"Leo?" His puzzled face immediately lit up once looked up from his book and saw me standing in front of his table.
"Hey, Princess!" He grinned and took off his glasses, which I didn't know he needed. I'd stumbled upon the library, and after being awed by the sheer amount of books, I was required to ask the librarian where I might find a book on a certain subject.
"What're you doing here?" He leaned back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head, his eyes taking on a mischievous glint.
"I see you've discovered my secret life," he said. He chuckled at my face, which was betraying my thoughts of: Him? Librarian? Don't they have intelligence requirements?
"Sorry, it's just, I didn't expect you to be . . . because you're a . . ." My cheeks heated up the more I butchered the sentence.
"A bureaucrat?" He chuckled lightly. "Not that many people expect me to enjoy reading."
"R-right. I'm sorry, that was rude of me to make assumptions like that," I said apologetically, mentally reprimanding myself to be more considerate in the future. Thankfully he changed the subject.
"So what brings you here, princess elect of Wysteria that was a former tutor and also born in the spring?" I laughed, rolling my eyes at his teasing.
"If you must know, I was looking for something that could explain the history of music." His eyebrow arched and his fingers began to tap a slow rhythm on the edge of the desk as he thought.
"Hmmm, there might be something all in the way back of the stacks. Let's go see." He grabbed a ring of keys from a drawer and I followed him through the mostly-empty library. Although I'd laughed, his way of referring to me earlier brought a train of thought that troubled me. I contemplated how to ask him as he led me to a massive bookcase near the end of the row.
"It depends on what exactly you want. There's in-depth stuff about the baroque and classical eras, but if you were thinking of anything before that, then there's a more limited selection. If you're looking for the romantic era, I think we have a book about that, but it'll take some digging around."
"Maybe something more general? Just a basic timeline that discusses how previous pieces affected others." I nodded at the book he pointed at, and he fitted a key in the cabinet keyhole and swung open the glass panel.
"Thank you." I cradled it in my arms at my chest and waited for him to lock back up. "Listen, I know this is going to sound prideful but . . ." He turned to face me, directing an inquisitive gaze at me when I trailed off.
"But?" He prompted. It was now or never.
"Exactly how many people know about"—I coughed nervously—"this morning?"
"Ah." The corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk. "I would say by now at least the majority of the servants and obviously all the officials, myself included." I groaned to myself, ducking my head down to allow my hair to hide my face.
"I wasn't thinking. Now they all probably think I'm just sensitive and easily aggravated." He shook his head, beginning to walk back to the front of the library.
"That's not what the rest of the palace is saying. Or at least," He aimed a crooked grin at me. "The people that are rational thinkers. See, the thing about the stuffy old bureaucrats is that they prefer to keep talking until everyone agrees with them and they won't stop. But you just shut them right up."
"That was not the impression I was going for." We'd reached the front desk again and he stopped, and he tilted his head to the side a little as he looked at me for a moment.
A small smile was on his lips. "But I think that's what the palace needed." He didn't elaborate further, and he sat back down in the chair, ignoring my expression.
"The book is in your care until you decide to return it, and be sure to not bring it back damaged unless you want to pay." Numbly I nodded, his words swirling around in my head as I tried to decipher them.
"See you around, Princess." His smile was genuine this time. Grateful that he'd given me at least some answers, I returned his smile and left, holding the book protectively against me.
By the time I was done with the library and my wanderings, it was evening and I nearly ran into Nico when I turned the corner to my room.
"Princess!" His beam could have lit up the hallway. "Good, good, it's almost time for dinner!" He was practically bouncing on his toes as I put the book on my bed and thoroughly combed my hair, leaving it down to fall to the middle of my back.
"I hear they're serving this massive lamb— the chef and the entire kitchen staff have been working all day back there. It smelled so good I almost snuck back there myself to taste-test a little." I laughed, setting the hairbrush down on the vanity table. His constant chatter was cheering in this foreign place, and I knew he was going to be a great friend.
"You're sure you didn't 'accidentally' take some?" I teased.
"Never, m'lady." We both laughed and I stood up.
"Do you think I need to change? I've been wearing this all day," I said, suddenly worried about the do's and don'ts of life here. After a once over, he shrugged.
"If you'd like. There're only a few dresses here, since the seamstresses just recently received your measurements."
"But I didn't ask for any dresses?" His expression softened into that of an older brother teaching his sister how things worked.
"Of course we ordered you some! You're the princess, after all. Only the best for you." His easy words did answer the question, but I was still pondering the question of how in the world I'd gone from my wardrobe containing fewer than six articles of clothing to at least one dress for each day and twice the amount of shoes.
My hands grazed the array of vivid colors and fabrics that ranged from floaty and ethereal to heavier ones more suited for workdays. Some skirts seemed to slip right through my fingers and I imagined how hard it must've been to make the cloth translucent but durable, and I was captivated by how fine the workmanship was.
Eventually I decided against taking more time to change, and we left for the dining hall, me still wearing the ivory-colored dress but with a pair of silver pumps that Nico had suggested. At least my hair was neater than I was.
Nico directed me to my designated chair that was next to Giles, who offered me a brief smile after we sat down. I tried not to stare at the grandeur of the room, despite it being more functional than others, but I caught Giles vaguely smiling again at my awe.
"I trust you enjoyed your day off?" I nodded, hesitantly picking up the water glass in front of me and taking a sip.
"Good. You'll be rested up before your studies begin."
"So, what exactly will I be learning in these lessons?"
"Etiquette basics, proper manners, instruction in the fine arts, politics, public relations, and the like. Of course," he continued, drinking some water himself. "You will be educated in the core subjects of academics. Mr. Crawford will assist in those lessons as well, as he sees fit." Whoever that is.
"Right," was all I could muster. I hadn't even begun anything and I already felt overwhelmed by everything. Trying to distract myself from the anxious feeling in my stomach, I glanced around again to see who was eating with us. Craning my neck to see around the servants that were placing dishes on the massive table, I spotted the white hair of Leo, who was chatting amiably with his neighbors and smiling at something someone had said.
A large plate was deposited in front of me and the warm aromas flooded my senses. "Oh!"
I couldn't help but breathe in deeply. I rarely had enough money to afford such delicacies back home, what with having to pay for regular maintenance for my cottage of a house, not to mention instrument repairs.
"This dinner is in your honor, Your Highness," Giles said as the servant moved on to pour a burgundy liquid into his wineglass. They moved quickly down the table, expertly filling glasses as they went. When they all had left, Giles pushed back his chair and stood, his glass raised in the air as the chatter ceased.
"To Her Royal Highness, Miss Adelaine!" I felt my face flush involuntarily as people gave small cheers and mirrored Giles in his toast, though I saw that the men that had been in the king's chamber this morning were merely sipping their wine as they watched others enthusiastically clink their glasses together.
"May you rule with discretion," Giles said to me. I tentatively lifted my wineglass with one hand and bumped it against his then took a small sip. The aftertaste was a little tart, but it was nothing like I'd ever drank before. That little smile was on his face as he watched my reaction, but it seemed it held more meaning. Like he was already seeing how I would hold up to the new life.
If how I handled the meal was a test, then I did better than others, judging by my stable gait. And that's saying something, since the number of times I'd almost twisted my ankle dodging various inebriates as I left the dining hall while wearing the high heels was close to exceeding the single digits.
My stomach was pleasantly full and I wanted nothing more than to fall into my new, plush bed. I was on my way to achieving that when someone's call stopped me in the hallway. With a small sigh, I turned around, my shoes dangling by my fingertips.
"General rule of thumb around here is that shoes stay on your feet," Alyn said. I shrugged.
"I like to be rebellious every once in a while."
"Like climbing up a palace wall?" His faint smirk told me he was joking.
"Exactly. At least I got up pretty far." He chuckled, starting to say something, but he broke off when another figure walked right past him, headed straight for me.
"So how was the dinner, Princess? Did it fit your standards?" Bewildered by the abruptness in the change of speaker, I looked around Leo to apologize to Alyn, but I caught the end of a scowl before he turned and walked away, his crimson cape flowing behind him.
"Aw, what's wrong Adelaine? Was it something I said?" I shook my head, refocusing on him.
"No, it's just that I was talking to Alyn, and it's really not polite to interrupt people," I said. His brow creased for a moment until it relaxed and he gave a good-natured grin, one side of his mouth curved higher than the other.
"Sorry, I didn't see him." It's not that I believed him; I didn't want to argue about something that trivial. So I let it pass, but I made a mental reminder for the next time I talked to Alyn.
"Well to answer your question, assuming I even had any standards, it was amazingly perfect."
"That good, huh?" He chuckled, then his gaze dropped to my hands. "I see you're already implementing new rules around here." I rolled my eyes.
"You're not the first to comment on that. I didn't realize it was a crime to be barefoot." At his less playful look, I stole a glance over my shoulder and saw a man watching us. I couldn't tell how much wine he'd had, but he was regarding me with both of his eyes and not so nicely.
"Treating the palace like home aren't you? Well it isn't— the village is!" As always, I felt a little flame of anger begin in my chest, but I forced myself to pretend I hadn't heard him and turned back to Leo.
"Can I ask you something? Who's this Mr. Crawford? Giles said he's going to tutor me for some subjects." I didn't get why he appeared so amused by my imminent doom of closed doors and dusty textbooks.
"There wasn't a first name with that?" I shook my head.
"Well, don't worry about it. It can't be that bad." He flashed a smile. "But you should go to bed. It's going to be a big day ahead of you." He bade me goodnight, settling for another grin when he saw my perplexed look upon him starting to kiss my hand again. "Sleep well, Princess."
The cool night breeze lifted my hair as I stood out on the balcony, leaning against the railing. Summer was leaving, one gust of wind at a time, replaced with the slight chill of autumn. I was tired, but I couldn't resist looking at the stars again before heading to bed. Seeing the vastness of the sky was calming, and I could almost feel the weight of everything that was swirling in my mind be drawn out, emptied out of my head.
I sighed, knowing that when I returned inside, I would have to leave behind the small piece of home and slip back into my role. No matter how many times Giles told me that I was the princess, I was still having a hard time believing it. He'd had to stop me from curtsying back to one of the maids that I'd greeted when he was showing me around the castle on the way the first day.
"Am I really the person for this kind of thing?" I asked myself, hoping that vocalizing what had been on repeat in my mind would lessen the constant knot in my chest.
It didn't.
If I were in a movie, then one of my parents would've mysteriously formed among the stars and talked to me, eased my worries, and advised me on what course of action to take. I could almost hear my mom's voice, her soothing lilt; almost feel her smooth hands clasping mine. Was that Dad's pipe I smelled? Or Mom's jasmine perfume? Without reason, I felt the tears building up in my eyes, the sudden wave of emotion hitting me all at once.
I didn't belong here, and it was ridiculous to even imagine that I could. No matter what I did or how ready I appeared to Giles, all that anyone would see would be a simple girl, one much too old for playing pretend games.
If I hadn't taken off the tiara before coming out here to unwind, I would've thrown it off in a symbolic action of not being the right person. Then most likely dug around in the bushes for a half hour afterwards to find it.
A deep breath, a rough swiping of the unshed tears. No more self-sympathy. I was done whining. Besides, if my parents had formed in the sky, they would be telling me to stop. I managed a vague smile at that. There was no reversal of the decision, and it wouldn't do for me to be a lousy princess. It was all or nothing.
Far beyond the castle walls, I could see one or two lights from homes faintly illuminating the town. I wondered how Marie was doing, whether or not she had discovered what had become of me. Maybe I could ask Giles if I could go back one last time, just to say goodbye in person and gather some things from my house. But for now, I really did need to go to sleep.
I stifled a yawn as I went back inside, shutting the double-doors behind me. Stepping over to the side table, I blew out the remaining burning candles and collapsed onto the welcoming bed.