Within the next ten minutes we reached the palace grounds, and the castle was even more impressive up close. Squinting against the sunlight, it looked as if specks of gold sparkled inside the marble stone of the structure, and the grounds were maybe twice the size of ours. Hundreds of soldiers dressed in the dark reds and purples of Polart marched along the cobblestones, protecting every inch of the area.
As we approached the front doors, servants began to pile out and line the entrance in order to greet me. At the end of the line came who I could only assume was the Queen and her son Prince Alexander. There was a stark difference between the two— Queen Andromeda stood regally at the entrance, sharp nose held in the air and red lips pursed into a strong, thin line. But the Prince shuffled his feet about, constantly straightening the thin frames of his spectacles and smoothing the mess of blond hair on his head.
“He is so handsome!” Minerva exclaimed, hands clutching her chest.
I snorted, but then my mind went straight to Joseph again. I clenched my jaw and tried to push down all the despair and anger.
We pulled to a stop, and our footman hurriedly leapt from his seat at the front of our carriage and pulled open our door. Taking his outstretched hand, I gingerly stepped out onto the ground in my heels. It was really hard to keep a pleasant look on my face. I wasn’t looking forward to this at all. Minerva followed right behind me, helping push some of my skirts out of the carriage.
I raised my eyes to the Queen and the Prince and curtsied. The Queen nodded her head in acknowledgment, and the Prince avoided my gaze completely.
“Welcome to the Kingdom of Polart, Princess Amelia.” Queen Andromeda’s voice was low and sultry, yet powerful. Looking into her eyes, I almost saw displeasure as she looked me up and down. “This is my son, Prince Alexander.” He bowed to me.
“It’s a pleasure to be here, Your Majesty, Your Highness,” I said. “It’s beautiful here.”
She dismissed my compliment and quickly turned her back to walk inside. Her long, raven locks bounced elegantly as she stepped away. The Prince gave me a quick smile then followed suit.
“Um…” I whispered.
“Follow them,” Minerva hissed to me, giving me a little push.
As I passed each of the servants, they bowed and curtsied. They chattered excitedly to each other as I crossed the threshold of the castle.
The interior took my breath away. In front of me was a grand staircase made of a beautiful, pink ivory wood, and the handrails were encased in gold. Above me was the largest chandelier I had ever seen, decorated with too many diamonds to count.
“Princess,” the Queen’s voice echoed all the way to my ears, though she was all the way across the spacious entryway. “This is Clara,” she said, gesturing to a scrawny maid at the foot of the staircase. She couldn’t have been more than fourteen and must’ve seen labor every day of her life. “She will lead you to your bedchamber. I suggest you freshen up quickly. Dinner is within the hour.”
With that, she turned on her heel and walked away again, Prince Alexander following her like a lost puppy. It took everything I had in me not to roll my eyes.
They really know how to welcome a guest, I thought.
Clara curtsied to me. “If you will follow me, Princess.”
My shoes clicked on the marble floor. It was so shiny that I feared it would shatter under my every step. Minerva’s eyes bulged out of her head as she stood surveying the entryway.
“Lady Minerva,” I said, snapping her out of her reverie.
“Oh, yes. Sorry, Princess!” she shuffled after me, nearly slipping on the smooth steps as we climbed the staircase to my bedchamber.
As per what I’d seen already, even the halls on the second floor were wider and more extravagant than at our castle in Capthar.
They must be a lot more financially sound than we are, I thought.
Just from what I had seen so far, that seemed to be the case. There must have been big reasons why King Leopold did what he did: kidnapping girls, training a new princess… killing Joseph and imprisoning Janice… That had to be a part of it, and it made me sick.
“This is your room, Princess,” the maid said to me. Her voice matched her weak-looking body. She turned the doorknob to the enormous door before us. It had magnificent carvings of flowers and vines in the wood. The Polartians really knew what it meant to pay attention to detail.
“Thank you, Clara.” I gave her a big smile. She flushed, probably not used to being thanked so kindly. She curtsied and hurried away.
My room was at least twice as big as my chamber in Mardasia.
“Oh, my heavens,” Minerva gasped. She ran her finger along the purple wallpaper then hurried to the bed and stroked the quilts resting upon my giant mattress.
After a little more exploration, we found a guest bedroom attached to my powder room.
“This must be where I’m staying,” Minerva said, giddily examining her own fireplace and various sofas. It was significantly smaller than the main chamber, but it had to be the same size as mine in Capthar.
“Is this not exciting, Amelia?” Minerva said to me, noticing the scowl on my face.
I couldn’t tell her that I felt angry, depressed, sick… I couldn’t tell her that despite all those swirling emotions, I felt completely numb and impervious to everything around me. I just really didn’t care, but then I did. Janice…
“Of course, Lady Minerva,” I said.
In that moment, a rap on the door sounded.
“That must be our luggage! Let’s get you out of your travel clothes and ready for dinner,” Minerva said to me.
“How is your pork, Princess Amelia?”
I looked up from my plate to the Queen who sat at the head of the table. I was on her left, and the Prince sat across from me on her right. The only others at dinner were Lady Minerva and those serving us.
“It’s wonderful, Your Majesty,” I replied.
The Prince glanced at me over his fork. We made eye contact. His eyes were a bright green, like his mother’s. I knew he was three years my senior, he being twenty-two, but the glasses made him look my age. He gave me a quick smile and went back to his food. He seemed so curious about me, yet shy.
Minerva nudged me under the table with her foot. I shot a look at her, annoyed. She gestured her head a bit towards the Prince, encouraging me to talk with him. I groaned, but caught myself, clearing my throat to cover the sound.
“Prince Alexander,” I said after dabbing my mouth with the ivory napkin on my lap, “I’m excited to get to know you a little better.”
The Prince chuckled a bit. “As am I, Princess Amelia.” He didn’t look away from his plate, poking at his potatoes with his fork.
That was irritating.
Minerva kicked me again. She had told me earlier that it was important I woo the man, even though we were already betrothed. The thought of any type of flirtation made me want to curl up in a ball and cry.
“Your palace is beautiful,” I said to both the Queen and Prince. “I assume the gardens are just as breathtaking. I would love to see them sometime.”
The Prince perked up at that a bit. “I can show you around. Walking among the grounds is one of my favorite things to do.” The eye contact he gave me lasted more than our normal two seconds.
I forced a smile on my lips. “That would be marvelous.”
The Queen was studying me intensely. I shivered under her gaze.
“Tomorrow morning then,” Prince Alexander said, getting excited.
I tilted my head, trying to look cute, and nodded. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Minerva giving me an approving smile.
Chapter 20
A manservant led me to the back entrance of the castle. The sun was rising, and the light glinted warmly through the various windows along our path.
“His Highness told me to take you all the way out to the gardens, Princess,” the man said. He was a very tall, scrawny man, and his powdered wig made it all the funnier.
�
��Is he already there?”
“I believe so, Princess. He goes out there most mornings.”
I didn’t know much about Prince Alexander yet, but what I had learned so far wasn’t very appealing to me. He seemed so reserved and was a bit, dare I say, odd.
The hallway we were headed down quickly turned from stone walls to a line of trellises decorated with vines and other shrubbery, making a tunnel. The light from outside became stronger the further we followed the path, giving me a better view of the outside. A maze of short, well-groomed hedges spun around the spacious area, and there was a large gazebo in the center, strung with bright flowers. It was breathtaking, and the land went further than I could even see. The manservant and I both looked around, unable to find the Prince, until he shouted out to us. Swiveling my head to the right, I saw his distant figure waving to me under a smaller gazebo that sat directly in the middle of a large pond.
My escort bowed deeply, his nose almost hitting the floor. It was quite… extravagant.
“If I may, Princess?”
I nodded, dismissing him, and began the trek to the Prince. Reaching the edge of the pond, I surveyed the situation, confused.
“Your Highness, how do I get over there?” I shouted over the water.
Prince Alexander looked up from the book he was studying, sunlight reflecting off his spectacles, nearly blinding me.
“Oh, there’s a boat here,” he said, then went back to his book.
I bit my lip. “The boat next to you way over there?” I tried to hide the frustration in my voice.
The Prince looked over his shoulder to see the boat tied to the gazebo’s small deck.
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “ I’ll come to you, Princess.”
“Thanks,” I muttered under my breath.
I watched as the Prince clumsily got into the small rowboat. After a second or two, he steadied himself and tucked his book under the seat. He rowed over to me, which took longer than what I really had patience for, but I kept a smile on my face.
“Sorry about that,” he said, flushed from the exertion.
“That is alright, Your Highness.”
“Please,” he said, “call me Alexander.”
That was a relief. “You can call me Mi— Amelia.” My heart pounded from the near mistake, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“I think that will help us feel a bit more comfortable with each other, not being so formal.” He smiled a crooked smile. He definitely seemed more confident than the night before.
“I agree,” I said.
“Great!” Alexander clapped his hands together enthusiastically. “I wanted to show you around our gardens. As you can probably tell, there’s a lot to see, so let’s get started.”
He reached under the seat of the rowboat for his book, then offered his other arm to me. I took it, and we walked.
“You know, I’m not much of a people person.”
“Oh?” I said, keeping my eyes forward.
“I often find solitude out here, by myself. I don’t like socializing much.”
I thought about how shy he acted towards me last night, around a bunch of other people. Out here, it was just us.
“You seem to be doing okay right now.”
He chuckled. “I’m supposed to try to with you. On the inside, I’m terrified.”
I didn’t say anything. Maybe it was because I was scared, too. I was scared for other, more extreme reasons.
We walked in silence, and I tried to look as if I was interested in other things than a conversation. I stared at a bright yellow butterfly that flew around my head, looked intently at the various plants and flowers, anything to distract me from what was happening.
“You see that tree down there,” Alexander said, pointing far ahead of the stone path.
I followed his finger to see a small, knotted tree that looked nearly dead. It was very different from its surroundings.
“It’s my favorite tree. It doesn’t look like much, but my father and I planted it when I was about four. He said it would be our special tree, and we climbed it together for years before he… before he died.”
I caught some sadness in the Prince’s eyes and felt empathetic. Minerva told me not to mention the King or his demise, but Alexander had brought it up.
“I know what it’s like to lose a father,” I said.
“Huh?” he said.
My eyes widened as I tried to come up with a recovery. “Uh, I mean, I can imagine what it’s like to lose a father. My mother died when I was very young,” I said, remembering to be Amelia, not myself. Although, Milly had lost both parents to various fates.
Alexander nodded. “I heard about that,” he said. “Looks like we have some things in common, at least.” He smiled at me again. It was a cute smile, and I found myself smiling back.
“I thought we could try climbing the tree today,” he said.
“What?”
He laughed. “Come on, it’ll be super fun! It’s so easy. That tree was built for climbing.”
“My dress!” I exclaimed.
“Oh, yeah,” he said, pulling his arm away from mine to study my outfit. “Hm… Try tying it up out of your way.”
I gaped at him. “People are going to see!”
He shook his head. “The tree is far enough down the path. No one can see it from the castle.”
I just stood there, cocking an eyebrow at the Prince.
“It’ll be an adventure!” he said. “Come on!”
I watched as he ran down the path towards his little tree, shaking my head.
Whatever, I thought, and then proceeded to run after him, hiking my skirts up above my ankles.
It was quite the run, being that the tree was pretty far out there. We stood next to each other for a minute after reaching the tree, both out of breath.
“The gardeners always ask if they can cut this tree down, but I never let them.”
I looked up at its branches. There were no leaves and the wood looked almost rotted. It was also a lot bigger than what I had first perceived. I could see why the gardeners wanted to get rid of it.
“Here, I’ll give you a boost,” he said, setting his book on the grass and squatting with his hands out as a foothold. He was serious.
I sighed, giving in, and kicked my shoes off and tied up my dress through my legs. I was lucky to have been dressed in a lighter weight, outdoor dress this morning. He boosted me up with his hands until I found some good handholds on the bark. I scaled the tree quickly, having done things like this a lot as a child.
“You’re good at this!” Alexander shouted up to me. “I didn’t think a princess would be!”
“Maybe not a princess, but Milly is,” I whispered, actually beginning to enjoy myself.
Alexander began to climb up the tree after I found a sturdy-looking branch to sit on. He quickly found a branch near mine and sat as well.
“I used to pretend this tree was a portal to another world,” he said, lounging back onto his branch comfortably. “A world like the ones I read in books, where there are elves and fairies and magic.”
I laid back on my branch, too, allowing the bark and the cool breeze to tangle the locks Minerva had laboriously put into my hair. Alexander craned his neck a bit and started watching me.
“You’re different from other women.”
I sat up, confused. “What does that mean, exactly?”
He shook his head. “I mean no offense. It’s just that most of the other noblewomen are so forceful and… pompous.” He moved his gaze back to the clear, blue sky.
I found myself laughing, despite myself. He laughed, too.
“I know what you mean,” I said.
“I like that you’re different, though.” He ran his fingers through his golden hair. “It makes it easier to talk to you.”
“I’m glad,” I said, smiling at him.
“There’s something else.” He sat up to study me further. “When you smile, it’s so warm and… lovely, but there’s someth
ing in your eyes that I’ve never seen before— like a certain mystery and darkness. It’s fascinating.”
I clenched my jaw, reminded of why I was there. Was my pain really so obvious?
“I’m sorry,” he said, noticing the frown on my face. “I didn’t mean to insult you in any way.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s fine. I’m just feeling a little lightheaded. Maybe it’s best we head back for now.”
He squinted his eyes at me, confused, but nodded. He climbed down the tree and waited at the bottom to provide me any needed help. I accepted his outstretched hand and gingerly set foot on the grass. He rushed over to grab my shoes as I untied my dress and brushed it down with my hands.
“Thank you,” I said as he helped me slide the shoes on my feet.
“Of course,” he replied.
I slid my arm in the crook of his, and we began to head back to the castle. We walked in silence, and I tried desperately to push away my thoughts of Joseph and my sister. It was vital that I stay put together.
After reaching the back entrance, Alexander broke the silence.
“May I escort you back to your room, Amelia?” he asked. “You look rather pale.”
I almost refused, but I knew I’d get an earful from Minerva for doing that.
“Yes, thank you,” I said.
We shared a couple of pleasantries here and there as he walked me back to my chamber, and he pointed out various portraits of his ancestors and told me bits and pieces of their stories. I had a hard time paying attention.
“I had a lot of fun today,” Alexander said when we got to my door. “Thank you for spending it with me.” He studied my face, brow furrowed. “Should I call a doctor?”
I shook my head. “Oh, no. I will just lie down for a spell. I’ll see you at dinner.”
He grinned. “I hope you’ll be feeling better soon. Maybe I’ll make you climb a banister next time.”
I laughed, a real laugh. Every once in a while, this guy could get to me. It felt good to laugh.
“Thank you for today,” I said, curtsying. He opened my door for me and bowed in return.
“Well?” Minerva said as soon as the door closed behind me. I jumped.
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