Surprisingly, Felix didn't push back on the idea, and didn't hesitate to awarded Amelia's brothers with a scholarship to the royal academy. Well, Flora thought, it was the least he could do given the circumstance. The boys were to move into the dormitory within the week and start their classes. Flora was quite pleased with how the whole thing had turned out. She believed that Amelia deserved a much needed break.
When they had finally received the news of the sponsorship, the two girls jumped and screamed for joy. Amelia was beside herself with joy; she couldn't stop herself from crying. Flora told her, "I hope that this lifts a weight off of your shoulders, and I want you to know that this shouldn't influence your decision to stay or leave Prana." Flora had already been selfish once. She should have never expected Amelia to follow her everywhere without question. "Prana is very lucky to have such bright minds within its borders."
Amelia clasped Flora tightly about the waist, her tears soaking into Flora's dress. "I can't thank ya enough yer highness!" She hugged Flora even tighter. "Ya don' even know what this means ta me." Flora patted her head in response. Amelia pushed off of Flora, a determined glean in her eyes. "I WILL be coming with ya ta Leosta yer highness."
"Amelia, you know you don't have to." Amelia shook her head vigorously. "I didn't do this to get anything out of you. I... I just wanted to help out a friend."
Amelia stared at Flora as if she could burn her gaze right into her forehead. "No yer highness, I've decided I'm goin' with ya. Ya helped me out when I needed it. Now I'm not gonna let ya go travel all that way alone." She nodded her head curtly as if it was final. "Ya are gonna need someone with ya, an' since Rose can't go, I will." Flora smiled broadly and the two girls embraced, Amelia still crying into Flora's shoulder.
When they finally pulled away, Flora said, "alright then, we better get a move on, because there isn't much time until we leave." Oh gods. Flora didn't even have two weeks before the convoy was set to leave Prana for Leosta. Flora shook her head. She would think about that later.
At this point in time, Rose was still set on traveling to Leosta with Flora, but Flora knew that it wouldn't take much more to convince her to stay. The doctor had her taking treatments for her lungs at least once a day, sometimes more. She barely had time to help Flora prepare, let alone herself as well. Rose just didn't want to accept that she was unfit to be Flora's handmaiden anymore, and Flora didn't want to push the subject too much more.
While Flora was grateful to Felix for allowing Amelia's brothers to study at the academy, she wasn't too keen on chatting with him at the moment. She was still trying to sort through the last few weeks. So much had happened, and when it came down to it, Flora was devastated. What kind of brother forces their sister out of her home? Even worse, Flora knew that if she failed, Felix would never go back on his word. She was damned if she did and damned if she didn't.
* * *
The day finally came for the party to depart from Prana. The air stood still as Flora waited for the carriage to come out front of the castle, the sun not fully risen. Both her and Amelia were bundled tightly with furs wrapped around their necks, trapping the warmth into themselves. They were both dressed in thick dresses with wool stockings shoved into fur-lined traveling boots. The weather had gotten a bit warmer, but the chill of winter still hung about the air.
Flora turned to see Rose standing right outside of the main doors to the castle. Flora scrunched her face in displeasure as she trotted up to her. "Rose, you shouldn't be outside like this. You'll catch your death."
A grunt came out of Rose's throat as she snorted, "you leave the nest, and now you think you can boss me about?" She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I'll be damned if I don't see you off." Rose paused for a moment, tracing her gaze across Flora's face. "We don't know when we will get to see each other again."
Flora had only seen Rose cry once in her lifetime, but now she swore she could see the old crone's eyes glisten, and not from the cold. She tried to soothe the woman, "I'm only getting married. It's not like I'm dying." The expression on Rose's face looked like she thought they were one in the same. "It'll be alright Rose. Amelia and I will take care of each other."
"That girl needs it a lot more than you," Rose huffed. Even with them leaving, she was still grumpy over Flora's decision to make her a hand maiden. "I suppose she does have a decent foundation with my tutelage." Rose rested her palms upon Flora's shoulders seriously, taking her in. "I want you to write me when you arrive, and do not let that become a one time occurrence." Flora nodded solemnly. "Now Flora, I know you are a very resilient girl, so do not let those Leostans push you around."
The sound of hooves clattering on cobblestones interrupted her before she could say anything else. As the horses slowed, the wheels on the carriage squeaked, causing Flora to cringe. She cast a glance toward the men loading luggage onto the back, and spoke without much certainty in her voice, "well, I guess it's time for me to get a move on."
Before Flora had the chance to look back, Rose enveloped her into a strong embrace. Remarkably, Flora wasn't even surprised by the quick motion. For the first time in a long while, Flora felt what it was like to be unconditionally loved. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to sear the feeling of Rose's warm grasp into her memory. While she wouldn't say it out loud, Rose had been the familial figure that she had always needed. Rose was more of a mother to her than anything else. To Rose, it had never mattered that Flora was the princess; it had never mattered that she was cursed. She had always felt Rose's love.
As Rose released Flora, the moment felt more bitter than sweet. Flora blinked back tears, determined not to cry. She had swore to herself that she wouldn't cry anymore over a prince or even Felix. The time for crying had passed, and she was going to face her problems unafraid. Rose gently cupped Flora's face in her hand, a weary smile on her face. "Your mother would be so proud of you."
Like a punch to the gut, Flora breathed in, pushing back tears. She tried to talk normally, but her words came out as more of a choke, "I really hope so Rose."
Rose once again pulled Flora in for a hug before whispering, "I love you Flora."
"I love you too Rose."
Pulling out her handkerchief, Rose dabbed at her eyes. Back to her normal way of speaking, she had no problem with ordering, "now Flora, you should get a move on. You haven't got all day." As quick as a flash, Rose swiped under her nose with the cloth and placed it back in her pocket. "Now stay safe and do not do anything stupid."
Flora smirked at the normality of the comment. "Of course Rose." She let her hand naturally slip out of Rose's, regretting it as soon as her fingertips lost contact with her hand. Inhaling deeply, Flora resigned herself to turn around and walk away. The men loading the carriage had finished, and were looking expectantly at Flora, their last piece of cargo. Amelia had already been hoisted up into the box and was poking her head out of the open door.
The caravan consisted of one carriage, one supply wagon, and eight horses with their riders. The four fit Leostans would be riding on horseback, while the older scholar would be riding in the carriage with the two ladies. Four guards would be accompanying them on the journey as well, each with their own mount. The coach was pulled by four broad horses, and the wagon by two strong mules. While riding in a carriage wasn't the most comfortable experience, she was glad she wouldn't be putting her fate into a horse for the ten days this journey would take. Flora hadn't ridden horses much before, but she distinctly remembered how stiff one could be after only an hour on a horse, let alone a whole day.
The carriage driver held out a gloved hand and helped Flora into the carriage. She pushed her skirts aside as she squeezed into the seat next to Amelia. Thankfully, they were both wearing traveling clothes, or else they wouldn't fit with the gowns that Flora normally wore. She adjusted herself, lifting her head to see the scholar, Lord Garin, staring right at her. She sheepishly smiled as she didn't know where to look in such a small space. The man was talking up almost the whole bench on the other side of the car, and his knees were hairs away from touching Flora's. This would be quite an awkward trip, especially if Garin insisted on chatting with them a lot.
The driver ducked around the edge of the carriage, muttering something about checking the horses one last time. When he reappeared, he motioned for the passengers to get out of the way and shut the door firmly, it clicking in place with a sense of finality. This was only the start of her new life away from her family. Flora craned her neck to look out the window, spotting Rose in exactly the same place she had left her. There was the faint sound of men shouting, and then the coach lurched forward, Flora needing to grab the wall of the car to stop from falling into Lord Garin's lap.
As the carriage moved past the castle gates, Flora waved goodbye to Rose who was also bidding her goodbye. She stared at the woman until she was out of eyesight, Rose never stopping waving back to her the entire time. Flora felt as if Rose might have waved long after she watched their carriage disappear.
For the first time ever, Flora was able to watch the capitol city as they drove through. All kinds of people were lined up on the edges of the streets, vying to catch a glimpse of the princess and her Leostan prince. She was surprised that anyone would want to see any part of her with how people at the castle treated her. Maybe the average citizens didn't know the rumors, or maybe they didn't care. Flora waved back to them, making sure to smile at all of the children.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two small figures dart into an alleyway up ahead. Flora fixed her gaze to the gap as they passed by slowly. A small gasp escaped her as she saw two urchin children dressed in rags, barely any of their bodies covered without holes. Flora had never seen anything like it. How could they stand being in the cold when they were barely even wearing anything? The two kids disappeared from sight as they ran further into the dark passage.
Amelia traced Flora's line of sight to where she had been looking. Her face was grim as she informed Flora, "sadly yer highness, there are a lot of kids like that." Flora didn't speak, still shocked at the reality. "There ain't much ta do for 'em." Amelia reached out her hand and patted Flora's gently. A girl who had been in the same situation herself was now trying to console royalty who had never seen how the citizens of her country lived.
Flora didn't remove her gaze from the window as she muttered, "I don't know if I believe that." The carriage passengers remained silent, eventually passing the cities gates. The party traveled for hours, Flora never moving her gaze from the direction of the capitol. After almost the whole day, Flora stopped staring, realizing with a heavy heart that it would never be her home again.