Scarred Roses

Chapter 14 - The Littlest Knight

  Katerina searched the halls, remembering many details from her childhood. She turned toward the parlour that was adjoined to the library. She walked around slowly, surveying the tall bookshelves through the open doors leading to the library, the tall mirror above the large cobblestone fireplace and the dulled brown and green carpet that stretched out over most of the room. The room was quiet besides the barely audible ticking of the small clock on the mantlepiece and small sobbing and sniffling coming from a corner of the room.

Katerina walked carefully around the grand winged armchair and saw the little girl sitting, curled up in a ball, in the corner of the room beside a set of drawers. She hid her face behind her knees, her black curls cascading over her arms, legs and back, almost completely hiding her head from view. Katerina noticed the girl's shoes had been chucked away from her, one shoe on the other side of the room and the other sitting only a few feet from her, leaving her little feet clad only in thick black stockings.

Julia Knight, the youngest of the bunch, Katerina remembered, had a temper, was a passionate sort. At least that's what the historical accounts had shown. Katerina decided she needed to tread carefully and wait for Julia to tell her what was wrong instead of assuming anything.

Julia sniffled hard and tightened her arms around her legs.

Katerina took a deep breath, took her shawl off her shoulders, draped it over the winged chair and tried to speak up in a gentle tone, "Hello there."

Julia's little head shot up, revealing wide, startled eyes, her face red from crying. She looked Katerina up and down, but she kept silent.

Katerina smiled softly and asked, "Is this seat taken?" She indicated to the bit of empty space on the floor near Julia.

Julia sniffled hard again and shook her head, her bouncy curls swinging around her head with the quick motion. Katerina slowly moved to the spot, fixing her skirt as she knelt and then sat down, leaning back against the wall. She was quiet for a long moment, calmly observing their surroundings. "The world looks so big from down here," she commented quietly.

Julia watched her, confused by the odd comment. Although it wasn't exactly odd, because that was how she saw the world, so big and scary. Julia did not reply though.

Then Katerina went on to say, "I attended my father's funeral.... I guess, it would be a few days ago now. I didn't like him either. He wasn't a good or nice man."

Julia took in the information and relaxed a little, her grip around her legs loosening. She wiped her wet cheeks with the back of her hand.

Katerina glanced at her and smiled softly again, then looked at the slowly dying flowers sitting on a small round table on the other side of the room. "It's not very nice having someone around who should be looking after you, but they don't," she continued.

"Lorraine said that we were just dolls to her." Julia looked up at her with big, round, sad eyes, letting her legs stretch out a little more in front of her. "What did she mean?"

Katerina caught her curious gaze and answered, "Well, you know how you play with your dolls? Dressing them up and always just making them do things? I guess it's like that. She played with you, used you, dressed you up, but never actually took care of you."

"I love my dolls," Julia replied quietly, looking down at her hands.

"That's good," Katerina acknowledged in a more pleasant tone. "That means you are not like your mother. Just always make sure that your dolls know that they are loved, ok? That way they will never feel sad."