Knightress

Chapter 28

Laura peered through the wide broad windows of her room, she cuddled her grandmother's katana in her arms, well protected from the blade by the sheath. In her hand was her mother's letter, she didn't know why she had it but she just needed to hold it tight. Her room was infront of the castle courtyard, giving her a perfect view of the main gates.

There were four black quantum buses parked infront of the gate, waiting for passengers to fill it. The dismissed Legionnaires packed in their suitcases without a word, their straight faces were blank, they showed no evidence of emotion but their red eyes spoke volumes of the sadness that rushed within them. Their sober looks ignited guilt in her even though she knew it wasn't entirely her fault.

She spotted Matthew sitting on the bottom step of the entrance stairs into the foyer, his glassy eyes gazed up at the grey sky absently. It hurt knowing he blamed her for his dismissal, unknown to him he was a friend she never knew she needed and she cherished their friendship more than she allowed herself to admit. She wanted to speak with him one last time, but there was no use, he hated her now.

He isolated himself from the group, but then again everyone else kept to themselves too, no one spoke, but she noticed this because Matthew was a people person and it wasn't in his character to stay away from others. That bright spark in his eyes was extinguished, his warm inviting smile was non-existant, everything he never was before.

She sighed heavily and flapped the curtains shut, she gently placed her katana on the floor near her bed and was about to enter it when there came a knock on the door. "Enter." She answered.

The door swung open without a creek, Phil entered, his eyes found hers and he offered her a kind smile. "Good day miss Laura," he greeted. "Hi Phil," she greeted weakly.

"Prince Jotham informed me you'd be leaving in three days, is there anything I can help you with?" He asked formally.

She crossed her arms as her eyes raked the large, majestic room, she dragged her feet slowly as she walked to stand before him. She shrugged once then met his eyes again, "I don't have much to pack."

Phil frowned also gazing around, "but everything in this room is yours, just let me know what you want to take with you."

Her eyes slightly widened in pleasant surprise, she wasn't aware of that. "Really?"

"Of course, you can take some food for your family too, just some treats."

The image of Benjamin and Sebastian surfaced her mind, her eyebrows lifted and a big, genuine smile sprouted her lips at the thought of having a feast as she reunited with her brothers. "Yes!" She exclaimed, suddenly giddy, "please arrange for me some bread of all kinds, pork, roasted chicken, oh some breakfast meals too and...candy!"

She imagined the joy that would fill the twins, how their innocent eyes would rake over the food prepared for royals, the excited squels as they bit into these luxury meals and savoured it's taste. Her parents never bought them candy because money was needed for other things, as she ran the thought over in her mind, she couldn't seem to remember the last time they had candy.

Every dime and penny was needed in their house, leaving little to none to spare on treats. They mostly ever ate dried cereal for breakfast, plane bread for lunch and would split two canned goods, her parents would share a can while she and her brothers would share a second can. Majority of the time she didn't eat at all, decieving her brothers that she was full from the bread she ate earlier or she just didn't have the appetite, but in reality she only wanted them to get enough to eat.

She would always be starving, her stomach had this constant feeling of emptiness, it was only when she ate to her heart's contents her first day in the castle that she realised it wasn't a normal feeling in the human body.