She could still remember how Elise had pushed her away from the piano, making her fall onto the floor and screaming: "What on Earth are you doing?! How dare you touch the piano mother gifted me? You filthy defective child!"

When she was younger, Amelie would tremble every time the Princess or the Queen called her that. It was a bad memory, she still remembered being more scared than hurt as Elise kicked her. She couldn't understand why she was so angry or what was so wrong about playing the instrument, she just wanted to create music. She had cried as she hugged her head, completely unable to do anything else. She couldn't even call for help because she was mute. Because she was useless 

Fortunately, Elise had made quite the commotion, and soon the King and the Queen, who were on their way to the dining room, rushed to see what was happening. 

"Elise! What are you doing? That's not appropriate behavior for a lady!" The Queen said admonishingly as she closed the door, trying to keep Elise's tantrum from prying eyes. Hearing the woman, the Princess immediately stopped hitting Amelie and went to her mother's side, clinging onto her dress. 

"Mother, this bastard was touching my piano without permission!" 

The Queen then looked at Amelie with a terrible scowl. Her eyes were so cold and scary that even her tears stopped falling. 

"I won't even waste my breath asking you anything as I know you can't answer. That's how useless you are" she said between clenched teeth before turning to the King. "Frederick, I told you many times that this would happen soon or later, but you refused to listen. How can you trust this brat and leave her together with our children? Today was the piano, but who knows if she's stealing or spoiling other things in the castle behind our backs. You must get her out of here as soon as possible!" 

The King eyed the piano, which seemed to be in perfect condition, and then Amelie. Looking at her, he really doubted she was doing anything bad. However, he was too coward to rebuke his wife ⸻especially after cheating on her⸻ so he just nodded slightly, "You're right" he conceded, ignoring Amile's pained gaze, "I'll prepare a place for her right away. Don't worry, dear. I promise something like this won't happen again" she didn't seem convinced but said no more. Relieved, the King gestured for Amelie to get up. "You, come here. Quick!" 

Her entire body hurt, but she obediently stood up. When she passed by the Queen, she pinched the tender skin of her arm with her sharp nails but again, Amelie didn't make a sound. She could actually emit some sounds that didn't require the use of her vocal cords. For example, she could whistle, gasp, pant, produce sounds with her lips or tongue, and so on. But none of those sounds were ladylike, so it was easier to just remain silent. 

The King led her to his office and sat behind his desk, giving her a piece of paper and a quill. She was only seven and had been illiterate until she entered the castle last year, but she was already able to write decently due to the need to communicate.

"Is it true that you were touching her piano? Why?" 

Now that they were alone, the King didn't sound angry or annoyed anymore. She was still a bit scared, but not as much as before. To be honest, she never felt that the king truly hated her. He didn't love her of course, but he had never harmed her physically and was only mean to her when the Queen was watching. It hurt to be rejected, but she hoped that he never came to actually hate her, especially for something she had done.

She carefully grabbed the quill and wrote:

"I apologize, Your Majesty. I just want to play it too" her calligraphy was still a bit childish, but she was confident in her spelling. He hoped the King would be proud, or at least not disappointed. The man, however, showed no expression on his face other than slight surprise.

"Oh? And do you know how to do it? 

After some hesitation, the kid nodded. Intrigued, Frederick asked: "How long have you been using her piano?

"4 months" 

He said nothing after that and just dismissed her after forbidding her from playing it again. The next day, however, while the Queen and Princess were out shopping, the King took Amelie to the music room. 

"Show me" he ordered firmly. Amelie was confused and nervous, but could only nod shyly. She played the only song she knew and the one she had been practicing all this time. When she finished, the King was greatly surprised. 

"Who taught you?" He asked, even more intrigued than before There were some mistakes, but it sounded far too good. He wasn't expecting such expertise especially because Elise had been studying for longer and they seemed to be almost at the same level. 

She had no parchment to write an answer, so she just shook her head.

"No one?" He insisted and she nodded. 

The King arched an eyebrow. It was really too difficult to believe. At first, he thought he was lying to protect her teacher but later that night, he asked Elise's instructor and he swore he had never even talked to Amelie before. 

The King never brought up the topic again and, a few days later, the construction of her palace began. Amelie was then basically locked up in her bedroom, as the Queen forbade her from stepping outside until the day she could move out. The Queen didn't like the idea of her getting her own palace and was especially bothered by it because it was something none of her children had. That made Amelie seem special and she hated it. That was definitely not what she meant when he asked the King to send her somewhere else!

Her husband tried to explain to her that it was to avoid gossip. After all, his image had already been pretty damaged when that dancer accused him of neglecting and even refusing to acknowledge that Amelie was his. The Queen was still angry but tried to keep up appearances in front of the others. She repeated to herself that the palace was pathetic and small, that there was no need to feel envy. 

Being locked up, it was easy to lose the track of time. Amelie didn't know exactly how much time went by in that manner, but at least she felt good knowing that she used her time to study many things ⸻including sign language⸻ and improve herself. The day she finally left the main castle was one of her fondest childhood memories. Living in her own place was definitely wonderful and she couldn't be happier. She didn't really care about space or luxury, she didn't need glory or power. 

Sometimes, the Crown Prince and Princess Elise would go there secretly to bully her, but even so, her life had improved considerably. Regarding the Second Prince, he was quiet and not particularly cruel to her, but he never helped her either so Amelie didn't like him. Fortunately, now it was easier to ignore him. 

Months went by in a mostly peaceful manner. She even felt forgotten from time to time, as it was only Mary, her, and a guard. And maybe being forgotten was for the better.

She knew she hadn't been, however, because on her 8th birthday a piano appeared in her palace. It was never revealed who had sent that gift, but Amelie felt in her heart it had been the King. After all, he was the only one who knew how much she loved it.  

That was the first and last gift she ever received from him.

Amelie finished playing the song in a daze, and only came back to her senses when she heard someone clapping softly behind her. Lionel was looking at her with proud eyes and such a broad smile that Amelie felt her face grow hotter. 

"That was beautiful, Amy. It was a very touching and strong song" he commented as he walked up to her, taking a seat next to her on the piano bench. "It's the first time I hear this piece. It's wonderful so I doubt I could miss it if it were famous. Perhaps you composed it yourself?"

She felt truly flattered by his words, and could only smile shyly as she nodded. His compliments seemed sincere and it definitely felt nice to be acknowledged. That was her first time playing exclusively for someone in a long time, so she has happy and relived that he liked it.

"That's impressive! You're really talented, Your Highness. What is it called?" 

Amelie gestured for Mary to come closer. She had been waiting by the door in case she needed her, and Amelie was forever grateful for her thoughtfulness. She signed and Mary interpreted for her. 

"It does not have a name, Sir. Her highness is bad at naming things"

"Oh, I see," he said, laughing softly. 

Curious, Amelie asked him something she had always wanted to ask anyone who heard her melodies. 

[What was the first word that came to your mind while listening?]

She wanted to know if she could really express her feelings through her music. She wanted to know if they were apparent even to someone who didn't know her well. 

Lionel seemed to seriously ponder about it for a moment, and then he murmured with certainty: "Freedom."

Amelie wanted to tell him he was right, that it was exactly what she had in mind when she composed it but she couldn't move her arms. He was looking at her so intensely and with so many emotions flashing in his eyes that she didn't dare. She didn't know what was behind his inner turmoil, but seconds later he was smiling again like he had never been asked that question. "Actually, I can play a little but I'm afraid I only know boring songs. Could you teach me something cheerful?" 

Amelie was a bit worried about how to teach him properly when she couldn't talk but she didn't want to reject him either. She instructed him to repeat after her and clarified that they would only play with their right hands for the time being. He agreed and readily took off the metallic gauntlets he was wearing, revealing his long slender fingers and calloused palms. Her hand looked small next to his, and she somehow liked how they looked together.

She started playing the easiest happy melody she could think of, and he slowly tried to imitate the way her graceful fingers moved. They spent the rest of the afternoon like that, sitting side by side and playing the piano. Lionel was nice and it was fun to be with him.

Amelie felt so comfortable by his side that she dared to think that maybe, just maybe, they could really be happy together.