Lost Royalty

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

As soon as Oscar left the party he began his journey back to the palace. By the time he had arrived, the royal family had long gone to bed. Oscar decided not to wake them up, but instead to wait until the morning.

His own chambers were located amongst the other palace workers, and as he passed them in the corridor, he struggled to happily greet them. Whilst most of the castle was asleep, the living quarters for the workers were usually busy until after midnight. They just had so much work to do.

The head guard, who was walking through the hallway, stopped to greet to Oscar. They were good friends, along with Prince Andrew.

He seemed to sense Oscar's unease, but he refrained from asking questions. He knew that Oscar had been working closely with the king and his advisors, and it wasn't his place to ask questions. If they wanted him to do something they would ask him.

Oscar didn't sleep well at all. He had been tossing and turning for hours, trying to figure out how he would tell the king that it was the end of the search.

By the time he had finally drifted off, it was time to wake up.

The morning seemed so bright and cheerful. Birds could be heard singing from outside, and the general chatter seemed jolly.

He made his way sleepily down to the breakfast room. The royal family were already seated. It was a large table, with spare chairs for guests and other people who lived at the palace. It was not the same table that the family sat at for dinner.

Oscar walked in, bowed to the king and queen, and sat down in the middle of one side, in between Sophia and Oliver.

"How is the search going?" the king asked.

"I'm afraid I have bad news." Oscar replied, looking at the table. He knew it was cowardly not to look at the king, but he didn't think that he could cope with the emotions that would surely show.

"What is it?" the king asked, looking worried.

"The search is over, and we haven't found her." Oscar said. He could almost feel the dejection in the room.

"It's definitely over?" the king asked.

"I spoke with the advisors and we have all agreed that Elizabeth is nowhere to be found. Every girl has been assessed, and Princess Elizabeth has not been found." At this point he looked up.

The king had his head in his hands.

The queen, usually the one comforting the king, was staring at a spot on the clear wall, tears dripping off her face.

Andrew, who also had tears down his face, was hugging a crying Rachel.

Oliver sat with his knees drawn up to his chest, hugging them to himself.

Oscar could feel Sophia shaking next to him, so he put his arm around her shoulders. She hugged him tight, her small frame clinging onto him.

Danny's reaction was difficult to watch. His body was heaving with silent sobs as he clung to the table for support.

"I won't believe it!" Danny yelled. "She must still be there somewhere!"

No one answered him.

"She isn't dead!" Danny insisted.

"It's time to admit that it is over. There is nowhere else to look." Oscar replied, trying to keep in his own tears. He needed to stay strong for the family.

All in all, the situation was worse than Oscar had expected.

Breakfast had been untouched, and was left on the table. The maids had come to clear the plates away earlier, but had left when they saw what an emotional moment that they were interrupting.

When the family had cried all of their tears, they finally got up from the breakfast table.

The family all went to their rooms, put on some warmer clothes, and met up in the entrance hall. Nothing had been said between them, but they all knew where they were going to go.

The children followed their mother and father, as they walked across the gardens and up the hill.

It was Elizabeth's favourite hill. She would often drag her brothers and sisters there and make them sit with her for hours on end. None of them had understood the beauty like Eliza had, but they had sat with her anyway.

But now they sat there without her. They looked over at the kingdom, at the place that they had thought Eliza was being hidden. But she wasn't there.

It was a beautiful day, one that Eliza would have loved. Despite the hilliness in the air, the sun was shining brightly. But the family hardly noticed. They were too caught up in their grief to pay any attention.

One by one they went over to her memorial plaque that had been made when she had disappeared. They had all planted flowers around it, which were now growing beautifully.

It seemed odd that so much beauty and life was growing around a memorial that represented death.

They sat there together, as a family of seven, just looking around at Eliza's favourite place, trying to bring back the memories of her.

They still didn't talk, as they each tried to deal with their own emotions.

Little did they know, an interesting conversation was being overheard in the village of Grea. A bit of news that was sure to change their view of the future forever.

A/N- I know it's a short chapter, but it's a mid-week update!

I hope you are all having a lovely week so far! Xx