M E R E D I T H is a princess without a country. Her family, formerly the royal family of Borgavia, has been exiled from their home, forced to live under the rule of the Empire of Astoria.
A N T O N Y is a prince who doesn't want a crown. Soon to be...
Towards the end of two weeks, the hot weather of summer gave way to relief borne on cool autumn breezes. Antony's party set out from Jurmala to return to King's City on a morning that was cooler than any previous and Antony was, for once, glad for the red cloak he wore over his chain mail. Up until then, he had merely thought it to be a nuisance.
At the palace, the servants were kept busy preparing the massive building for winter. Even if it was only the beginning of September, the end of November would be there sooner rather than later. The size of the palace lent itself to long preparation times and Meredith found herself doing extra work whenever she wasn't needed by Isabella. Having spent almost two months in the palace, she had developed a routine of spending time with Isabella and then making her way down to the servants levels to help out in whatever capacity she was needed. Sometimes, that meant helping Ramona prepare dinner. Others, it meant assisting Fulton and the footmen with polishing the silverware.
The palace staff had settled into their duties, performing them with deft precision. In the absense of Kade and Antony, Isabella mostly kept to her room or to the horse trails, avoiding her mother as much as possible to lessen the chance of being cornered into accepting an outing with one young man or another. She kept as little company as possible, other than Meredith.
In the absence of Antony, the little thoughts that Meredith had very occasionally entertained and the confusion over John, disappeared entirely. There was to be another servants' party in a few days and she would be attending with the handsome footman.
Having recieved no word from the king or the general, the palace staff, Meredith included, continued to do their work, not knowing when the men would return.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Two days after setting out, Antony and Kade began the ride up the hill to the palace, leaving the other members of the guard to a well-deserved rest in the baracks. Antony himself felt rather exhausted, as sleep hadn't been easy to come by the last few nights since leaving Jurmala.
Arriving at the palace, they surrendered the reigns to their horses to a stable boy and made their way to the servants' entrance to the castle. Neither wanted to be caught by Therese and questioned about the visit, nor did they feel like running into Fulton, who would insist on baths, new clothes, a lavish meal, and then bed. Both men preferred to enter through the kitchen entrance, recieve some bit of nourishment from Ramona, and then make their way immediately upstairs to bed, Antony allowing Kade the use of a guest room.
Needless to say, both recieved strange looks from the few servants they encountered on their way to the kitchen.
They entered the huge room, in which servants bustled around to and fro, carrying pots and pans, trays of sweets, and pitchers of water.
"Now," said Antony, turning to Kade. "We just have to find..."
"Antony! It's been forever!"
Antony faced forward once more; Ramona was making her way towards him with open arms, her smile wide and her motherly face kind. He found himself smiling in return.
"Ramona," he said, accepting her hug. "It's been too long."
She stepped back and examined him critically. "Have you been eating right, without me to feed you?" She raised one eyebrow and circled him once. "You look too tired, too thin."
He laughed a bit. "I'm fine, Ramona," he assured her. "How have you been?"
"Much better now that you and your cousin have moved into the palace and I have someone to feed." She grinned at him. "Now come this way and have a bit to eat."
Antony turned to Kade and shrugged, smiling a bit. Kade simply grinned.
Ramona had been William's cook after Saraya had died and, as such, she had taken it upon herself to care for the young Jonathan and Antony. When Jonathan had moved to the palace to become King, she had made the move with him and had been there ever since. Antony hadn't seen her since he had been sent to live with his Aunt Therese. It was quite nice to see her again.
She turned to the stove where a pot of stew was simmering on the burner and stirred it, adding a few shakes of some spice or another that Antony didn't recognize.
"Meredith!" she called.
Antony looked up in surprise to see Meredith come hurrying around the corner, only to stop in surprise at the sight of him and Kade.
