One in a million (Prequel to 'Bad Blood')

Chapter 36: The new princess

Third person's POV

As days went by, so went weeks and so went time. Time flew by and for many weeks, Louisa and Alden hadn't seen or heard from Cassandra. And they were worried.

They had sent birds to the South but they came back unanswered. They had sent soldiers and even went by themselves, but they never got to Cassandra. It seemed she was hiding in her castle.

Cassandra didn't show herself in public anymore either, she wouldn't hold speeches, she wouldn't visit counties, she wouldn't go to meetings with the North. It seemed as if she had just disappeared.

For a while, Alden and Carl were able to calm the others by saying that Cassandra probably needed time for herself to process what had happened with James and how she'll deal with her future. But, as weeks went by, they also started worrying.

One day, when they were all having breakfast, a soldier came rushing into the living room. Louisa and Alden, alongside Carl and Chandler, were in there having their breakfast. They were all surprised that a soldier would disturb them, it would have to be something very important.

The soldier nodded before handing a news scroll to Alden.

Alden sighed as he read: "Queen Cassandra has given birth to a beautiful princess."

"She has a daughter?" Chandler asked, then he smiled a bit. "I wonder how she looks."

"I wonder what she'll name her," Louisa said, looking at Alden. "It's odd that it isn't mentioned in the news."

Carl then gulped and looked away. If I do have a daughter, I promise I'll call her after your wife. He remembered Cassandra saying these words to him right before she had left them. And he wondered, would she have kept her word?

"Let's send a bird South, to congratulate her," Louisa smiled to which Alden nodded. "What shall we put in the letter?" She asked as she had received a piece of paper and something to write.

"Ask her when she'll come home." Chandler said to which everyone looked at him, and smiled.

"Yes," Louisa immediately wrote that down. "Where she belongs. Alongside that little girl."

"She could play with me and Felicity," Chandler went on. "It'll be fun."

"Felicity will have a friend around her age, that'll be amazing." Alden agreed.

"I could bake her a cake, as I know Cassandra enjoys that." Carl said, even though he wasn't convinced that any of their suggestions would actually come true.

Louisa nodded and smiled while she wrote all of the suggestions down. She was sure that when Cassandra would read their letter, she'd come right back home.

__________________________

Cassandra had been laying in bed, resting. She was exhausted, both emotionally and physically.

She had been resting while her child, her own daughter, was in the same room as her. Her daughter was sleeping next to her, in a cradle. She was so close yet Cassandra hadn't looked at her yet. She couldn't bring herself to look at the child.

A knock on the door gained her attention. "Yes?"

The door opened, revealing Lord Gregory. "Can I come in?"

Cassandra simply nodded before looking away again, to nothing in particular.

Lord Gregory immediately noticed Cassandra wasn't herself still. She had been keeping strong the past few weeks but it seemed that giving birth to James's child has torn open some wounds. As he expected it would.

He walked to her bedside. "How are you feeling?"

She shrugged.

"I hear giving birth is the hardest thing a human has to do," He nodded before smiling at her. "You did well."

Cassandra sighed. "I could've used the support of my husband though."

"I know," He said as he put his hand on top of hers, showing his support that way. "I hope you do know that he is present, even though he isn't here physically, his spirit is."

She nodded a bit even though she wasn't sure if she should believe that. She wanted to believe that but she wasn't sure if James really was here. She didn't feel him.

Lord Gregory looked over at the little girl and smiled. "She's beautiful."

Cassandra didn't reply, simply because she didn't know whether to agree or disagree. She hadn't seen her daughter yet... It saddened her but she couldn't bring herself to look.

And Gregory seemed to immediately understand it. "She's perfect," He said carefully. "James would have been proud."

Cassandra looked down then. "I know," She gulped as she tried not to cry. "He wanted a daughter that would look like me."

"His wish came true about the gender."

She nodded but sniffled immediately afterwards. "What does it matter?" She looked down, at her hands. "It's not like he can experience it."

Gregory gulped as he didn't know what to say to that. He really thought it was a sad situation altogether. "Do you have a name for her?"

Cassandra shrugged and looked away.

"Do you?"

She looked at him before nodding.

"What is it?"

She gulped as she remembered her promise to Carl. "Amelia," She gulped once more before saying it louder: "Her name is Amelia."

Gregory smiled. "That's a beautiful name," He nodded. "Not very common here in the South."

"I know," She looked down at her hands again. "It's a name from the North, from her father's side."

"Will you take her to the North sometime?"

There it was, the question Cassandra had been wondering and asking herself countless times. She wanted to go back because that felt like her home though, with James gone, it would only hurt her. It wouldn't be the same. She wouldn't feel connected, in a way.

But the South wasn't the place she wanted to raise her child. She and James had agreed to raise their child in the North. She should respect James's wish, shouldn't she? But going to North would only cause her to feel overwhelming pain.

She looked at Gregory. "No," She said determinedly. "I'm keeping her in the South, where she belongs."

He nodded, even though he didn't know if he agreed with her decision. He knew Amelia was the next in line and thus had to remain in the South but he knew that, for Cassandra's well-being, they would be better off in the North.

He walked to little Amelia and smiled. "She really is beautiful."

Cassandra nodded but wouldn't look.

And Gregory couldn't let this happen. He knew that this little girl needed to form a connection with her mother and that Cassandra needed to form a connection with her daughter. Perhaps that will help her feel James nearby.

"May I?"

Cassandra couldn't look up but could guess what he wanted to ask, she simply nodded.

Gregory reached for the little girl and held her in his arms. "Hey there," He rocked her softly before walking to Cassandra. He gently placed the little girl onto Cassandra's lap, causing Cassandra to look at her daughter for the first time. "This is your beautiful daughter, Cassandra, you should be proud." He then smiled before slowly leaving the room.

Cassandra looked from the door to the little girl on her lap. Amelia woke up and instantly seemed to know she was with her mother. Her tiny arms went up as if reaching for Cassandra.

And Cassandra, of course, couldn't help but smile. "Hey there," She finally took her daughter in her arms, rocking her gently. "My beautiful little girl," She pulled Amelia closer to plant a kiss on her head. "Mommy loves you."