For Lyana it was more fascinating than she would have thought. The king looked just like his father.
Accordingly, the woman in the painting had to be the former queen. Her hair was brown like the men's, but much lighter. It framed her beautiful face in great curls. She also wore the white fur cloak that had become Lyanas loyal companion.
"Nara? Is there anything else you know about the former king and his queen?" She would probably
not get an answer to direct questions, so she tried that way.
The servant now stood next to her. "Not really, Your Royal Highness. As already mentioned, they were both very kind. Besides that, the marriage between those two had been a love marriage. An arranged marriage was never an option for the king, nor would he have forced his son to do so.
Unfortunately, that's all I know. There is no one who talks a lot of them."
Lyana didn't quite believe it, but then again, the king was so young when they died. If even Nara hadn't known them anymore and had worked here for so long, they couldn't have been older than in this painting when they died. Still, she had hoped to get some more information. Again it felt like a defeat. But then she noticed that there was another painting next to the royal couple, although it had been covered with a linen cloth.
The princess was already raising her hand to take it off when she heard a low scream. "No! You mustn't touch that, Your Royal Highness!" Nara shouted in panic.
She was about to lower her hand again when she realized that for the first time she had the chance
to find out something really important. So she quickly grabbed the cloth and just tore it off. A painting of a young woman in a soft pink dress emerged. Lyana was speechless at her beauty. Her skin was so pale and yet her cheeks were a healthy rosy tone. Her eyes, on the other hand, were sky blue and looked dreamily into the distance. Her smile, it looked slightly shy, but bestowed her an almost fairy-like charisma. The whole thing was rounded off by the silver hair that fell shiny like a waterfall over her shoulders. At that moment her heart became very heavy. Because in this beautiful silver hair there was jewelry in the shape of small pink roses.
"Who is she ?" Lyana asked in a broken voice.
"That does not concern you," replied a deep male voice and Lyana turned around, startled. King
Ulric was standing in the middle of the room, the servants throwing themselves fearfully on the
floor in front of him. But the king wasn't interested in them at all. He just walked past them and also
Lyana, straight towards the painting of the young woman. So many emotions were reflected on his
face that Lyana immediately understood that this woman must mean a lot to him.
He caressed her cheek longingly. "How long has it been since I last saw your adorable face? My sweet little fairy, my heart."
Everything in Lyanas stomach area contracted and she felt an inexplicable anger rise within her. "Is
she the reason I'm not allowed to wear pink? Were you so shocked at the time because I wore her
jewelry?" She asked and was amazed at how rude she sounded.
As soon as his gaze broke away from the painting and fell on her, his eyes were filled with cold again. "You have no business in here," he said softly and menacingly. But the anger in her drove her on and she ignored the warning that was included in his voice.
"Who is she for you?" She asked now, pointing her finger at the painting. Immediately the king
grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him. His look seemed to tell her that she wasn't worthy of
him. No. Not of him. She was not worthy of HER.
"Don't you dare point your finger at her! Don't even dare to take a single look at her!"
Lyana suppressed a painful scream as he tightened his grip. Tears welled up in her eyes and she
thought he would break her wrist when he finally released her.
"Bring the princess back to her chambers. She will also not be attending dinner," he ordered his servants in a stern tone that did not allow any argument. Then he turned back to Lyana, who was rubbing her sore wrist. "That is a most gracious punishment, you better remember this, little princess. It won't stay that way next time." With that he left the room and the servants led Lyana back to her room as requested.
As soon as the door closed behind her, she looked for Alisen, but her maid wasn't there. Even after waiting quite a while, there was no trace of her. Only now did she realize that the king must have forbidden her to see her. He seemed to know that loneliness was Lyanas greatest weakness. She was in a foreign kingdom and the person she had become the closest with was Alisen.
The princess threw herself resignedly on her bed. If he was taking away her social contact, she could just use the time to think about what had happened.