Nia walked into the tent as she saw Lady Gisella sitting on the bed.
Lady Gisella's eyes were blurred as if she was in deep thoughts. Her gaze was filled with many questions but she did not say them out loud.
"Nia.." Lady Gisella said in a small tone, "Come here."
Nia was at the far end of the tent. Her body stiffened when she heard the words as she moved toward Lady Gisella.
Nia didn't want to be here. She wanted to be near Princess Eleanor, helping her.
'The Princess is all alone. How will she manage to be alone at night? She is still suffering from nightmares and would cry at night. How could Sir Kit help the Princess then?' Nia thought as she sighed.
"Lady.." Nia looked down as she waited patiently for Lady Gisella to say the words. She did not know why she was called here but Nia felt that until Lady Gisella had something important she would have been ignored completely.
"Where are you sleeping today?" Lady Gisella asked in a concerned tone.
"I will be sleeping on the floor. The Princess has asked me to keep you safe. If the Lady needs anything then I will be assisting you. I will be responsible for your health in the meantime." Nia said in a small tone.
"You will sleep on the floor?" Lady Gisella raised her eyebrows. I looked back as I took a thick blanket and pushed in towards Nia. "Take this and sleep here. You should be near my vicinity, not at the very end where you will not know if I am dying."
Nia was silent, but she soon nodded her head. Princess Eleanor had already given her a few blankets. Nia knew that the Princess wanted to make sure that she was comfortable at night.
Lady Gisella saw as she looked at Nia who was bringing the blankets one after another as she laid them on the floor. "Who gave you so many blankets?"
"It was Princess Eleanor," Nia said with a smile. "The Princess was afraid that I would feel cold at night."
Lady Gisella smiled as she looked down at Nia who was now sitting on the ground surrounded by warm blankets. "It looks like Princess Eleanor takes care of you. She must be fond of you."
Nia smiled as she looked at the Lady. "Princess Eleanor is very kind. To be honest we have known each other for a very long time. Although our family lost its fortune, Princess Eleanor never treated me harshly. She even wanted to appoint me as her lady in waiting and she always gave me the respect of a human."
Lady Gisella smiled. She wanted to know what type of person Princess Eleanor was for a long time and who better to say than her own lady in waiting.
Although Lady Gisella knew that Nia would be receding only the good points of the Princess, Lady Gisella still wanted to know. It felt like if she knew it then she might get a hold of the Princess's character.
"The Lady seems like a humble and lovely Lady. How was Princess Eleanor's childhood? I heard she lost her parents but seeing and hearing about her good character, it seems like she was loved in her childhood."
Nia nodded her head in excitement. It had been so long since she had talked about the Late King and Queen with anyone. Nia avoided bringing out the topic or even saying anything regarding the past in front of Princess Eleanor as she felt like it brought back the bad memories too along with the good ones. Nia did not want to see the Princess sad.
"Princess Eleanor's childhood was happy. She was the first Princess to be born. Did you know that for over three generations there were only sons born to the royalty in the Angevin Kingdom? So when the queen was pregnant again they all thought that it would be a young Prince. But when the Princess was born it was a period of joy and celebration."
Nia's eyes were filled with a layer of water as she thought back on the past. "The formal King always wanted a daughter just like his wife. You know they had married even though they belonged to a completely different class. And when he saw Princess Eleanor, he could not help his fatherly love and shower her with everything she wanted."
"Initially everyone thought that because the King was spoiling her a lot, the Princess might turn out to be arrogant and rude but the Queen, her elder brother, and the Prince made sure that it would not happen. So Princess Eleanor was raised in an environment where she was loved and educated too."
Lady Gisella was silent as she thought back at her own experience. Princess Eleanor looked like a harmless cat at first but it does not take time to shift that harmless temperament into a hungry tigress.
"The Princess is quite straightforward now. It feels like she has a clear understanding of things." Lady Gisella smiled as her ears sharp[ened. She wanted to know how Nia would answer the question.
"Although Princess Eleanor was raised in a loving family when she lost her parents her life was difficult. She was no longer the loving Princess that everyone looked after. She felt abandoned and the people who said they loved her were now ignoring and talking behind her back openly."
Nia took a deep breath as she said in a dull tone. "Such an experience has made her strong. Princess Eleanor had learned when to attack and when to retrieve. Although many people find it unacceptable for a Princess, I think Princess Eleanor has developed such a personality because of the circumstances. All the situations had led it up to this."
Lady Gisella was silent for a few seconds. She could understand why Princess Eleanor was so straightforward with her. She had a determined goal in front of her eyes and she would not allow anyone to go against it.
'Princess Eleanor could be a good Empress.' Lady Gisella thought before turning her concentration back towards Nia.