It's been a couple of days since we arrived to Rayanna castle. Nothing has really happened but out of any of us she's probably the best one to make a guess.
" Hey Xander," Lillian says from behind me. We have actually become good friends but there's nothing else there she seems to be into Colin who I have also made good friends with. Rayanna all though she doesn't talk about a lot most of the people here now know why.
The first night we had dinner her mother was drunk when we all finessed dinner I saw he slip out. Watching her sit in silence throwing a glance at her mother every once in awhile, probably to keep her it check, made me feel bad what could have happened to make her that way. After she left her mother was nonstop talking, I think most of us where blocking it out except Jessie who was asking her questions. I don't even know how they got on the subject of her father, but suddenly everyone was interested in what she had to say.
" Rayanna's father. He was a great man he took care of her when I couldn't, they were pretty much tied together."
"Her father," Lillian asked " is he really, you know..?"
" Is he really dead. Well where do you think he is? I was devised when it happened. I guess she still hasn't forgiven me."
I join the conversation, I think that Lillian was one of the only people who knew that. Witch is why she probably knew how to talk to her when they met, and believe me the way they talked was like they had meet each other before. The only reason I could think that she could know something like that is because she is already queen or hear about it through people, her country isn't even that far away from here.
"What hasn't she forgiven you for?" I ask.
She took a seat and started talking about their family.
"This castle didn't used to exist not even this country used to look like this. When I was you age my parents planned an arranged marriage with the country next to mine. When we got married this country was born and the construction of this castle was started. The second year of us living in the castle we found out that I was pregnant with Rayanna, but I loved working on things and our newly formed country already needed me to look out for it, so Christopher, my husband, told me to focus on the kingdom because all he really wanted in life was a family. I can still remember how happy she used to be, after he passed I've never seen her that happy or even laugh for that reason."
" It must have been hard on her," Lillian sayed sadly.
"Yes. I can still hear them in my mind He used to call her little foul, he taught her one on his family traditions of horseback riding, and before he dyed bought her a yearling, I'm of track I'll continue. Anyway he raised here and one day some of the other country's started a war, and together we decided to make an alliance with country's who weren't part of the war to protect their land. That's when Christopher sayed that he would go and talk with them and arrange it. He left. A couple of days later he returned and felt sick he placed himself in a room and the doctor came to see him. The doctor told my that not only was the disease he picked up in that country have no cure, but it was contagious. I used to be able to hear him cough. Not being able to hold him before he died, and say a proper goodbye to her dad really scared her. I blamed myself for years, If only I had gone, what would have happened if I did?, you know. I didn't feel like talking for a long time when I finally got over it I turned around and she was already grown up."
"What," Lillian cleriflys ", so your telling use that you left her to deal with the death of her father by herself."
"I used to try and have her make friends but she was never interested." The queen ancered.
Know I know why she doesn't trust her mother with things like the kingdom. I can see from her mothers prospect but she really fucked up and that kind is unfixable.
"Heyyyy, Xander are you sleeping with your eyes open."
"Huh, oh, sorry I was just thinking about the story the queen told us."
"Yay it was deeply sad, I remember my parents talking about it, I was probably about 6 or 7."
She hops over the back of the couch and bounce on the plush, gray cushions of the couch.
"I wanted to a ask you something Xander."
"Go ahead"
"Wellll, I was sitting out on my balcony every night and I swear I heard someone walking around."
"Actually now that you say that, I kept hearing footsteps really late in the halls."
"Do you know what."
"What Lillian"
"I think this requires a steak out."
Later that night Lillian arrives at my room and we sit and talk about random stuff. Until I hear light footsteps. I look at her putting my finder over my mouth when the footsteps pass a little we go out and follow them at a safe distance left then right out the thief door. And out in the distance there she stands, Rayanna brushing a tall dappled gray stallion.
"Xander,"Lillian whispers to me", do you think that's the horse her mother was talking about."
"I'm going to go out on a whim and guess yes."
" come on lefts hide."
We sit behind a bush well shaded by the night. The stars and moon shine. She walks around the arena then trots sometimes turning in circles. She then galloped around the ring jumping over large jumps almost silently. The horse was fast, careful, and quiet. After a couple of minutes she jumped over the area fence running off into the distant cherry blossom grove.