“I’m afraid that’s all we have, my lady. We still have not heard word from our neighboring Empires about their expeditions into faraway lands. Or perhaps the new maps have not circulated yet. But this is all we have, for now.”
Damn. My moolah!
“Are you alright, my lady? Do you feel sick?” Rizanne looked concerned.
“Yeah.” I clutched my chest dramatically. I whispered through clenched teeth, “My future fortune is just slipping through my fingers, that’s all.”
Rizanne laughed at my absurd histrionics.
“My lady, you are so funny!” An elegant hand covered her huge smile. “No wonder His Highness seems to adore you!”
I shook my head and wiggled my finger in a steadfast ‘no’.
“Why do people keep saying that?” I was frustrated. “He’s ten years old! He’s just a child! If anything, I’m just a pastime. I’m just some sort of novelty that he’ll eventually get tired of in the future.”
I rolled my eyes and rested my face against a fist. I was pooped. It was so tiring having to repeat this again and again.
“My lady,” Rizanne walked to me, and kneeled before my desk until we were eye to eye, “You seem wise beyond your years,” she stroked the hair that was perfectly braided on top of my head, “But being mature doesn’t equate to being so cynical about life. Sometimes, you have to learn to trust people more.”
“Mmmm…” It was hard to not be cynical when you already knew the future, right?
Rizanne patted the free hand I had on the table. She was still in that kneeling position, but instead of looking uncomfortable (which I was by just looking at her), she looked happy by just relaying her own life advice like a good older sister.
“But just remember, my lady. Words don’t mean anything if not supported by actions.”
I nodded my head to that in agreement. I was quite proud that my governess was an insightful person behind all that eccentricity.
Rizanne calmly stood up from her kneeling position on the hardwood floor. Then she began wobbling towards her own desk while patting her knees beneath her skirts in pain.
“Miss Rizanne, I’m sorry you had to sacrifice your knees just to tell me your good advice,” I chuckled.
“It was worth the knee pain!” Rizanne laughed back. “Now, shall we start with our first subject?”
“Make etiquette lessons last on the list, please,” I said, deadpan.
~~~
It was evening.
After changing into my nightgown, I went and sat on my windowsill to gaze at the expanse of trees in our courtyard, the moonlight being my only source of light.
I was quite used to the bustling city feels, and how the night was almost as bright as day, so this kind of calm scenery was very rare for a city girl like me.
It was refreshing, to say the least.
Instead of the blaring horns or the chatter of people, what I heard every night was the chirping of crickets or our horses whickering from the stable. It was amazing how much sounds one could hear in the silence, if you learned to listen.
I tucked in my knees and encircled it with my arms. I rested my face against the top of my knees and sighed. This kind of noble life was too good to be true. This was the kind of life people would dream about—tremendous wealth and success…without even lifting a finger.
But I didn’t own any of those. I wasn’t rich or successful because of my own hard work. I was simply born into this privilege. Being born into riches was already a card up my sleeve.
But was this all I could do in this life? To be a wallflower? This was so boring.
Wasn’t there anything I could do…to be me?
Despite how beautiful things seemed like, I couldn’t help but feel stifled by all the rules. I felt trapped inside a pretty cage. Once I would be of age and married off, this time period considered wives to legally belong to their husbands; to be ‘seen’ and not ‘heard’. Females like me, who belonged to the upper class, would become the typical ‘housewives’ who should listen to their husbands.
Females held almost no legal power, and I detested that. Marriage was seen as a woman’s ‘main vocation’, and nothing else. We were limited in many things.
I clenched and unclenched my fists. To hell with that! This life was too short to live a life that society expected of me, anyway.
“Elena?” A soft question floated in the air, coming from my door. It was my father.
How unusual of him to visit me this late at night.
I ambled towards the door and opened it.
“Did I wake you?” He closed the door behind him, and stroked the top of my head.
“Not at all.” I smiled and looked up at my father’s handsome face. His long dark eyelashes framed his gold eyes beautifully, and in the moonlight, they looked like glittering gems.
I snuggled against his waist. I was proud to have such a handsome daddy! The image of my modern dad started floating in my mind, but I snubbed his crying face and blew him into obscurity for now.
“Why are you here, daddy?” I asked.
“I just want to inform you that I think there must be some sort of mistake.”
“What mistake?”
My eyes were as round as saucers. Was I the mistake?? I-wasn’t-your-real-child kind of mistake? I suddenly wanted to cry. It couldn’t be! I didn’t remember this plot twist!
“I think we may have gotten the wrong governess.”
Comments (4)
See all