Bridgerton - The Lost Royal

Chapter Ten

Benedict

My head is throbbing, the room is spinning and the light is far too bright. All I see is blindingly whiteness that doesn't seem to fade no matter how often I blink. Then something comes into my view, a round shape that seems to hover above me.

"Brother? are you awake?" I hear a voice, and I sense that I've heard it before, but I'm not sure where or when. I breathe in deeply, not actually comprehending what this strange figure said to me. I blink more and it seems as though someone finally set the lights a little less bright.

Not everything is white now, I can make out light blue walls and wooden furniture and... a lot of people standing around me. I take in the man still standing over me, he looks oddly familiair, especially when he opens his mouth,

"Benedict, can you hear me?" my brain runs that sentence through its system. Benedict? Who is Benedict? And why does this man think that my name is Benedict? Because it isn't. My name is...

Oh god. What is my name?

"Who are you?" I blurt out, fear creeping upon me. The man steps back and looks over at another man dressed in black.

"Doctor? Please tell me this is not what I think it is?" The man says to who I suppose is the doctor. Oh, he must be here for me. The doctor steps closer and looks me right in the eye,

"Sir, could you tell me your date of birth, please?" he asks carefully. I blink, my date of birth. Was it may? Or maybe December? It's definitely on the fifth. Wait no, the seventeenth. God, I don't know.

Apparently my silence is enough of an answer and the doctor sighs,

"Sir, can you remember what happened to you?" his voice has grown a little hopeless, cleary not expecting me to remember anything. He is right, as I have no clue what got me here in this strange house. I close my eyes to think, to really think. There are flashes of memories, something in the woods, I believe. The doctor interrupts my thinking,

"Is there anything you can remember sir? anything at all?" he asks.

I look around, there's a lot of faces, most of which look very alike. But to me, something is missing. Someone is missing. Then I see her, in my mind, a woman. The woman.

"Sophia" I breathe, feeling relieved, at least I know something.

The doctor turns to the man, who must be my own brother, since he called me so. They whisper and I try to hear what is said, but the pressing pain at the side of my head gets worse and I close my eyes, falling back to sleep.

......

Sophia

"Here you go" I say as I slide three beers over to a rugged-looking man.

"Thank you, sweetheart." he replies and I ignore him, walking to the back of the pub where I continue cleaning. Arnold, the owner of the pub, agreed to give me one of the rooms he rents above the pub if I work for him, which is only fair.

It's been two days since I left. Three since I met Benedict. Yet here I am, scrubbing the floor and providing alcoholic drinks to men who can't afford them. I have yet to steal anything, though I doubt it will be long before I must, a bed is nice, but to stay alive I shall need more.

"Sophia, there's someone at the bar for you." Arnold says, his head poking from around the corned. I nod,

"How many?" I ask, assuming we're talking beers.

"She doesn't want a drink, she requested you." Arnold says, clearly as surprised as I am. I get up from the floor and as I wonder who could possibly be asking for me all the way out here my eyes meet those of Hyacinth Bridgerton. I stop walking, how did she find me? And more importantly, why did she search?

"Hyacinth?" I ask, "What are you doing here?"

she smiles tightly, "I came here for you. To ask you to return to Bridgerton House with me."

"Hyacinth..." I sigh, "I'm sorry, but the life you're living it's not...-"

"It's not about you," she interrupts and I raise an eyebrow.

"It's benedict." she continues, "he lost his memory after the fall, he can't remember any of us. He doesn't even know his own name."

My breath is stuck in my throat, "I'm so sorry Hyacinth, it's all my fault, I should have never-.."

"He remembers you." Hyacinth blurts out, "he remembers your name and he knows what you look like. He even drew you to prove it. The doctor says that your return could help him, that he might get his memory back, but Anthony refuses to get you. So I did."

I'm speechless, my mouth is clamped shut. I can see tears coming up behind Hyacinth's eyes.

"Please, Sophia." she pleads, "Just visit him, once, that's all I ask."

I look at Arnold, who had been listening to us not so secretly, and he nods,

"You should go, your room will always be here if you come back."

I look at my hands all dirty and damaged, sticky from the beer, smelly from the cleaning. This is the life I've always led, the life I was born to. Yet there's this feeling that I could be something more. So I cave,

"Okay. I'll do it."