Louisa Hendraki

Chapter four: A New Life

Louisa woke up to Zara tapping her and calling her name. It was dark outside. They had arrived at Nendes finally. Sleep cleared from Louisa's eyes. Nendes! She had reached her impending doom.

She smiled.

Her father was going to rue the day he handed her over to Nikolai.

Zara helped her to put on a dress. Then a soldier of Nendes came to lead them outside. When they stepped out of the ship, a cold wind greeted them. Louisa wrapped her arms around herself. Then someone wrapped a cloak around her. She turned.

It was Nikolai.

Louisa didn't know what to make of it. She smiled at him but he didn't smile back. It was as though he was offended.

Louisa spotted a crowd of people coming towards them with chariots and horses. She looked at Nikolai but he didn't show any iota of confusion. He just kept muttering incoherent words. Louisa relaxed. At least it wasn't bad guys.

The rider who led the crowd had reached them and got down from her horse. It was a woman.

Not just any woman.

A beautiful woman.

Her beauty made Louisa doubt herself. Who was this woman? she thought. Whoever she was, she was a paragon of beauty.

The woman walked up to them and bowed. Louisa courtseied back but Nikolai looked upset. "And you had to wait till I arrived before you sent my ride?"he asked instead.

The lady laughed and Louisa thought it was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. "We're sorry, brother. We'll be punctual next time."

Brother? She was Nikolai's sister?

Of course Nikolai was very good looking but his sister's beauty was on another level. Her golden brown hair flapped with the wind and her sweet smile was everything.

"Princess, we're happy to have you here. I'm Leonora. But you can call me Nora." the lady said. Louisa was at a loss for words. What would

she say to this woman that wouldn't sound clumsy.

Then she spoke,"Thank you, Lady Nora. I'm delighted to meet you. I'm Louisa".

"We all know you, Princess Louisa." Nora said smiling again. Louisa was forced to avert her gaze. The woman was charming.

Louisa and Zara were led by Nora to a chariot that was waiting for them. Then the three of them sat in the chariot. Nora kept gazing intently at Louisa while Zara enjoyed the view of the kingdom. Louisa noticed Nora staring and looked down at her hands. "You are beautiful, My lady."

Louisa glanced at her and smiled,"That's what I think of you actually". Leonora smiled too. Then she glanced at Zara. "What's her name?" she asked Louisa.

"Zara" Louisa replied.

Nora nodded and looked out of the window. It was raining now. Louisa used that chance to glance at her again. Then she averted her gaze again.

Why was she looking at another woman in that manner? What was wrong with her?

She focused her gaze on everything but Nora throughout the journey.

When they reached the palace, Louisa's eyes widened. It was beautiful. Swans swam in the pool nearby, creating a peaceful atmosphere. There was a water fountain and a beautiful garden nearby. Butterflies hovered about.

"Welcome to castle Nendes", Leonora said cheerfully and beckoned on a maid who stood by. "Take lady Zara to her room while I'll take the queen to hers". The lady bowed and left with Zara.

"Queen?", Louisa asked turning to Nora.

"Yes. Aren't you the queen of Nendes?"

"Not yet. I've not yet been coronated" Louisa replied.

Nora blinked and raised a brow before giggling,"Don't be silly. There's no coronation. You became queen when you tied the knot with Nikolai."

Louisa bit her lower lip. She did survive till her coronation. Nora led her to a room and opened the door. Louisa's breath caught.

The room was big.

And spacious.

It was way too big, even for her. Her room in Ravencrest wasn't half as large as this. The bed here was queensized, making Louisa wonder if she could ever roll off. "It's beautiful." she muttered to Nora, lost for words. Nora smiled.

"You can freshen up and then we'll inform you when it's time for dinner. You must be starving. It's been a long journey on the sea". Then she left Louisa to her thoughts.

Louisa hurried to the bathroom, where a warm bubble bath was waiting for her. She stripped herself and slipped into the bathtub. Then her mind wandered to Nora again. She didn't know why her heart always skipped a beat whenever Nora looked at her but she knew it had to stop.

We are both women.

She had almost dozed off in the bathtub when she heard someone open her room door. She hurriedly put on a bathrobe and went to see who it was. It was Zara. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress. It seemed it was of Nendes' fashion. She was not alone. There were other ladies too and they brought many dresses with them.

"Dresses for you, my lady" Zara said with a big smile. She seemed so excited about everything. Louisa smiled too. If Zara was happy, then she should be. The ladies dropped the dresses and bowed before leaving.

"Louisa. Look at that! Dresses and jeweleries. Look how pretty they are. You are so lucky." Louisa sighed and sat on the bed,"Am I?"

Zara raised sn annoyed brow, "I don't know when you became a pessimist but I don't like it."

"Bummer! Roman said he liked it..."

"He only said he liked your sarcastic tongue. And I like it too... except when I'm trying to cheer you up"

Louisa rolled her eyeballs and picked a red dress. "It's beautiful, isn't it? I'll wear it for dinner tonight." Zara smiled,"I think it will suit you very well."

Zara helped her dress up and then went to arrange the dresses in the dress closet. Louisa stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was queen. She had liberty to pretty dresses now. She could order servants at will.

Did she really need to be loved by Nikolai?

After all, she had someone who liked her there. Nora. She didn't really need Nikolai so...

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Come in" she said without turning. A servant came in and courtseied. "Majesty, it's time for the feast." Louisa turned,"The feast?"

The maid nodded and Louisa adjusted her dress before following her. The maid led her to a grand hall decorated with colours of purple and gold. The banners carrying the emblem of the kingdom were also clothes of purple and gold too. Nendes was really a rich Kingdom. Little wonder why her father was so desperate to succeed in this alliance.

There was a crowd in the hall which made Louisa confused. Wasn't it supposed to be a normal peaceful dinner? It looked more like the king was throwing a party. An after wedding party.

As she stepped into the hall, two guards immediately followed her from behind. Louisa smiled. Being a queen felt good. An announcer immediately heralded, "The Queen!" and everyone got down on one knee in silence while Nikolai and Nora stood up from their seats.

Louisa walked confidently to Nikolai and bowed,"Majesty..."

Nikolai smiled, then took her hand and kissed it. Then everybody clapped and stood up and music continued. Different types of foods were served in front of them.

"I hope you find Nendes to be very pleasing, Majesty" Nora said above the noise. Louisa

smiled too and just as the announcer shouted, "The prince." and everyone bowed as a little boy ran across the room to Nikolai. Nikolai carried the boy in his arms and hugged him. " Father" the boy called happily. Louisa couldn't believe her ears.

Prince? Father?

Nikolai had a son? Why didn't Nora tell her. But she kept her cool. The boy was comely and cute. She wondered who his mother was. Just then, a beautiful lady walked up to them and bowed, "Your majesties. Lady Nora. Congratulations on the wedding, your majesties."

Nikolai turned to Louisa,"Louisa, this is Juliet. She is Conrad's mother. And Conrad is my son"

Louisa was confused.

The boy's mother still lived? Why didn't Nikolai marry her instead.

But then, she put on a smile. "I'm happy to meet you and the little Prince, Lady Juliet"

After the pleasantries, Juliet took Conrad away while Nora went to dance. Louisa watched her go. She was graceful and elegant and... Stop it Louisa! Focus on the king.

"Your majesty, Does Conrad live at court?" Louisa said, trying to start a conversation. "No, he doesn't"

"He's a prince. He's supposed to live alone... with people to take care of him of course."

"Oh." Louisa muttered even though she had a lot to say. She couldn't imagine living away from her parents. Well, she was doing it now.

"Does Lady Juliet live there with him?" she asked.

"She doesn't...but she goes there all the time to see him. You haven't eaten anything since you sat here."

Louisa looked at the food, then back at him, before comprehending his sentence.

"Oh!" she said, embarrassed and began to eat. Nikolai only smirked and continued eating. Louisa was surprised. Nikolai didn't seem as scary as people described him to be.