ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪᴅᴅᴇɴ ᴍᴀɢᴇ 一 ɢᴇʀᴀʟᴛ ᴏꜰ ʀɪᴠɪᴀ

𝕀𝕀𝕀. 𝕒𝕟 𝕦𝕟𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕣𝕖-𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣

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ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ

ᴀɴ ᴜɴᴇxᴘᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ ʀᴇ-ᴇɴᴄᴏᴜɴᴛᴇʀ

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       The setting sun shone through the tall glass windows of the bedroom. The sneaky young woman carefully pushed open those window doors, making sure the coast was clear before carefully jumping through it, her feet landing delicately on her bay window seats. Closing her eyes shut, Eleanora pushed her fingertips gently against the windows before hearing a tiny click, indicating they were firmly locked. The young woman breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, a smile plastered onto her face.

       "Lovely to have you back, Miss Nora." The princess pursed her lips, similar to a duck, once hearing the familiar, yet stern, voice. "I was beginning to wonder where you had run off too...again." She finally turned around to face the kind older woman who stood by the double door entrance, not before sending the helper a charming smile.

       "Faya! I thought you were taking the day off." She squealed in shock. "You know, you should take some time for yourself, enjoy the beautiful weather outside. You work too hard." Faya rolled her eyes at the mischievous girl, but sighed in defeat. Eleanora always knew how to keep her from seeing red, the young woman being her absolute weak spot. Nonetheless, Faya was not having it this time. The cheeky woman carefully slid her bows and arrows behind the bookshelf next to her bay window, shielding them away from prying eyes.

       "Please do not change the subject, Nora." Eleanora groaned loudly, as she walked away from the windows and leaped onto her bed, falling face first. Faya took this time to walk around the messy bedroom, picking up loose articles of clothing scattered all over the floor. "His Majesty has already advised you more than once to avoid the lands beyond."

       "I did stay within boundaries this time," came her muffled response. "I did not go past the King's land." Faya, her arm now occupied with clothing, stood behind Eleanora without her knowledge. The older woman lightly smacked her bum, not amused by Eleanora's lies anymore. The impact caused the princess to glance up before properly sitting cross-legged on her bed, forgetting about her muddy boots that left the brown guck on her beautiful white bedsheets. Faya gave her a stern look, Eleanora returning a sheepish smile. "Oops?" The helper flicked the girl's forehead with her middle finger and thumb, before walking off to finish cleaning the room. "Ow! Alright, alright. I'm sorry." The messy girl scrabbled off her ginormous canopy bed following Faya around, not before taking off her muddy shoes and placing them carefully next to her bedside table. It wouldn't have made a difference since most of Eleanora's carpet had a trail of muddy residue.

       "You cannot keep doing this, your Highness." Hearing the angry lady acknowledge Eleanora by a royal title caused her to look down in shame, her socks now being the most interesting thing in the room. With her back facing the princess and wiping the dust off the top of the dresser, Faya continued on. "His Majesty is very keen on your safety and all you have done is disobey him." A surge of anger shot through Eleanora's body, her hands now clenched into fists.