Dark Halls, Stone Walls

Chapter Thirteen

"My lady, you've been pouting for hours," Noreen complained with a groan. "Please, if not for you then for my heart, I'm begging you, tell me you aren't planning another visit."

I plopped down on my bed with crossed arms. "Oh please, if Mr. I-want-to-be-a-pain-in-my-rear-end had anything of value to say at this point, he would've said it already." I tapped my foot. "I might visit him one more time for information then after that for my own entertainment when all this is over. However, it's clear to me in every light that he insists on acting like a child rather than letting me help him clean up my mess!"

"My lady!" Laura hushed me.

"But he is!"

"You can't say such things!" Noreen scolded me. "I know you have so much better sense than that!"

I whipped my head toward her. "But how can he fix this situation when I don't even know how I caused it?" I snapped. "It doesn't make any sense for him to react this way, so I can only assume that there is no sense aside from a broken heart." I gritted my teeth. "That's excusable for someone lower of his position and his junior, but he is a Prince! A Prince must serve the kingdom before himself at all times, just as any royal should! If he wants to resolve this situation as quickly as possible, why is he making it so difficult for me to remember what happened?!"

Laura jumped in before I could say anymore, "My lady! Please don't say anymore, unless you want to make your situation any worse than it is!"

"She's right!" Noreen cried. "Please, my lady, listen to us. His highness has a low tolerance for insolence as is—I'm shocked you are even sitting before us as we speak!"

"Indeed! To top this off, you knocked on just how many doors until you reached his? Then you stood in his doorway and spoke to him from so far away? You're supposed to enter the room and then bow and wait for him to acknowledge you." Noreen huffed. "It's rude to speak to a royal from another room!"

Noreen piled on top of Laura. "And then to put doubt on his decision to get rid of that no-good cook? My Lady, with all due respect, you are in no position to criticize the Crown Prince for what he does!"

The two of them continued to berate me for my actions and words, how I know better, and to never speak ill of him so bluntly again for what seemed like hours. The only reason why they stopped was because they had to rush off to do their daily duties.

They day went on as it usually did otherwise; Sleep, read by the candlelight, eat, think, try to remember anything only to fail, then sleep again.

The next few days thereafter were uneventful. Mostly lonely, but at least there was peace and quiet.

A light knock rapped on my door and jolted me awake from my dreamless slumber.

"Laura? Noreen?" I called out. "What is it? Did something happen?"

Like many times before, I was met with silence.

For a split moment, I wondered if that man who had comforted me a while back was back in my time of need. Like a knight would save the princess from a dragon.

I smiled but shook my head. What a ridiculous wish. If he could have saved me, he would have.

I reached for my half-burned candle and stuck a match to illuminate the room. "Listen, if you need to clean, you can come in." I muttered. "But I really wish you all would provide a clock of some kind so I'd know when to sleep." A pause. "Did something new happen? Anything important?" Like my trial? I thought with a grimace.

A streak on stone reached my ears–something light and flat.

I snapped toward the noise and found the suspect: An envelope with golden leaf edges that had been stamped closed with a crimson red insignia. The insignia was a simple initial, "MDD," with a wreath on the edges and a left waning moon behind the letters.

I flipped it over to the addressing side, "Elizabeth Downing," it read.

Is that my last name? I allowed a genuine smile to grow on my face and touch my eyes, but that short lived moment of joy was overshadowed by the strangeness that I would have never guessed it.

With a slight frown, I brought the letter over to my bed, put down my candle, caught the corner with my finger, and sloppily tore it open.

The paper inside was thick and although odd to observe, it just felt better than all the paper pages I felt in each of the books I read. Like it was worth more somehow.

The paper itself read as follows in beautiful, smooth cursive:

It is with great pleasure to be introduced with your acquaintance, your highness! We, the House of Lollers, shall welcome you into our home with open arms if it should be to your liking to do so. Indeed, our daughter is beside herself with joy that someone who she looked up to has gained a position befitting someone of your spirit and mind. In celebration of your union with His Highness, the Crown Prince Marco the Second, please accept our gift. It is of the finest silks we have to offer, as it comes from the country of Rah-Ab.

Your Humble Servants,

The House of Lollers

I flipped to the back. There was more, written in a much more rushed cursive style than the previous formal one.

Your Highness,

Please grant I, the Duke's daughter, Francine Loller, an audience as soon as convenient. There is something I must inform you of in person, lest someone intercepts my letters. When you can, please visit me in the west wing of the castle, third door on the right as you turn into the hallway.

Do not touch the silks, assuming they made it past security.

Your Servant,

Duchess Loller.

I stared at the last two words of the letter. "Duchess Loller." I murmured. "Where have I heard that name before–? Certainly not recently..."

The letter had to have been weeks old by the time it got to me—which makes sense considering that I am a prisoner and can barely interact with real people here—but for it to warn me of a gift I had not yet received was strange indeed. If this woman is indeed of the House of Loller, then why did she not intercept the package before it would have reached me, rather than write to me to not touch it? I frowned. If this nonsense never happened, then she would have essentially outed her family for crimes against the crown's newly wedded Princess Consort—she could have been executed along with her family at worst, and at best, she and her family's name would be socially shunned for all time after the perpetrators were found and, again at best, imprisoned.

Or perhaps it was for a different reason, like it was a faulty silk and they needed to replace it last minute so they didn't risk insulting me, but it got sent anyway. I rubbed my head. God, why does Loller sound so familiar?

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading! If you like the chapter, please consider voting for it and comment what you think so far. Thank you and have a good weekend!