There was a string of soft knocks on the door. Flora threw off the covers, knowing exactly who it was. Well, to be fair, the only people that ever visited Flora in the castle were Rose, Felix, and the occasional servant. She always knew when Amelia was at her door. Even after over a month of chatting with her, Amelia was still nervous visiting Flora. This, Flora didn't understand. In her mind, she was quite generous, and she always tried her best to make Amelia feel at ease.
After getting called in, Amelia hesitantly opened the door peaking in. Upon seeing Flora in her night gown, she ducked behind the door. "I'm so sorry yer highness!" Flora smiled at how easily flustered she got. "I didn' realize you weren't dressed!"
Flora waltzed right over to the door and swung it wide open, revealing Amelia's small frame. She gave her a broad smile as she extended her hand to Amelia. "Amelia, by now you should know that I don't care if you see me dressed 'improperly'." Flora grabbed her by the arm and led her into the suite. "Besides, I'm glad you're here." She exhaled solemnly as she sat down in her favorite chair, Amelia taking up her usual spot as well.
"What's wrong yer highness?" Amelia watched Flora's expression with sudden interest.
"Well..." Flora folded her arms as she started, "as you know, yesterday was my birthday." Amelia nodded an acknowledgement. "Well... Felix didn't come yesterday." She looked down at her hands folded in her lap. "It's just... he has never missed something like this before. Even when he was training abroad, he made the trek all the way back to Prana to see me." Flora looked at Amelia, tears stinging her eyes. She didn't even realize that she was this upset over her birthday before she started talking.
Amelia looked down as she said, "well... his highness does have a lot ta worry about with the war an everthin'"
It was like the flood gates opened up and she began spewing words. "I... I know, but it just felt so... so WRONG. Felix and I... we've had this special bond for as long as I can remember. When everyone else became afraid of me, he was the one who stayed by my side, and now it just feels so weird to not have him with me. It's almost been a whole year and I haven't even heard a single thing from him, not a word, not a note, nothing. It's like we aren't even siblings anymore and..." Flora sucked in a deep breath. She had a lot to get off her chest. "Like, I know that there is a war going on, and it is so stinking selfish that I am even upset about this. There are way less worse things than this, but it seems like Felix has changed, he..." Flora stopped herself before she divulged too much information to Amelia. She didn't need to know. "I'm sorry, I guess I got a little carried away right there. I guess this may seem petty to someone other than me..."
"No yer highness!" Amelia interjected. A shocked look spread across her face as she realized her boldness. She cleared her throat nervously before continuing, "I'm sorry yer highness, I just... I just don' know what came over me just there." She shifted in her seat. "What I meant ta say is that you're always puttin' yerself down... just 'cause yer problems aren't as bad as other people's, doesn't make them unimportant."
She looked at Flora with such gentle eyes, eyes that made Flora feel like she wasn't completely alone. Amelia had such a kind soul, and Flora seemed to have latched on to it as quickly as possible. For a moment she felt guilty taking so much of her time when she must have a lot of work to do. "I'm sorry Amelia, I'm sure you must get back to your duties."
"Well... yer highness, I came here to talk to you... ya know since it was yer birthday an' all yesterday." It felt like there was more that Amelia wanted to say, but was keeping quiet about it. "I couldn' come over yesterday... on account of me being so busy, so I felt bad not wishin' ya a happy birthday an' all."
"Ha," Flora let out a short laugh through her tears. "Look at us both. We are both feeling guilty about things that we cannot change." Flora got up and sat next to Amelia on the sofa, clasping her hands lightly. "You don't have to feel bad about anything. If you are busy, I don't want to keep you." Amelia seemed to recoil a bit from these words. Narrowing her eyes, Flora spoke in a firm voice, "Amelia, is something the matter?" Amelia startled back a bit, not answering the question. "Amelia," Flora was more stern this time, "you can tell me when something is wrong." Still no reply. "I promise you won't get in trouble."
"That's not it yer highness..." Amelia said weakly.
Flora tried to figure out what was stopping Amelia from talking to her. Maybe she was afraid of the repercussions of saying something that she did wrong? Or maybe she was afraid of other people's perception of her? No, that wasn't it. Amelia rarely thought of herself first in most situations. "Amelia... are you afraid that someone else might get in trouble?" The look in her eyes answered the question immediately. "Ah... well how about this? If you tell me what is troubling you, I will not have those other people involved punished." Flora thought she had solved the problem, but apparently Amelia was still unsure. "I promise I won't tell anyone Amelia."
Amelia looked up at Flora with big eyes. A few of her curly locks had fallen in her face. She softly brushed them off to the side as she asked, "you promise?" After a nod from Flora she started, "Uh... well... so what the problem is..."
"It's alright, take your time," Flora reassured her.
"O.K. so ya know how I have been havin' these lunches with yer highness?" Flora nodded in response. "And ya know how some people are... um... afraid of ya?" Again Flora nodded. "Well... so these meals haven't made me too... popular."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, ya see, not tot many people are too keen on me anymore." Amelia began to pick at a loose thread on the arm of the sofa. "I've always had trouble makin' friends an' all, but now that word is out that I talk to you... well... no one wants anythin' to do wit me." She loosed a deep breath that she had obviously been holding in. "Even the people that useta be my friends won' even look in my direction. It's like I'm invisible."
Oh... Flora hadn't even thought about how Amelia spending time with her would effect her relationships elsewhere. She hadn't even realized that people would shun someone connected to her. Flora's never had a friend like this before, so she's never had this problem before. Wait... no excuses, she need to think of a solution, for Amelia's sake. "Alright... do you have any idea how to resolve this?"
Amelia shook her head slowly. "It's not that I want to stop talkin' to yer highness or anything..."
"And if you stopped, it probably wouldn't change your image."
Amelia nodded in agreement. "I don't think there is anything I CAN do." She dropped a stray thread onto the carpet as she continued, "It's just hard, ya know? I just feel bad 'bout the whole situation an' all."
"Well," Flora wasn't going to let Amelia feel bad on her account, "It's not your fault that they are afraid of me. I should have taken that into consideration before I even invited you to dine with me." Amelia shook her head in defeat, putting her head into her lap. "Well, we can't do anything about what has already happened, but we can try to work towards a solution for the future." Amelia didn't look up as she sighed deeply again. "Alright, Amelia, let me think for a bit. I'll get Rose to get us some breakfast. Don't go anywhere just yet."
* * *
The two ladies sat in silence as they munched on sandwich slices, pondering the situation. Amelia had insisted that she was doing fine, but Flora knew that the past few weeks were wearing on her. Flora was used to being ostracized and made a monster, it was still difficult, but she had lived this her whole life. Amelia, however, had her kindness taken and warped into something disgusting. No one could live like this.
Just as Amelia was about to rise out of the sofa, Flora had a spark of an idea. She threw out her arms in an exasperated motion before saying, "Wait! I have an idea!" Amelia looked at her like she was thankful for trying, but she was sure nothing could be done. "No, I actually have something that might work, and it would make things SO much better for you." She looked at Amelia expectantly, giddy for her response.
Again, Amelia seemed unsure that anything could be changed, but she responded, "O.K. yer highness. What is this idea of yours?"
Flora scooted herself to the edge of the chair as she flashed a smile. "Alright, Amelia, I have no idea why I didn't think of this sooner." She flattened out her skirt and straightened her back to a prim posture. "I would like you to become one of my hand maidens." She stared at Amelia in anticipation.
Amelia jolted back in surprise waving her hands in front of her. "Yer highness! I couldn' possibly do something like that! I'm WAY underqualified for that!" She shook her head confusion. "I'm literally just a cleaning servant."
"So?"
Amelia tried to reason with Flora. "So I couldn't take up such an important duty for yer highness!" She looked around the room, unsuccessfully finding someone to back her up. "I mean... I'm O.K. where I am. You don' need to do anything for me."
"Being treated like trash is not 'O.K.'" Flora used air quotes as she said this. "I will not let my friend be treated like this, so I've decided that you will be one of my new hand maidens."
Amelia sputtered, "But... but yer highness, I'm just a peasant. I don' have anything to offer you."
Flora shot her a wicked side eye as she said, "you have plenty to offer, stop short selling yourself." She poured herself another cup of tea, loading it with a generous amount of sugar. Flora took a long sip before she continued, "While it is true that royal attendants are usually nobles, I have never been one for tradition." She shot Amelia a wicked grin. "Just look at Rose, her family is of somewhat high standing, but she would never in a million years have been picked to wait on any other princess. She might as well be a commoner just like you."
"Well... yer highness," Amelia was folding her hands in her lap, obviously distraught.
"Are you worried it will make the situation worse?"
Amelia avoided her eyes. "That's not it, yer highness."
Maybe Amelia just didn't have enough confidence in herself to accept the offer. How could Flora convince her? Did she really need to convince her anyway? She was the princess after all. "Amelia, if you are not worried about the ramifications of being one of my maidens, then I say you are qualified." Flora folded her arms and stuck her nose in the air. "Are you questioning my judgement?"
"No!" Amelia's eyes widened as she shot out of the sofa. "I would never!"
"Then it's decided." Flora had made up her mind, and it wasn't going to change anytime soon. She gripped her chin in thought as she continued, "so you are fifteen?"
"Almost."
"Alright, and you have been working at the castle for how long now?"
"Almost six years yer highness."
This surprised Flora, causing her to blink. "Wait... you have been working since you were nine?"
"At the castle, yes." Amelia diverted her eyes in embarrassment.
What? Why would a child need to work so much? "But... Amelia, where were your parents? Shouldn't they have been taking care of you?" Flora was having trouble wrapping her head around the idea.
Amelia seemed to shrink back even further into herself. "I started working at the castle when my parents passed away." Her gaze was frozen onto the carpet.
Oh... Flora needed to change the subject. This wasn't being helpful. "Well Amelia, I think that I will be able to get you working in this position by the end of the week. I'll make sure that you receive a raise in wages, and have better accommodations. There should be an empty room by Rose's, considering most princesses had multiple maidens." Amelia looked at her, clearly at a loss for words. "Then it is decided." Flora pushed herself up off of the chair. "I'll notify Rose, so that she can get you the proper training." Amelia was still tongue-tied as Flora led her out of the room. "I'll make sure that things get better Amelia. Hang in there before we get everything sorted out." The door gently closed behind Amelia as Flora went to throw on a slip. Flora was sure this could work. Who was going to tell her no?