Hail

Twenty-two

I resist the urge to rub my forehead in hopes to ease the headache that has started to throb as I sit alone at the table waiting for the others to join me. Another day has passed with no word and worry has started to spread throughout the castle. All believed that some word would have been sent back to us by now. I have spent the day trying to ease the fears of those left behind, but even as I say the words of encouragement and promise, I can feel their hollowness. It makes no matter what words I say, they do not change the truth that enough days have passed for some word to return to us. The more time that passes, the smaller the hope becomes. The halls are filled with whispered conversations of those who say the words quietly that none dare say aloud. There is fear of tragedy, fear of defeat. 

I invited Elisa, Eleanora and Broderick to join me for dinner. These past few days when I have remembered to eat, they have been hurried meals alone during whatever brief respite I had. The time with Broderick yesterday has caused me to realize that how much I have felt alone and overwhelmed. I have let others dictate all of my time, but I took control yesterday and tonight I wish to dine with my family. The door opens and I smile as Broderick enters and I am awarded a brief flash of our future. He gives me a smile in return and crosses the room to where I sit. He leans and presses a kiss to my cheek. Before he can ask the question I am sure has the door opens again and Elisa and Eleanora step inside.

As they take their seats, I look across the table at where Elisa sits. She appears tired. Her eyes, typically so bright and excited appear dulled and her skin a bit pale. I asked the servants earlier today and they confessed that she had not been eating and her sleeping habits had become erratic. I feel guilty for not noticing these past few days. I am the only family she has here and as her older sister, it is my responsibility to make sure she is taken care of. While she may insist that she is no longer a child, by looking at her I am reminded of how young she still is. "I thought, since we are all going to be family soon, perhaps we could all have dinner together." I notice that they all relax as they realize that my invitation for dinner was not used to hide some other nefarious news.

Broderick is the one who speaks, his eyes moving around the room. "So this is the dining room where those fabled royal family dinners take place?"

"Yes, our mother declared them 'family time,' she felt that there should be at least a small portion of the day that we would all be together, no advisors, no noblemen clamoring for father's attention, just us. She believed that it would make father a stronger ruler and a better father. She insisted that if a poor commoner got to spend all day with his family then it was only right that the king spend at least a little time with his. It is one of the few traditions she started that he has kept."

Eleanora speaks up her voice a bit timid, "I do not wish to cause pain, but I have noticed that your father does not speak of your mother. Even Valeous will stop talking about her if he is near as if he is afraid to have our father know that he talks of her."

Elisa meets my eyes and then looks down at the table. I answer. "Yes, it is incredibly rare that father speaks of her. I have heard some whisper that they believe it shows that he did not truly care for her, but any who saw them together knows better. I like to believe that it is because of the love he still has for her that to speak of her is simply too painful. I cannot speak to Valeous' reasons for stopping, but I try not to mention her to him, I do not wish to cause more pain to cloud his eyes."

The servants arrive with the food, providing a welcome break for all and a chance to change the topic of conversation to something lighter. I look to Elisa, hoping she will speak. Thankfully, she does not disappoint.

"Eleanora, how are the wedding plans progressing?"

Eleanora rolls her eyes and her tone changes from timid to slightly annoyed. "Massive, it is practically grotesque in its scale, despite my protests. I knew that marrying the crown prince would result in a wedding larger than the intimate ceremony I had hoped for, but I could not have imaged what it has become. I have given up on trying to calm my mother. As soon as she arrived, she started insisting that everything be bigger than before. It was what I feared would happen. Today she informed me that she had brought lace for my veil that would trail behind me for seven feet. She would not heed any of my arguments for shortening it. I have already talked to the servants to discover where she is hiding it so I may cut it myself. Seven feet! Can you imagine? People will trample all over it. She has already had additional beading added to the dress and doubled the size of the flowers. She is trying to convince the baker that a second cake is warranted and that at least it must have more tiers than I requested. Plus she has had girls gathering rose petals for days so they may be have strewn along the floor. I have heard whispers that she is inquiring after some swans that she wishes to have placed in the lake outside, as apparently the ducks that reside there are not 'fancy' enough for her. As if the guests will be critiquing the type of waterfowl that resides there. There is even the possibility of a fireworks show. She is planning on hundreds of people being here to witness the event. It is enough to make me wish that Valeous and I could elope and avoid the whole event, but I know that mother would lock me away until the ceremony if she thought I was even entraining the idea."