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🌸 A N E E L A 🌸
Aneela couldn't remember the last time she had cried this hard. The pain in her chest grew when she ran from Nikolai, him not bothering to call her back and letting her return to her chambers. As soon as she pressed her back against the door of her bedroom, she started sobbing so hard her entire body was trembling and wasn't sure if she would be able to ever stop.
All of her energy got sucked out of her and she barely managed to slump down onto one of the couches. The place where her heart sat felt empty and she wasn't able to even feel it beating because the weeping unsteady breaths shuddered through her body.
Yaniya came running as soon as she heard her sister's crying in the next room, holding her tight in her arms, letting Aneela weep into her shoulder. The zemini stroked her younger sister's hair while she listened to what had happened between sobs and a lot more tears.
Aneela had calmed herself a little bit when their father arrived, although her eyes wouldn't dry. He did not argue when she demanded to return home immediately and left to arrange their departure, while Yaniya stayed with Aneela.
When Kheru joined the sisters and learned what happened, she swore multiple times to kill Nikolai for what he did. Aneela prevented her from going to talk to him, it would cause even more trouble – now, that everything was lost, all she wanted to do was to not speak of him, not see him. Even the thought of him is painful.
The princess did not listen and slipped out of the room unnoticed when Mr. Ceron returned; their departure wasn't able to be conducted until the next morning and the Queen had called for him, the incident had gotten to her ears. It appeared like the prince had informed the whole governmental body; Genya tried to talk to Aneela but the zemini refused to let her into her chambers. Nikolai asked through Tolya if he could see her as well which she obviously declined.
When Kheru returned, she reported that she had kept the prince alive for now and told her friend that she really needed to speak to him. Although the ravkan had told her what happened, she persisted that Nikolai should be the one to tell her in person, so she urged her friend to go to today's courting event. But Aneela refused.
The Queen – of all people – suddenly announced her attendance to all parties which meant every single one had to come as well or else it would be seen as a disrespect to the ravkan crown. Since Novyi Zem had trading contracts with Ravka, the Cerons couldn't stay away; she had underlined the importance of Aneela coming as well, she had no chance but to obey.
To say they were angry about this was an understatement. While Aneela was walking down the stairs with a broken heart that would endure even more torture this afternoon, her sister and her father raged about the prince's behaviour and the Queen's demand of them attending. Their words hit an empty shell when they directed it to their family member, Aneela couldn't bear to try and engage in a conversation with them. As they realized, they grew quiet and aligned with the other entourages at the lake.
