Heir At Last

Chapter 7: Memories

Diana's POV
The earliest memory I have is me in a ballroom in my mother's country estate.

I remember the sunlit floors my feet danced on, my governess watching on as I giggled and stumbled my way through the choreography.

I remember the man rushing into the room, the air changing as he whispered his words into my governess's ear.

My father had arrived.

I was ushered upstairs and changed into a formal gown, my hair pulled back into a bun.

I was led to the dining room by my father's guards as if I hadn't spent more of my childhood in this house rather than the capital palace.

I remember someone placing me on my father's lap. He had a cup of wine in one hand with the other weaving through my hair.

'Dear one' he said, ' it is time you move back home and resume your training as a princess of this nation. You are grown now'

That struck me as strange. He had never called me by a pet name before. And he calls me lady. Everyone in the cold palace does. Only the people here call me princess.

I remember throwing a tantrum. I didn't want to leave my home. I had friends here. I didn't have to watch my every word.

I don't remember the reaction that well- other than my father's eyes flashing in anger and his tight grip on my mother's hand as she tried to lift me off of his lap.

But I do remember what my mother said to me when we were alone, outside the dining hall Cristal clear.

'Listen to me Diana,this isn't a game. It's a war of survival. And you hold more power and are in more danger than anyone else in this country. Don't think for a second that your father wants you back. He needs you back. And for now, you're at his mercy.'