The Non British Princess

Part 36

After sitting with Thomas for a while he said he had work to do, but he left me with Harriet so at least I wasn't alone.
"Harriet."

My friend pulls me into a bone crushing hug, her blonde hair falling over me and her blue eyes comforting.
"I was worried about you, the prince wouldn't tell us what had happened apart from you being in the first aid wing." She said sadly.

My friend looks at me with worried blue eyes, her mouth forming a thin line.
"I'm fine, I just passed out after being in the rain too long. Hypothermia they said." I explain, leaving out the part about what happened in my room, knowing it's not the right time to tell her about it.

Harriet gave me a sympathetic look, "I'm so sorry, that must have been horrible." She gives me another half hug and links her arm in mine.

"Yeah it wasn't the best." I say sadly, admitting that it really wasn't my best time.

"I'm always here, if you ever need me." Harriet offers, giving me a smile as we come around to her room.

"Hey, while we're here I wanted to show you some of the things I've done with my room. Maybe it'll cheer you up." Harriet takes my hand and pulls me to her room, which is 5 doors down from mine.

The layout of the furniture is the same but everything else is different. Her walls are pink and there are wall shelves added. More plants, lots of succulents, sit on every surface with books and decor.
Decorative throw pillows match the pink theme and a fluffy rug lines the floor.

Harriet points to all the posters above her bed and I look to the pictures plastered across the wall, famous singers and magazine clippings.

"Your room is so...decorated." I say, admiring the picture frames with what looks like her family on the small table beside her bed.

"Yeah, well the prince said I could have whatever I wanted done so I got it painted as soon as I arrived." Harriet explained, smiling happily and showing me more of her new decorations.

"That's cool." I say and pick up a wooden figure of an owl, painted white with flecks of silver and gold in the peering glass eyes.

"That's a gift my father sent to the palace for me." Harriet explained, pointing to the bird and I nodded, "Hey, you must be starving, how about we get some lunch?"

I nodded to my friend and she took my hand in hers, leaving the room to the closest place with food.

✿✿✿

After having a good feed for lunch and sitting and chatting with Harriet, Stella, Lola and Yasmin I felt much better.
I was heading back to the rooms with Lola beside me when she took my arm to pull me to a stop.

"Hey, what's in here." Lola gestured with her head to a door that was half open and light was flittering through from it into the hall.
I shrugged because I didn't know. I hadn't explored a lot of the rooms in the palace.

Lola pulls the door open slightly and gives me a view into the room.

It's a large gym area, lots of open space in the middle, with racks of equipment along one side.
I admired the wall with all the weapons, bow and arrows, spears, guns and swords and more things I didn't recognise, all of the highest quality. It must be a training room.

"Ladies."

Lola swung the door further open in shock and blushed at the sight of Prince Archie, smirking over having caught us peeking in.

I stand beside Lola as the prince comes towards us, wearing a pair of black gloves that looked to be made of leather.

"I'm sorry your highness, we weren't trying to intrude." Lola says and curtsies so I fall in behind her.