Upon returning to her room, Flora was promptly chewed out by Rose for sneaking off without telling her. If Flora was being honest, she was too tired to care much. When Rose finally noticed that she was drifting off, she served Flora some food and sent her off to bed.
After a few days of resting in her room, the court physician came up to examine her current state. He decided that if she were to take periodic breaks, and not push herself too far, Flora could go to the library and take short walks, granted her health stayed good. Rose, after stewing for a while, decided that she couldn't stop Flora from walking about.
This new found freedom was something that Flora had never experienced before. She usually needed a chaperone to lead her about the castle, but she was almost seventeen and was tired of being limited. No one but Rose really seemed to care what Flora did.
While researching in the library, Flora was able to get a direction in which to go with her training. The number one suggestion in the books was to get a mentor to teach her how to use her spiritual abilities, but considering her position in the castle and the rarity of her ability, this was not an option. The second most suggested method, was to meditate and try to connect with whatever your ability was linked to. While this was probably the most likely practice to yield results, Flora had no idea what exactly to connect to.
For the next following weeks, Flora spent a large portion of her time meditating in her bedroom, if you could call what she was doing meditating. It was mostly just her sitting in silence accomplishing nothing. She knew it would take time and practice, but it was frustrating to not get any results.
Flora was sitting on her bed when there was a crisp knock alerting her that Rose was there. She called her in, expecting a tray of food, as it was almost noon, but instead of lunch, a small servant girl hid behind her. Flora raised her eyebrows in question as she looked at the nervous girl.
Rose spoke curtly, "this girl here was hanging about your chambers." Flora was even more perplexed. Was this on a dare? Rose continued rather annoyed, "she said that she was trying to see if you were alright."
Flora looked at the girl as she pondered her angle. Why would some random servant care about her well being? It's not like Flora was popular with anyone, in fact quite the opposite. The girl had dark, sun-kissed skin and deep, chocolate brown hair pulled underneath her bonnet. Even with her hair covered, some tight ringlets escaped near her ears, framing her round face. Flora spoke, breaking the silence, "Please state your business here, I would like to hear it from you." She shifted her legs off the edge of her bed.
The girl curtsied deeply while staring at one spot on the floor. She seemed even shorter than before as she righted herself. Still looking down, she murmured, almost too quiet to make out, "I was worried about your highness, so I wanted to check in with you."
"Why the hell would you care about me?" It came out much sharper than Flora had intended, causing the servant to flinch.
The girl stammered as she tried to piece together her words, "uh... uh... ya see yer highness, I... I was here when... when you were injured, and... and it just looked so bad, so I was really worried that you hadn't..." The girl shivered as she spoke, "I was worried that ya hadn't recovered, because no one has seen ya in a while."
Flora considered her words as she stared down the girl. She turned to Rose and asked, "Is this true Rose?"
Rose scratched her head in thought. "It was months ago, so I can't be sure, but I think she is speaking the truth. I don't know what she would have to gain from lying."
Flora jumped off the bed as she said, "Well I am fine girl, are you satisfied?" The girl didn't speak as she nodded her reply. For some reason, Flora got a good vibe off of her. If she truly was here after her incident with the king, she must be really brave. One, because she obviously knew the rumors about Flora, and two, because she was risking getting involved with problems way above her. She didn't know for sure, but Flora felt that the girl had a kind heart. Maybe Flora would reward the girl.
Flora motioned to Rose, "Rose, please get us some lunch, I would like to have a chat with this girl here." The servant's face instantly paled as Rose turned to leave. Flora didn't want her to be afraid, so she assured her, "There is no need to panic. I am only wishing to reward you for your kind behavior." The girl seemed uncomfortable as Flora lead her to her sitting area, gesturing for her to take a seat across the table. "What is your name girl?"
"Amelia," she said while twirling her fingers anxiously. Amelia was looking down at the hem of her brown skirt.
Flora stroked the arm of her chair. "That is a beautiful name." She looked at her as she continued, "I quite like it actually." They both sat there in awkward silence before Rose came in and set down a platter filled with sandwiches and tea. Rose poured them both a cup and then left without a word.
Flora waved toward the food as she said, "help yourself." Amelia didn't move as Flora grabbed a sandwich and started eating. "You know, Amelia, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable." Amelia tensed at this. "You are free to leave at any time." Sighing, Flora told her, "I'm sorry, I'm not very good at talking with people."
Amelia snapped her head up at this. "There's... there's no need to apologize yer highness. It's just that I'm not sure how ta act properly."
Chuckling, Flora took a sip of her tea, "that would make two of us Amelia." Amelia gave her a forced smile as Flora sat down her cup. This was almost painful. How was she supposed to talk to normal people? What would set her at ease? "You know Amelia," Flora paused as she considered her words. "I can't actually curse people." Amelia froze as Flora said this. "It's just a rumor." Neither of them moved as the air around them stilled. "I'm sorry, this is too much for you. I didn't mean to frighten you." Flora felt absolutely defeated as she prepared for Amelia to leave.
"Yer highness, I didn't mean ta disrespect ya in any way. It's just..." Amelia muttered. "It's just that ya are the princess, and I'm just a servant and I don't think I belong here and..."
Flora cut her off, "it's alright, I was the one who invited you in." She set down the rest of her sandwich looking at Amelia. "I understand that me telling you not to worry isn't enough to dispel any fear from what you have heard."
"That's not... yer highness," Amelia stuttered. "It's just that I didn't want ta impose on yer highness." For the first time in their entire conversation, their eyes met. Her eyes were a rich chestnut brown.
"You have beautiful eyes," Flora spoke before thinking, but didn't regret it.
Amelia was taken aback by this compliment as she tried to deflect, "why... why thank you yer highness, but they are really just the color of mud."
"Pshhh, " Flora waved away the comment. "Did you know that there are brown gemstones Amelia?" She shook her head no. "There are quite a lot actually. Some are common, some are rare, but I still think that they are all beautiful nonetheless." Amelia looked at her speechless. "Brown is the color of the earth, so I think that they are special even so." Flora smirked at her. "Plus, my eyes are mostly brown as well."
Amelia flailed her hands forward in a panic, "I didn't mean ta insult yer highness!" Flora chuckled at this, she was so cute. "Besides, yer eyes are a pretty hazel color, unlike mine."
"There is no reason to worry Amelia, you did not offend me." Flora tugged at a loose thread coming out of the chair. "It takes a lot more than that to offend me." She took another sip of tea, noticing that Amelia hadn't touched anything. "I've read in books before of this stone called amber, have you heard of it Amelia?"
"I can't say that I have, yer highness."
"Well, I haven't actually seen any, but I've read that it is the most brilliant gold color, that just shines when the light hits it." Flora clasped her hands, imagining it wistfully. "Well, it is made from tree sap that has been hardened for thousands of years."
"Sap?" Amelia asked somewhat curiously.
"Yes," Flora's face brightened as she continued, "Like pine trees. Isn't that so bizarre? A few thousand years and something like tree sap can be turned into the most beautiful of stones. I always tell Felix he should get me an amber stone, but he hasn't yet." Flora pouted for a moment, before she noticed Amelia taking a hesitant sip of tea, causing Flora's excitement to grow. "You see, I like to think that Amber is the color that brown eyes are when the light hits them just so." She angled her hands in front of her face. "I think that is just so romantic, don't you think?"
"I never thought of it that way, yer highness." Amelia spoke quietly, but less anxious this time.
"I think that there is just so much beauty in the world that humans take for granted." Flora was practically rambling at this point. "It is much more entertaining to picture life that way."
Amelia shyly responded, "I like that, yer highness."
Flora separated from herself, noticing the time. "My goodness, I didn't realize we had been here for so long." She frowned, looking down at Amelia's uneaten sandwich. "I don't want to keep you from your duties or get you in trouble." She took a handkerchief and wrapped up the food. "Please take this with you so you don't get hungry. Rose makes the best sandwiches." They both stood up as Flora shoved the wrap into Amelia's hands. "If you would be alright with it," Flora asked timidly, "I would like to have lunch with you again." She looked slowly over to Amelia for a response.
Amelia bowed her head as she replied, "yes yer highness."
Flora beamed. "If your supervisor gives you any trouble, tell her you are doing important business for the princess." Amelia curtsied and stood stiffly for a moment, before Flora realized she was waiting to be dismissed. "Oh, you are free to leave Amelia."
Amelia said her goodbyes and quickly left the room. Flora didn't know why, but she was in a good mood today. She had never talked to anyone her age before outside of the ball last year, and it made her fell... better. Maybe things were going to get better.