The Last Princess [EDITED]

Chapter 31

THE days flew by, and with every day, my heartbeat grew faster. But being with the maids in the servants' hall managed to calm all that.

One day, we'd shifted from stories to songs.

A young elf had sung a fast-paced village reel, half the hall joining in. The they turned to us.

"Something from the new maids!" One of them said, followed by cheers.

"Go, Calla," Poppy said, pushing me forward.

"Oh, no, I don't sing —"

"Don't lie, I heard you humming to yourself. You have a beautiful voice," Sakura said, smiling encouragingly.

I glanced at Maple helplessly. She shrugged.

"Go on, Calla," Sakura urged. I sighed and stood up, grinning at the others, who'd begun clapping.

"I'm not a wonderful singer, mind you," I said, half-laughing myself.

"She's lying!" Sakura said loudly. I gave her a flat look, but she only grinned at me.

I cleared my throat. There was only one song I knew properly — though it wasn't truly a song.

"Moonlight shining in the glade tonight,

Moonlight shining in the glade so bright.

Here I know I am safe in your arms,

Here I know we can come to no harm."

"Water ripples gently in the lake,

Patterns of stars are there for us to make.

Here, come to me and extend your hand,

Here, together we will make our own land."

"Clouds drift far above us in the sky,

The moon hides behind them, oh so shy.

Here I know that we won't go too far,

For here is the place where you and I are."

"In this meadow the wind blows past,

We will stay here till the last.

Here I see that we are always free,

Here is a place for just you and me."

The hall, which had gone deathly silent, erupted into applause as I ended the lullaby. I smiled at them and sat down again.

"That was beautiful," Sakura said, giving me a small hug.

"My sisters used to sing it to me," I said softly. Maple squeezed my hand gently.

"Oh — you had more sisters?" Sakura asked, glancing between the both of us.

I cleared my throat and nodded. "Yes, two — they've passed on."

"I'm sorry," Sakura said, her face showing true sympathy.

I smiled at her. "It was a long time ago." Sakura smiled back and nodded, and we listened to the next song.

Finally, much later, when the rest of the maids went to sleep, Maple touched my arm gently.

I turned to her. "Is it time?"