RAVEN

Going to paluelsa

Raven woke up with her head pounding heavily. She opened her eyes and quickly closed them back as the sun smiled brightly from the window. She opened her eyes back after some minutes and adjusted them to the bright light. She stood up from the bed and put on the slippers at the foot of the bed.      
     As she walked towards the dining still in her black nightie, she heard the voices of her parents and sister even before she saw them. They all turned their head towards her as she entered the dining hall.Her mum stood up and pulled her in a cheerful hug.
"Good morning Rav", her mum greeted cheerfully.
"Good morning mum. You look really happy this morning"
"I woke up on the right side of the bed"
"You always wake up on the right side of the bed every morning and what's that smell....waffles and hmmm sandwich...."
"You and your terrible appetite like that of buffalo". Everyone laughed at her funny comment.
"Good morning dad", Raven finally greeted her dad after sitting down and ruffled her sister's hair as a mode of greeting.
"Good morning Raven",her father replied. "We were actually talking about your trip you would be taking in some days to Haywood."
"A trip to Haywood? For what?", Raven asked.
"You are going to Paluelsa in particular. It's a place where princesses, princes and other young members of the royal family are trained in different skills, palace etiquettes and other things."
"But dad, I will be enthroned as the Queen in few weeks. How will I be a Queen here and also be in Haywood or Paluelsa or whatever you call it and how many weeks will I be using?"
"Your sister will be the acting queen and when you get back from Paluelsa you will be enthroned".
"And who brought this idea?"
"Your beloved sister", father said smiling.
I finally understood what Ciara was doing. She was looking for ways for me to leave the palace until the matter of the unknown man was settled. I smiled at her in appreciation which she returned by placing her hand on mine and squeezing it lightly under the dining table.

* * * * * * *
Raven smiled sadly at Ciara and hugged her with love and affection. She was finally leaving her family behind to Haywood. She looked around her and found most of the maids in the palace crying. She waved at them and turned toward her mother who was crying silently and hugged her as she said "Mum, I'm not going to an asylum. Stop crying and I'm only going for eight months not eight years."
"I know. I'm just going to miss my pretty, troublesome princess", Queen Diana said as she pulled her daughter in another hug.
Raven then turned to her dad as her mum released her "I'm gonna miss you dad",she said sincerely.
"Same her Rav".
She was then escorted to the car as she smiled at the maids and guards that came to greet her goodbye.
"Bye. See you soon", she said to her family as she entered the car a guard held open for her. Immediately, the tears she was holding started dripping down her cheeks.
She brought out an handkerchief to clean her tears from her cheeks as the car raced past houses. She looked out of the window trying to while away her time as the journey to Haywood would take up to six hours or more.
     She took out her phone from her bag and connected it to her EarPods and started listening to music. After some minutes, she fell asleep with her EarPods still in her ears.
* * *
She woke up as the car pulled to a stop in an unfamiliar environment. She yawned and got out of the car as the driver was opened the door for her . To her, Paulelsa looked liked a small town. From the parking lot, she saw different buildings and students walking around in groups.
She looked around her and saw a billboard with an arrow pointing to the administrative building. The driver helped her carry her luggage and followed her to the building. She met a young lady wearing a black jumpsuit with her hair tied into a ponytail sitting behind a desk. Raven walked towards her as the lady smiled towards her and asked for her name.
"Princess Elson Raven".
"You are highly welcome to Paluelsa. My name is Miss Ella. Kindly write your name here", she said as she pointed towards a book lying on her desk "and sign right here".
Raven did as she was told and a paper in which a number was written on was handed over to her. "The number written on that paper is your flat number. Each student flat contains a big room for four students, toilet and a bathroom and a kitchen. You can cook your food yourself or go to the dining hall to eat. It's your choice", miss Ella said.
Raven bid her driver goodbye, carried her luggage and began looking for her flat. She looked at the paper that was given to her and saw Flat B12. She asked a student for directions and she finally got to her flat.
     She had to walk for ten minutes from the administrative office to her flat. She knocked on the door thinking some of her room mates would have been in the room. When no one answered her, she opened the door and found out that she was the first to come to the flat. She closed the door and dropped her luggage beside the bed at the right hand side of the room.
     There were four single bed on each corner of the room and a chair and a table with a reading lamp on it beside each bed. A door was beside the bed at the left hand side of the room and it led to the kitchen which was fully stocked. The wardrobe too was already divided into four big sizes for each room mate.
After looking around, she finally started unpacking her luggage and placing them in one of the compartments she had chosen from the wardrobe. Her eyes caught a small booklet that was placed on the table beside each bed. She picked it up and discovered it was a time table of how her days in paluelsa would be spent.
     She continued arranging her clothes, shoes and other things. After that, she took her bath in the bathroom and changed into a new pair of clothes. As she was still changing, someone knocked on the door and she should "come in !"
A tall slim girl with came inside the room.
"Hi".