The Royal Academy

Chapter 2

The moment I stepped through the grand palace doors, I felt the weight of the place bearing down on me. Every inch of the sprawling structure was meticulously crafted, from the gilded arches to the gleaming marble floors, but instead of welcoming, it felt like a gilded cage.

A woman in a simple but elegant uniform stood waiting just inside the entrance. She had a serene, practiced smile and curtsied deeply when she saw me.

"Your Highness," she greeted, her voice soft and composed. For a second, I didn’t realize she was talking to me.

I blinked, startled, and instinctively opened my mouth to correct her, but stopped. This was my life now. I was no longer just Bernadette. From the moment I had stepped out of that car and into this palace, I had become someone else—who exactly, I wasn’t sure yet.

“My name is Anna,” she continued, rising from her curtsy. “I’ve been assigned as your lady’s maid. If you’ll allow me, Your Highness, I’ll escort you to your chambers.”

I nodded, too dazed to find the right words. Your Highness. It felt strange, foreign. As a girl at the Academy, the titles we rehearsed were theoretical, something whispered about in the future tense. But now, standing in this palace with a maid bowing before me, the reality hit me like a wave crashing over my head.

Anna gestured for me to follow, leading me down a long corridor with high ceilings and chandeliers that sparkled with light. My eyes roamed over everything—the grand tapestries depicting battles and royal ceremonies, the tall windows letting in streams of golden sunlight, the polished mirrors that reflected back the image of a girl I barely recognized.

I swallowed hard, my thoughts racing. Tomorrow, I would be married to King Conrad. I hadn’t even met him, and yet, somehow, I was already supposed to be his queen. Everything was happening too fast.

We arrived at a set of double doors. Anna opened them with a graceful flourish, revealing a lavish room beyond. It was beautiful, with soft velvet drapes and a canopy bed that looked like something out of a fairy tale. But I could only see it as a stage for the next act of my life, one where I would be playing a role I wasn’t sure I was prepared for.

"You’ll need to change, Your Highness," Anna said, gently but firmly, pulling me out of my thoughts. "The queen mother will be expecting you shortly."

“The queen mother?” I asked, feeling a jolt of nerves.

“Yes,” Anna confirmed. “She wishes to meet you and, well… inspect you before the wedding tomorrow.”

Inspect me? The word sat uncomfortably in my mind, but I didn’t ask for clarification. I had been taught to do as I was told.

Anna led me to the large wardrobe where an array of dresses hung in neat rows. She pulled out a pale lavender gown with intricate silver embroidery.

“This will do for now,” she said, holding it up for me to see. I nodded mutely as she helped me out of my traveling clothes and into the gown. Every movement felt detached, like I was watching it happen to someone else, not living it myself.

Once I was dressed and my hair was pinned up into an elegant twist, Anna stepped back to admire her work. “Perfect,” she murmured, satisfied. “Now, shall we?”

I didn’t trust my voice, so I only nodded again. She led me down another series of corridors, each one grander than the last. As we approached a set of heavy oak doors, my heart began to race. On the other side of those doors waited the mother of the man I was to marry. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. This was my first test, and I couldn’t afford to fail.