The Lost Girl

Chapter Three

Skylar's Perspective
As the sun rose Lily and I rode our horses out to the meadows. It was our daily routine. It was comfortable and secure. It was something I could count on. Lily eyed my necklace as we rode stride for stride next to each other.
    "Princess Skylar, pardon my asking. What are the keys on your necklace for?" Lily asked.
    "One of the keys is to Luna's bedchamber. I'm the only one who goes into her room anymore." I told her, "The other is to her jewelry box. I can show you later if you'd like."
    "Really?" Lily said.
    "Yes. Let's head back to the castle. I have a big day ahead of me. You have to help me get ready."
    She nodded. We continued to match stride. Then she pushed her feet to Bella's sides to prod her forward. The black horse raced ahead.
    "Hold on! Bella's going faster than Stella! Wait up for me!" I yelled.
    I kicked Stella to go faster.
    "I'm sorry, Princess Sky." She called over her shoulder.
    She immediately pulled back on the reins. She slowed Bella down almost to a trot. Stella raced ahead to catch up. We trotted in synchronicity as we headed to the stables. William wasn't anywhere to be found. Good riddance, I thought. I handed my horse off to a different stable boy. He was short and had blue eyes. Lily hastily brushed her horse. She tried to make small talk with the stable boy, but he was mute. An awkward silence hung in the air between us all. I hated that feeling. I was never sure what to do. I shifted around as I waited for Lily to finish brushing her horse.
   We walked back to the castle together. She smiled at me. It was starting to look like a good normal day, I hoped to myself. As soon as I thought that it seemed that everything turned upside down.
We entered the Grand Hall. My father's two hunting dogs galloped over to me. They jumped up on me. I tried to push them down. The big black dogs slobbered all over me and my dress. I tried to wipe off the slobber from my fingers. The grossness made me start to gag. The slobber held in a string.
   "Gross! Lily! Help me!" I yelled out as I gazed at my wet pink dress.  "Let's get a new dress." She said, "Let's hurry." 
   Lily rushed with me to my room. I walked as fast as I could. She was almost running to keep up with me. I ran through the door to my chambers. Lily followed in tow. I impatiently sat on the edge of my bed. She pulled off my ruined clothes. Lily pulled a fresh blue petticoat onto me. She yanked on a new clean skirt. She pulled on a black corset for me. She tightened the ties until they poked my sides.
   "Braid my hair." I pleaded.
   She worked quickly and put my hair into a side braid. She covered it with a silk net to keep my hair out of the way. Then finally my heart headdress was added to my outfit. I sighed with relief when I finally felt clean again. Lily smiled pleasantly at me. I stood up and smoothed my skirts down.
    "Can I please see Princess Luna's jewelry box?" Lily asked quietly.
    I noticed her brown eyes pleaded. I hadn't realized that she missed Luna too. I blinked as if I had seen something new for the first time. I stood up from my bed slowly. I had thought Lily and I were mainly concerned with gossip.
    "Yes, it's still in her room," I replied.
    I led Lily out into the large main hallway. Luna's bedchamber was right next to mine. I pulled my necklace with the keys off my neck and slid the key for Luna's room into the lock. It made a loud click. The heavy wooden oak door swung open with a loud creak. We walked in together. I pointed to Luna's dressing table. We saw the dark pine wood jewelry box sitting there. Lily approached it cautiously. She lifted up the lid. I remembered William had crafted it. He had also been close with Luna as we had grown up. He had carved into the box a symbol of a crescent moon for Luna. He had also carved into it his weird little saying for the four of us. We all had been best friends once. It read; Best friends are found on the moon in the sky of lilies. I ran my fingers over the words and smiled. It was a nice box.
    "Wow. William made this." Lily whispered in awe.
    She removed the trays of jewelry from the box. She set them aside. Her fingers traced the bottom edges of the box.
    "It has a secret bottom." she mumbled.
         "What do you mean? Let me see!" I demanded.
    I grabbed it from her. My fingers quickly traced the secret bottom. I pulled up on the bottom. I looked down. A single piece of paper was in the secret compartment. Luna had left me a letter, I thought to myself. She had told me she had left me something special in the box. I had always figured it had just been the jewelry. My blue eyes went wide and I snatched up the paper to read the letter. It read;

    Dear Skylar,
    I am so sorry sister. I don't ever plan on coming back. I pray this letter finds you in time. I know you wouldn't understand. I don't mean to hurt you. I had to leave. I can't ever become a queen. I can't be a girl without her voice heard. I know that I promised that I would come back, but that was a lie. I can't. I can't explain why either. Please find it in your heart to forgive me for breaking my promise to you. Please tell James that I am truly sorry for breaking his heart. Skylar, you are my sister and best friend. My love will be with you always. Please carry on without me. Live a great life.
Sincerely yours,
Luna

     I dropped the paper onto the floor. My body started shaking. My heart sank. I could never carry on without her. She was my twin. What did she mean? She was like the other half of me. I felt empty and lonely without her. I missed her so much. Lily wrapped her arms around me as I cried in the emptiness of Luna's room. I grabbed Lily's strong arms. I wailed into her shoulder. I wished that I could tell Luna what was happening to me. I wanted her to come back and marry James. What did she mean she couldn't come back? I needed her. Her letter left me with more questions than answers.
    "I wonder why she left too." Lily said quietly.
    "I can't imagine leaving home." I replied with a huge sigh.
    Lily patted my back. I wiped tears away from my face. I sniffled. I didn't know what to do without my sister, but I was lucky to have Lily as my maidservant. I pulled away from her hug and surveyed Luna's room. A layer of dirt had started to cover the furniture. I could feel the emptiness.
    "I miss her too. I'm really sorry Princess Skylar. It's hard when we aren't allowed to talk about it." Lily stared at the floor as she whispered this.
    "I know you miss her too. She brought joy into our lives. Thanks for being here for me, Lily." I said.
    "Thanks for being kind to me." Lily said, "Your family told me I have to help you pack for your journey tonight. Are you ready?"
    "I'm never ready for anything." I rolled my eyes.
    The time passed quickly. Too quickly. I wanted to scream and dig my nails into the castle walls and beg to stay. I felt like a mere shadow. I realized that my life was not my own. I couldn't protest. I had to go. Lily had held my hand through everything. 
   The castle never slept. It was always busy, even as the sun set against the early night. Maidservants bustled about as they loaded all the luggage into the green carriage drawn by a team of horses. I sighed sadly. The cold frigid air brushed against my arms. I moved towards the carriage. It looked like vomit. It made me want to throw up. This was the worst trip of my life. I shot Lily a look of disgust. She pulled on a smile and gave me a quick hug. Another maid opened the door for me. I clutched my skirts. Lily helped me up into the carriage. She waved politely as the door closed between us. Lily would be staying behind while I went to the Northern Mountain Kingdom to see Prince James. Lily waved goodbye to me the whole time the carriage departed. When she was just a speck in my vision I could see her turn around and go home to our castle. I almost envied her. Her life was so simple. I dreaded seeing Prince James.