Little Princess

Night

*Nymeria's P.O.V*

I managed to get through dinner with minimal conversation. I only answered questions when I was asked and mainly focused on observing the people around me. I noticed that they all had a glass of wine except for the vampires, their wine glasses were full of a much darker red liquid. Elvira had ordered apple juice for me, much to my chagrin. Apple juice was one of my favorites but I don't know how she would know that. The only one who would know such things were Castien since he had a list of my likes and dislikes.

As soon as dinner ended, I bid them a goodnight before heading to my room. I shut myself into my room with my books, locking the doors behind me. I slid my gloves off, keeping my braids in but took them out of the crown braids they were in so that the braids were just down my back. This would be different than a usual bath as they had enchanted pipes to make the water both hot and cold. Most of my baths were cold, only occasionally could I have a hot one back home.

I smiled slightly when I saw that the bath had already been run and there was steam actually coming off the water. I picked up a note with Castien's familiar writing. 'Figured you would appreciate your bath being ready when you got back from dinner, thank me by waking up on time for once' it read. He always managed to turn something sweet into a reminder about something. I made sure that I had a washcloth and soap sitting on the side of the tub.

I stepped into the bath and hissed at the heat of the water that washed over my legs. I sat down carefully as I gritted my teeth to bite back a yelp of pain. I managed to sit down and I stretched out slightly, lifting my braids up slightly so they didn't end up in the water. I relished the hot water that covered most of my body. My skin was reddening from the hot water as I got the washcloth wet and covered in soap before I started to scrub my skin clean.

I sat in the water once I was done scrubbing myself, relishing the heat. My head bobbed tiredly and my eyes closed slightly. The next thing I knew I was waking up, having started to slide down further into the water in my sleep. The water had started to cool slightly over time so I undid the plug in the bath, watching the water swirl as it went down the strain. I sat there until all of the water was out of the tub before I stood up, wrapping a towel around me tightly.

Steam rose from my skin as I shivered at the cold air as I stepped out of my bathroom. I headed to my trunk and pulled out a loose flowing nightgown and matching set of underwear. I did like matching things, I mused as I got dressed. I turned the lights off quickly before heading back to bed.

I climbed into bed, sitting in the darkness as the night had set in fully. There wasn't a single light in my room. I laid down, turning my back to the window. I always slept with my back to the window, that way if someone broke in through the window I wouldn't see my death coming. It was perfectly illogical thing to do and I knew that but it was a habit by now. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was out like a light.

I awoke the next day with a soft knocking on the door. I sat up, looking around as I tried to remember where I was. I rubbed my eyes with my fists as I called for the person to come in. Castien entered my room with a small smile as he offered an overexaggerated bow.

I rolled my eyes slightly. Castien had learned to knock and wait for me to allow him to enter lest he see something he didn't wish to see. Castien had walked in on me having sex twice because he didn't knock.

The first time I was only 15 and fooling around with a boy from the same grade as me. Castien had wanted to talk to me about how I was feeling after my brother was banished and had quickly regretted that decision. He promised he would never try and cheer me up again after that.

The next and hopefully final time, was only about a year and a half ago. I had invited a nobleman around my age from one of the prominent families over for a talk. I needed to secure a vote from his family and one thing led to another. We had spent the night together in my bed and were engaged in certain activities when Castien had barged into my room. He had covered his eyes and left just as quickly, cursing my family bloodline as he left.

The relationship with the nobleman had been complicated ever since. I had secured the vote and we had become a couple for a short period of two months. We had ended abruptly after a pregnancy scare. I never wanted to be pregnant, the thought of it scared me. The man I was with didn't want to be a father at the time so we had broken off our relationship with a promise of maybe revisiting the relationship in a couple of years if we were both still single.

"Nice to see you awake," Castien said as he drew me out of my thoughts. I smiled slightly as I climbed out of bed, sitting on the trunk in front of my bed. Castien shook his head as he went to my vanity and got my hairbrush, coming over and sitting on the edge of the bed. He propped his legs up on the trunk so I could sit comfortably as he undid my braids. He ran the brush through my hair as I sat quietly. "We have an hour for you to get ready then breakfast then another meeting," he informed me.

Castien had taken my older brother's place after his banishment. He had only stepped in at first because of my grandmama's wishes that I have someone to turn to. He had stayed in the role of big brother even after her passing as he watched me grieve and turn myself from a naive little girl to a slightly less naive princess who would do what it took to a kingdom. He said I hadn't grown up that much since I had taken the throne but I disagreed.