She stared at the oddly familiar walls, and the two people on thrones in front of her, both had her features. The man had the same nose and smile as her, the woman the same eyes and hair, and they looked at her with more love than she could imagine. The soldier who had brought her into the palace announced her identity, "This is Princess Cecilia Audrey Windsor, the Lost Princess of Achlysia. We know this to be her identity because she is ten and three this year and has a great affinity with light magic." The soldier turned and the Queen all but rushed down from her seat, she felt a warm hug engulf her as another set of arms found themselves around her.
"Our sweet daughter, you've come back." The Queen cried as Cecilia tried to let herself feel their warmth but she couldn't feel it, she wanted her mother's warmth. She smiled and let the hug hold but eventually pulled away, feeling guilty at her lack of emotions. The Queen grabbed her face, assessing her looks as Cecilia smiled awkwardly, looking around, hoping someone would help her figure out what was happening. Suddenly, the palace doors opened again and two boys who looked just like the Queen ran into the room, stopped, and stared at her.
"She looks just like you, ma." One of them breathed, his chest rising and falling intensely as if he had run a marathon. They both ran and hugged her too, and she began to feel smothered by their unending affections. "Oh, how we've missed you." He sighed as the hug tightened.
"Okay, that's enough." Cecilia finally said, feeling claustrophobic and uncomfortable by the royals around her. She stared at them, feeling guilt that she hadn't missed them at all. Rather, she just wanted to return to the life she had left behind. She felt hands from behind her, playing with her hair, touching her with motherly affection, and she felt shivers down her spine rather than love. She pulled herself away from the touch and moved so she could see all of them rather than being sandwiched between them. "I appreciate that this means a lot for all of you, but I have little to no memory of the times you remember, your majesties. I apologise if this hurts you, but I feel overwhelmed by your displays of affection." She bowed her head but felt a finger lift up her chin, eyes filled with kindness and love stared at her.
"Cecilia, you don't have to apologise ever again, your chin shall also never bow to anyone from this moment onwards. We understand, but we hope your heart is open to our love as well. You are our one and only beloved princess and we will love you forever. Anything you could ever want will be yours, we are your family." The king said, his arm resting on her shoulder affectionately.
Cecilia frowned at his words, wondering if he made a mistake, she knew that she had a sister too. However, she understood that this wasn't the time to pick at his words, she wanted something. "If that's the case, your majesty, could I request that the woman that raised me, who I have always called 'mother' is brought here too? I fear I can't leave her behind." She saw the hurt pass through their eyes but also the acceptance, the King and Queen shared a look but nodded, sad smiles decorating their perfect faces.
"Of course, Cecilia, we understand. For now, let's get you to your room, you must be tired." As they parted, she saw a figure standing by the door, blue eyes like her, but beautiful black hair, like the night sky. She knew quickly who this person must be, smaller than everyone around her, she looked like a small mouse.
"You must be my one and only little sister, Audrey!" Cecilia announced, and she noticed that the gazes of her family changed. As if she had truly shown them a mouse on the street. She wondered why her sister had brought forth such a cold reception, every commoner had heard of the brilliant Princess Audrey, a hardworking, young Princess with a bright future ahead of her. Already she was smarter than all the young noble girls, she was able to fence on par with amateur knights and she had the poise and etiquette of a woman who had been noble for hundreds of years. All at the age of ten. Yet, it seemed that the Princess couldn't win the affections of those who were meant to love her unconditionally.
Her eyes lit up slightly at the acknowledgement, she smiled a small smile and curtsied deeply, showing respect and bowing her head. Something a princess would never do, right? Surely the King and Queen would tell her to hold her head up high, Cecilia thought. But the words never tried to leave their mouths, they turned their eyes back to Cecilia as if Audrey was not even there.
Cecilia left their cocoon around her and greeted her sister, hoping that she could bring some light into the life of this young girl. "It's lovely to meet you." She said, holding out her hand to shake. Carefully, she watched as Audrey took her hand and shook it, a look of curiosity on the young girl's face.
"It's my honour to meet you, Princess Cecilia." Audrey replied, the same small smile on her face, a kind but weary tone in her voice.