Duchess in Distress

Chapter 3

NATHALIE

I stretched my back once I arrived at the gate of our small house in the far northeast of North Valley. Our gate was made of old stainless steel and painted brown years ago. There were bricks in front of our house as a fence blocking the view inside the compound.

My father inherited this from my grandparents. It was small for others, but it was big enough to give us shade for all seasons. Our living room, dining area, and the kitchen had no division. It was the first thing someone would see if he entered our house. There were two doors on the other side: one door for my parents' room and another door for the restroom. There were another two bedrooms upstairs, one for me and one for my two younger sisters.

There was no carpet, our floor was made of wood, but our wall was made of bricks, even the second floor. Even though not a dreamed house, our house was clean because my mother always inspected and did the quality control around the area. And, the happiness and comfort we always felt was what others were living in the big house looking for: a real home.

My most favorite part of our house was the rooftop. There was another set of stairs behind our house, going to the third floor, where our rooftop was located. My father made this for me because I wished that I had a place where I could rest and cry without someone seeing and hearing me when I started the puberty stage. To my surprise, daddy gave this place to me on my 12th birthday.

I sat on the wood chair my father made for this place. It was good for three persons to sit here and admire the view of the east part of North Valley. The buildings far away were structures in the main city of the province. Even though North Valley was the farthest province of Luvia, there were still many people residing in the place. That was evident by the roofs I always saw at the rooftop.

The west part of the province was the opposite of the east, where all the ordinary citizens resided. On the west, the land area was greener. Houses were big as though these were castles, but only few structures were built there. These big houses are owned by nobles and even the current Duke of North Valley.

I slumped on the chair, relaxing my back on the backrest. I looked up at the sky and saw the sun striking down its light to the earth. I put my hand to my eyes so I could view the beautiful blue sky without getting blind.

It was only lunchtime, but for me, it was already midnight. I didn't get enough sleep when I got home last night. I could not believe that I was still alive until now. What if that prince raids our house with his military and kills me. It was okay if he would kill me, but I hope he would never touch my family.

I sighed heavily and wishing the sky would get me now.

"Nathalie," I heard mom called me, and before I knew it, she had already sat beside me. She had a tray of bread, ham, and lettuce. "I know you're not eating yet."

Glancing at mommy, I wonder why I didn't get any of her features: her brown eyes, dark blonde hair, and even her pretty nose. Except for her vulgar personality, which was proof that I was her daughter, I didn't get anything. I didn't get any from dad either.

What my mommy always said, it seemed like her mom lived again when she gave birth to me. I looked like her, from my red curly hair to my face and also my pale skin. However, she didn't like the idea of naming me as Dorothy, and to get out of the option, she randomly picked and named me Nathalie instead.

I saw my grandmother’s pictures when she was a Duchess, and I did resemble her. But, she was classier and more elegant. She wore beautiful dresses that I didn't have a chance to wear. She was more than a girl, she was a lady, and many people admired her.

But things happened. She gave up all these things just for love. I want to know why and restore her name and our family rights and title, even if it would take me a lifetime.

I ate the bread with ham and lettuce, only this time I felt hungry. Mom was watching the east part of the province before she startled me.

"Oh, I almost forgot," she got something from her pocket and showed me a silver bracelet with different colored stones around it.

"Is that an imitation? Where did you get that?" I asked with my eyes fixated on the bracelet. I recognized an emerald and diamond in the set of stones. It shone when sunlight reflected on it.

"No," my mommy entirely disagreed, "I got it when I cleaned the things of mom in the basement. I don't think it is an imitation because of look at the stones. They are real."

She gave me the bracelet, and the coldness from it seeped through my palm. I examined it like a science experiment, and I was no expert to determine if it was real or not. But it felt heavy to be a fake.

"What do you think?" She asked, but I didn't answer. She got the bracelet from me, and before I could protest, she put it around my right wrist.

"Beautiful," I murmured while viewing the bracelet on my wrist. I felt like it was mine before, and wearing it again seemed like a reunion.

"See? My imagination is right. It fits on you," mommy said like a proud mother in an awarding ceremony. She suddenly reminisced while playing the bracelet on my wrist, "I remember mom wearing this bracelet twice or thrice, but every time she wore it, she cried. I never asked her." She leaned back on the chair and looked at the sky as if seeing her mom.

I did the same and said, "Why did you not ask her?"

"Because I was scared to know the answer," she smiled sadly and lowered her gaze to the houses that can be seen on our rooftop, "I was scared to know that she was still crying for that man."

"That man, is he grandpa?" I turned my face to her. I knew grandpa because he was still alive until I was 10. I had a handful of memories with him compared to grandma, who died before mom conceived me.

She looked at me and held my cheek. She shook her head, "But Dad accepted it even though I know that he loved her so much. He was there during her darkest times. You know what I admired to Dad. He never blamed mom."

I held her hand, "Grandpa was so nice, I knew it. Even though I broke his favorite tea cup when I was five years old, he never got angry."

Mom put her other hand to mine, "Nathalie, like your Grandpa, don't ever blame your grandma, Duchess Dorothy, for what happened to our family. Don't just believe in the rumors you heard because mom was way better than every mom, even I. She was a good mother, and she loved me more than anything."

I avoided her gazes and thought she saw it in my diary when she cleaned my room this morning. Because of that prince, I wrote something like blaming my grandmother as a root cause why our family had no title. The scene last night wouldn't happen if I were a Duchess someday.

"I'm sorry, mom, I won't do it again," I said, my voice cracked in the middle.

She hugged me, "It's okay. You know what, mom would be so happy if she saw you. You looked like her very much, especially your blue-green eyes. I wished before that I also got those, but all my genes came from my father."

We laughed together. That was true tho. She was the girl version of grandpa. "Mom, how about this bracelet," we broke our hug, "Should you keep it?"

"Uh no, you wear it. It was the only thing that would show the world. You are the granddaughter of the former Duchess of North Valley," she responded with a big smile. She added, "By the way, I also found some papers of your grandma. I put it in a box and place it in your room. If you have free time, you can read it so you will learn more about her."

I nodded slowly, "Thanks, mom."

I went to my room after finishing the lunch mom prepared for me. I found the box of grandma's papers, but I was too tired for the day to read old notes. I climbed to my bed and browsed some dresses on the internet.

I loved dresses, and they made me feel like a real girl. If only I had a choice, I really wanted to wear one. But, working as a hotel housekeeper in the morning, and a convenient store crew in the evening, wearing a dress would never be a choice. Jeans and a t-shirt were still most comfortable for a part-timer like me.

Should I save up on my next salary so I can buy one this month? But, where would I use it? I was not a noble, and my name was not on the list of ladies in the court. By this age, if we still had rights and titles, I would be one of the Crown Prince's choices to be his wife and the next queen.

I sat up suddenly and realized it was a good thing that I had never become a lady in court. I would never marry a Crown Prince who did things without a marriage. He was using his power to attract girls. He was a manipulator jerk.

With that relief, I drifted to sleep. I was dreaming about something beautiful when my smartphone rang. I had no idea who it was—what a disturbance.

I was not fully awake yet when I reached my phone on my end-table. I didn't see who it was. I just answered the call with my groan.

"Nathalie Hendlefort?" An unfamiliar masculine voice said from the other line.

"Who are you?" My question was, not sure if I said that in reality or my dream. My consciousness was playing between the real world and the dream world.

There was a long period of silence. My body was preparing to go back to sleep again when I heard the guy spoke like he owned the universe.

"Should I show my mercy, or should I tell the king about what happened last night?"

That made me jerk up from my beloved pillow. Suddenly, I was fully awake, and memories of last night flashed in my mind. I grasped a handful of strands of my hair, trying to erase those scenarios.

"You know me, now, Miss Hendlefort?" He said with the most uninteresting voice in history.

"I-I t-thought..." I stuttered, "I thought, you...a-already f-forgave me."

Oh, where did it come from? He never forgave you, Nathalie. He just freaking gave you an open-ended punishment!

He chuckled as if something was funny in the situation. He said, "Just choose one between showing my mercy or telling dad about a disrespectful young lady working in a convenient store."

I immediately kneeled on my bed and bowed down until my face was on the mattress. Even though he could not see me, I needed to do this out of tradition. "Your Royal Highness, have mercy on me," I pleaded with a steady voice. I didn't want my family to hear me and made them worry.

"Are you sincere?" I just nodded and mentally laughed when I realized he could not see me. "Then, come here to Queen's Cafe within 10 minutes to prove yourself."

My eyes got bigger and rounder, "What? Queen's Cafe?" That was a 30-minute walk from our house to get there. It was located downtown. Even a ride in a taxi would take time due to unexpected traffic.

"Your timer starts now," he said and hung up.

"Damn that prince," I shouted but immediately rummaged my closet and got the cardigan I first touched.

My mom saw me when I went down to the living area. I looked for the best pair of shoes for running.

"Where are you going? Your duty won't start until 8 PM?" She asked with her brow lifted.

"A friend...I will see my friend," I responded and ran outside without hearing her further inquiry. She would surely ask who it was. And I don't think I could answer that.

I hope time would stop, or the prince would have an emergency meeting in Kingsville, so he needed to leave immediately.