There was a loud crash as Amelia dropped a heavy platter of trays. She immediately shot down to pick up the dining wear. It was a good thing that there wasn't any food on the trays, because that would have been an absolute mess. Rose sighed, pinching her temple in frustration. "Miss Amelia, must you always be so clumsy?" Amelia bowed her head in shame as she clasped the silver platters in her arms. Rose lifted her chin as she ordered, "again."
Flora sat looking over the back of a sofa, saying nothing. She knew that interrupting would mean hard consequences. Flora only made that mistake once, and then she learned her lesson. Rose had always been straight forward with her, but she was down right authoritarian with Amelia. Rose might as well be a dictator with how much she commanded Amelia around. A small part of Flora was thankful that she was not the target of Rose's intense energy.
There was a small ting as Amelia repositioned the platters on her arms and slowly placed them on the coffee table. She had been training for almost a month now to be a hand maiden for Flora and had moved into her new quarters right next to Rose's. Flora had really admired how determined she was to get everything right, and she seemed to be improving at a quick pace. She was even able to keep her composure around Rose, which quite admittedly was an accomplishment of its own. Rose was not too pleased when she discovered that Flora was promoting Amelia to her new position. In fact, Rose fumed for a week after the decision. In her opinion, Amelia did not have either the standing or the qualifications to become Flora's anything. If it were up to Rose, she wouldn't even have Amelia eat with Flora. It was a good thing for Amelia that Flora didn't care.
Rose squinted her eyes at the place setting that Amelia had just done and said, "I suppose that is acceptable for now. I expect you to have this down by next week." She turned and looked over at Flora. "I will bring your lunch to you shortly." Turning to leave, she shot Amelia one last stern glance.
As the door clicked shut, Amelia let out the tension in her body and relaxed her shoulders. She rubbed a spot on her arm that had been hit by a tray, and lifted her eyes to Flora. "That woman is.... somethin'" Amelia looked about the room, making sure Rose wasn't there. "That is fer sure the crabbiest woman in the country." She shuffled over to sit next to Flora. "Man, you should be glad I like you yer highness."
Flora let out a deep laugh as she responded, "you think this is hard? Try having her raise you." She dramatically looked off into the distance, rubbing her wrists. "I can still feel the switch to this day." The two girls dissolved into giggles. "Besides, Rose takes some time before she... warms up to people. If 'warm' is even the right word for what ever is going on there."
"I could never see Rose being warm to anyone."
"Well, she does have her soft spots, it's just... her personality is a rare flavor." Flora recalled how Rose had sat by her bedside for months, tending to her wounds. She didn't even realize until now how much Rose truly cherished her. "I guess I've grown accustomed to it, but I know she would do anything to help those she loves."
The door swung open as Rose brought in the day's lunch. "Come help me here girl." Amelia sprung up, reaching for the food. "Hurry up now, I don't have all day." The two of them set up the table quickly, Rose interjecting short commands throughout. Rose straightened herself and smoothed her skirts. She flicked her head towards Amelia, expecting her to do the same.
Standing ramrod straight, Amelia recalled from memory. "Is there anythin' else I can get you, yer highness?" Flora shook her head no through a smile. Amelia silently nodded and curtsied. Rose had instructed her to not respond verbally when serving royalty, to Flora's disdain.
"You are dismissed," Rose didn't even look at Amelia as she said this. "Go directly to your room and stay there for today." There was a moment of silence as she waited for Amelia to leave the chambers. When the last door ticked shut, Rose told Flora, "There is some unrest in the castle right now." Her face was serious, but divulged no more information. "You are not to leave your chambers."
Flora frowned, irritated. She was too old to be told what to do by anyone but the king, but... she was slightly afraid of what Rose might do. However, she had gained much more confidence regarding her freedom these past few months. Composing herself as best as she could, she challenged Rose, "For what reason would the princess be restricted to her chambers?"
Rose narrowed her eyes at Flora, figuring out how she wanted to respond. She scrunched up her nose, something she scarcely did. Something seemed to be eating at her. "Today the war was declared over." Flora's eyes widened in surprise and anticipation. Prana was finally at peace again?!? Rose shook her head, responding to Flora's silent question. "Prana lost the war."
It seemed as if time had stopped. How could Prana have lost? Prana wasn't in the best situation, last time Flora checked, but it seemed to be far from over. What was going to happen to Prana? What kind of losses was the country going to take? Her mind was reeling before it hit her right in the face. For weeks she had been going about her life normally, reading books and chatting with Amelia. While Flora was living peacefully her at the castle, her country was bleeding. For all Flora knew, she could have been laughing her heart out as Mistis drew the final blow. All of the sudden, Flora felt sick to her stomach. How could she be so selfish?
"Flora?" Rose snapped Flora out of her tailspin. "It's going to be all right." She eyed her intently, not blinking. "This is not really something that you should be worrying about."
"But..." Flora hung her head in shame, staring down at her folded hands, "I am the princess of this country. My family is responsible."
Rose let out an annoyed huff. "It is not your responsibility, nor is it your right, to get involved in matters of the state, especially war." Rose was more peeved than when she was teaching Amelia her tasks. "You should leave it be if you know what is good for you." She cleaned up the dishes from the untouched lunch, leaving a small plate of biscuits and jam, probably knowing Flora had lost her apatite. "There should be news out in the coming days. Stay here where you will not get in the way."
Rose didn't say it, but Flora knew what she wanted to say: you have nothing to offer, so don't bother. The sad part was that she knew Rose was right. It wasn't at all her place to worry about the war. She loved her country, but nothing she could have done would have changed the outcome. She slammed her fist on the table, not even noticing that Rose was gone. Tears slid down her cheek as the frustration intensified inside of her. If only she had practiced more, maybe she could have used her abilities to change the outcome of the war. Flora really was useless, some princess she was.
The dining room walls were closing in, suffocating her. She needed to get out of here. She bolted up out of the chair and made her way into the open hallway. Flinging open a window, she gulped in deep breaths of air. As she calmed down, she rested her cheek on the cool stone sill. Her first reaction, even after everything that had happened this year, was to talk to Felix. She just missed him so damn much. Even more, he must be in a state of turmoil with no one to turn to.
Gathering up her skirts, Flora resigned to find Felix to make sure he was alright. She may not be good at many things, but she was always able to be source of comfort for Felix. Flora padded down the hallways of the castle trying to catch a glimpse of him to no avail. In truth, she had no idea where Felix would even be in a situation like this. Hopefully not with the king.
As Flora turned around another corner, she almost collided with a barrel-chested guard. She put up her hands to stop the collision, sputtering, "Oh my gods, I am so sorry, forgive me." The guard didn't respond as Flora made to walk around him. Before she could pass, the guard snatched her arm, yanking her towards him. "EXCUSE ME!" Flora screamed in a blind panic. "UNHAND ME AT ONCE!" The guard only gripped her arm harder in response. His finger nails dug into her skin, the pressure mounting. "YOU ARE HURTING ME! STOP RIGHT NOW!"
The guard gave her a snide smile as he forced her arm into an awkward position. "Ya'll walk around here without a care in the world," he drawled. Flora just stared at him stunned. "Without a care in the world." She tried to unsuccessfully wriggle her way out of his grasp, causing him to chuckle. "Do you even know what everyone else in this country gives to let you live your life like this?"
Flora tried to figure a way out of this situation. "You do know there will be consequences for your actions."
The guard ignored her as he continued, "all these pretty little things." He ran his fingers along one of the ribbons down her side. Flora went still as death at his touch. "My older brother was the best soldier this country had ever seen." Flora didn't understand where the guard was going with this as he trailed his finger down. "He was nobler and more loyal than any stiffs walking aroun' here." He gestured his head around in a circle, and continued, seemingly oblivious to Flora's discomfort. "And what did that get 'im?" He jerked Flora's arm towards him, so now there was only a foot between them. "Thrown into a pit for the crows to peck out 'is eyes."
Flora could have gagged on the imagery. This man's brother had died fighting in the war, and now he wanted to take it out on any poor soul walking by. Flora desperately scanned the hallway for someone else, but there was only emptiness. Maybe she could deescalate the situation. "I'm... I'm sure your brother fought honorably..." she stuttered trying to find the right words. "Prana shall commend his great bravery and sacrifice."
"HA!" the guard slammed Flora's back against the wall. The laugh that he let out was more disturbing than anything Flora had ever heard, insane almost. "Prana doesn' give a rat's ass about who died in this war." He shoved his face towards hers, his warm breath heating her nose. This close, she could tell he reeked of alcohol. "This whole damn war was because of the Premoni greed." His volume began to escalate as he continued, "Prana didn' need to go to war! If it wasn't for your shitty family all of this would have never happened! MY BROTHER WOULDN' BE DEAD!"
She again tried to unsuccessfully shake off his grip. She let out a soft whimper, "please... let me go." He pressed her body up against the wall, causing her to gasp for air. She managed to grind out, "please..."
"Ha, it's nice to see you squirm." He breathed down Flora's neck as she stretched her face away from him. She was cemented against the wall. "Girls like you are only good for one thing..." He lifted his other hand to stroke her hair before he froze in place, looking down at his abdomen. Suddenly, he released Flora and stumbled sideways, clutching his side.
As the guard swayed to the side, he revealed behind him a lanky woman dressed in servants clothes. Flora stood there paralyzed in fear as she glanced down, noticing the blood on the servants fingers. She had stabbed him with a kitchen knife. As the man righted himself, she mouthed, "run, miss", and she was gone before Flora could realize.
Flora took no time racing away from the scene. She didn't even care where she was going, as long as it was far away from there. Her body instinctively led her through the halls, not letting her stop to breathe. Before she knew it, she was again in a more familiar part of the castle; she was by Felix's chambers. Flora darted towards his sitting room, barreling through the door. She didn't even look as she slammed through the bedroom door and quickly turned the lock.