Of course I would have liked to go with Nicolas, but I couldn't face his parents. The queen had always been kind to me, but his father had not. I hadn't considered that I would have to ride with Èstelle, of all people, next to me, but I also wanted to indulge Holly in not travelling under a coop of clucking chickens. It felt endless until we stopped and got out. I don't know if it was Èstelle's intention, but she rammed her pointy elbow into my eye. Normally it wouldn't have been so bad, but she decided to take off her jacket. I fell back on the back seat and groaned. So I spent the first couple of hours on the estate by the infirmary. Holly had joined me and told me about the press conference that had taken place. I was not allowed to be there as my 'accident', would raise questions. "You have, of course, made remarks about the funeral and whether it is related to the fact that we have moved from the castle to the Surrey estate." I was wearing an eye patch, on that damaged eye that Èstelle had inflicted on me. Dr Fraundorfer was confident, however, that it would heal within a week or two. "And otherwise? Has the prince made advances to any ladies?", my bitterness must have been noticeable because Holly furrowed her eyebrows pityingly and put her fingers on my hand. "Of course he has, he just has to sell himself Belle, but I doubt he means it." I could see that, but it pained me, not to mention my insecurities and whatnot. The doctor's room was on the ground floor, but there was a difference of about 2 metres between the floor and the window. It was also on the shady side, facing a small part of the garden. My legs dangled over the gurney, opposite me was a poster for an eye test. "If it makes you feel any better, Nicolas hardly noticed Èstelle, I made sure of that," she had to grin. "How exactly do you mean?" my legs held still as I watched Holly rummage around in the private library. "I just made sure not to leave the prince's side after I got out. I even sat next to him at the podium, you wouldn't believe how Èstelle had been cooking. We actually get on well," Holly told me, spinning around in her dress. She was a real cheerful one. "I hope you don't find it too intrusive, but I've been wanting you to be my roommate. You see, we don't have our own here because it's smaller than in the castle." Did she really want to be my friend? That was unusual, but I went along with it.
The interior of the building was dressed in dark wood and had paintings on the walls just like in the palace. We ladies, together with Madame Orangerinne, were quartered on the ground floor. To my knowledge near the kitchen, my noses picked up a sweet, intense smell as we were on our way. Not all the maids were allowed to travel with us, which is why I only saw Nathaly and Mandy arrive. Unfortunately, it was with the very people I had fallen out with. Holly's maids had all come along because they also worked for someone else. Did it worm me that she got on so well with Nicolas? Yes, a little, at least enough to make me wonder. There were two four-poster beds with curtains opposite and a single chair in the room. "Well, this is more rustic than I thought," I whispered straight out. Holly carried a carrier bag on her left shoulder and dropped it on one of the beds, "Eliza and Dolly told me it was because we were staying here for a fortnight max. We ended up leaving in a big hurry, so they didn't have enough time." I wondered if I should confess the real reason to her. After all, one third of us were here because of me, the other two were already different. I swallowed as Holly started at me urgently. Her hair and skin were rimmed by the sun breaking through the window. She looked like a saint who had seen right through me. I made sure we could talk in privacy and locked the gate to the hallway. I sat down on the bed and collected myself. Could I trust her? She was a stranger to me. Uncertainty made me put my eyes on my hands in my lap, "What I'm about to tell you really needs to stay between us. It could get me and you in trouble, all of us, actually..." As no reply followed I continued, "It is not and was not a coincidence how Marina Temper and Annabeth Benisch lost their lives. It's more of a miracle that it hasn't gotten to me yet. All three of us were infiltrated into this casting, a certain Revolutze Leopold Rauch has it in for the monarchy and is striving for anarchy. He blackmailed us with all the secrets, the details are beside the point. Leopold attacked me in the library and was banished to Raingency, where he awaits his death sentence. We suspect Marina was poisoned and Annabeth..., she did kill herself, but only because she was forced to." I saw it as impious to judge Anna's actions, she had a good reason. "Nicolas knows about this?" I fell silent, I had already said too much. Holly came over to me and sat on the other side of the edge of the bed. I didn't dare look up. There was a knock on the door, a seconds later Martin stepped in to let us know that dinner was served. When he saw both our faces he raised an eyebrow, "Would you rather eat in your room?" Martin always had such a good sense of the interpersonal. I rose and smiled barely noticeably, replying that it would be desirable. "As you wish, I will instruct the staff to put something together for you both," he bowed, forgetting to close the door behind him. I heaved a sigh and pushed everything back into place with the latch. "It must all be terrible, always keeping secrets and being on guard." "Yes, it is...awful." She cleared her throat, "Is that why you spend so much time with the prince and always disappear." I froze. It was more complicated than she thought, but I would let her believe that.
In the middle of the night, I heard an ever-present tapping on glass, my head vibrated as if I had been drinking alcohol, but that was not the case. My lack of sleep was only making itself felt. I looked around the room with narrowed eyes but nothing had changed, the moon shone in and coloured the bright ones in a blue glow. Holly seemed to be lying in her bed, asleep. I pulled my legs towards me and wondered if I had imagined it all, but there it sounded again. It couldn't be true, I slipped out of my duvet and touched the cold floor with my bare feet. Unbalanced, I strolled around and finally stopped in front of the window, it had a small ledge, but I propped myself up on it. The view outside was broken by two separate windows with an interior.In some places both the wood and the white paint were cracked or chipped.I squinted my eyes and recognised a parting in front of me. I opened it unsuspectingly, the chill of the night on it causing goose bumps on my upper arms. I leaned over the wall of the house and found a familiar face, "What are you doing out here?" Hoping not to wake my roommate, I whispered. "I've missed you, we haven't had a chance to talk further." "Talk about what?", I asked, puzzled. Nicolas grinned and stood on his tiptoes to be close to me, "Leopold's trial has been brought forward." I almost cried out, but I didn't want to unnecessarily rouse Holly from her sleep. I meant to come right back and gathered up robes so I wouldn't erfor. I swung my legs over the windowsill and jumped down into the wet grass. "Let's get out of here," I muttered. Suddenly I was wide awake.
We strolled through an avenue of trees in the grounds, my arms folded in front of me. As me and Nicolas spoke, our breaths connected in the air. "That means we both have to leave early?", I concluded. "Not really, we'll just take a quick trip back to the palace and go to Raingency from there." I nodded but still made my concerns known, "Won't the other ladies ask any questions?" The Prince said that I shouldn't worry about that, everything had already been sorted out. I pursed my lips at that statement. He took my hands in his and looked at me, "Please Belle, trust me on this." I lowered my gaze, it was already bitterly cold. Should I confess to him that I told Holly about all this? No, better not. Finally, I agreed. We were now standing outside my window again and he kissed me goodbye, "See you tomorrow, my princess." I felt myself blushing and whispered softly, "See you tomorrow."