Little Princess

Small

*Nymeria's P.O.V*

I frowned at Castien as I curled up, my head resting on my knees. He had just reminded me that we would be leaving soon now that the trade agreements were in place. I didn't want to be reminded of that.

"I don't want to leave," I informed him, looking at him with a small pout on my lips.

"You didn't even want to come here in the first place," Castien pointed out as he looked at me. "You said they were probably stuck up snobs," he said.

"Nu uh, I said they were probably mean snobs, there's a difference," I muttered as I looked at the floor. "But they're not and they've been really nice to me so I want to stay," I said.

"Why? What can they offer you here that you can't get back in our kingdom?" he questioned.

"I don't know," I shrugged my shoulders.

"I'm trying to understand but you don't give me much to go on," he sighed as he rolled his eyes.

"I don't know why I want to stay but I do. I don't want to go away from them, they're nice to me Castien. Nicer than any of the nobles we have in our kingdom and they make me feel things I haven't felt before. I feel all small and my mind goes fuzzy when they are nearby," I whined as I glared at the floor. "It feels nice. Queen Elvira gave me a forehead kiss last night when I went to bed and I slept better than I ever have before," I said.

"I doubt the forehead kiss caused that," Castien said as he sat down on the bed next to me. "Nym, even if you could stay, how do you know that they will continue to treat you the same?" he asked.

"I don't know that they will," I answered as I looked at him. "But I'm tired of being alone, Castien. You can't be with me all the time and you have your own life most of the time. They make me feel not alone and I like not being alone. It feels like they care about me even if they insist I'm just a child to them," I said softly.

"Perhaps you like feeling like a child to them," Castien murmured and I looked at him with a small amount of confusion. "Your mother was never exactly maternal, your father was never around before he passed, and the only person who actually showed you genuinely true affection was your grandmother. Perhaps you are just seeking out these older women as your maternal figures because they're the first people after your grandmother that actually seem to care about you in some way," he stated. I blinked in surprise as I thought over his words.

"I suppose you're right," I said carefully as I looked down at my lap. He was absolutely correct, I realized with a small frown. "Damn, you're right. How do I tell them that though?" I asked myself more than him.

"Perhaps you don't have to," Castien said as he smirked when I looked at him. "You already said that they're treating you like a child, perhaps they feel the same way. And you want to know the quickest way to get a woman's maternal instincts to act?" he questioned.

"I have a feeling I'm not going to like what you have to say. However I'll ask anyway, how do you get a woman's maternal instincts to act?" I questioned.

"Well I know that my mother always had a knack for knowing when I was doing something stupid and or dangerous," he said with a grin. My eyes narrowed slightly as I looked at him. "Perhaps you could do something stupid and or dangerous?" he suggested.

"I think you're trying to get me killed," I said as I fell back onto my bed. "I do not have enough faith in the queens to think one of them wouldn't strangle me if I did something stupid or dangerous," I stated.

"Well then I guess you have to tell them how you feel," he said as he stood up. I stuck my tongue out at him, rolling my eyes slightly.

"Duh, obviously I will," I huffed as I crossed my arms over my chest. "What if I just do what I've done several times already?" I questioned.

"What have you done several times already? Run away from them?" he asked, making me kick at him. He stepped away quickly and I didn't feel bothered enough to get up and chase him for his disrespect.

"No, I was going to say falling," I muttered.

"Oh great, you wouldn't even have to fake that with how much you fall in heels," he teased. I sat up, taking my shoe off and throwing it at him. "This is why I hate your bloodline," he said as he dodged my heel.

"My bloodline hates you too," I said as I stuck my tongue out. I huffed as I got up and put my heel back on, leaving the room to get away from him. I made my way to the main floor and went into the ballroom. It was the only way I knew to get to the gardens and I found myself distracted by the artwork on the walls of the ballroom. I walked the room for a while, noticing that each art piece depicted one of the kings or queens in it at least. I spun around when someone cleared their throat and I didn't even have to fake falling because the sudden spin caused me to lose my balance.

I fell to the floor, a small whimper escaping me as I looked up at Queen Belladonna. She offered me a small apology as she crouched down. My lower lip trembled and I suddenly felt very small next to her. This wasn't how I planned on things going, I hadn't wanted to fall so hard onto my butt and I didn't want to feel small. Queen Belladonna held her arms out to me and I leaned into her, her arms wrapping around me as she sat next to me on the floor.

"Hurts," I whined as I looked up at her, tears trickling down my face. "You scared me," I said as I tried to relish her touch. She wiped my tears away as I rested my head on her chest, a small whine escaping me. I buried my face into her chest, closing my eyes as she rubbed my back soothingly.