Arabella

Complications And Hostilities

~25th of September of the Second Age

Dear diary,

I don't even know where to start. Everything has changed. Arabella is gone. She left over a month ago now; where, I have no clue. We have neither heard nor seen sight of her whereabouts. It is killing me slowly, day by day. I want my sister back.

Eleanor sighed, pausing in her writing to look out the pale glass of the window. Rain pattered down outside, falling against the panes in a rhythmic pattern. The tiny droplets competed with each other in a race down the glass as gravity pulled them to the base of the window.

Arabella's sister sat at the desk in her spacious bedroom, writing in her diary, as it was too wet and dismal to go outside. The poor weather affected her mood, making her feel uncharacteristically reflective and tired.

I know I'm not the only one who wants her back. Father has barely spoken to me or Mother since she left. Mother is distant these days too. They don't understand, but I do. Arabella could never be tied down to this type of life.

I just hope she's okay. I wish she could have confided in me. I feel like a terrible sister. I know it's not my fault she gone, but I can't help but feel like there was something I could have done to stop her from leaving. I didn't realize just how unhappy she was. I hope she finds happiness, wherever she may be.

Eleanor frowned as a blotch of ink ruined her perfect page of penmanship. Placing the quill down, she dabbed at the smear with her handkerchief, cleaning as much of it off the page as possible. She continued writing:

Nothing is the same without her. The palace is too quiet. The servants tiptoe around, afraid to upset my parents any farther. Hardly anyone laughs or smiles anymore; there is too much to worry about. Who will inherit the throne? How will we get out of our tremendous debts?

I am not able to inherit the throne unless Arabella dies. As far as we know, she is alive, therefore she is still the heir. The laws of our country are slowly becoming our downfall. My Father may be king, but even he is powerless against the age-old traditions of our people.

Relations with Romalia have been strained. King Edwin was not at all happy when word reached him that his betrothed had run away. The union between him and my sister would have combined our two kingdoms under his crown. My Father is getting older and was going to hand over the throne to Arabella, queen and wife to King Edwin. It would have solved our debt problem as well, for the King or Romalia is exceedingly wealthy. Now all of that has been ruined. Father has been in and out of many meetings with his advisors and King Edwin himself, trying to smooth over the tensions, so far to little avail.

The riots started last week. Some of the townspeople, driven by hunger and unhappiness with my Father's way of running the kingdom, attacked a group of the palace guards, injuring several and killing two. Since then, security has been doubled and I am no longer allowed outside the palace gates.

Now I understand how Arabella felt. I've been stuck in these walls for only a week and it is the most boring thing in the world. I am so incredibly lonely. Mother and Father don't talk to me much; I probably remind them too much of Arabella. The servants do their duties and leave me alone. I have no friends to talk to.

Eleanor smiled as a thought passed through her head.

But there's Rafael. Mr. Hale has not changed a bit in all of this. He has been a singular ray of sunshine in all of this mess.