The Beautiful Thief

Chapter Seventeen

      I take my proper seat just as the cameras turn on and pull on my shoes. They're uncomfortable but I dont have to walk, so that's a plus.

      King Hancer begins speaking. "The rebels that attacked are being dealt with accordingly. Those we found are being questioned. This attack was focused on the girls staying with us, and they succeeded in taking three from us."

      He lists off the names, holding up the correct picture, and then gives some crap speech about how he'll miss them. Queen Penelope is a complete wreck when she goes up.

       Her usual calm demeanor is long gone and she's shaking. Slipping off my shoes, I make my way to her. I use my hand to cover the microphone, "Do you need some help?"

      "That would be wonderful dear."

      "Okay, why don't you go sit down." She nods and takes her seat. I uncover the microphone and give a shy smile. "Hi everyone. I'm Adelaide, I'll be taking over for Queen Penelope for the moment."

        "What the rebels did was horrible. They endangered the lives of everyone here and took away to many of our people. Staff included. One of the housemaids Eloise, was killed last night. She had five children and twelve grandchildren. Eloise would show me pictures of them all the time, and I'm sorry for her family's loss. 
  
       Lissy, another housemaid, would always help me pick out a book to read in the library. She had a son, four years old. Now he'll have to grow up with our a mother." I name off every single housemaid that was killed and tell something I knew about them.

      When I get through all of them, I'm in tears and my make up is certainly running. "What the rebels did was disgusting, but I to talk about them anymore. They want attention, and I'm not giving it. Thank you."

      I grab my shoes and leave the Announcement Hall. The hallway is empty, so I collapse on the ground in a heap and begin sobbing, finally losing it.

     Someone wraps their arms around my waist and helps me off the ground.  I look up and meet Caleb's eyes. "It hurts."

     "What hurts?" I clutch my chest and Caleb nods. "I know. Come on." He tries to make me walk, but my legs are too weak. He picks me up bridal style, and carries me upstairs.

      Before I know it, I'm being laid on a bed and covered in blankets. Caleb goes to leave, but I grab his arm and beg him to stay. "Please don't leave me."

     "Okay. It's okay, I'm right here." He kicks off his shoes and gets under the blankets with me. I scoot closer and hold onto his blazer. "Go to sleep, I'll stay. I promise." I nod and clothes my eyes.

      I wake up in the middle of the night in desperate need of water. I roll out of the bed and silently walk to the bathroom. My dress is still on me, so I strip out of it and put on yesterday's sleep clothes.

      "Addie?" I hear Caleb say.

      "I'm in here, just got thirsty. Go back to sleep." After I drink some water, I walk back to the bed and get under the covers.

       "Can I ask you a question?" I nod. "How did you know all of those house maids?"

       "I talked to them on a daily basis. I liked to go to the stables a lot, and the kitchen. They were always somewhere, and I liked to talk, so we did."

        "You're amazing you know that."

        "I'm okay, they're the truly amazing ones. They support they're families and don't ever get to see them. I don't hold a candle to them."

        "Yes you do, you knew all of that stuff about them, no one else did. Not even me." I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

        "What are they doing memorial wise for everyone we lost?"

        "Nothing that I'm aware of. Why, did you want to do something?"

        "I have an idea." It was announced that everyone in the palace would go onto the front and back lawn, and release a paper lantern into the sky. We wear black, go at midnight, light them, and release them in the sky. A beautiful way to say goodbye to the ones we lost.

          I pull on my dress and Mary zips it up for me. "Thanks Adelaide. This will mean so much to everyone."

        "I hope so, it's the only thing I could think of." I pull on my shoes, and we latch arms. "Come on, we have people to say goodbye to. Brave faces, no crying. We have to be strong for their families."

        "Okay." We take a deep breath before we make our way down the stairs and onto the front lawn of the palace. Everyone has their lantern lit, waiting for me to light mine.

        After my lantern is lit, I say, "May you find peace and tranquility." Everyone repeats after me and we release the lanterns into the sky. The lanterns bumps into each other, pushing them higher into the sky until they look like stars.

       When they can no longer be seen, everyone makes their way inside. I feel a little more peaceful, but not a whole lot. Caleb is waiting for me when I reach my room. "I'm good for tonight Mary, I'll see you in the morning. Good night."

       "Good night Lady Adelaide." I raise my eyebrow and then I remember that Caleb is in the room. She closes the doors after her, and I turn to Caleb.

       "What can I help you with?"

      "Are you okay?"

       "No, not really. But, there's nothing more I can do than deal with it." He smiles softly and steps closer to me. "Thank you for not mentioning my mini freak out session to anyone."

       "I haven't a clue as to what you're talking about." I laugh softly and pull my shoes off, substantially shrinking me a couple inches. "But, if I did, I would say that I didn't mind staying with a beautiful girl all night."

       "Well, thank you anyway. For not knowing anything." I give him a kiss on the cheek and walk into my bathroom.