Away

Chapter 10

Life at the palace fell into a routine as the week passed. Each morning, Naira would join the family for breakfast, and then head to her room where she would work on sewing a dress or small shirts for Henry with the leftover fabric from her dress. She would take it back and give it to him; an apology of sorts, for staying away this long. The Queen had taken her to the royal seamstress to get a few dresses made, to make her look more presentable Naira assumed, since she often asked Naira to join her when she had visitors - duchesses, ladies, and noble women who came to the Queen with various problems or sometimes just to pay a visit. But Naira had insisted that they take fabrics instead of already made dresses, since Naira was used to making her own clothes. Without the maintenance of an entire villa, from deciding the day's menu to getting laundry done, there was very little for Naira to do, and even with the sewing she still had plenty of free time. After lunch, she would return to her room again to nap, and then join the Queen at her parlor for tea. If the Queen happened to be with guests, she would introduce Naira to them and ask her to sit in with them, so she sat listening to their gossips and woes. The ladies talked about other women, their children, some would share with the Queen their anxiety about not being able to produce a male heir, while others would weep about the infidelities of their husbands. It was entertaining for the most part, but Naira liked it better on the days when it was just the Queen and her. She had grown to respect the older woman very much, admiring her poise and grace and wisdom that only comes with age and experience. The Queen had been the grand niece of Prince Edward II, a royalty in her own right, and her marriage to George did not just make her a queen; she also made her husband a better king, and the success of his long reign could be largely attributed to her impact. Naira wondered if she could grow into a woman like that. She knew she would get married someday, to the man of her uncle's choice, and he would be no prince or king, but one did not have to be those things to make changes or do good. Even if it was a man with no title and not a lot of wealth, she hoped she could be the kind of woman Queen Camilla was- strong-willed, intelligent, always guiding her family in the right direction.

"It is quite sad." The Queen stated, taking a sip of her tea. Lady Marina and her sister had just taken their leave and Naira and the Queen were still seated at the parlor. "I pray she gives birth to a healthy baby this time."

Naira nodded. Lady Marina was expecting again, after 4 previous miscarriages. Her story had saddened Naira, reminding her of watching her Aunt Jessamine give birth to a stillborn child right before her death.

"Liliana...Neal's mother.." The Queen's eyes were far away, remembering the past. "Could not become pregnant for a very long time after her marriage."

"Oh." Naira was unsure of what to say.

"Each month she would get hopeful, and then cry when she bled." Camilla continued. Naira could not imagine what that must have felt like. Having your heart broken once every month.

"She had accepted she could not give Richard an heir, and started urging him to remarry. But my Richard-" The Queen's eyes twinkled with pride. "He was not that kind of man. He was honorable like his father, and he truly loved Liliana. He told her they were married for life, children or no children, and that if Gideon had a child first, then the throne could go to that child."

But miraculously, not only was she able to conceive, she gave birth to Neal months before Will was born."

The mention of Gideon reminded Naira of Will's mother. She thought of how it must have felt, watching his older brother love his wife so deeply, refusing to remarry for an heir even with the permission of his wife, while her husband repeatedly had various mistresses in his life, including Elizabeth's mother. Naira could not blame her for being bitter and angry at times.