A Christmas Prince

v. disappointed

V.

The palace kitchen was a chef's playground. With granite counter tops and the very best kitchen appliances in the market, any chef could make magic happen. The kitchen was also decorated for the holidays. Stickers decorated the cabinets and tinsel hung from various places. Arya could've also sworn she saw a mistletoe going towards the storage room.

"Well, I hope you brought your sweet tooth, because we're making a lot of cookies!" Arya said grinning.

Emily was putting in the last finishing touches of sprinkles before she placed the last cookie on the baking sheet. Emily had also made the order to not be disturbed by the palace staff while Arya asked her questions concerning Richard; in which Arya didn't hesitate to do.

"So, what's up with your brother and Baroness Sophia?"

"Mm, he used to love her, a long time ago, and now that she's back I feel as if she will try to reel him back in." Emily explained.

"Were they serious?"

"Richard was, I think she was too at first, but when the publicity came of being the girlfriend of the heir to the Aldovian throne, it went over her head..."

"How so? She's part of the nobility, a baroness."

"A baroness that had the chance to be the future queen of Aldovia?

"Are you implying that she's sort of a social climber?"

"Maybe, after their break up she couldn't let it go, and when it hit the tabloids, she felt humiliated that maybe she had the chance of becoming engaged to Richard, but lost it."

"I see... well Simon's into her."

"Simon..." Emily sighed disappointedly, "Simon's wanted everything Richard had since they were young... he became envious, and he was never like that..."

"I assume that's why they have this tension every time they are together?"

"Yes, because Simon wishes he could be the heir, but he's not. Being the heir is nothing spectacular, it's a duty."

"A duty that your brother doesn't seem to want..."

"He's scared, he has lots of regrets since father died, and he's too hard on himself, but I know my brother, I know he's a leader, my mother sees it also, it's just..." Emily's eyes started to get glossy and she started to sniff.

"Hey, hey, I'm sorry," Arya put her arm around the young princess for comfort.

"How...how did you overcome the loss of your parents?"

Arya sighed deeply, wishing her next words would provide comfort to Emily, sadly they did not.

"I haven't... the pain is still there, you just learn to deal with, eventually it'll become a dull poke."

"So how did you cope?"

"I had my brother and his girlfriend, Alanis, but my own coping mechanisms took a very dark turn in my life that I'm still recovering from..."

To Emily, Arya looked perfectly healthy. Arya had an aura about her that commanded respect mixed with elegance. She was quite surprised that from whatever Arya was still recovering from, it didn't reflect her outward persona. Emily was hesitant, but reading the energy in the room, she decided to ask.

"Is it okay if I ask what it is?"

Anyone in their right mind would probably think that Arya sharing her deepest regrets to somebody she hardly knew, would be a mistake. That thought did cross her mind, but she quickly dismissed it, having already shared her experience on her blog. If it was already out in the internet for the world to see, there was no harm in telling Emily.