The girl with the fire in her veins

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The carriage ride was over fairly quickly. On foot it would have taken hours, but the rhythmic way in which the horse’s hooves clatter on the little dirt road made Lucja dose off only to be awakened by the sound of opening gates.

This was never what Lucja had planned for her trip. Never was she going to detour onto palace grounds and certainly never had she intended to befriend the prince. It was all too good to be true. She figured as much the moment the carriage door closed behind her, but by then it was too late. The trip to the palace only pushed Lucja deeper into her moral dilemma: Should she stay and better her chances of being cured and in the process indebt herself to the Prince, or should she leave as soon as possible and find her own way to her cure?

"Lucja?" Henryk slightly touched her arm, pulling her out of her thoughts "Are you alright? We have arrived."

"Oh, I am so sorry your Majesty, I was just thinking about nonsense. I am fine thank you." Lucja avoided eye-contact as she quickly got out of the carriage and rearranged her skirts.

"Please, I told you to call me Henryk." At this Lucja swallowed hard and nodded her head slightly before looking at him. He found it quite amusing to see how flustered she becomes whenever he talks to her. The pink of her cheeks crawls up her face until it grazes her hairline, making her eyes more vibrant. It spreads down towards her collarbone as well as her chest moves faster with every sharp breath she takes. If he looks closely he could se the faint red pulsing under her skin, especially when she's blushing.

"uh.." Henryk quickly snaps his eyes back to Lujca's and realizes he's just been caught in the act of staring at her chest. The look of utter confusion on her face is quite comic, causing a grin to twitch on Henryk's lips as he walks past her towards the big, wooden front doors of the palace. A stocky old man shuffles towards them and painfully bows before the man thrice his junior.

"Welcome back, Prince Henryk. The halls have been empty without your presence." He spoke with a hoarse voice derived of youth yet his eyes, fixed on Lucja, was still bright from knowledge from within.  

"Thank you, Lepoldt. Let me introduce you to our guest, Lucja, who shall be staying with us for the perceivable future." The old man instantly bowed and Lucja, not quite sure how to react, stiffly courtesy.

"Lepoldt will show you to your room and I shall wait for you in my office once you have settled in." With that Henryk swiftly turned on his heel and disappeared into the grand foyer of the palace.

Lucja and Lepoldt silently made their way to her room in a silence that was only broken by her exasperated gasps. The palace was indeed grand with its luxe foyer and winding staircases that led to floors of seemingly endless corridors and doors. Soon the bare cement floors left Lucja cold and she quickly understood the purpose of the dozens of fireplaces around every corner.

On the fourth floor, in front of the eleventh door on the right, was where Lepoldt stopped. He patiently waited for Lucja to open the door and slowly entered behind her once she did. Her room was marvelous: A big, iron bed draped in the finest lined stood in the middle of the room behind two windows overlooking the forest. In the far corner there was a drawer and screen to change behind from and next to that was a beautiful, brass basin to wash in.

A faint knock on the door startled Lucja as Lepoldt opened the door. It was a girl, not much younger than Lucja, dressed modestly in a maid's dress and bonnet that hid her face. She quickly curtseyed before Lucja before dropping off her suitcase. Lucja tried to thank her, but the girl quickly scurried out the door before she had the chance to.

"It is wise not to speak to the maids." Lepoldt whispered as he shuffled towards Lucja. "Prince Henryk does not favor his servant's conversations. He had every female servant’s vocalcords removed to stop all conversing permanently. It will only be cruel to speak to them."