Chapter 7: Letters to Everyone

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Dear journal,
I feel a bit silly, confiding all of my thoughts in you. Acting as if you can respond. My father suggested that I might find clarity in my chaos filled days by filling you with my secrets. Me? I don't know what I wish to accomplish. I've been over my situation hundreds of times in my head and I really don't see a proper course of action. My dreams, they tell me I want one thing, and my conscience tells me I am duty bound to another. I have to wonder, do I want either ? Why should my happiness be bound to another ? I don't presume that I wouldn't be happy with another, but I do believe it is safe to assume I would be happier if it was my another of my choosing. Perhaps I've started to confuse you? I've started to confuse myself, but then again I suppose I began my conundrum confused otherwise I wouldn't have come to you with my thoughts. Nonetheless, I suppose I should start at the beginning....
It all started with that horrid horrid day in the advisors hall. Father summoned me to come before the counsel to be.... assessed? appraised? inspected?
Hmph, inspected indeed, they treated me like I was a cow at auction. I was scrutinized from head to toe. It was dreadful. Well not entirely dreadful, there was one ... councilman? servant? In truth I don't know who he was, nor his position. I had never met him, but him, he was kind. His kindness emboldened me, and I did something considerably shameful for a princess....
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That's as far as Ro had gotten after taking the journal back to her room before her eyelids felt too heavy to keep open. She woke a few hours later to a note taped to her door. "Sweetie, you looked like you didn't get much sleep last night and you felt like you were running a fever this morning, so I opted to let you sleep in and get some rest. There's leftover soup in the fridge you can heat up. I have a meeting with my editor tonight so I'll be home late. Raelynn will be by later to check on you." Signed "love you!xo, Mom."
There was no mention of the journal which Ro had distinctly remembered setting on her nightstand, something that should've been glaringly visible when her mom had come to check on her that morning. Maybe it had fallen under the bed? She dropped down on all fours and peered under the bed. Nope, nothing there. Ro began to wonder if she had dreamt finding the journal. She shook her head and headed downstairs.
True to her word, Mom had left a canister of baked potatoe soup in the fridge. Smiling to herself she pulled it out and allowed the smell of the creamy liquid to fill her senses. Mom knew it was one of her all time favorite comfort foods. She made quick work of heating it up and sat down at the table to dig in when her phone buzzed with a text from mom: Take your temp before you eat the soup, and every 2 hours after. Let me know if you have any new symptoms. Ro rolled her eyes but shot back a text: will do :)
and got up to find the thermometer. After her temp came back as normal Ro tucked into her soup while watching an episode of Cake Boss. When she finished she put her bowl in the sink and checked the clock, it was only 1 o'clock, plenty of time for a nap and a shower before Raelynn came over.
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Elesia had been furiously scribbling in her journal since she bid Claire and Andrew goodnight but she hasn't realized how late it was until her candle was melted down to a stump. Her penmanship was far less than perfect, and Maggie would have made her redo it until each loop and stroke were perfectly even. It wasn't perfect, but it was her. She had started to recount her journey to Prevaricatia and the events of the past week. Several pages had been filled with her chicken scratch and yet she still hadn't written all of the words that were on her heart. She laid the journal down gently and climbed into bed, stifling a yawn. Although the job wasn't finished, she felt a certain weight lift from her shoulders as she drifted into a peaceful slumber.
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The burgundy journal rested on the desk, a big four post bed stood proudly in the middle of the room. Trunks laid stacked against the wall. Vines of green and gold crept over the walls and ceiling creating a tapestry resembling the forest. Sunlight was streaming through the windows. Ro followed the rays that beckoned to her, outside the window stood tall and mighty mountains, their hard edges softened by a blanket of fresh snow.  The cool wind danced across her skin, causing goosebumps. She pulled the shaw wrapped around her shoulders tighter. Wait, a shaw? She didn't wear one to bed, much less own one. Looking down, she surveyed herself even further. She was in a nightgown. Her fingernails no longer had the soft blush nail polish on them that she had painted just yesterday. This was strange. She tentatively walked to the vanity and let out a scream. The girl in the mirror was not her. Or was it? Her hair was longer, but it certainly looked similar, her face was the same, a bit thinner, but the same. The eyes were where Ro saw the biggest difference, the eyes staring back at her looked sad. Tears had formed a glassy lens over her irises, causing the gold flecks to shimmer with each movement. Both girls, whipped their heads toward the door when they heard a knock.
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Knock knock knock. All she heard was knocking. It wasn't until she heard  Raelynn's voice calling out that she startled awake. She bolted upright and threw the blanket to the floor. She ran to the bathroom, flicking on the lights, she found her own reflection staring back at her. The same blue eyes she had always had. Check. The same shoulder length hair style she had been rocking since 7th grade. Check. Blush nail polish, only slightly cracked from her unwillingness to let it dry fully. Check. She blew a sigh of relief. Walking back into the living room at a much slower pace than when she had left it, she heard her phone buzz with a text from Raelynn.

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