Fix You

5. Memories

Selene

Meriolla. Stepmother. Meriolla. Stepmother. Meriolla was not evil, she had only acted like she was. Though, not many would share the same thought as me. Well, I guess no one would. But I was pretty sure it's because they only saw what she wanted them to see, evil and cruel. The reason behind that... I had no idea.

I couldn't kill her though. She's my stepmother. Even though I knew her better than others, it didn't mean that I knew much about her. But I knew for sure she was not evil.

I got out of bed and headed to the window seat. I desperately needed some fresh, cold air which was not hard to get here. I stuck my head out of the window. I closed my eyes as the wind brushed my hair, as the snow kissed my cheeks hello.

I heard the door open and I could smell something delicious. Sure enough, Nancy came in to my bedroom with a tray of food. She looked a bit paler than usual, definitely due to my stepmother's sudden visit, but she gave me a warm smile that was as warm as yesterday's.

"Thought you'd wanted some breakfast here since you barely left your room yesterday after..." Nancy hesitated. The servants here weren't comfortable talking about Meriolla, thought she would curse them individually if she found out they had been talking about her.

"Thanks, Nancy. I'm okay, don't worry." I walked to her and looked at the tray filled with food that she brought with her. "Whoa, you guys made a feast, don't think I could finish all of this," I grinned at Nancy. She looked very skittish and no doubt all the others were too. Guilt nagged at me.

Nancy just grinned at me. She would have lectured me about some stupid thing but Meriolla happened. She left with the tray after I finished breakfast. Cooping myself up in my room was not the answer to my problems and it definitely didn't help calming the servants down, so I made myself change and walked around the castle.

I wandered around with nothing in my mind. When I noticed my surroundings, I was at the gallery. The walls were filled with pictures of the previous kings and queens. There, at the end of the hall was a picture of my mom and dad.

Perfect. They had always been perfect for each other. Everyone told me I was a copy of my mother, except for the eyes. My father gave me my iris.

She looked beautiful. And though she was not smiling in the picture, you could feel that she was smiling. She always did that, smiling without actually smiling. She smiled from her eyes. Her raven hair was braided beautifully and with precision. Her brown eyes filled with mirth and laughter. Her lips a perfect cupid's bow. Her arms linked protectively with my father's. "Got to hold you tight or else you'll run off the second you're bored," she said with a wink when my dad raised his eyebrows at her. He replied her with a toe curling kiss. Was what the servants told me, I was too young to know what kind of kiss that was. Obviously.

My father stood tall and imposing but never intimidating. Well, if he wasn't trying to be. He could be very intimidating if he wanted to. Yup, learned that the hard way. His platinum blond hair was styled perfectly, something that happened rarely, it was usually ruffled and messed with snow. His eyes a very light blue, it looked white from a distance, filled with mischief. And his ever present smirk. He wouldn't even smile kingly for his portrait. "My smirk and mischief define me," he said to the painter that day.

Underneath the frame was a gold plate written:

King Lucas Emeraldin
and
Queen Mikaela Emeraldin
(née Cain)

I brushed the gold plate with the back of my hand. Cold. Reminding me that they're not here anymore. But I could still remember all the memories we spent together. All the laughter we shared. All the secrets we kept. All the mischief we did. All the corrections they gave me. All the lessons I learned. All the love I felt.

A tear trickled out of my eye as I remember how they were taken away from me. The last moments we had. The things I hadn't been able to tell them. The questions I hadn't been able to ask them. I gulped down a sob, I didn't want anyone to hear their princess crying. I didn't want anyone knowing I didn't know what to do. I didn't want anyone to know that I didn't know how to protect them. How to keep everyone happy. How to keep the warmth in Feyrand. How to keep everyone safe. I didn't want anyone to know how much I wanted to feel my mom's tender hug. I didn't want anyone to know how much I wanted my dad to ruffle my head one last time.

I slid down the wall under the painting of the two people I love the most. My arms circling around my knees.

"I miss you, Mom, Dad."

〜＊・○・＊〜

Heyyoo!! Thankyou for reading♡♥︎
Yes my italic-izer is not working. So I'm substituting it with the others. It looked so weird. I have no idea if the problem is with my phone or the application. So sorry for the inconvenience.
Bear(🐻) with me(＞人＜;)