Innocent Sorrow: A Tale of Twisted Hearts Book One

Chapter Six

We have taken the town before the castle. We are almost there….I will find you soon my love…so soon….and yet, I am sorry. I have killed so many of your men as they have killed so many of mine and his. The three of us will be locked in a battle of our own soon though… Too soon this war will explode if I cannot reach you by the ‘morrow. My injuries burn…maybe if I sleep for a bit… The morrow, I will reach you tomorrow.

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Feliciana blinked slowly, her eyes taking in the dark stone ceiling above her groggily. She wasn’t sure what woke her but a strange feeling of rightness was falling over her as she continued to stare. The warm weight of her puppy cuddled into her side made her feel calm and happy as did the soft colors of the room. It wasn’t until another knock drew her attention to the old door that she realized what awoke her. “Come in!” She sat up slowly, rubbing the haze from her eyes and carefully moving to not disturb her pet. The door creaked open and Hilda stepped in with three others following her, laden with boxes. “Put those over there and leave me with my charge.” The men nodded, set the stuff where she was pointing and, with a nod to Feli, rushed from the room. When the door was safely closed again Hilda turned her eyes to the bed, ghosting them over the disheveled and tired appearance of Feli before zeroing in on the white animal. “Feli….what is that.” At the sound of her voice again, Valkea lifted his head and stared at her before standing and shaking off the blanket. Feli didn’t have to respond when Hilda gasped for she knew that the older woman would know what he was.

“His name is Valkea. He is a pure white Ty-Pyro. Somebody left him here as a welcoming gift but they didn’t leave any note other than the welcome note explaining that he was my new, er…pet.” It was so rare for someone to own a Ty-Pyro that Feli had trouble laying her claim to it. She also knew that many who did own Ty-Pyro’s only obtained them as adults and they were almost always captured and abused for they never took well to captivity. They also refused to breed so to own one as young as Val was even rarer. “Well…just keep him a secret from the Queen. Lord only knows what she would do to him!” Feli nodded with a giggle before turning serious suddenly. There was a question she needed to ask no matter what… “Why are you still acting as my maid Hilda, aren’t you part of the Reickian Military?” Hilda stared back seemingly unwilling to speak on the matter but at the intense purple gaze, she gave a sigh and sat down on the edge of the bed, petting Val. “Child, I have been taking care of you since you were 7. When my mission finally ended and I returned here, I knew I couldn’t just go back to being a spy. I felt I needed to take care of you in compensation for stealing you away from your home. Since I am old now, the King doesn’t mind and I think it will be a nice chance to retire.”

The violet eyed girl nodded slowly, understanding what Hilda had given up and what she was doing now. The old woman, in her own ways, cared dearly for the little girl. Having no children of her own, she saw the Princess as her grandbaby and the Queen of Beldan as a daughter. Being forced to betray them had certainly taken its toll on Hilda. Knowing this, Feliciana stood from the bed and grabbed Hilda’s hand, pulling her beloved maid to her feet. “Come, you must help me get dressed for I haven’t worn a dress since I was four. Thinking back, those might as well have been long shirts, I’ve never worn a proper dress…” She trailed off with a small giggle. It was such a simple thing but the fact that she was truly raised as a boy down to knowing how to dress and act seemed funny now that she was over the initial shock of reverting back to a girl. Hilda gave a laugh of her own and a final pat to Val before standing and picking up one of the boxes. Lifting the cover off of the first silvery box, she held up a pair of short, summer bloomers.

“Go behind the screen, strip and put those on your bottom then come out here.” Feli nodded and took to pure white, slightly puffy garment and did as told. Stepping back into the room with an embarrassed expression, she closed her eyes and thanked the King that it was Hilda and not some unknown woman. Her arms were crossed over her nonexistent chest for she suddenly felt so much more self-conscious than when she was a boy. “These are so odd, Hilda…” Hilda laughed softly at her obvious discomfort. “Sorry child but those are what girls your age wear now.” Nodding, she stepped forward to look into the next box which was small and held two things. “Stockings and new ankle boots?” At Hilda’s nod she pulled on the pair of deep black thigh high tights, wiggling her toes to stretch the fabric while the maid pulled out the next garment, making Feliciana gasp at its beauty. “For me…?” She spoke with wonder coloring her tone and widening her eyes. “Yes my dear, for you. I picked it out myself. It is more comfortable than what is currently in fashion and I think it is something you can pull off without trying too hard.” The dress would fall down to her mid-calf at an almost straight angle except she could see the small holes where a ribbon would be threaded. It was beautiful and loose, easy to put on and take off for bed. Reaching a hand out to touch it, she could feel that is was made out of silk the color of storm clouds with beautiful black embroidery depicting vines. The bottom of the dress was edged in black fur. The collar was rounded and the dress was sleeveless per the summer fashion.