|🌴| Shipwrecked Princess |🌺| A Novel |🌺| Complete |🌴|

🌴 Chapter Nineteen 🌴

In Oshiappa, Queen Nori gazed out the window of her room. The vast sea panned out before her. The gentle breeze came through the open floor-length windows. Every time she looked out the window she recalled that fateful day, the day when she lost her precious daughter, Janessa. It had haunted her every night she closed her eyes. She had the same nightmare every single night, as vivid as it was it left her terrified.

She hadn't been out on the sea since that day. She couldn't force herself to venture out in fear of it happening again with one of her other children. The water became a phobia for her. Living on an island surrounded by sea, it wasn't easy to face the very thing that had taken her daughter from her. The last time she had left the palace was on that day.

She sighed softly, pivoting, and she made her way out of her room. She walked down the open and long hallway, a gentle breeze blew her hair off to the side. The wind had always calmed her. It may have been odd, but whenever the wind blew she had hope that her daughter was alive. Even if she saw all that happened, she hoped that she was out there waiting for them or looking for them.

She started to bum softly. "As the sun merges with the horizon, bringing the darker shades of the night down, stars come out to greet you, smiling down. You will always be my darling, never fear as long as I am here." She sang the song she had written for her children. As others heard, they wished to sing it to their children. She made sure only the first half was told, the other half was purely for her use only and she would never tell anyone that.

The song brought her comfort when she sang it. It was Janessa's favorite song, she insisted she would never grow out of hearing it. Often they'd sing it together in a beautiful duet, it made her heart ache. She took a deep breath trying to keep herself composed and not cry like she normally did.

She placed her hand on her chest and took a deep breath. "Keep it together Nori, you are the queen." She repeated the mantra a few times. It was just like when she was a teenager. Whenever she was stressing or getting upset she would say those words over and over until she calmed down.

Her mind drifted to how Janessa would have looked now. What she would have been into. How different their lives would be. She shook her head. She couldn't think about those things because what had happened, happened, there was no going back and changing things. She needed to continue living her life and recall only the happy moments.

She smiled slightly just thinking about Janessa's bright smile and sparkling eyes. That was something she missed dearly. She stopped at some flowers, hibiscus, Janessa's favorite and she had even planted them herself. She never got to see them blossom as she had wished. There were a lot of things she never got to experience or see.

Her attention was drawn to her oldest daughter, Mingmei who was picking flowers. She is now twenty-four and has grown into a beautiful young woman. Many men had sent letters or had come in person to ask her hand in marriage since she had come of age. Each time she had turned them down, not bearing the thought of marriage without her little sister there.

She approached her daughter, a soft smile on her face. "Mingmei, what beautiful flowers. What do you plan to do with them?" She inquired. Occasionally, she saw her daughter pick flowers but she never saw them after she had. They weren't put into a vase, nor has she hung them up anywhere in the palace.

Mingmei's mouth formed an 'Oh' as she softly smiled. "Oh, make a flower crown. I am going to place it on her grave, I would think she'd like that." Every so often when she felt upset, she would make a flower crown in memory of her sister. It helped her feel better. Janessa loved making them and when she made them she felt like her sister was there with her.

Nori found that to be quite touching. Mingmei had always spent much time sitting by her sister's grave. Speaking to her as if she was there, having a little tea party. "Well, it will be a beautiful flower crown. Don't forget, dinner will start in a little while. Please tell Yohan that I don't want him to be late again or not come at all." She still had the most trouble with her youngest son going back to his normal life.