The Little Queen

The Little Spy

10 Years Later
Starlie's POV

"Hate is a very strong word, yes I completely agree, but I do feel it is the right word at times," I told Penelope, one of the closest friends I had made in the castle. She was the second of three daughters of the Count and Countess of Burdonbury.

"And how do you think the world would react if they found out that you hated the Prince? The man you're betrothed to?" She swooned as she said the words.

"They'd never find out because I am an excellent actress," I said before getting up off the bench and walking into the garden. The castle's garden was as amazing as one would expect the Royals to have. Truly amazing but if I were to be a critic, I'd say that the variety of plants weren't all that amazing in the winter. It looked dead.

"When exactly are you supposed to make an appearance with him again?" Penelope asked while following closely behind me. I could hear her boots sinking into the heavy snow.

"Tonight....sadly. For dinner. The King's sister, Adelaide, is coming for a visit from the United States and we're all expected to show up," I turned around to face my best friend and got closer, "Did you know that he hasn't seen her in over 20 years? Theodore was only two when she last came for a visit."

Penelope's eyes narrowed in confusion, "Do you know why?"

I shook my head, "No, Theo wouldn't tell me. Noor says she's quite the scandalous lady though and I could see that being a reason why she conflicts with the King. He's very conservative."

"As should you be," Penelope said and I just rolled my eyes in response.

I was very modest. I lived by the King and Queen's high standards and I followed every rule. That was probably the only reason why the media was so accepting of me. They made me out to be such an innocent little girl and I couldn't help but try to live up to it.

It killed me sometimes though.

"When do you think I'll marry?" I asked. It was a question I had asked many people, but none of them had an answer for me. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't complaining. I believed me and Theodore had a long way to go in our "relationship" before we could actually truly convince the world that we were meant to be together forever.

We were supposedly soul mates, but I thought the love you felt for your other half was supposed to be strong. I didn't think Theo liked me at all, so I stopped trying to get close to him after awhile.

I was just going with the flow of things and maybe someday everything would fall into place.

"Why don't you ask...Theodore?" She whispered his name and I could help but giggle. I was on a first name basis with all the royals because I had to be. They get really mad when I don't call them by their names. Penelope wasn't supposed to call them anything but their titles, so she always got all sneaky when we talked about Theo.

"The last thing I want to talk to him about is when we're getting married. I don't even know if I want to get married because then I know everyone's going to start pushing for a baby and I hate to say it Pen, but I think I'd rather die than have a child right now."

"Maybe that's why you're not married than. I'm sure...he feels the same way."

Yes, that and he seemed to hate the very ground that I walked on, but I was totally fine with that. The feeling was mutual even...or so I tried to tell myself.

"Hello ladies."

Both Penelope and I screamed before whizzing around to face the intruder.

"You're a real piece of work, ya know that, Henry?" Penelope said while taking a step forward so that she could smack him right in the arm.

Henry Winston Fray, one of the many young servants in the castle. I didn't know a whole lot about what he did on the daily, but he was very useful so I kept him close.

Theo and I may have had our differences, but I was still partially a psychopath and needed to keep tabs on him at all times. For some reason Henry saw him for most of his day and therefore knew what he was doing and who he was with all day.

"How ya doin', Starlie?" He asked, "I suppose you probably want some information from me. I got the juicy gossip for you."

I watched as Penelope rolled her eyes. She didn't approve of the whole spying thing, but I didn't care.

"Do share," I urged him to keep going with said juicy gossip. I just hoped it wasn't too juicy, I still wanted to sleep tonight without having to cry to my mom for reassurance.

"Friggin' Opal was with HRH the Prince almost all morning. I tried to get her away but the woman just would not comply."

I knew they were both watching for a reaction, so I tried my hardest to keep myself composed, not to show them that I actually cared. "Again?" I asked and my god did my voice sound broken.

"She's a whore, Starlie. Her job is literally to keep men satiated," Penelope interjected.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, he only seemed interested in her half the time."

"It doesn't make me feel better because I don't care. He can have whoever he wants."

They both gave me looks of disbelief, "Mhm, and pigs can fly. Remember how you said you were an excellent actress? Yeah well, you may want to work on that."

There was a moment of silence before a trumpet sounded. It wasn't an all too familiar song, but I knew enough to know that it was definitely an important one.

My eyes widened in horror as I realized just what time it was, "I am in so much trouble," I said right before making a beeline for the castle.

Dinner would be starting in a matter of minutes and I still had to get ready.