The Lost Princess

Chapter 7

SORRY I WAS GONE FOR A WHILE. DONT KNOW HOW REGULAR UPDATES WILL BE? HOPE FOR THE BEST. XX

Extremely confused and extremely cold, I had managed to find my room. I pulled the ruffled sheets and got into my bed which was now cold, almost telling me off for daring to leave.

Lying flat on the bed, I closed my eyes and just replayed what had happened.

Bromley has just kissed me.

Bromley has just taken my first kiss.

And I didn't know how I felt about that.

In Arabia, no man had ever dared to touch a women like that in fear of her father cutting him into bits. What would my father think if he knew I was galavanting around the castle in a thin night dress with men walking around the castle drunk.

Don't be so stupid next time Aria!

I groaned at how frustrated I was; there was no way that Bromley would've kissed me if he wasn't drunk. From my few days here, even though women had fallen at his feet, he had never even batted them an eye lid.

A knock on the door made me shoot out of bed; it must have been a few hours past midnight, no one would be around at this time.

Slowly, I opened the door, revealing the first red hair of Elizabeth.

"Your majesty?! What are you doing here at this time? Is everything okay?"

She was giving me one of her classic foxy smiles. With great pride and excitement she walked into my chambers and turned back to look at me- her face never changing.

"I'm fine darling... more then fine!"

"You are? Then why are you here so late, what couldn't wait that had to be told to me now?"

She continued walking around my room, smiling at herself.
"Elizabeth, what is it?"

She looked straight at me, her piercing blue eyes showing just how content and excited she was.

"It's Robert." She said biting her lip nervously, waiting for my reaction as if I knew what those words meant.

"Lord Dudley? What about him?"

"He's leaving his wife. They are getting an annulment."

I gasped.

"Elizabeth what? Your majesty, as fond as I am of you, does the annulment have to do with you?"

She looked disheartened at my words; it was clear she had wanted me to be excited with her.

"No, of course it doesn't." I look at her, "okay, perhaps it does slightly. But he says he's in an unhappy marriage and that she cannot produce an heir." Her eyes begged for me to understand even though she knew it was wrong for her to be getting excited about this sad fact.

"Okay, but Elizabeth, throughout their annulment you must not get involved. You know how people talk."

She settles down on the bed, lying flat. "This doesn't change anything, does it?"

My heart dropped for her. In the short time that I had known Elizabeth it had become clear that she had never expected to become queen so young. She had never expected these responsibilities.
I nestled down on the bed next to her and took her hand.

"I wish I could change this for you. But Elizabeth, the Queen of England cannot be associated with a man who has had a previous marriage."

She nodded slowly, like she had already known this but had only now accepted this fact. "It's funny, I'm queen, I was promised everything yet the one thing I truly want, I truly deserve after all this struggle to become Queen I cannot have."

"There will be others, Dudley will move on and so will you. But for the moment, you've got to try and keep your distance from him your majesty."

For a few moments, we laid their in silence- a comfortable silence. It was like there was a passing of understanding between one another, we were both in positions of high power yet we didn't always get what we wanted.

Slowly, Elizabeth realised something and looked at me.

"How comes you are awake my dear?"

I began to get nervous, and a list of jumbled ideas as to where I might have been appeared in my head. "I was- I mean, your majesty"-

"Well, well, well! Lady Aria what have you been up to this evening?"

"I was in the library." I spluttered out.

"The library! At this hour? And alone?" She looked at me worriedly. "Darling, i know you are not from these parts but truly you must avoid wandering these halls at night. It is not safe for a lady to do so, imagine if you-"

"I kissed Bromley." I said, looking anywhere but at her.
When I finally had the guts to do so, Elizabeth was looking at me with the biggest grin.

"Well thank god for that!"

Now it was my turn to look at her like she had grown two heads.

"What do you mean your highness?!"

"He clearly likes you! He has been at court for the past 6 years and never has he taken such interest with a woman before!"

I blushed at this, but then regained my actual thought process. "He was drunk. He didn't mean it."

Elizabeth shook her head, "I wouldn't count on that Aria." She pauses "Think about it, Bromley is extremely careful with what girls he talks to; fathers of wealthy girls approach him to ask for unions that could seen his wealth multiplied significantly but he always turns it down."

"Why?" I interrupted. He didn't make any sense. He was of marriageable age now yet he didn't take full advantage of the fact that so many wanted him.

"He's extremely guarded you see. After his parents sudden death, he inherited not only their wealth but his grandfather- who had passed 6 months before' wealth. So many distant relatives or friends who he had never met before tried to get closer to him. One of his closest friends even went as far as seducing his sister to get just a fraction of the family fortune."

My heart dropped at the thought of a teenage Bromley having to fend off all these suitors that we're trying to win over his sister.

"That's horrid."

The Queen looked into the moonlight, "there are horrible people in this world, some of us are good at fighting them off but some of us aren't."

I agreed with her. Was I any good at fighting them off? I hadn't been able to protect my family at all, yet they all knew that something like an attack could happen and they were all prepared for it.

"Indeed." I responded but with great sadness. "Before I arrived here, everyone spoke of how in love your mother and father were with each other. How comes we cannot find that."

"They were in love with each other, but from what I was told they also had lots of problems and lied to each other. Their relationship was toxic."

Being a princess, I knew that I would have to get married one day but I always pondered the thought of who that would be to. Would my parents have let me marry someone from my home? Or would they have rather someone rich and powerful from another nation?

"I shall let you get some sleep now my love. Shall we go riding tomorrow? The weather has been kind on us these last few days."

I nodded, "nothing would please me more your majesty." And with a hug she left.

SO I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN AGES. I'M THINKING OF CONTINUING THIS STORY AND SEEING WHERE IT GOES. NOT SURE HOW REGULAR UPDATES WILL BE!