped up to me, her hand falling onto my shoulder and her eyes bearing into mine. "Am I correct, Illiana?"
"Yes, ma'am." My voice was soft and my eyes turned and stared down at the ground, unable to really look up at her, feeling as if I had done something wrong.
"I was afraid so when I saw your reaction to my daughter's flying. I cannot help but wonder what your father had told you." Her voice was questioning even though what she said was not a question. I could not tell her, I could not speak it and I was not sure why.
I knew what was going to happen, but I felt, standing in front of her, it was wrong.That I was wrong, but was I? Was I really so incorrect that I had no idea what was happening? Or what was going to happen.
"Either way, that is something we will have to work at changing." She sighed, her hand falling away from me as she turned to look at her daughter. "I can send word to a woman that I know in town who can help educate you on your magic and your flying, but it will take time and practice. I am sure when my son returns, he will also insist on these lessons."
Lessons? On flying and magic?
Everything was not what I thought but I could not understand. Everything was so different, so off, and none of it was making any sense. My arms tightened around my middle as I began to realize one thing.
Even if everything that I know is wrong, even if, by some miracle, that father had lied to me, things were still strange. Either way, I was afraid. Afraid of what I was told would happen and of the idea that everything was not like I was told.
Only one question was inside of me that I could piece together. What was going to happen to me now?