Cinders and Ashes

The Jealousy of the Grand Duke

Cinders and Ashes

A/N: Wa-hoo! My first story update of 2023! So sorry for taking soooo long on this, or rather on anything for that matter. Ever since the end of the summer, I now have a pretty demanding job, which leaves me exhausted pretty much almost every day. Sometimes, I was so mentally and physically tired that I ended up getting sick with fevers three times in three months! I even lost my voice a couple of times because I was so sick!

I so needed this winter break. Relax, spend some quality time with family during the holidays, get better. Now I feel so much better. I'm back at work now, so we'll see how long this lasts. Hopefully I won't get sick sometime every month.

However, because of my very nice winter break, I've been feeling much more energized to write. So hopefully I can update more on any of my stories, but no fixed schedule for any of them since the Internet over at my job completely sucks. So no sneaking in some writing during breaks.

Anyway, I've kept you guys waiting long enough. Let's get on with Chapter 8! Roll it!

Chapter 8

The Jealousy of the Grand Duke

It had been two days since the festival ended after three nights of celebration. The queen had noticed that her daughter had grown eerily quiet since the last night of the festivities, always outside in the garden with her Pokémon, on her balcony or in the music room. She would always be fingering the broken piece of wood that she had found; the one that she swore was left behind by the Mystery Prince.

Queen Johanna entered her daughter's room, where as she expected, Dawn was sitting on her chaise, fingering the broken carved piece of wood. "Darling?" She asked, getting her attention.

Dawn snapped out of her daze, not letting go of the piece of amulet she found. "Mother." She said before scooting over to give some room to her.

"Still thinking about him?" Johanna questioned, looking at the little pretty piece of carved wood.

Dawn sighed. "I can't help it." She answered. "He's just so... so..." A pretty pink blush came on her cheeks as thoughts of her Mystery Prince came into her head. "Amazing."

"What makes him amazing to you?" Johanna asked.

"Everything!" Dawn replied right away. "He's sweet, he's gentle, kind, and brave. He's also funny, outspoken, and he understands me. He lets me be... me. I don't have to be a perfect princess around him. He likes me... for me."

Johanna smiled warmly. "I see. And from what I saw, he seemed to be quite taken with you as well."

Dawn whirled around, her blush darkening to red. "Really?" She asked, a hopeful smile on her face.

"I had asked him what he thought about you at the second ball." Johanna began to explain. "He told me that you didn't tell him that you were the princess, but rather an apprentice seamstress."

"That's what he assumed from the vague details I gave him when we first met." Dawn admitted. "It was a good cover story anyway, so I went with it. But regardless, he still seemed to like me."

"Indeed." Johanna said. "He also said to me that he has faith in your capabilities to rule the kingdom, with or without a king at your side. Some of your self-doubt might have come from me because I was expecting much from you. From that, I apologize."

"You only want the best for me, Mother." Dawn replied, forgiving her mother with a hug. "And I'm grateful to you for teaching me the best you know how. But I guess all I wanted is that I would find a husband in my own time. After all, I'm only twenty."