The Four Princes Who Chose Me

The Letter

For the first few days after Elara's death, Aria moved through the house as though she were waiting for something.

She kept expecting her mother to call her name from the other room or complain that she was studying too late. More than once, Aria caught herself preparing to tell Elara something before remembering that there was no one left to tell.

The funeral was small and quiet. A few neighbors came, along with people who had known Elara through the work she had done in town. They offered Aria condolences and reminded her of how hard her mother had worked, how kind she had been, how she had always done her best for her daughter.

Aria listened, but none of their words could fill the space Elara had left behind. When everyone was gone, she stood alone beside the grave.

She wanted to say something.

Instead, she looked at the fresh earth and thought of the promises her mother had made her repeat. Aria had never imagined she would have to follow those lessons without Elara there to guide her.

The next morning, she began counting what they had left.

There was very little.

The money that might once have supported her education had already gone toward Elara's treatment. What remained would not last long, and Aria had no idea how she would manage the house, food, and her own future by herself.

For the first time, she understood what her mother had meant when she warned her to learn how to stand on her own.

Knowing how was one thing. Having no choice was another.

A week after the burial, someone knocked at the door.

Aria opened it to find two strangers.

The first was a man dressed in formal clothes. Beside him stood a doctor carrying a medical case.

"Are you Aria?"

She nodded.

"We came from the capital," the man said. "Your mother sent a letter."

Aria's expression hardened.

"She did."

"We're sorry we didn't come sooner."

She said nothing.

The man looked past her.

"We were asked to bring a doctor. We wanted to see whether there was anything that could still be done for her."

Aria stepped away from the doorway.

Then she walked around the side of the house.

Neither man spoke as they followed her.

She stopped at the grave.

"This is where she is."

The messenger stared at the earth.

The doctor stood beside him, silent.

Aria kept her eyes on the grave.

"You came too late."

The messenger lowered his head.

"I'm sorry."

She did not answer.

There was nothing he could say that would change what had happened.

After a moment, the doctor looked at Aria.

He studied her face with a strange intensity, as though he were trying to place her.

Aria noticed.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

The doctor seemed caught off guard.

"It's nothing."

His eyes remained on her for another moment before he looked away. The messenger thanked her for speaking with them, though Aria had barely said anything at all. Then they left.

She watched until they disappeared down the road. That evening, she returned to the house and tried to study but she couldn't concentrate.

The visit from the palace had unsettled her, especially the doctor's strange expression. She wondered why they had come at all. Her mother had reached out for help when she was alive. No one had answered and now they had come after the funeral.

Aria pushed the thought aside. There was no point trying to understand people who had arrived too late to matter.

Two weeks passed. Aria settled into a difficult routine of work, meals and trying to continue her studies. She did not think much about the palace during the day, but the memory of the doctor sometimes returned without warning.

Then, one afternoon, there was another knock at the door.

This time, a single man stood outside.

He wore the formal clothes of a royal messenger.

"Aria?"

She looked at him cautiously.

"Yes."

He held out an envelope.

"This was sent to you."

Her eyes went immediately to the seal.

“The royal crest”.

For a moment, she could only stare.

The messenger waited.

Aria took the envelope.

Her fingers closed around it, but she did not open it. She looked at her name written across the front.

Her mother's letter had finally received a response. She wanted to know what was inside. At the same time, she was afraid of what she might find. The palace had already come too late for Elara. Whatever answer they had now was unlikely to change anything.

Aria turned the envelope over in her hands. Then she carried it inside and placed it on the table and left it there. For the next hour, she tried to ignore it, but she couldn't.

Eventually, Aria returned to the table and picked up the envelope again.

Her mother's words came back to her.

Think for yourself.

Aria looked at the seal. Whatever was inside, she needed to know. She ran her thumb beneath the edge of the wax.

Then she began to break the seal.