𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐄 | ✎

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕

Scanning the hallways for anything out of place, I stay posted at Elena's door. I spot the handmaid quickly rushing through the empty corridors, and then she stops in front of me. "What happened to the princess?" she asks frantically.

I flinch at the sudden sound of the woman's voice, then turn my head to face her. "She passed out due to an unknown cause and is in her room resting currently," I reply, my tone flat. "How can I be of help to you?"

"Wait really? Did you check on her? And her vital signs?" the handmaid asks, looking extremely worried now. "Is she okay in there?"

I clear my throat. "I assure you she is fine, Miss...?"

"Sofia," she answers, "just call me Sofia. May I please go check on her?"

My body stiffens as I debate in my head what I should do. On one hand, Sofia seems to be very worried about Elena, so I should probably let her go on. On the other hand, I'd hate for the princess to be disturbed while resting.

After a quiet moment of consideration, I focus on the woman in front of me. "Yes, you may go chec—"

"What's going on?" a melodic voice asks behind us.

Turning around, I see the princess—awake at last. Normally, I'd be angry with her for interrupting me, but I can let it slide this once, I suppose.

"Princess! Thank goodness you're alright!" The handmaid immediately takes the smaller girl into her arms, hugging her tight.

Princess Elena looks suffocated, but she slowly wraps her arms around Sofia as well. "How did I get here?"

I begin to realize that she may not have remembered the fact that she passed out at the party, and she might not even know why she passed out.

Clearing my throat, I look at the handmaid. "Can you give us a moment?"

Sofia lets the princess go and raises a quizzical brow, darting her eyes from me back to Elena before sighing. "Alright," the handmaid says before turning around and walking away.

I watch her as she leaves before turning to the princess with a stern look on my face. "Do you remember why you passed out?" I ask, standing stiffly as I look her in the eyes.

The handmaid is gone now, so I can speak a bit more freely; however, I try not to let my tone of voice change too much from how strict I usually am. I want her to know I'm serious.

"I passed out?" The princess furrows her brows and looks around. "Shame," she adds with a shrug, beginning to walk away.

"Where in the world are you going?" I quickly catch up to her and grab her arm gently. I will never let her walk around by herself, especially after passing out earlier. "Did you hear a word I said, Princess?"

"Yeah, I'm not deaf, Alex," Elena retorts. She tries to pull her arm away from my grasp, which only makes me hold on to her tighter.

"I asked if you remember passing out and why it happened," I repeat through gritted teeth. I don't plan on letting go until I receive an answer. She's always trying to resist my authority. It's pissing me off.

"I don't know why it happened!" she snaps defensively, her blue-green eyes twinging with annoyance. "Let me go!"

I let go of her arm, but I kept my stance with both feet planted firmly on the ground. "Now listen up," I begin, my tone aggressive, "this kind of reckless behavior is exactly why your parents hired me to accompany you everywhere you go. From now on, you'll do as I say and not argue back. Got that?"

"Fuck off!" Elena grumbles angrily, already storming off.

It's unusual how mad she's getting. The princess is usually just playful and free-spirited, and I can't help but wonder where all this aggression is coming from. It could be because of how tough I'm being on her right now, but she's usually sassy. Never like this.

I stare at the princess as she walks away from me, clenching my fists as I feel my blood boil. Swallowing a lump in my throat, I take a deep breath. I need to stay calm. I can't lash out at her.

"Princess," I call out to her with the slightest hint of anger in my voice.

"WHAT?!" she screams from halfway across the hallway.

I raise an eyebrow, starting to feel... concerned? And then I do it. I asked a question I never thought I would care enough to ask. "What's wrong?"

The furious gaze she had finally fades away, and she looks down at the ground, mumbling something I can't hear due to the distance between us. I decided to move closer to her, wondering what she had just said.

"What?"

"I'm hangry," she mutters. It's like she's embarrassed.

I roll my eyes, but I also can't help but... smile? What the hell is wrong with me?

Thankfully, the princess doesn't seem to notice my moment of weakness, and my smile drops almost as quickly as it came. "Well, let's get you some food to eat then," I reply, before slowly walking alongside her. She seems to be more calm now, which is a relief.

I followed beside her quietly for a moment. "You could have just said you were hungry, you know." I look down at Princess Elena for a moment as we walk, my eyebrows raised.

"Well, apparently I'm not allowed to eat anything," she replies bitterly, not even looking back at me.

"And why would that be?" I ask, staring straight ahead now. My eyebrows are still raised, and I have a puzzled look in my eyes. Why is this girl acting so strange? I don't understand her at all.

"My parents and my friends say that if I want to look good for Prince Marco and for our wedding or whatever, I need to eat less."

"Less? What are they trying to do, starve you?" I ask, a look of disbelief on my face as my voice elevates in irritation.

"Well, no—definitely not, but I guess they just think I need to lose weight," she sighs.

I look the princess up and down before a wave of shock comes over me. No way; she is nowhere close to being overweight. I don't know what her parents and friends are talking about; she's skinny as a stick.

I take a deep breath before we approach the dining room, looking down at her with the most serious look I could possibly muster. "Princess, you don't need to lose any more weight. You're beautiful just the way you are."

Elena stops in her tracks and suddenly spins around to face me. "You think I'm beautiful?"

I quickly averted my eyes from her, embarrassed that I even said that. I never thought I would ever tell a girl besides Camille that, but when I looked at her, it just came out.

Hesitant at first, I look in her direction again. My head is lowered, and my voice sounds slightly choked up as I say, "Yes, I think you're beautiful. You are stunning."

What the fuck am I saying?

Her lips parted slightly, and for the first time ever since I've known her, the princess was completely and utterly speechless. She looks directly into my eyes, and I find myself staring back at hers. None of us talk. It's an oddly comfortable silence.

"Elena?" The Queen bursts out of the dining room, causing me to remember that we were standing right outside the doors.

The princess quickly turns to face her mother. "Yes?"

I, on the other hand, bow formally before Queen Cassandra. "Your Highness."

"Hello Alexander," the Queen acknowledges me with a smile before turning back to her daughter. "What were you doing outside the dining room, cara mia? Are you alright?"

"Yes," Elena replies in an almost robotic tone. "I was just... just getting some fresh air."

The Queen studies her daughter's expression for a moment before glancing at me. "Alexander, was she really getting some fresh air, or was something else going on?"

I hesitate for a moment, my heart racing. I don't want to get the princess into trouble, but the Queen seems to be getting suspicious. After a moment's thought, I decided to come clean.

"Actually, Your Highness, Princess Elena and I were talking about her diet," I explain. "She seems to be under the impression that her parents and friends believe she needs to lose weight."

The truth gets me a glare from the princess, but it's worth it, seeing as coming clean could possibly help her.

Queen Cassandra looks at her daughter with a mix of concern and frustration. "Cara mia, we have discussed this before. You need to eat less. Just until the wedding."

Never mind. I fucked up.

Elena nods her head but doesn't quite meet her mother's gaze. "I understand, mama, but that won't be for months."

Queen Cassandra sighs, seemingly exasperated. "I know. But your father wants you to be in perfect shape as the future Queen and wife of Prince Marco."

"But I don't want to marry Prince Marco! He's disgusting!" the princess argues.

"Elena!" her mother snaps. The girl jumps, and I almost jump as well. In the month I've been working for the King and the Queen, I've never heard Queen Cassandra raise her voice once.

"You will not speak of your future husband like that," she continues. "Go to your room. Now."

"But—"

"GO!"

Standing and watching this argument between a mother and her daughter is starting to make me feel nervous. Especially since they're both royalty.

Princess Elena looks dejected as she stares at the Queen, seemingly shocked for a moment, before finally walking off to her room.

I am about to follow her when Queen Cassandra stops me in my tracks. "You've been working real hard, Alexander. How about you have the night off?"

I am caught off guard by the Queen's sudden offer to give me the night off. I didn't expect her to be so friendly, let alone make such a generous proposal. "Really, Your Highness? You're sure I don't need to do anything else?" I ask hesitantly.

"No, no, I think you've done more than enough today. Why don't you just relax and enjoy your time?" The Queen offers me an understanding smile, which seems odd considering she was yelling at her daughter a minute ago. "You deserve it."

I nod, feeling grateful for this unexpected act of kindness. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will take you up on your offer," I respond politely before taking my leave.

As I head to the palace doors to leave for the night, I can't help but feel a sense of relief wash over me. The past few hours have been both intense and draining, and I welcome the chance to unwind and recharge.

I'm about to turn to the main hall when I suddenly hear the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway. It's not unusual to see servants roaming the halls, but something about these footsteps feels different. They're loud and heavy, each step seemingly pounding into the wooden floor.

I turn my head in the direction of the noises and look down the hallway, trying to decipher where the steps are coming from. Suddenly, the door to Princess Elena's room bursts open, and she runs out into the hallway, looking utterly distraught.

My heart races as I spot her eyes, which are red from crying. Before I can reach her, she charges past me at lightning speed and barrels down the corridor.

Without even thinking, I take off after her, running as fast as I can. We race through the halls, taking corners so rapidly that I almost lose her a few times. Finally, we reach the Royal Gardens, which are vast and sprawling.

"Princess! Wait!" I call out, but she doesn't stop.

In desperation, I throw caution to the wind and dive toward the princess, managing to wrap my arms around her before she can get too far. She struggles against me for a moment before finally going still, her body shaking with sobs.

"It's okay," I comfort. "You're going to be okay. Whatever happened, you can tell me." I give the princess a gentle squeeze, feeling her relax into my embrace.

I then shook my head. Why am I hugging her? I step back from her and allow her to speak.

Elena takes a deep breath and looks up at me with tear-filled eyes. "I don't want to marry Prince Marco," she whispers.

I nod understandingly, knowing it's no use telling anyone else besides me due to how adamant Queen Cassandra was about the arranged marriage.

"I understand," I reply flatly, "but unfortunately, you'll have to live with your parents' decision. I'm sorry, Princess. Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?"

"No," the princess says, looking at me like I just tore her heart out. She clearly wasn't pleased with my response. "Thank you, though."

I stand silent for a moment, watching her as she looks away from me. She wipes her tears away, and her expression becomes stone-faced.

I had never seen the princess so emotional before. I had also never seen her as emotionless before as she looks now.

"Sorry," she mutters under her breath before walking into the palace, leaving me out here.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・゜✭・.・

authors note: some people don't like elena/think she's "dramatic" and immature, so im going to defend her real quick. is she perfect? no. none of my characters are, and that's the point. she's meant to have flaws, and she's also just a 17 year old girl who doesn't care about royalty—she has wanted to be free all her life—but her parents are taking that away from her. she might not make the best decisions, but it's also only the beginning of the story. please don't judge too quickly.