treachery | t. holland

09. elemental tales

Towards the end of the week, Madam Scarlett announced that members of the Keep would be given an additional half day off of work, by order of the king, to celebrate the prince's birthday.

Elizabeth wasted no time in ensuring your company for the next day's adventure. "We'll surely need to visit the front of the palace. I hear they have feats of strength and wit at celebrations like these."

As you left her and a few others on their way to turn in, you thought about how different your life would be if you were the one in the castle instead of Zendaya. You would be pampered and served, and preparing to celebrate your fiancé's birthday right now, possibly with the entire royal family.

You weren't sure why, but when you came back into your room, you lifted your hair up to reveal the small royal tattoo on the back of your neck. Looking at it through the mirror, you thought it seemed to be fading slightly. After initially dismissing this, you reflected some more on it. "How fitting, really,"

It was fitting, truly. You were feeling more and more distant from your old life by the day. In fact, you could scarcely remember how it felt to sleep on anything but this rope bed. And if you were being honest, life here was much more simple and relaxed. Your every move was no longer watched, your day was full of fresh air and sunshine instead of lessons and meetings, and you could make your own decisions for once.

It was a scary thought, but you considered it anyway, was that previous life even worth pursuing again?

Here you had friends, here you felt confident, and here you felt loved. What more was there to life?

And Tom... well, if you were the princess, being with him was out of the question.

If you could blend in and never get on Zendaya's radar again, life would be peaceful. Was there even a reason to chase after who you had been before anymore?

~~~

Elizabeth hammered on your bedroom door before the rooster had even thought to crow.

"I'm up, I'm up!" You called, irritably suppressing a smile.

The two of you were the first in the dining hall and the first out of the Keep. The sun was rising into the pink sky as the two of you walked arm in arm up the lane to the city.

"I don't understand something." Elizabeth said. "Why do you never wear your hair up? It would look so elegant in a low braided bun."

You reached up and flattened your hair even closer to your neck. "Oh, I don't know, I just like the way it feels when it's free."

"Personally, I'd never wear my hair up unless I was getting hitched, but that day won't be for another few moons. Still," She glanced at your head. "You would look stunning with it pulled back. Even more so than you do now."

You laughed, trying to cover up your nerves.

The market was more alive than you had ever seen it. Obviously energized by the royal celebration, the vendors had cleaned their canvas tents and polished their bargaining tables. They even seemed to have washed in the past week.

The paths you and Elizabeth walked down were swept and free of horse droppings and you had to marvel. "I didn't know it could look like this."

Elizabeth nodded. "You should have been here for the Queen's fiftieth birthday. The flowers seemed to sing as you passed and the sunshine felt like a million warm hugs."

"Sounds amazing."

She nodded. "It was. Where were you when that happened? Back home in the woods?"