17
1695 Words
I can't help but grin, "I thought that stealing was always a bad plan and you shouldn't do it unless you are absolutely desperate."
Grace rolls her eyes, "I was desperate."
"What does it say?"
She begins to unfold it with shaking hands. She opens her mouth to say the first word as Cassandra appears down the hall. When she sees us, she hurries to meet us.
She flicks a piece of her dark hair over her shoulder, "So? What did my mother say to you?"
"We just talked." I say.
"I hope she wasn't mad at you. You know I wasn't trying to get you into trouble, right?" She bats her eyelashes at us, all of us knowing that it's faked.
"No, she wasn't mad at us. She explained some things to us that we didn't understand and now we know what is acceptable to say. I apologize that I wasn't aware of it sooner."
"Of course, it wasn't a problem. I understand that you wouldn't know much after living a spoiled, shelter life in that castle."
"I guess you could say that."
"Then I will."
I glare into her eyes, "What do you really want from us, Cassandra? Are we taking too much of your mother's attention away from you? Maybe you need even more pampering."
Cassandra's eyes narrow. "Don't you dare talk to me like that. I never got much attention from my mother. Don't be so full of yourself, thinking that you would change anything. In fact, I enjoy having you here, because it gives me something to do."
"As in tell your mother of all our activities?"
"Something like that. You better be careful what you say when someone could be listening."
"Once again, Cassandra, what do you want from us?"
"I care nothing of Grace. I just never want to see you be Queen Admira."
"Do you think Alexanne deserves the throne?"
"No. I think neither of you deserve the throne."
"Then wouldn't you rather have me as the queen, instead of someone who murdered two of her sisters to gain the position?"
"No."
"Who do you think should be the queen? Yourself?"
She laughs, "Even I'm not that audacious. Maybe no one should be the queen, or king for that matter. Ever heard of democracy? Oh yes, I'm sure you have, but in your nightmares, right? It would be horrible if the people actually had a choice in their life."
Cassandra stalks off the hall before I can say anything more.
Would a democracy be better than my ruling?
Grace puts a hand on my shoulder, "Don't let her words get to you. You are going to be a fantastic queen."
I take a deep breath, "Let's go to the library so we can read the letter in privacy."
Grace nods and we hurry to the library. Once we've checked in all the corners of the room for any eavesdropping servants, Grace takes out the letter.
In a shaking voice, she reads:
Dear Florentine,
I agree to your plan. I do not know whether I support every aspect of it, there are certainly better ways to take care of certain parts, I will support it. There may be a better way, but Admira being the Queen is much more important. We don't know how much longer we have before Alexanne does something drastic. I've heard whispers of some of her plans.
I must warn you, I don't know how the girls will respond to knowing that they will be split apart. They've spent their entire lives together, closer than sisters. I suggest that they don't know this aspect to the plan until it is necessary. Otherwise they might not go through with it. While I feel guilty for keeping this from them, the kingdom is more important. We must remember our duty over our personal beliefs.
Thank you for contacting me.
Sir Antonin
Grace meets my eyes, her lips pressed together.
My voice wavers, "They are...they are splitting us apart for the plan? We won't be together."
Grace struggles to smile, as if there aren't tears gathering in her eyes, "It makes sense, when you consider it. It's silly that we thought we would be able to stay together. It's much easier to sneak one person into the castle than two. I don't know what her plan is, but I doubt she has any extra risks to spare."
"I don't know if I can go through with this." I say.
"No, no, you must go through with this. This is your dream, remember? You need to avenge your sisters' deaths and your own disgrace. You promised it to yourself and me when we were leaving the castle. I can't let you give up now. Once you are queen, you'll probably be able to rehire me as your lady in waiting. As queen, you will surely have that power. It will only be until you become queen."
"But how long will that be?"
Grace shrugs, "It doesn't matter. We will just have to remember that we will see each other in the end. Besides, I'm sure that you will be able to visit me every once in a while. Surely."
I nod, "Of course, I'll visit you at every chance I get. I can't imagine, after everything you've been through with me...that I'm expected to go through the hardest fight of my life without you. I don't know if I can do it."
"You can do it. I know you can."
"What if becoming the Queen isn't my dream though? What if it is the castle dream, the one of the rest of my sisters? That's what we all wanted, what we were taught to want. What if it was just something I was taught, instead of something I actually want."
"I grew up with you, remember? I know that you want to be queen. Not because you want the balls and the dresses and the loving crowds and the fancy carriages. You want it because you know that you can help thousands of people through this."
I sigh, "Maybe I should make a decision for myself. It's my life after all."
Grace smiles sadly, "I will leave you to think about it. I'm exhausted and want nothing more than to go to sleep. I think you need some time to think anyway. Excuse me."
She slips out of the room before I can ask her to wait.
Do I actually want to be Queen?
I push the thoughts to the side, skirting around my problems. I tell myself I'll think about it later, even though I've already said it a hundred times before.
A servant slips through the doors. I recognize it as the same little girl who warned not to speak of the midwives. I scan the library again before clearing my throat, "Excuse me?"
The girl jumps and quickly falls into a curtsy. "I apologize, my lady, I thought I was alone in here."
"What is your duty to be in this room?"
"I'm cleaning it. I'm afraid that cleaning the library is not a one day job. By the time I finish all the different tasks needed to keep it clean, it is in need of another cleaning again. It's a continuous, frustrating cycle."
"What is your name?"
"Eloise." She says, shyly.
"Ad—" I stop myself, remembering that I can't give away my name. "Adanette."
She grins, "Admira, you mean."
"No."
She laughs, "Yes. Your name is Admira, as in Princess Admira. You were accused of treachery against the kingdom, and were supposedly executed. However, that was all a lie and you were merely kicked out of the kingdom."
"Did Florentine tell you?"
"Of course not, she doesn't trust me. I doubt she even knows my name."
"Who told you then?"
"I'm sorry," she curtsies again, "but I must get back to my cleaning duties. My apologies. Florentine angers easily when I don't do my required work."
She begins dusting books and shelves. It's a meticulous task of pulling the row of books out of the shelves, running the duster along the wood, and then lining the books back to their original places.
"You could talk while you work."
"That might slow me down. Florentine can usually tell when I'm distracted and I usually suffer for it by being assigned more work the next day."
I stand from my seat on the chair and join her. I pull the books out alongside her.
"Perhaps if you have someone helping you, you won't fall behind on your work. I think you could talk then."
"I'm afraid we don't have anything to talk about." Her firm words show that she plans on keeping her secrets.
I'm about to argue further when Florentine bursts through the doors. Grace trails after her, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes.
Florentine frowns when she sees me helping Eloise, "What are you doing? You are not a servant. You don't have to do a servant's work."
I know that it is Eloise, not I, who will suffer for this. I lie, "I wasn't helping her. She was cleaning a book I was interested in. I had to move some other books to reach it, but it wasn't a problem."
Florentine peers at us, as if she knows that I am lying, but doesn't have the energy to address it.
Instead she claps her wrinkled hands together, "No problem then. We have things much more exciting to discuss."
I step away from the bookshelf and closer to Florentine and Grace, "What is it?"
I search Grace's face for answers, but she seems just as oblivious as I am.
Florentine can barely keep the eager smile off her face as she leads us to a corner of the room. I've never seen her so excited before. Is it genuine, or is she faking it for our sakes? She whispers, so that Eloise can't hear. "I have just received a letter. It was from the guard, Antonin. We are ready to start our attack on the castle. You should become comfortable with calling yourself Queen Admira. It won't be long now."
- Writer
