Royalty comes with Pride

Chapter 9

She spun around to see a girl sat in her reading chair. The girl lounged with her legs crossed and she bore a black and violet suit, the same one as she wore when she last visited the castle. Her dark hair was in a long braid, with loose parts around her face.  And Yumiko assumed that this visit, as with the last, was not including permission from her father to roam the grounds. "What do you want, you gave me your plan now what? Are you cancelling it?" The Princess of Talene said to the girl, leaning against a bedpost with her arms folded. 

"No, I wouldn't have time to change it. My mother has rescheduled the arrival for tomorrow, so you can expect more of me. Princess." The girl rose from the seat she'd been sat in and walked over to Yumiko, with one hand she gripped the princess' face and pulled it closer to her own. "Stay in the castle all day, every day. Luna isn't the safest person at the moment, and she hasn't been caught. And we both need this, for Talene and Estrilda." She released her grip and strode out of the room and onto the balcony.

"What do you mean? And you can't expect me to listen, I don't even know your name!" The female heir to Talene was shouting after the figure who was slipping into the dark. She released a sigh, flopped down onto her freshly washed sheets, buried her face into the pillow and had the most interrupted, uneasy night's sleep she'd experienced in her lifetime.

The girl wasn't lying when she said her mother was arriving the next day, in the morning meeting the 'Queen' of Talene had arranged she said the royal family of Estrilda were arriving for an alliance settlement. "And to prevent any more disgraces like my son's, Yumiko is being arranged with the Prince. It's all planned out and the only way to forge this alliance." Amir looked at his sister; wide-eyed as he knew full well she didn't want it and knowing her before everything happened, it wouldn't go down well. Their father was glaring at his wife however it was the best way for a strong alliance, and the traditional way was to marry one heir off to another. But it didn't stop him from glaring at her.

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"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Princess." He bowed in front of Yumiko, fiance and fiancee's first meeting is always overly formal. "My greatest joy to meet you, Prince Leo." Her curtsy was the best she'd ever given and would ever give to a man. Their parents were talking and she noticed the princess stood beside her mother, who was having a conversation with her brother. She shook her head lightly and remembered her greeting etiquette, "May I interest you a tour of my home? Our siblings could join us? It would save my brother some effort." She just wanted her brother with her for a feeling of safety, she couldn't exactly have a guard follow her everywhere and besides, she didn't feel safest with them either regarding what happened when she faked death to escape their torture. 

"Why that would be delightful, but does my sister, your brother and his friend have to come along also?" She had expected this question and had thought of an answer a few milliseconds before it was asked. "I don't feel particularly safe traversing places far from people I know, even if its my home. It wouldn't be that much of a problem, would it?" He was taken aback at hearing her say she didn't feel safe wandering her own home however there were no further objections.

They walked over to their siblings, "Ah, Princess Yumiko. A delight to meet my future sister-in-law," Leo's sister bowed her head in greeting as she noticed the two approach. Yumiko had always thought it absurd how princesses had to curtsy for everyone including family but not to other princesses of their age. She nodded her head in answer, "Would the two of you like a tour of the castle?" The heirs of Estrilda agreed and the five began, with Amir and Yumiko sharing the occasional story about a room. 

"This is the library, my second favourite room. Though I believe you know about this room very well, princess." She shot a glance at Leo's sister, before realising something. "Oh goodness me, I've been walking around with you for the past 20 or so minutes and I haven't asked of your name. Princess?" She couldn't focus on a thing, what had happened the previous night and the lack of sleep she had gotten so she'd genuinely forgotten to ask the princess' name. "How rude of me not to have said myself, my name is Lumiya, Lumiya Asterin." Yumiko tore apart their eye contact and continued the tour, however Amir began to do most of the talking and his sister would simply walk behind everyone. 

"And this corridor leads to th- Miko, are you alright?" No, her head was spinning and felt nauseous as hell and didn't know what caused it. "Princess, do you want me to go fetch your doctor?" Damien removed his hand from her forehead, "You're boiling up even though it's freezing outside, and you look paler than paper." His expression matched Amir, Leo and Lumiya's which only displayed worry. She felt as if something was holding back her words, was it the sleep? Or the stress? Or the worry? She didn't know what was wrong with her but she couldn't say she was okay. "Miko, you aren't well. You should go rest, Damien go get my father." His boyfriend nodded and flew down the flights of stairs.

"Um, my apologies for interrupting. Your majesties, but Princess Yumiko really isn't well. She's shivering, hot and pale, Amir told me to come and tell you, sire." The King and Queen of Estrilda looked at him as if he were a piece of dirt, as with the 'Queen' of Talene but her husband looked concerned for his daughter's state of health. He called for a guard to fetch their doctor, just as Damien had been dismissed from the adults' presence they all heard shouting and screaming from where Damien had come from and the worst sounds of all were the crack and fwomp. 

The King and Damien rushed over to the stairs and at the bottom of the main staircase was Yumiko, in the most ghastly position with one limb going one way and the other in the opposite direction. Blood was pooling from beneath her skirts and everyone stopped and stared in horror at the sight of her. "Shit. Oh my fucking god, I apologise for my language but that isn't right." Amir was struggling to hold back tears that welled up in his eyes at the sight of his sister leaking blood in a tangled mess on the floor in front of him. Leo was disgusted by the blood and couldn't bear to look. Lumiya stepped down to behind Amir, "Oh goodness, I'm so sorry I didn't try harder to stop her from attempting to walk down the stairs." she placed her hand on his shoulder to try comfort him a little. A man came running over with a guard in tail, he was holding a briefcase with a long grey-ish coat flowing behind him.

"Oh my giddy god, what on earth happened here!?" 

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