Royalty in Death - an In Death series fanfic (J.D. Robb)

Chapter 14

Princess Petun was sitting on the stone bench, twirling a petunia in her fingers. The scent of the garden gave a nostalgic feeling that made her close her eyes to reminisce the past.

It happened three years ago.

All her life she was raised in a locked room cellar. She's not allowed to go outside, and if permitted, she'll be wrapped in a long shawl covering her face and constantly guarded. She could only read books that were screened by her governess, and watch movies according to the palace's biddings.

She's aware of the fact that she'll be somebody's wife when the time comes.

That night, she heard a rustling sound on her window. Thinking it might be a trapped animal on her barbed sill, she rose. She was already at the window when the sound stopped, and was about to return to her bed when the rustling sounded again. The window was a few metres high and to see the view outside, she needed to pull a table and a stool on top of it.

When a flute sounded, she declined that thought.

It was a familiar tone – a folksong she often heard from her chambermaids, about a sparrow hit by a stone and abandoned.

She sung the lyrics, made the player paused a second, surprised, but continued to play until the song ended. There was a moment of silence, and the rustled sound began.

"Cease!", she blurted out. "Don't leave."

The rustling sound stopped.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but you're a good player."

Silence.

"I'm the one who should say sorry.", a manly voiced answered. "You have a nice voice, are you a palace musician?"

She should be pissed that this man was not able to recognize the location he's been at the moment, downgrading her status, but she brushed it off.

"You can say so. Perhaps, you're also a palace musician too?"

Crap if she'll be busted. She didn't have any idea who's who in that group.

"Not yet, but I'm aiming to be one."

"So...you're sort of practicing?", she fumbled, with a sigh of relief.

"Yes, but I never thought that somebody's in this isolated corner of the palace. I even thought this is a storage or something."

This is my house, she thought.

"I'm Kyrios. What's your name?"

"Petun.", she answered.

"Like a flower. Simple but elegant. I like it."

She blushed on his comment. It was a simple flattery from a stranger, but it greatly affected her.

"Shall I see you tomorrow, Petun?"

It makes her heart flutter when he casually said her name, but she knew she must turn him down.

"I'm sorry, but I have other appointments tomorrow."

"Then how about the next day?"

"All my schedules are tight."

Silence.

"Must be difficult to work in the palace.", he muttered.

She could sense a sound of defeat, and with honesty, she wanted to be acquainted with him again.

"But tomorrow night, I will be here again. Same time."

"We can meet tomorrow night then?"

She heard a delightful sound that made her chuckled.