Alexandria: The Lost Princess

Chapter 21 - Part 1

Queen Helena, stands behind us unannounced and oddly dressed in more casual attire. Her dress is slim fitting a faded red. Her hair always restrained high and firm is now braided to the side.

"I-I um," Elizabeth stutters in distress.

She stares into me with cold eyes, revealing nothing of her thoughts. "Run along girls," she waves her hand in dismissal, "I would like to get to know my daughter in law."

The girls scramble to their feet. "Excuse us," they choir, taking their curtsies and scurrying onto the grass for closer viewing of the men.

Helena slides into the now vacant chair, graciously sitting herself down. Placing her hands on her lap, she looks undeniably regal even in her more toned down appearance. "What troubles are those girls filling your head with?"

An awkward silence hangs between us, sweat starts to tickle my brow. If I don't acknowledge the truth of our conversation and she overheard us, then she will grow suspicious. "Just rumours of a passage," I chuckle in dismiss.

"Yes, that rumour has been around since before my time. Quite the ridiculous story," she smiles watching me with the same scrutiny that everyone else does.

"Did you ever look for it?" Slyly I twist the conversation, "It seems like the thing to do around here."

She giggles lightly with a silent thought of her childhood memories. Mellowing out with calculated precision, she lifts a brow. "Are you looking for it?"

Slumping my shoulder, I shrug. "If I found it, Kalen would never let me go explore with everyone else."

A sort of relief washed over her rigid features and transforms into a soft smile of understanding. "You still want to leave, don't you? I had been told of these desires, but I wasn't certain." She sounds like a concerned mother, if I ever had one, I'd assume this is how she would behave.

I scratch the back of my head feeling a little guilty. "I guess I play the part well."

"Barely," she snickers, lifting her fingers to her lips to conceal the emotion. Her eyes swirl with a hidden history, a distant memory surfacing, "your mother was much better at it."

"So she did try to leave then?"

A soft smile fills the crevices of her lips. A light pat to my knee in a tender gesture. "No, she didn't, but she kept many things from Thaddeus. You aren't as gifted at deceit, I'm sure Kalen can read you like a book." There is a hint of warning in her voice, a warning I am all too aware of.

Lifting my cup to my lips, I take a light sip. The cool minty taste tingling along my tongue. "Did she even miss my uncle?"

Helena nods, a slightly sad look to her eyes. "Of course she did," she sighs heavily, the words weighing heavily on her. "She loved him more than anything. She would be proud to know you were raised in his care. Never forget that you are a Tucket by blood."

A pinching pain has me wanting to cry, my heart igniting with confusion under strain. Looking to the stone walls of the castle, my throat nearly caves in on me. "Why didn't she run?"

"For you," Helena whispers, her eyes brimming with sudden tears. "Would you like to see him again?"

The tea shakes in my hand, rippling against the walls, it tries to burst out. It is trapped, just like I am inside these walls ready to burst. "Does it even matter?" I hiss uncontrollably.

"Of course it does." She leans in, wiping the tears from her eyes. "It shouldn't have ever ended like this, but I'm here and will always be here for you. Just trust in me," a painful yearning hangs in her voice, but the last words confuse me.

"Lord Charles!" Elizabeth cries out excitedly, "Take my favour!"

The girls sit on the grass, Elizabeth waves her sash in the air, it flutters in the light breeze. Lord Charles marches passed them ignoring Elizabeth on his way towards us. Taking a graceful bow before he approaches the table.

Queen Helena nods in acknowledgement. "Welcome, Lord Charles. What brings you this way? A need to quench a thirst?" Instantly, all of her personality has vanished, she is the queen and humming with condescending remarks.

His smile never wavers, "Pardon me, but if it would interest the princess, I'd be delighted to give her a special viewing of the games. The men are getting very agitated without her attention."

"Oh, but of course, what would men do without us women." She smiles with delight, placing her hands on mine with a light chuckle at her thought. Charles offers his hand, and I rise from my spot. She waves her hands in a shooing motion, still giggling, "Away you go chicken."

Whipping my head back around to her, I'm paralyzed. My heart pounding with impossibilities from inside my heart. "What?"

She tips her head to the side. "Is everything alright, child?"

"I swore you just-"

She interrupts me, "Run along, we don't want the lords kept waiting." She shoos me away.

Charles tugs me off the patio in my daze. Had I heard her correctly? That name, no one knows it. My mind swirls with confusion. She stands at King Thaddeus side as his wife yet she knows Tristan's nickname for me. Behind me, Queen Helena remain smiling and unfazed. My hand trembles in Charles' hand, the urge to run to her and beg for understanding weighs heavily in my mind. With each step towards the grass, a sense of hopelessness overcomes me.

~What is the opinion of Queen Helena? Can we trust her?~