The castle?
The children were little dears, all of them. During her first visits they had all insisted on calling her Lady Romano, but with time she had convinced them to at least call her Lady Evie and finally, nowadays, it was just Evie. If it had not been for the constant gifts she got them, the little children might have forgotten that the kind woman who kept visiting them was in fact of noble birth.
“Here is our newest addition. We found him outside our doorstep two days ago.” Miss Mary had left for a moment, and now returned with a little bundle in her arms. A small baby, no more than a couple of weeks old by the looks of it.
She knew, with a terrible ache in her heart, that the baby had no way of surviving.
“What a beauty.” She said softly and elevated her arms. “May I?”
“Of course.” Miss Mary handed her the child and Evie studied his little face. Children and animal were her soft spots, and she knew that she would spend many nights crying about the terrible fate that awaited this innocent child – and many of the others. Still, her shedding some tears was nothing compared to what these children were put through.
“Hello there.” She smiled at the boy who watched her with curious eyes. She rubbed her thumb against his cheek and then looked up, finding that the prince had caught the attention of many of the children. One of the little girls, Angela, was wearing his fur and they were all admiring it. Then, at the thought of sweets, they practically started jumping up and down with joy and Evie giggled. It was the sweetest sight.
“The castle?” One boy asked curiously. “Is it from the king?”
“Don’t be stupid. The king doesn’t care about us.” Another boy said, hitting the first one on the head.
“Now now.” Evie reached for the hitter, a little troublemaker named Hector, and brought him closer. “The king cares deeply for everyone in this kingdom.”
He didn’t, but if Hector grew up to say such things in public, he might find himself punished in the most gruesome of ways. Evie wanted no harm to come to any of these children and she did everything in her power to keep them safe.
Her eyes travelled back down to the little babe in her arms, his mouth open and searching for a food source that she could not offer him no matter how much she would have liked to.
“Here is our newest addition. We found him outside our doorstep two days ago.” Miss Mary had left for a moment, and now returned with a little bundle in her arms. A small baby, no more than a couple of weeks old by the looks of it.
She knew, with a terrible ache in her heart, that the baby had no way of surviving.
“What a beauty.” She said softly and elevated her arms. “May I?”
“Of course.” Miss Mary handed her the child and Evie studied his little face. Children and animal were her soft spots, and she knew that she would spend many nights crying about the terrible fate that awaited this innocent child – and many of the others. Still, her shedding some tears was nothing compared to what these children were put through.
“Hello there.” She smiled at the boy who watched her with curious eyes. She rubbed her thumb against his cheek and then looked up, finding that the prince had caught the attention of many of the children. One of the little girls, Angela, was wearing his fur and they were all admiring it. Then, at the thought of sweets, they practically started jumping up and down with joy and Evie giggled. It was the sweetest sight.
“The castle?” One boy asked curiously. “Is it from the king?”
“Don’t be stupid. The king doesn’t care about us.” Another boy said, hitting the first one on the head.
“Now now.” Evie reached for the hitter, a little troublemaker named Hector, and brought him closer. “The king cares deeply for everyone in this kingdom.”
He didn’t, but if Hector grew up to say such things in public, he might find himself punished in the most gruesome of ways. Evie wanted no harm to come to any of these children and she did everything in her power to keep them safe.
Her eyes travelled back down to the little babe in her arms, his mouth open and searching for a food source that she could not offer him no matter how much she would have liked to.
It felt wrong to stand there and deliver a letter to one of her ladies, marked with her husband’s seal, in front of the queen herself. He had to remind himself that he was only doing his job, as a servant should, and the drama between the royals and the nobles were none of his business. Still, he spent enough time tending to the king’s every need to know most of the drama going on behind closed doors. He knew, for example, that the king had no intention of returning to his wife’s bed any time soon. He had given up hope that she would ever produce a living heir to the throne.
“Lady Andrea, Your Grace.” He answered truthfully and bent down his head, avoiding making eye contact since making excuses for the king was clearly not in his job description. Besides, he knew no way of excusing infidelity even if he had wanted to.
The Lady Andrea appeared but the queen snatched the letter from his hand. Jasper, who had been given strict orders to give the letter to the lady, knew that this could cost him his job. The queen, however, did not think of that. People like her rarely thought of people like him and how their actions affected those working for them. Still, he bit his tongue and kept looking down. Telling the queen that the letter was for Lady Andrea’s eyes only would risk his job, but not saying anything risked his job too. He was damned no matter what he did and so he finally decided that if all else was lost, then the least he could do was come to the poor lady’s defense.
“The king intended the letter for Lady Andrea's eyes only.” He therefor stated, but then chose to fall silent once again. Looking down. Waiting to be excused.
