Roughly 19 Years Ago
It was the weekend and so Princess Cori was left without both Rhea and any visits from Corinna Warren, the former due to her days off, and the latter for her wanting to spend time with family. In Rhea's stead was Cori's second servant, Jane, who was less than desirable. Sometimes, Cori wondered if Jane was at all a real person by how stiffly she walked and the flatness her voice was when she spoke, if she spoke ever at all that day. Jane seemed to only respond in the minuteness method possible no matter how desperately Cori tried to initiate conversation.
Rhea was so much better, Cori thought. So much better. It was quite obvious that Jane was paid to be her servant as she made no effort at all to engage Cori in any conversation or care about her wants, just her needs, and strictly followed the schedule.
Today on the schedule was something Cori always dreaded: sparring practice, but not any ordinary lesson, one which she shared with her siblings, Osmond and Alfreda.
They all made their way individually to the training area, adorned in armour and masks built for endurance rather than decoration, though that did not stop Alfreda from dressing decadently in flashy colours as she usually did. Whilst they waited for their mother, Queen Consort Henrietta to arrive, the three of them practised with the training dummies, both Osmond and Alfreda seeming to compete with each other who could deal the most damage to it, thought they were sturdy, Osmond triumphed as the victor, managing to cause a minor scratch in the metal. Alfreda protested that there was nothing there just to annoy him, whilst Osmond continued to point and argue that he had truly damaged the training dummy.
When the queen eventually arrived, the three siblings bowed and in turn said their respects of varying degrees of sincerity.
To begin with, the queen sparred with them individually, oldest to youngest. As Alfreda watched Osmond effortlessly keep with his mother, parrying her strikes with his sword and shield, she tuttered and made cutting remarks about how clumsy he was at other pursuits, such as calligraphy and singing compared to her. Her turn came far too soon than she hoped and she just about made it through without too many injuries, mostly a few scrapes and bruises which Osmond lorded over her with.
But then it came to Cori's turn and something twisted inside of Alfreda's stomach. Throughout practise, Alfreda had noticed that Cori seemed distracted and not entirely there. Even with a mask on, all of Cori's emotions would translate through her body language, you did not need to see her face to tell that she was more distant today than others.
"Aw, what's wrong, Little Cori?" cooed Osmond. "Did you have a falling out with that 'friend' of yours?"
Alfreda noticed Cori's body tense up for a moment, then the young princess ignored her older brother and made her way to the centre of the training area, ready to fight.
It was unfair that they had to train together, Alfreda always thought. They were compared with each other in this lesson despite the age difference. Alfreda was always compared to Osmond and how much progress he had made at his age, and Cori was always compared to Alfreda. Which was complete nonsense, Alfreda actually had a life outside of this, more important matters whilst Osmond wasted his days swinging a sword around, ready for a war which would never happen since the country was so peaceful, the king, their father Casimir, so gentle and diplomatic. The only threat they had were assassins and Alfreda thought her magic would be efficient enough to deal with that, scorch her assailants into unrecognisable sacks of meat. But of course, Alfreda would never dare tell her opinions to her mother, no, Alfreda had common sense and would very much like to live.
Cori lasted mere moments compared to her siblings and was quickly defeated, collapsing onto the ground and clutching her arm, hissing through her teeth from the pain.
"Pick up your sword," ordered Queen Henrietta, towering over the young girl. "And get up."
Cori stumbled to her feet with sword in her hand, though everyone could clearly see it trembling.
The queen swished her spear to the side with flourish. "Attack."
The princess remained still, and even her heavy breaths, Alfreda could hear from where she was standing.
"Why aren't you attacking, Corinna?" asked the queen. "I told you to."
Cori mumbled something.
"What is it? Speak up!"
"I don't want to!" cried Cori through blubbering breaths. "I'm scared."
Alfreda caught her breath for a moment as the room grew silent. She clutched the hilt of her sheathed sword, trying to steady her own trembling hands so Osmond did not notice. Her brother, however, remained still and calm, though Alfreda imagined a smirk on his lips that she would very much one day like to wipe off.
Queen Henrietta took a step closer to Cori and Alfreda shut her eyes, wincing but instead she heard her mother call out.
"How about we find you a different opponent?" spoke Queen Henrietta. "Alfreda?"
Alfreda opened her eyes and looked between her mother then her sister Cori staring up at her, her body still trembling.
"Have fun," Osmond whispered as Alfreda descended down and made her way to the centre, facing her opponent, her twelve year old sister.
Queen Henrietta joined her son, standing next to him, then after a moment of pause, shouted "begin!"
In that split second, Alfreda rushed forward and swung her blade against her sister's, the force of it knocking the weak little Cori down on the ground.
"Get up!" hissed Alfreda as she glanced over to her mother. "Get up and fight!"
Through spluttered breaths and restrained sobs, Cori stumbled to her feet.
Alfreda waited for her to make the first move this time but Cori merely stood there trembling and sobbing. Wincing, Alfreda struck her sister again and again until Cori's instincts eventually kicked in and she finally blocked an attack.
"Finally," Alfreda sighed. "How long does it take you to realise that you can block, huh, Little Cori? Now try and block this!" She swung her sword but even with a predictable attack and one that she blatantly declared beforehand, Cori failed to block and the blade slashed at her shoulder. Though her armour protected her, it still shook little Cori and the fear and the paralysis from before returned.
Cori layed on the ground for a moment, before eventually forcing herself back up, her sword in her hand and the other hand at her mask, wanting to rub away the tears that Alfreda could hear her blubbering. Alfreda hoped that they were quiet enough for no one else to hear, however unfortunately...
"Corinna," Queen Henrietta called out, her voice not raised yet somehow reverberating and echoing across the training room. "Are you crying?"
Cori paused, her breath shaking as she glanced up at Alfreda, then down to the floor.
Queen Henrietta took a step forward, about to descend down into the sparring ring when Alfreda whacked Cori with her sword, making more of a show with it, flourishing it in order to make it look like it hurt more than it actually did.
"How pathetic!" Alfreda spat. "Stop crying, you're so weak! Tough up! You've done this so many times before and yet you still cry! You're a member of the royal family! How can you think that you could garner any respect from our subjects when you act like this?" She struck her younger sister again for good measure, then glanced back at her mother.
Queen Henrietta was silent for a moment, watching, then said, "continue with the match. You have five more minutes left."
Alfreda let out a sigh of relief.
The match continued predictably with Alfreda as the winner, but her to relief, Cori had stopped crying, or at the very least was doing it so subtly and could not be heard.
Once it was over, Queen Henrietta dismissed them, declaring the lesson over and announcing when the next group session scheduled. Before she left, she patted Osmond on the head and said softly, "well done today, dear."
Alfreda watched on, her eyes fixated on her brother. He seemed to notice and feel her glowering and flourished his sword before sheathing. Even with a mask on, he was noticeably smirking underneath it.
"Do better next time," said Alfreda to Cori as she passed. "And stop being such a cry baby. It won't do you any favours."
Present Day
Queen Corinna occasionally glanced up from reading her book to watch as her two young children played together in the royal nursery, creating a tall tower of blocks together. Freddy was doing most of the work, rambling and narrating what he was doing whilst his younger sister Elisa would bash the blocks together or knaw at them, before accidentally and ineluctably knocking over the tower due to her clumsiness and lack of awareness. However, Freddy did not react with anger or tears, but rather played along, pretending that Elisa was a giant monster trying to attack the block city, both of them screaming along in excitement and giggles as the tower collapsed.
Cori smiled, though felt a twinge of perhaps envy watching her children play and get along so well. How rare it was for her own family when she was growing up to spend time together, let alone play like this. Instead, Cori had spent her childhood cooped up in the library solitary reading, her own constant company being her nursemaid Rhea.
Though Freddy and Elisa had each other, Cori still believed that they needed friends their own age, not just their relatives, just like how she had wanted when she was their age.
Roughly 19 Years Ago
Princess Cori sat on the library windowsill, looking out of the window with her favourite book on her lap. However her mind could not focus on the pages what with the bruises and healing cuts scattering her small fragile body. Despite there being magic to heal her of these minor wounds, her mother, the queen, ordered that they do not be treated so that she could learn from her mistakes through the pain, to motivate her to do better.
If only I wouldn't cry so easily, thought Cori. What her sister Alfreda said was right. She had been attending these training sessions for as long as she could remember yet not once did she not cry. Some lessons were better than others, sometimes she shed only a few tears after she was struck but others ended with her bawling her eyes out uncontrollably no matter how hard she tried to stop.
Surely by now, she could at least last one session without one sniffle. But she had always been easy to make cry, she was just too emotional. Rhea, however, did say that Cori was quick to laugh and smile too but Cori would have preferred to not have that either.
Cori wondered if she could someday be like her siblings, never crying or complaining when hurt. Perhaps it came with age?
There was a knock on the door, and the princess allowed them to enter.
It was Corinna Warren.
Princess Cori winced, remembering the bitter feeling from the days before. "Hello," she said meekly, her politeness kicking in despite wanting to blank her visitor entirely.
"Oh, are you not doing assignments today?" asked Corinna, clutching her school bag.
"No, I am reading." Cori held up her book up to her face.
"Sorry, Your Highness. Would it be alright if I still study? I will be really quiet and won't disturb you whilst you read."
"So are you just using me just for a quiet study place?" asked Cori.
"No, we can also talk if you'd like," replied Corinna. "I like talking with you, however if you want to read today alone without disruption then that is fine, Your Highness."
Princess Cori remained silent in a huff and with a pouted lip underneath her mask. She looked away, gazing through the window to show that she was indifferent about Corinna's presence however she could not help but glance back at the young girl.
"I can leave, if you would like, Your Highness," continued Corinna softly. "I am sorry to have intruded and disturbed you. I shall ask permission first before visiting again." She bowed and turned to leave the library when the princess stopped her.
"Why do you keep visiting here, visiting me?" Cori asked. "Is it just to study?"
Corinna turned back around. "If I just wanted a quiet place to study then I would just go to the library." She lowered her head and mumbled, "I come here to see you, Your Highness. I've never had a friend before. I just had my family. Before meeting you, I thought that that was enough, that friends were unnecessary with such a large family, but I was wrong. I really like being your friend, Your Highness, at least that I hope we are friends, that you consider me one."
Cori clutched the edges of her dress. Could Corinna be telling the truth? Or was it all a fabrication to continue working as her hired friend? Cori could not tell, but she hoped that their friendship had been real.
"I think that is why Rhea asked if I would like to come and see you," continued Corinna.
Princess Cori slid off the windowsill and quietly murmured, "So, Rhea asked you to be my friend? She... 'hired' you?"
"No." Corinna shook her head. "She didn't hire me. I think that great-aunt Rhea also thought that I needed a friend too." She smiled softly. "At first I was reluctant and only did it because I wanted to make Rhea happy, however I actually ended up enjoying talking to Your Highness even though you're not family. At school, I only ever talked to my relatives but now I'm... Rhea said I'm opening up more and can talk to other people easier."
"You truly like being my friend?"
Corinna giggled. "Yes of course. How many more times would you like me to repeat it?"
"And you're not just doing this to get a job in the future?"
"I want to be an architect," replied Corinna. "I am grateful what His Majesty the king said, that he could support my studies but I would like to achieve them on my own. And I mean no offense to Your Highness or your family, but I want to build ordinary houses for ordinary people- homes. I want to make sure that everyone in the world has a lovely and safe place to be in just like I do."
Princess Cori nodded, a smile appearing on her lips though no one could see with her mask on. "That's good. I think it would be weird to have you as my servant."
"So..." Corinna glanced down at the floor sheepishly. "Are we friends, Your Highness?"
"Yes!" Cori blurted out in excitement. "Only if we are to be friends you need to stop calling me Your Highness and all of those titles things."
"But it would be disrespectful to-"
"Friends are supposed to be on the same level and treat each other as equals," said Cori. "Or so I've heard."
"I still think I should, Your Highness."
Cori sighed. "Then how about you keep all the Your Highness stuff when there are other people around, but when it is just us, you can call me by my name?"
"Okay," Corinna nodded. "I can do that, Your Highness- I mean Corinna," she corrected herself.
Cori giggled. "It's a bit weird both of us being friends with the same name."
"I like it. Friends are supposed to share things, I think."
"I usually go by Cori, though." She gasped. "How about I give you a nickname too?"
Corinna shook her head. "I prefer just being called Corinna."
"Oh, okay. Well, Corinna, you may visit and study here anytime you like!"
"Thank you... Cori."
They both laughed.
A Few Months Later
"It ends now Lord Cantraot!" yelled Cori as she raised her stick in the air, flourishing it around like a pretend sword.
"No, it is never over!" Corinna shouted back in a deep and gravelly voice, her best attempt at sounding like the evil antagonist.
They clashed their sticks against each other, moving the duel through the winding labyrinth of the hedge maze in the royal gardens until they eventually came out of one of the exits.
"I have won, Lord Cantraot!" Cori retreated back a step. "You cannot defeat me now! Your powers have been weakened." She then retrieved a pebble from her coat pockets.
Corinna gasped in horror. "No, the amulet! How did you find it! My one and only weakness!"
"It is over!" Cori lunged forward and poked Corinna gently with the end of the stick, pretending to stab her.
Corinna clutched her chest as if there was severe wound there and stumbled back. "No! No!" she screamed, dramatically collapsing onto the ground. "This is not the last of me, I swear it!"
Laughing, Cori could not help but break out of character from Corinna's exaggerated voice and expressions.
"This is not the last of Lord Cantraot, this is-"
"Corinna, no!" Cori screamed as Corinna took a step too far back.
She lost her footing and tumbled down a grassy slope.
"Corinna!" Cori chased after her, almost falling herself.
Two nearby guards rushed over to the bottom of the slope where Corinna was left lying on the grass, her body covered in grass stains and twigs stuck in her hair.
"Corinna are you alright!" Cori blubbered, tears streaming down her face, her breath stagnant. "Is she okay! Is she hurt!" she yelled desperately at the guards.
"She appears to have broken her leg, Your Highness," replied one of the guards as he inspected the injuries. "We shall take her to the infirmary."
"Yes, please do! Oh, Corinna!"
"I'm okay," said Corinna. Much to everyone's surprise, the young girl was quite relaxed about the whole incident. Her face was blank and expressionless as if nothing had happened. Even when she attempted to stand up, she did not wince in pain however the guards stopped her, warning her that moving would make her injury worse.
"She will be alright, Your Highness," said one of the guards. "We have the finest healers in the country." They both worked together to carefully carry Corinna to the infirmary.
Corinna tried to follow but another guard suggested that she go with her servant Jane. Cori wished that it was Rhea on shift today as whenever the young princess cried or was upset, which was quite often, Rhea always knew how to console her. Jane, however, would merely just stand there, never speaking a word even if Cori asked her for help or if she clung to her, expecting a hug in return. Cori clutched at Jane's sleeve, sobbing and shaking as she imagined the worst; if Corinna could never walk again or if Corinna would no longer be able to visit. What would happen when Rhea found out that her great-niece got injured? Would Rhea also not want to be her servant anymore after Cori got her family hurt?
"I don't want Corinna to leave," Cori blubbered, sniffing. "Will she be alright, Jane?"
Jane was silent for a moment, then said flatly, "we have the best healers in the country."
Cori was not too comforted by these words, especially as it was just a repeat of what the guards had said, however she was somewhat surprised that Jane had even responded. The only times she spoke was orders about the schedule Cori had to keep.
Jane suggested that they return to the library to study whilst Corinna was tended to, which Cori obeyed, unable to think for herself due to the headache from crying. She tried to finish her maths assignment but all she could think about was how this might ruin Corinna's future career as an architect if she could not walk and help build, or if they could no longer act out scenes from the book. Perhaps Corinna would hate her and blame her. How Cori wished that Rhea was here to calm her and be a voice of reason and kindness instead of Jane who tested her on maths problems. Now was not the time for maths! Her one and only friend's life was at stake!
Eventually, a guard arrived and announced that Corinna was fully healed and the princess could visit her in the infirmary.
"She made it!" cried Cori, jumping to her feet. "I shall visit her at once! We need to have flowers and a fruit basket prepared! That is what you give someone in hospital, is it not?"
"Miss Warren has been in the infirmary for half an hour, Your Highness," said Jane. "That would not be necessary-"
"Please make the preparations!" Cori ordered the guard as Jane was not listening to her. "And I shall visit her at once!"
"We still have more maths questions to-"
Cori was no longer listening to her servant Jane and was already on her way to the infirmary, regardless if Jane followed, though she did much to her disgust.
When she entered the infirmary, all of the nurses, doctors and guards bowed and showed respect, but all Cori could focus on was her friend lying in the ward bed.
"Oh, Corinna! You're all better!" Cori clutched onto her friend's hand desperately. "Can you walk again? How long until you can? Will you be bedridden for a year and your childhood pass by and unable to experience the full joy of it?"
Corinna raised an eyebrow. "It was just a sprain. And the mages used their healing magic. It was all healed within a matter of minutes-"
"Oh, that is wonderful news! I worried that we could never play again!"
Corinna laughed. "It was a sprain, Your Highness. I did not fall that far. I should have watched where I was stepping next time."
Regardless, Cori began to cry again, sobbing as she her gloved hand clutched onto Corinna's in reassurance that she would never abandon her if she had to be bedridden for the rest of her life.
Once the princess calmed down and Corinna reassured her once again that it was just a minor sprain and nothing too serious to be worried about, Cori asked, "How were you so brave about it?"
"It was a sprain-"
"No, I mean that I would have cried even if I just tripped over my own feet. And I do that quite a lot. How can you stop yourself from crying when you are in pain?"
Corinna shrugged. "Older siblings have to be tough for the younger ones. If you are sad or upset or crying, then they will too."
Cori nodded in understandment. She supposed that whenever she cried, it made her family upset too, or rather angry. If she did not cry, then they wouldn't get angry and she would like that quite a lot. Rhea also seemed to be upset whenever she cried, hushing her and making a fuss, always having tissues in her pockets, and would do anything to make her feel better again and stop the tears.
"But how do you stop crying?" asked Cori. "I've tried so hard and can never stop."
"Just focus on something, anything to block out the pain," answered Corinna.
"What do you focus on?"
"I focus on what I'm doing. I can't waste my time crying, I have stuff to do. Just fight through the tears and focus on what you would rather do instead." She shrugged. "It works for me. It did hurt when I fell down that slope and sprained my leg, but I focused my mind on getting medical attention and then made mind maps in my heard about my school project I want to finish tomorrow."
"Focus on what I want to do..." Cori frowned, hoping that she could use this in practise for her training sessions. Perhaps she could actually make some progress if she wasn't so afraid to get hurt and cry if she just focused. "Thank you, Corinna."
Perhaps one day she will be just like Corinna and be strong and fearless.