The Second Queen

Chapter 29

Isabella Victoria

I walk down the partially snow covered path, looking at the ground and thinking. Footsteps crunch in the snow behind me and I quickly duck behind a tree.

"Miss? Miss? Miss Isabella? Where are you? For God's sake come out of your hiding spot." Then she quiets her voice and talks to herself, "That girl is going to be the end of me."

Eliza's voice resumes calling for me and fades away as she walks down the path. I sigh and come out from behind the tree. Then I begin to retrace my steps through the forest back to the palace. I pass the stables, gardens, and nobles.

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I walk through the doors to my chambers, shrug my cape off and hand it on the hook next to the door. I open the letter that is sitting on my desk and begin to read.

November 9th 1605

My dearest Victoria,

John has told me everything about the dangers of the palace. Please stay safe Isabella, I cannot lose you as well as your mother. You must keep guards with you; I do not care about your personal opinion on keeping a guard with you, in fact keep two with you at all times if you are to be somewhere alone. On a different note, I am glad that you are getting along well with His Majesty. How was the dinner? Please let me know if you need me to send anything to the palace.

Phillip's seaside palace has been a wonderful experience. You were right, the time away from home was good for me. Though I must admit, I would much rather visit in the summer, it was quite cold. I am glad that the snow has not yet set near the sea. We have spent a lot of our time cooped up in the cigar room. Phillip has told me many stories from when you and Mary were at his home.

Although the trip was wonderful, I do continue to miss your presence at home. I am quite surprised that you have not nagged me in your letters to drink my six cups of tea a day. Do not worry, my dear, I am still drinking the tea. Giovanni insisted that I inform you that Midnight is doing fine and that he is going outside everyday for much of the day.

I miss you and your joy every moment of the day. Your letters create such excitement whenever they arrive. Please continue to write often and in great detail. I love you dearly and I do hope that you won't forget us at home. But, please do not forget to enjoy yourself.

All my love,

Your father,

William

I refold the letter and unlock my desk drawer. A stack of letters bound in a red ribbon sits in the center of the drawer. I take the stack of letters out of the drawer and place it on my desk. I untie the ribbon and place the new letter on the top, retie the ribbon, place the stack back in the drawer, and close it. I slide a sheet of paper off the stack in front of me, dip my quill in ink, and begin to write.

November 11th 1605

My dearest father,

I am so glad that your trip to uncle Phillip's was successful. Hopefully one day I will be able to go to uncle Phillip's with you and cousin John. Thank you for continuing to let me know about Midnight. I miss you terribly and wish that I could speak with you in person again.

Everyone here has been quite kind to me, especially the Princesa of Safire. The dinner with the king was quite enjoyable. It was an enlightening experience in so many ways. I think it helped me begin to figure out why I agreed to come to Ordet. The dinner also helped me see more of who the king is. Perhaps you were quite right to ask me to go to the palace.

I am sorry about the shortness of the letter.

All my love,

Your Daughter,

Isabella Victoria

I quickly blot the letter and seal it. I set the letter off to the side and stand. Through the window I see light snow falling to the ground. "Theodosia, are you in here?"

She walks into the main chamber, "What do you need Isabella?"

"Can you find a cloak for me? I want to go outside."

"It's snowing! And you were just outside."

"Theo, you may hate the snow and prefer the Alashite climate, but the snow isn't even sticking."

She sighs, "Very well miss. Come with me."

I follow Theodosia as she walks into my closet and wait as she pushes clothing aside and digs in the back of the closet. She pulls a dark gray cloak out of the rows of clothing and hands it to me. I fasten the cloak around my shoulders and listen to Theodosia's lecture on the cold. "It's far to nasty outside for you to be going out. I have no idea why in God's most holy name you would want to go outside and walk around but fine by me. Don't get yourself killed otherwise I won't have a job anymore. Don't you dare slip on ice or get frostbite. I don't want to be the one to deal with all of that. And for God's sake wear some gloves and put your hood up do you want to get hurt? Now go before it gets dark and even colder."

I pull my hood over my head, take the gloves from Theodosia's hands, and slip them in the pocket of my cloak. She takes the cold cloak off the hook by the door and shoos me out of the room. I walk down the halls until I find the closest exit. An exit comes into view and I open up the door and allow the cold, crisp air to hit my face. 

A/N: The Second Queen should be completed by the end of August. It's sequel will hopefully start by the end of October but NaNoWriMo may get in the way of that. Fingers-crossed though.