princess ♢ royal au | fin

[perseverance]

per·se·ver·ance
/ˌpərsəˈvirəns/
noun

》steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success《

》when we've lost the rest of us, but still find the resolve to continue on and discover our purpose《

♢

"Y/N? What's happened?" A surprised and soft voice said, and you looked up to see Signe standing hesitantly in the doorway of the doctor's room. She must have been walking past and heard your sobbing.

"Rachel's sick, and my butler at the Gizmonia castle has an infection, and neither are getting better." You sniffled, hugging the letter even closer to your chest.

"Here, let's get you up and I can find you some tea." She gingerly assisted you in standing up, her warm hands rubbing your back to soothe you. "How'd you end up in the doctor's room?"

"I didn't know where to go, I just kinda ended up there after he ordered me to leave Rachel's room. I couldn't go back to my room, it's right next door and I could hear her screams."

"Does he know what's wrong with her?"

Shaking your head, you wiped at your tears and tried to slow your breathing. Signe and you continued down the hall in a comforting silence, still rubbing your back. Even in the kitchen that was dead quiet from the lack of chefs bustling around, you still could imagine Rachel's blood-curdling screams and see her body writhing aorund when you closed your eyes. You barely allowed yourself to blink.

"Y/N, drink this. It's chamomile, to calm your nerves." The Queen held the cup out to you, and you gripped it in one hand, your other still holding tight to the letter.

"You didn't need to do this for me, Signe." You said as you raised the cup to your lips, breathing in the sweet smell.

"I told you I wished to offer you my friendship, and this is what friends do."

"May I ask why you were walking the halls so late at night?"

"I find it hard to sleep when I'm not in my own bed, so I decided to look around your lovely castle."

"Not much to see, just some stone." A breathy laugh came out of ou before you took another sip of the tea. Your vocals were still weak, but the tea was soothing the irritation your throat suffered from your intense bout of sobbing.

Signe smiled back at you before pursing her lips, obviously getting lost in her own train of thought. You swallowed another sip with a deep sigh, closing your eyes for a moment. A headache was coming on, and you were now getting annoyed at all the stress headaches you were getting recently. Opening your eyes back up after it passed, you set your cup down to stand, ready to go back to the residential wing.

Your friend cautiously followed you as you descended back into the halls of your castle. As you neared the hall that held yours and your sister's rooms, you were shocked at what you heard.

Nothing.

You heard nothing. Rachel's screams had ceased. To make sure you were in the correct wing, you peered into the room that should have been yours, and it was, just as disheveled as when you got your jolting start to the day. You hesitantly closed your fingers around the door handle to open the door to your sister's room, fearing the worst. Maybe she had perished in her fit. At least she would've been out of her misery.

When you opened the door, your parents were nowhere to be seen, Dr. McLoughlin was pacing nervously and taking notes as your sister laid still under her sheets. Your stomach lurched to your throat and you lunged forward to your sister.