The Destitute Queen || h.s. au

17. Lena

^Edward^

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"What do you think Edith is going to make us do next?" Prue asks as we walk down the hall to the maids' room. "Now that we're relieved of our duties."

I shrug and say, "I don't know. Maybe we'll have to wash clothes or something-"

"Hey!" A voice interrupts me. I turn to where the voice is coming from, and I smile.

"Edward!" I exclaim, and he runs up to me and envelops me in a hug. Normally, I would be surprised if someone I barely knew would give me a hug, but it's different with Edward. We shared a dungeon cell, he was the only one I could trust after I was arrested.

"Um, I'm gonna go on ahead," Prue says. "I'll see you soon, Lena."

I nod, and she walks away. As soon as she's gone, I turn back to Edward.

"Did she just call you 'Lena'?" He asks, looking confused.

"Oh, um, yeah," I reply. "I go by 'Lena' now. What are you doing here?"

"They made me a servant, remember?" he says. "I thought you were going to be hanged!"

"No, they brought me here, too," I tell him, and he nods. "Not sure which is worse, honestly."

He chuckles, "Yeah, I know what you mean. Prince Louis just made me his personal servant."

"Yikes," I nervously chuckle. "Good luck. He was staring me down not long ago."

"Thanks," he says. "Well, I'd better get going."

"Okay," I grin. "I'll see you around the palace."

He smiles brightly, "Yeah, I'll see you around."

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"So, who was that young man you were talking to earlier?" Prue asks me as we're sitting on the floor of the maids' room. It's well past nine o'clock, so we've finished our chores for the day.

"Oh, that was just Edward," I tell her.

"Do I sense a little connection between you two?" She teases, and I shake my head fervently.

"N-No, it's nothing like that," I say. "I'm engaged to be married."

Abigail scoffs. "You should know by now that you're never going to leave this palace."

"Abigail, shut up," Prue says. "You're not included in this conversation."

I try to ignore the burning sensation in my throat that Abigail's words have caused, but I can't stop myself from saying something.

"No, she's right," I frown, and Prue looks at me as if I've gone mad. "I can't ever see him again, but that doesn't mean I can just forget about him and move on like he meant nothing to me."

"I know how you feel," she says. "What is he like?"

"Niall is..." I can't put into words how incredible Niall is. "Kind, sweet, funny, generous, the list goes on and on. We grew up together, you know. When we were kids, we'd have a race every day going from the town square to the entrance of the forest, and I'd always win. He proposed at the beginning of this year, and we decided to be married on the twenty-fifth of December."

"What?" Nellie asks. "But, that's in less than two weeks!"

I sadly nod, clearing my throat. "I know. I love him so much, all I want is to see him again at least one more time."