Chasing Royalty

19

I press my fingers into fists and force the nervousness away. “When we were seven, all four of us princesses were playing with our dolls. Our dolls went on magical adventures, fighting dragons and pirates, falling in love with princes from distant lands, using their magical powers…Emilienne would always insist that we help the people first. When our imagined situations became intense, she’d shout in her high pitched voice, ‘We must all act like queens, even if we aren’t, and save the people.’”

I know Augustine is sitting somewhere in the crowd. As my tutor, he had an honorary invitation to her funeral. What does he think of my changed speech so far?

“On our tenth birthday, we had a huge dinner. There was turkey and beans, beef and fruit, more desserts than you could ever imagine. After eating, I found Emilienne crying in her quarters. She said she was disgusted that we had all that food and the peasants had so little. Later that night we snuck out of our bedrooms and stole all the extra food. We tried to get out of the castle to give it to the people, but the guards stopped us. We made sure that all the food was delivered to the public.”

What does William think of my speech? He never said that we couldn’t share stories of our childhood. I haven’t said anything bad about Emilienne or the kingdom. He can’t blame anything on me. Unless Augustine tells him that I didn’t follow the planned speech, he might not know that I ever changed the plan.

“When we were thirteen, Emilienne did succeed in sneaking out of the castle every night for two months. She left behind sacks of food on the street outside of the castle gates to be found by the public. She was caught eventually and forced to give it up for her safety.”

“Just this last year, she wanted to adopt two little boys into the castle, after seeing them starving. Though the guards wouldn’t allow two wild boys in the castle, we’ve given them a stable home and food to last them for a year. All because of Emilienne’s constant begging.”

I take a deep breath, “What I’m trying to say is that Emilienne has always had great plans for this kingdom. She’d do whatever it took to succeed, even if that meant breaking the rules and sacrificing her own safety. I wish that she could still be here with us, so much. In a few generations, there will be a time when Emilienne fades from most people’s memories. The only thing we can do is honor her memory and her beliefs. She always spoke with the same message. ‘Although we may not all be a queen, we must all act like one.’”

I curtsy to the crowd and take my seat. Violette squeezes my hand and smiles. She mouths, “That was beautiful.”

I thank her and duck my head. I allow the tears to flow freely from my eyes. Alexanne stands beside me and takes her spot at the front of the church.

Her floating voice fills the church, “There are thousands of different things that can be said about Emilienne. She was kind, beautiful, sympathetic, cheerful, thankful, courageous, patient, intelligent,” she pauses, looking sadly out at the crowd, “I can go on forever, stating all the things Emilinne was. Things that you’ll never be able to discover for yourself. One thing, however, that I can’t forget is how genuine she is, I mean…was.”

“She told you the truth. Even if you didn’t want to hear it. Especially if you didn’t want to hear it. She was never mean, just honest. She always said that it’s better she be truthful of our choices, than someone else.”

“She loved to tell stories. She could entertain anyone for hours with outlandish stories of fairies and dragons, handsome knights and beautiful ladies. She would memorize parts of epics and poetry and perform them for us and the guests.”

Her words bring back memories of all the times I laughed or cried at the stories Emilienne had to tell. Emilienne gathered all the attention she could get at parties and royal balls. I was thankful, it took pressure away from socializing with the nobles and foreign royals. She was much better at it than any of us ever were.

“If she wasn’t talking, she was singing. She would fill the halls with her soft voice, no matter who might hear her. She would sing songs that we all learned or make up her own. Everywhere she went, her singing echoed after her.”

Although Emilienne’s constant singing could get a little irritating after several hours, she did have a beautiful voice. I’ve heard the servants joking about how they could always know where Emilienne was if they just listened for singing.

“Emilienne has left her memories behind, and they’ll forever be imprinted in me. When I don’t hear her honesty or her crazy stories or her soft singing, each time the truth slams back into me and I somehow have to survive the pain.” She takes a shaky breath, “Emilienne, you have no idea how much you are missed. Rest in peace.”

Sobs and sniffs float from the crowd. Alexanne smiles sadly on more time, curtsies, and staggers back to us. I smile through my tears and hug her.

The priest concludes the service with a few more detached words and blesses Emilienne.

The four noblemen return to the front of the church and carry the coffin back down the aisle. We stand and follow it down the aisle. The crowds whisper their condolences as we pass, filling the church with a sympathetic buzz.

We walk down the spiraling steps to the lower part of the cathedral. It’s the home of monuments, memorials, and caskets of nobles and royalty. Only Violette, Alexanne, William, and I follow the four noblemen deeper into the room. My mouth slips open when I see Victor trailing behind us.

We stop in front of a towering memorial near the front of the room. Two large memorials of white granite lay side by side. I unconsciously step closer, trailing my finger along the cold stone.

My eyes trace the imprinted words.

Queen Cassandra and King Nathanael

May They Forever Rest in Peace.

I stare at the inscription, trying to gather some sadness. There’s only the emptiness of something I’ll never understand. I’ll never know what it’s like to have a caring mother watch over your every step. My father will never patiently teach me how to play a game or a new skill. I only have servants and maids and my sisters.

The noblemen set down the casket. William nods and murmurs, “Thank you for your service. You may be dismissed.”

It’s only Violette, Alexanne, William, Victor, and I alone in the mausoleum.

William bows his head, “We can go now.”

“Go?” The words fall from my surprised lips, “Why would we leave? We have to bury her.”

William shakes his head, “The mausoleum isn’t ready for her body. It was such a sudden death that they didn’t have the time to prepare her place. Some servants will take care of it once it’s ready.”

“Emilienne’s body is going to be buried without any type of final ceremony?” I ask, disbelief raising my voice. William can’t command something like this. Emilienne’s body will not be unceremoniously dumped into this room as soon as it’s ready for her.

Victor scoffs, “We don’t have time for this. Why don’t the princesses go back to the Lyseteinta Castle and you and I can take care of this.”

William hesitates, “I don’t know if they should be at the castle alone while I’m still here.”

“They’ll be surrounded by guards.”

“Guards that could be working with or paid off by the murderer.” William says.

“For every guard that could be disloyal, there is another guard that is loyal. Besides, they’ll have their ladies in waiting and their tutors. They aren’t alone.”

William presses his lips together and then nods. “Okay. Violette, Alexanne, and Admira, you will go back to the castle. Stay safe and don’t take any unnecessary risks. We can’t lose you now. Grab a group of guards to escort you back.”

I open my mouth to argue but Violette puts a hand on my arm, “We have to remember, it’s just a body. The true Emilienne has moved on now and we need to do the same.”

I press my lips together, fuming, but I stalk out of the room. Alexanne and Violette scurry after me.

We slip through the doors into the main section of the cathedral. A few straggling relatives whisper in the pews. We reconstruct our royal perfection, smiling sadly and tipping our heads in greeting.

The eyes of an old lady land on us. She struggles to stand up, leaning all her weight on a notched cane. Her hands shake as she inches forward. My legs tense, but we politely wait for her to reach us.

She smiles when she sees us, “There are the beautiful princesses of the kingdom. I don’t suppose you remember me?”

She lifts her lips in a hopeful grin, revealing a mouth of yellowed, half missing teeth.

Violette shakes her head, “I’m sorry Madame, I do not recognize me. Although, perhaps if you remind me of your position and occupation I will remember.”

“I’m Florentine. I am the wife of Sir Edmund.”

The name doesn’t sound familiar. I glance at Violette, whose eyebrows are furrowed.

I say, “My apologies Madame Florentine, but I don’t remember you. Do you recall the time of our meeting?”

Florentine waves her hand aside, “Don’t worry about it, my dears, it’s not important. I was wondering if perhaps you would be able to spare the time to talk to me. I have some very important matters I’d like to discuss. But it’s rather…private.”

Violette dismiss the guards around us, “We can talk for a few minutes right now before our carriage leaves. We aren’t in too much of a hurry.”

Florentine frowns. “I’m afraid that’s not going to work. These matters are not something can be overheard. Do you think you could come back to meet me here in this cathedral tomorrow afternoon.”

“I don’t think that will be possible. We are currently staying far away from here and won’t be able to come back for some time.”

Florentine claps her hands together once, “Oh yes, I forgot you were staying at the Lyseteinta Castle. Could you meet in the town of Lyseteinta tomorrow morning?”

I share a startle glance with Violette and Alexanne. Few people know we ever left the Abette Castle. Our location is supposed to be a secret for our own safety.

Florentine glances over her shoulder. An old man, most likely her husband, stands next to the wall and motions for her.

She sighs, “I’m sorry, but I must be going now. If you can, meet me at two in the afternoon in the city square of Lyseteinta. If you are there, I’ll be sure to find you. Do everything you can to come, it’s very important.”

She begins to totter away, but turns back. “Also, remember, these matters must be kept quiet. You can’t tell anyone what I said to you. If you are going to come, don’t bring any guards with you.”

She turns back around and staggers back to where her husband waits.

The guards that we sent away rejoin us, gathering around in a protective square. We march out into the spring air, and climb into our carriages. The crowds still wait in the courtyard, calling out when they see us. I manage a small smile to them before the carriage doors shut.

Violette whispers, “We’re not going to visit her tomorrow, right?”

Should we go visit Florentine? Can we escape the castle undetected? It’s not as if Florentine could hurt us, she’s too frail. Of course, she could always bring someone else with her to hurt us. She could be working with the murderer.

“I want to know what she has to say. She was confident enough to approach us.” I say.

“What if it’s something dangerous? She did tell us not to bring the guards. She could bring someone with her that could easily hurt us. We probably couldn’t escape the castle anyway.”

Alexanne shrugs, “I think we’d be able to escape the castle. We know the guards schedules, don’t we?”

I stare at Alexanne, “I wouldn’t have thought you’d want to go.”

Alexanne says, “What could be so important that the old lady comes over to us? What if she knows something about who the murderer is? If we don’t go, we’ll never know and we’ll spend the rest of our lives wondering what she had to say.”

“If she knew something, why wouldn’t she have just told us there?” Violette asks.

“Maybe she was too scared with the guards around.” I say.

Alexanne crosses her legs, “I think we should go. We’ll arm ourselves with something and take every precaution. We’ve memorized the guard schedules, we should be able to sneak out undetected. We’ll disguise ourselves so that no one recognizes us or reports us. We’ll be safe.”

“What if they do find out we escaped?” Violette challenges.

“What are they going to do?” I ask. “They’ll come find us, take us back to the castle, scold us, and then our lives will return back to how they’ve always been.”

Violette tries to find another excuse. “The contest. If we’re caught, this will mess with our scores.”

“Not if all of us do it. If he punishes all of us, it won’t affect anything. Besides, they won’t catch us.”

“What if someone hurts us?”

“Then we’ll reveal that we are the princesses and the public will help us. It’s in the town square full of crowds. Someone will save us.”

Violette presses her lips together, “I still don’t feel like this is a good idea. There’s a murderer on the loose. We shouldn’t be taking unnecessary risks.”

Alexanne says, “We might actually be safer in the town square than the castle. In the open with the public is the last place the killer is going to be looking for us. As long as we don’t look suspicious, we’ll be fine.”

Violette sighs, “Fine. I’ll go. Just this once. We’ll take every precaution and at the first sign of danger, we’ll run back to the castle.”

I grin, a planning already forming in my head.