The Queen's Wife (girlxgirl)

19. Survive (My new palace home)

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Maud doesn't know what to think.

She has never been anywhere except in the north. The trees of the north, the houses of the north, the cold of the north. All of those are things that she understands. That in winter there is snow and darkness, and that in autumn there are orange and yellow trees and storms that shake houses off the ground. But on the other side of the Red mountains, beyond the border separating the two countries from each other, a much different climate greets her.

The air is much warmer, and the ground much greener. They've traveled for a week straight ahead across Red Lion territory, after traveling for another two weeks in Blue Knight. Both countries are large and their capitals aren't exactly by the border. It might have taken the prince only a week to reach her in Blue knight, but traveling with her strictly in a carriage, the trip is much slower and more demanding. They can't take any shortcuts, and having to stay on the main road means dragging out the time. Not to mention their slow speed. But this is what they were expecting, so nobody was frustrated or surprised by this.

Maud wishes that she could say that her and Adelio have grown close during their time traveling. Spending three weeks together in the same camp, eating the same food and hearing the same soldiers speak should've brought them closer. But the truth is, Maud has spent all of her time either inside a tent, or inside a carriage. From the carriage window she sometimes sees the outside world, but nobody is there to see her. Adelio barely shows his face to her once a day, and rarely ever speaks. After their confrontation in the tent three weeks ago, they haven't had a conversation worth mentioning. Maud feels more anxious and less hopeful about their future as each day passes, because she knows that the cold eyes that stare at her can never truly love her.

But now that they've traveled far enough into Red Lion, Maud has something much bigger on her mind than her distant husband. The coldness of her previous country is now but a blurry memory, replaced by the pressing heat and rainy nights of the tropical red country. They've passed through a forest green enough to be a rainforest, and an area dry enough to be a desert. But mostly all she has seen are roads, wide roads passing through the country, as they come closer and closer to Maud's new home. There are fields built up on hills around them, forests with trees that have big leaves and flowers in all kinds of colors. The people she has seen look similar to Penny, her maid, and they all wave with friendly smiles when they pass through. The friendliness of the people, or even just the smiles and excitement, are foreign to Maud. She's used to a much more cold and monotonous culture, where people don't smile to strangers, and where people say things straight as they are.

Coming to this warmer country, both figuratively and literally, has been quite the journey for Maud. It shouldn't be for Margaret, a princess who has been educated on everything possible, but it is mind blowing for Maud, a girl who still isn't sure how she's going to fit in among all these royals.

However, now things are different. Maud hasn't seen fields in a long while, or forests or deserts. They have entered a completely different area of the country. Houses as large as trees, made from stone, rise up around the road. They have passed through three cities since yesterday morning, but that's nothing compared to the capital. Maud can see it right in front of her, as they have stopped by the city gates. A large yellow stone wall separates the largest city in the world from the outside countryside. This country might be slightly smaller than Blue Knight according to territory and population, a small margin between the two, but the Red Lion capital is known in the world for being the biggest and most influential and important city on the continent. Blue Knight's capital is not much compared to the majesty that exists within these yellow stone walls.