The Shadow In My Light

Chapter 2

      "𝐹𝓇𝑒𝑒𝒹𝑜𝓂 𝒾𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒽 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝒻 𝒾𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒾𝓃𝒸𝓁𝓊𝒹𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝑒𝒹𝑜𝓂 𝓉𝑜.                                                                                   𝓂𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓂𝒾𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒𝓈."

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I wake up at 4 am to go training with Matt.

"There she is," Matt says "nice to see you come out of your room every once in a while" he winks.

"You know that if I had it my way, I'd never be inside again" I breathe under my breathe still jumping out of my window. My room is on the 3rd story, so I made myself a small vine latter coming down, still takes quite a while trying to get out.

Once I make it down, my pants catch on to a thorn and tears a small piece of the fabric, I mumble something under my breathe in frustration "Someone's not in a good mood this morning" Matt says coming up to me and helping me release the fabric from its trap.

"I'm fine, just a bit frustrated" I pause "I've been inside that stupid room for 4 days now, I just need a release is all." Matt stares at me, investigating my face"Glad you have me now huh?" he asks. I slap his chest playfully and smile "yea, yea, whatever, let's get going" I start walking away.

We make it to our designated training area, its a small area in the forest where only a few trees grow, making it easy to move around, the grass is short and the ground is mostly even. Quite a walking distance from the palace to here, definitely worth it. 

"You ready?" Matt says getting into a fighting position, his right leg goes behind his left and his hands go up. "Always" I state.

We come back from training and now the time is somewhere around 7:30 am, I have to bathe before my maids come in and see that I'm all sweaty. 

I bathe really fast, change back into my nightgown and try to sleep a little longer, 10 minutes pass, and then my doors open. Two of my maids come in, Lithia and Marianne, they quickly open the blinds, the sunlight fills my room, I pretend to be sleepy and groan.

"Good Morning My lady," Lithia says "It is time for breakfast, we shall draw a bath for you" Marianne speaks.

"Do I have to?" I ask with a groggy voice "Why of course My lady, you know what is expected of you" Marianne says removing the covers off of me, I get up and bathe again only so they don't suspect anything.

After I finish dressing into a gown, the color is light green with a touch of pink at the sleeves ends. I put on flats this time since training was quite excessive today, my feet were still aching.

"Is father at breakfast already?" I ask them "Yes My lady," Lithia says while doing my hair, she puts it half up half down allowing my curls to hang down, she brushes my bangs and adjusts them. "You look quite beautiful," Marianne added, "your mother would have been very proud of you". 

Marianne knew my mother when they were mere children, they were best friends is what she told me. When my mother married my father, Marianne followed her to work as her handmaid. When my mother was in labor it was Marianne who birthed me, she was the one who cut the umbilical cord, she was the one with her when she died. My father was on a work trip to another kingdom and didn't make it back on time, Marianne has been my mother figure ever since, she never talks about my mother, her queen, her best friend. 

I remember I asked one time about my mother and Marianne said to never speak of it again, later I heard her crying in her chambers talking with another one of the maids about her.