When The Gold Is Gone ✔ ~ trixya

Chapter 5: Surrounded But Alone

Loneliness is a funny thing. You can be surrounded by people and yet feel as if you are completely on your own. To Trixie, the entire summer had felt like that. She was hardly ever  actually left to herself, always surrounded by maids, guards or crowds of people, and yet she felt so utterly alone.

The King and Queen were often busy with official duty, as was to be expected, and Alexej... well, she had hardly seen him all summer. He only ever really came out of his room for dinner, and even then he acted as if she was not there. The only other times she'd seen him at all had been for official events, but there had been few of those that summer compared to what Trixie remembered from her childhood.

Today was such an event though. They would be participating in the opening ceremony of the new university in Novy. It was mostly just sitting in a carriage together and waving before the Prince would give a speech, but Trixie was still looking forward to it. Even though she expected the day to be the exact same as the summer so far had been, she couldn't help but hope that something within the Prince would finally shift, that somehow he would wake up that day and hate her less.

For he did hate her, that much had become painfully obvious over the course of the summer.

She was certain he still wasn't aware that she knew of his feelings, even though they were far from well hid. Trixie was aware how little he thought of her, how he underestimated her. His nicknames for her were whispered often enough around the castle for her to know how he viewed her. In his eyes she was an immature, spoiled, whiny child. It was funny, for she felt she could say the exact same things about him.  

"Beatrice, there you are. Hurry up, you've already kept everyone waiting." The Prince said when Trixie walked out to the courtyard.

Of course he would not bother with calling her by her actual title. Some could mistake that as closeness, familiarity, but in reality it was disrespect. Alexej saw himself to be above her, and whilst she was expected to politely greet him, title and all, he clearly refused to do the same.

"Your Highness." She said with a curtsy, even though she really wanted to stomp on his foot with her stiletto heel. "I can't see how I could have kept anyone waiting seeing as I arrived exactly at the time I was instructed to." Trixie added, having glanced at the clock on her way out.

"Well, it is common decency to arrive early."

"Thank you, but I don't think I need a lesson on common decency from you, Your Highness." Trixie replied. 

She had hoped to find him in a better mood, had hoped as always that she'd wake up to find the bright and joyful boy she once knew. But she also would not let herself be pushed around any longer. She was a Royal heir after all, she would not be disrespected, even if he was her fiance. It had been months, and she could no longer pretend that everything was alright.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Alexej said as he climbed into the carriage.

"Well, you always do, so surely you can excuse the rest of us for having one bad morning." 

The Prince seemed taken aback by her responses, not used to being challenged by her. Alexej had clearly gotten used to the idea that he could simply wound and mock without it having any consequence, but Trixie was finished with taking it all and finding excuses for it. Every worker in the castle knew how despicably awful he treated her, but they respected her for standing tall despite it all. However there comes a time when one must speak up for oneself.

"Witty. Have you tried out for the circus? I think you'd make an excellent clown. You're already so clumsy." The Prince said as she joined him in the carriage, slightly slipping on her way up it's small stairs.

"Hmm, I would encourage you to join too, but I wouldn't want to bore the audience to death. You do enough of that already." 

"Oh spare me, we both know who they all come to see." He scoffed.

The carriage took off and the castle gates opened, revealing a crowd of people who had gathered outside. Their cheers were louder than a  symphony orchestra, and most noticeable was the name that kept leaving everyone's lips.

"Princess Beatrice!"

"Princess, over here!"

"Princess Beatrice, we love you!"

"You look so beautiful, Princess!"

With a smug smile the young Princess turned to her fiance, who was looking more and more miserable by the minute, and said;

"Yes, we do know. It's me."