After sitting with Thomas for a while he said he had work to do, but he left me with Harriet so at least I wasn't alone.
"Harriet."
My friend pulls me into a bone crushing hug, her blonde hair falling over me and her blue eyes comforting.
"I was worried about you, the prince wouldn't tell us what had happened apart from you being in the first aid wing." She said sadly.
My friend looks at me with worried blue eyes, her mouth forming a thin line.
"I'm fine, I just passed out after being in the rain too long. Hypothermia they said." I explain, leaving out the part about what happened in my room, knowing it's not the right time to tell her about it.
Harriet gave me a sympathetic look, "I'm so sorry, that must have been horrible." She gives me another half hug and links her arm in mine.
"Yeah it wasn't the best." I say sadly, admitting that it really wasn't my best time.
"I'm always here, if you ever need me." Harriet offers, giving me a smile as we come around to her room.
"Hey, while we're here I wanted to show you some of the things I've done with my room. Maybe it'll cheer you up." Harriet takes my hand and pulls me to her room, which is 5 doors down from mine.
The layout of the furniture is the same but everything else is different. Her walls are pink and there are wall shelves added. More plants, lots of succulents, sit on every surface with books and decor.
Decorative throw pillows match the pink theme and a fluffy rug lines the floor.
Harriet points to all the posters above her bed and I look to the pictures plastered across the wall, famous singers and magazine clippings.
"Your room is so...decorated." I say, admiring the picture frames with what looks like her family on the small table beside her bed.
"Yeah, well the prince said I could have whatever I wanted done so I got it painted as soon as I arrived." Harriet explained, smiling happily and showing me more of her new decorations.
"That's cool." I say and pick up a wooden figure of an owl, painted white with flecks of silver and gold in the peering glass eyes.
"That's a gift my father sent to the palace for me." Harriet explained, pointing to the bird and I nodded, "Hey, you must be starving, how about we get some lunch?"
I nodded to my friend and she took my hand in hers, leaving the room to the closest place with food.
✿✿✿
After having a good feed for lunch and sitting and chatting with Harriet, Stella, Lola and Yasmin I felt much better.
I was heading back to the rooms with Lola beside me when she took my arm to pull me to a stop.
"Hey, what's in here." Lola gestured with her head to a door that was half open and light was flittering through from it into the hall.
I shrugged because I didn't know. I hadn't explored a lot of the rooms in the palace.
Lola pulls the door open slightly and gives me a view into the room.
It's a large gym area, lots of open space in the middle, with racks of equipment along one side.
I admired the wall with all the weapons, bow and arrows, spears, guns and swords and more things I didn't recognise, all of the highest quality. It must be a training room.
"Ladies."
Lola swung the door further open in shock and blushed at the sight of Prince Archie, smirking over having caught us peeking in.
I stand beside Lola as the prince comes towards us, wearing a pair of black gloves that looked to be made of leather.
"I'm sorry your highness, we weren't trying to intrude." Lola says and curtsies so I fall in behind her.
"Please, come in. This is the training room, for guards mostly but your welcome any time." Prince Archie said, ripping the Velcro off his gloves and slipping them from his hands.
Once I move inside Archie gives me a grin, "I see you've recovered from your fall Lady Isabelle." He says, turning to toss his gloves aside on a bench before turning back to me.
I look at him confused, "What fall are you referring to?"
Archie raises an eyebrow, "Oh, you didn't hear? You hit your head after you fell for me so hard."
Lola cracked up in giggles beside me as I stared at the prince blankly. I glared at him, not showing any sign of amusement and Prince Archie cleared his throat.
"Excuse me, my lady, I apologise, that was unnecessary." Prince Archie admits, seeming apologetic noticing I'm not in a joking mood.
"It's alright. I've recovered." I say and he nods in understanding.
Prince Archie turns to Lola, "Would you like to test out some of the equipment?"
Lola nodded excitedly and Archie grinned again, leading her to the section of the wall with some of the weapons.
I wandered over to the bow and arrows and pulled down my favourite looking set. Silver and gold patterns across the bow and matching arrows with golden tips.
I took the cylinder shaped duffel bag full of arrows and slung it over my shoulder to be behind me.
The fancy bow had buttons across it and I looked down at them;
Start Simulation
End Simulation
Hard Core Mode
I tried by pressing Start simulation and suddenly my surroundings were targets, all across the back wall where the crash mats were.
I decided to practise my aim so I pulled out an arrow, firing it off to the closest target.
Bingo.
Then another target hit, the boards falling down in the simulation as I hit it.
I hit maybe 6 different targets, all within good range of the centre, 2 being bullseyes, and then all the targets were gone.
Maybe a little level up would help. My thumb hovered over the hard core mode until I decided what the heck and pushed it down with a click.
In front of me weren't targets, they were holograms of people and they had bows ready to shoot me.
I ducked just before an arrow took me out, and shot the guilty man who was charging towards me.
3 other people ran around the back of the room, all with weapons to aim in my direction.
I got in another shot but missed, right as I had to roll out of the way of a arrow flying through the air towards me.
One of the people made a run towards me and I pulled an arrow from the bag slung over my shoulder and pierced him in the heart.
The two remaining figures shot at me at the same time so I had to dive off to one side, rolling on the ground, and pulling out an arrow.
I shot one of the guys in the arm, but just as he faded into the ground I saw an arrow fly into my side from the figure left.
It was not an arrow touching skin feeling, it was a strike, buzzing feeling.
My vision flickered as the simulation ended and I was taken back to the room with Archie and Lola sitting on one of the benches down the other end of the massive hall as she was suiting up with some gloves Archie wore previously.
"Good work out there Isabelle." Prince Archie called over, an impressed look across his face, and I cowered, ducking my head.
"Thanks." I say, placing my equipment back into its spot on the wall gently, "Could you see me?"
The prince nodded, "Anyone in the simulations is monitored." He gestured to a screen up in the corner of the wall divided into 4 sections in video.
One displayed the simulation I was just in, replaying my actions.
The other 3 were blank and read pending.
"That's so cool." I say, admiring the technology as I headed over to where Lola sat, squeezing her hands open and closed as she was testing the gloves.
Archie turned back to Lola and checked over her gloves, "These seem right, now, come over here." He stood and walked to a punching bag, Lola in toe.
I watched as he taught her how to hit it, "When you hit it you need to use all your strength, build up your arm muscles. It might sting but once you take off the gloves you won't feel the pain." Prince Archie explained, quickly grabbed the gloves back that he had on previously and slipping them on.
He told Lola to watch and he expertly positioned before the punching bag, taking the first swing. It was powerful and caused the bag to fly backwards.
Lola was gawking at him and his strength. I also noticed how nervous she looked once Archie offered for her to have a go.
Her first few hits were weak, worrying to much about the eyes on her. Archie whispered something to her and she replied, swinging a fist harder against the bag.
Lola shook out her hand that was apparently killing her with a proud smile on her face. Her blonde hair swung in her ponytail with rhythm as she swung hits at the bag, getting more forceful as she went.
"You're a natural."
I turned and left the room, neither of them noticing as they are off in their own little world, but that didn't take the smirk from my face.