CROWN PRINCE | LES MISÉRABLES

27.

I waited. And waited. He was not going to come. It was already dark outside and I was freezing. But what if I left and he came? What if I waited the entire night and he didn't show up?

"What are you doing here?", Raphael asked.
"Raphael, I could ask you the same thing."
"I asked first.", he said, getting off his horse.

He took off his jacket and put it around my shoulders.

"I wait."
"For Bastien?"
"Yes."
"I don't think he's going to come anymore. The candles in his room were out. So he probably went to sleep."
"He asked me to meet here.", I said.

"You should go home. Come on, I take you home."
"You didn't answer my question."
"Your father asked me to speak. About you."
"Me?"
"Yes. He figured that there might be a man and I keep it a secret from him."
"You won't tell him, will you?"
"I have seen nothing. Now come on. We got to go home."

I got on my horse and rode home. I kept looking back, but no trace of the Prince. I was disappointed, sad and a bit angry. But he was a prince, and duty was the priority.

"Don't be sad. I'm sure he will explain himself."
"Will you see him tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"Ask him for me. Please. I have to meet with my suitor.", I said.

"Of course.", he said getting off his horse once again.

He helped me off mine and walked inside the house.

"Oh good god, Raphael, you have grown up."
"I did. Hope you're doing well."
"Oh yes. Are you both hungry?"
"Oh yes, I always am.", Raphael said.

"Annelise, are you alright?"

My mind began to think of other scenarios, like him with another woman. I gasped and ran out of the house into the garden.

I ran past Augusta and Finley, who was playing with a ball. Augusta ran after me, while Finley stayed behind. I ran into the woods, not caring that my dress got tears in it now.

I sat down in the damp grass and began to sob.

"What happened?", Augusta asked.

Instead of answering her, I embraced her in a tight hug. I sobbed into her shoulder, while she whispered sweet, comforting words in my ear. My siblings were annoying at times, but times like these, these remembered me of the tight bond we all had.

We might fight but were around to comfort each other. Augusta and I were quite the opposite. While I was the shy and sometimes daring one, she was the outgoing and loud one. She hated society for what pressure it put upon our shoulders.

"We should go inside Lisl. Maybe grandmother makes you some hot chocolate.", Gusta said.

She helped me up and we returned to the house.

"Girls, would you like some tea?", Madame Louisa asked.
"No, could we have hot chocolate instead?", Gusta asked.
"Of course. Sit down. It's cold outside."

Madame Louisa went to the kitchen to make some hot chocolate for us, while Gusta and I sat in front of the fireplace.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me?"
"Yes. I am sorry."
"It is alright. Just so you know, I am here for you. You're still my sister.", she said.

"Thank you. For everything.", I said.

Gusta smiled and took her hot chocolate from Madame Louisa.

"Annelise, it must be a boy, huh?"
"A boy, hardly a boy. It's a young man."
"What's his name?"
"Enjolras."
"How old is he?"
"24.", I said.

"Well, a bit older than you. But that's alright. What happened tonight? Did he force you to something?"
"No. He just didn't bother showing up at all.", I said, standing up.

"Well, what's his occupation?"

Well, he's a crown prince. But I can't say that.

"He's a law student."
"Law? Interesting. Maybe he had to study."
"Yeah, maybe. Madame Louisa, why aren't women allowed to study?", I asked.

"Women are prized possessions."
"I am not a prize. I am a human being with feelings.", I cut her off.

"I know. But what can you do? Besides, do what your father tells you."
"Do you think that in the future, things will change? Like have a queen as the ruler of a kingdom?", I asked.

"It's unlikely, but not impossible. People change, countries change. Rights change. Maybe one day, there will be no monarch sitting on the throne. Maybe something greater. Maybe more than one person. We don't know what our future holds. But we can improve it by changing things now.", she explained.

She was right. If I changed my way of doing things, then I could my history. I will never be written in history books, but I will be alive in the stories my children will tell their children. Maybe then people understand what it was like in my time. My diaries were all hidden away. I wrote in them daily. Maybe one day, I could publish them under a false name.

But that seemed like a dream. A woman like me, could not do such things. I thanked Madame Louisa and went to my room. I sat down at my table and began to write. Writing things down was calming and made me see things from a different perspective. Maybe then I'd understand why he did it. But for now, I couldn't.