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

Chapter 37: The meeting

Third person's POV

"Any news?" Carl asked as he and Chandler entered the living room.

"No," Louisa sighed. "Nothing."

It had been nearly two weeks since they had sent their letter to Cassandra. Nearly two weeks since the little princess had been born. Nearly two weeks without any news.

"Why is she ignoring us?" Louisa asked to no one in particular. She looked down. "I thought we were friends, I don't understand."

"She probably needs time," Alden said, even though he was wondering too why Cassandra had been ignoring them. "She'll get back to us."

Then a soldier entered the living room. He walked to Alden and handed him a role.

Alden nodded before taking the role and reading it. He then smiled before looking at Louisa. "The Southern Kingdom has requested a meeting."

Louisa instantly smiled. "We'll see Cassandra?"

"Of course," Alden immediately wrote his reply onto the role before handing it back to the soldier. "Who else?"

"Perfect," Louisa then looked at Carl and Chandler. "We'll tell her to come home then."

Carl smiled. "I hope she'll get back soon, I'd love to see my grandchild."

Louisa smiled sadly as she understood the meaning behind his request. The little princess would be James's only child, of course Carl would want to meet her and be part of her life.

"You'll get to see your grandchild, Carl." Alden said confidently.

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"Where is this meeting going to take place?" Cassandra asked the Crown.

"They're coming here or you're going there," Lord Ernest said. "It's whatever you choose, Your Highness."

Cassandra nodded before glancing at Lord Gregory.

He understood. "We'll have the meeting here, that will be safer for you, Your Highness." Ever since James had died, Lord Gregory had been a rock for her. He was her support, he was her friend. He was amazing. And he would understand what Cassandra needed.

The Crown nodded, seemingly agreeing with Lord Gregory's suggestion.

"Good," Cassandra got up. "Tell them to meet me here this afternoon," She then walked to the door of the council room. "When they arrive, let them in here."

"Of course." Lord Ernest nodded.

Cassandra then left the room and walked back to her own room. She let out a deep breath before walking to the cradle. "Hey there," She smiled at Amelia. "Are you awake?"

Amelia looked at her but didn't do much else, she seemed to be fixated onto her mother.

Cassandra smiled a bit before taking Amelia out of her cradle. She carried Amelia and rocked her softly while walking around her room. "When you're older, we can do much more," She walked to the window of her room and looked outside, to her kingdom. "We can play together, we can talk about anything," She then gulped as the Northern Kingdom was in view. "We can bake a cake together." She looked down then, at Amelia, who had fallen asleep already.

She sighed before walking back to the cradle. She gently placed Amelia in the cradle before going to her bed again. She took her diary and gulped.

---

I love being a mother, it's all I ever wanted, it's all I ever dreamed about. So why doesn't it make me happy? Why can't I be happy?

I miss James, I miss his smile, I miss his loving eyes, I miss his hugs, I miss his scent, I miss everything. And Amelia won't ever know any of that.

Should I tell her anything? Should I really bother her with that? I don't know if I can ever tell her the truth. I don't want her to feel like she doesn't have a family here. I just want her to grow up in a good home.

---

Cassandra sighed before closing her diary and putting it away in her nightstand again. She then laid down in her bed, preparing herself for that very hard meeting later on the day.

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Cassandra walked to the council room. She was trying to calm down. She didn't want to dwell on the past with them, she just wanted to have a meeting like royals do. It was strictly business. For her, at least.

She arrived at the council room. "Are they in there?"

The guard nodded.

Cassandra gulped before entering. When she did, she saw Louisa and Alden again. It had been months since she had last seen them.

She walked to her throne and sat down. On her right side was Lord Gregory, her new advisor.

"Cassandra, we missed you." Louisa smiled, tears of joy in her eyes.

Cassandra looked down, at the document in front of her. She had prepared for this meeting and wasn't going to veer off course. 

"How are you?" Alden asked.

"How is the little princess?" Louisa asked.

Lord Gregory noticed just how concerned and how much the Northern royals cared about Cassandra and little Amelia. He could see they had a very good relationship, yet he knew that was no longer something Cassandra wanted.

"We need to discuss the borders," Cassandra started, reading her document. "The borders alongside Goldcrest and the Middledes Woods need to be tightened." She then looked at them.

Louisa was taken back by Cassandra's distant attitude. It almost seemed as if Cassandra didn't want to be involved with them anymore.

"I thought we would try to loosen the borders so Northerners and Southerners could try to get to know each other," Alden said. He was also shocked by Cassandra's approach. "What happened to extending people's views?"

"Several attacks on my kingdom, coming from the North, urges me to tighten the borders between North and South," She looked at her document again. "I want new laws regarding transport between the two kingdoms."

"Cassandra," Louisa gulped. "What happened? This isn't you."

Cassandra looked at Gregory. He, in return, looked at Louisa and Alden. "Our top priority is keeping the Southern Kingdom safe, we do not want any tension between both kingdoms but borders need to be tightened."

Louisa couldn't seem to listen to anything they were saying. This wasn't the Cassandra she knew, this wasn't her best friend. She looked at Cassandra. "Did you receive our letter?"

Cassandra didn't reply.

Louisa gulped. "We want you to come home," She paused. "Carl and Chandler have been wondering about you and your daughter. Chandler wants to play with his niece and Carl wants to meet his grandchild," She gulped once more. "Come home, Cassandra."

"I am home," She then looked at Gregory. "I don't think they have come here for business, perhaps we should reschedule this meeting."

Lord Gregory nodded even though he knew Louisa and Alden were simply worried. 

Cassandra looked at Louisa and Alden. "We'll reschedule the meeting so you two can really prepare." She then got up and left the council room without looking back at her former best friends.