Chapter 4

Amelia had managed to take her mind off her anxiousness with the help of her book. She was so engrossed in it that she was barely aware of the situation around her and how long she had been glued to the book. 

Her stomach grumbled in objection to the unfair treatment, bringing it to her notice that she didn’t have breakfast. She looked out of her window to realize it was noon.

She had thought she’d go to the kitchen to get something that interests her and eat but with her mother’s visit and her dedication to the book; she forgot her plans to eat.

Hearing her stomach rumbled the second time; Amelia dropped the book and stood up from her bed. She stretched and tried to fix her dress, ready to head out to get herself something to eat. 

Helen wasn’t back yet and the other maid was nowhere close to her room when she checked earlier. All she could see was a deserted pathway. Well, except for the few guards she saw at the far end of the hallway, there was no maid around. Hence, her only option was to do this herself. 

She wondered where her maids were and she didn’t remember to ask her mother why she summoned Helen, hoping Helen would report to her when she comes back.

Closing the door behind her, the guards turned to her and bowed. She proceeded towards the kitchen but stopped in her tracks when she noticed a guard followed her.

“You should head back. I’m just heading to the kitchen.”

“But your highness…”

“I’ll be fine on my own. I just need to get something.” Amelia smiled, hoping the guard would leave her alone. 

She hated being followed around by guards. She was still in the palace after all and not outside. No harm could possibly come near her with how tight the security was in the palace. 

But none of these guards would hear any of it. They all wanted to protect her like their lives depended on it and she couldn’t blame them. Their lives actually depend on it. All the guards assigned to her were meant for her protection. Nothing less!

“You can stay back.” 

The guard hesitated for a moment before he nodded. He knew nothing could possibly go wrong with the princess in the palace even if she stayed the whole day without her guards. He stepped back, bowed slightly and turned to his station. 

Amelia heaved a sigh of relief and continued her walk to the kitchen. On her way to her intended destination, she could see maidservants and guards hustling around the palace. She knew it’d be for nothing else but her wedding. 

Ignoring the movements, she got to the kitchen and there was no difference from the hustling and bustling she witnessed on her way. The workers in the kitchen were also getting ready for the big day. 

“Your highness,” a maid saw her and curtsied, calling the attention of others to Amelia. They all paused and acknowledged her presence. The head of the kitchen staff came up to her while the others returned to their work. 

“Your highness, what brings you here?”

“I apologize for disturbing your work.” Amelia said. “But I’d like to get something to eat. I missed breakfast.”

“Would you like some pottage, your highness?”       

“Yes, please.”

The woman excused herself and came back few minutes later with a bowl of pottage.

“Here you go!”

“Thank you.” Amelia grinned at the woman and as if on cue, her stomach joined her in appreciation by rumbling. The head maidservant couldn’t help but smile at how adorable the young princess looked that moment.

The woman curtsied and left to continue her work while Amelia found a comfortable corner to consume her meal. She didn’t want to head back to her chamber and come back again to return the bowl.

Taking in the first scoop of her pottage, Amelia couldn’t help but hummed in pleasure of the satisfaction the taste of the meal gave. 

Without much delay, she gobbled the meal. After several failed attempts to clean the bowl up herself and also lend a helping hand to the maids, Amelia exited the kitchen.

With hunger out of her way, she felt more energized and was ready to head back to her room. 

“I should head back. I need to finish my book as soon as I can.” She muttered under her breath as she walked away from the kitchen. 

“Your highness,” Some maids curtsied. She smiled in return but as she walked past them, she suddenly remembered something which made her stop and turn to the maids.

"Have you seen His Majesty today?"

The maids exchanged uncertain glances before one finally answered.

"His Majesty has been with the royal guests since dawn, Your Highness."

"I see..." Amelia nodded. "Then he must be occupied."

 Amelia smiled and walked on, changing her directions. 

“The wedding is tomorrow. I doubt if he’d be free.” She thought and sighed. 

“I should just visit mother instead and tell her what I want.”

“Oh my, he is so handsome.” Amelia paused and turned. “Even his body is well built.”

The young princess squint as she watched two maids gushed dreamily over someone. She wondered who they were talking about so she moved closer to them without them noticing. 

“After he had walked past us, his scent still lingered in the air and I love it. Don’t you?” One of the maids squealed, careful not to raise her voice so high that it’d call the attention of the object of admiration. 

“I do but do you know we ought not to speak about the prince in this manner?” 

“The prince?” Amelia frowned. 

“Did I finally run into my soon-to-be husband?” She scoffed.

“We could be punished if we get caught.” The second maid cringed. 

“Well, I’d advise you run along before you get caught.”

The maids turned and gasped, seeing Amelia walked up to them.

“Your highness!” The two girls bowed. 

“I bet you have no work to do.” Amelia commented, eyeing the baskets they held each. They were full of flowers so the princess could already guess they were sent to the flower garden to get some flowers but they ended up making the prince their object of attention.

“Forgive us, your highness.” They pleaded, scurrying away from her presence.

Their voices grabbed the attention of the prince and he ended up turning back. Amelia let out a sigh.

“Now that he has seen me, do I need to go say hi?”

The princess watched the young prince squint his eyes, trying to make her face yet the sun was a hindrance.

“It’d be rude to leave like this. Let’s just get this over with.” Amelia sighed. “Starting tomorrow, he’d be my husband anyway. There’s nothing to fear.”

Amelia tugged at her dress slightly to avoid stepping on it as she stepped into the garden. As she moved closer to the prince, she felt every hair on her skin stand. 

“I’m not nervous.” She reassured herself.

“Prince Andrew Harrison Brown!” Amelia curtsied.

“Andrew would have been fine.” The prince clicked his tongue which made Amelia raised her head to look at the prince’s face.

“Did I just hear wrong?” she thought but shrugged it off. 

However, on a second thought, Amelia gasped slightly. 

“Oh my! Is he one of the princes I ignored? Is that why he sounds annoyed?”

“Prince Andrew,” The young princess proceeded to speak, in an attempt to apologize to him. “I…” 

Andrew regarded her quietly for a moment.

"Is there something you need?" His tone was calm, detached, and sounded almost as though he had already decided to keep everyone at a distance.

“What?” Amelia blinked, stunned at the coldness.

Unsure of what to say, Amelia watched as the prince moved away from her. 

“I believe I can take your silence as an answer. You have nothing to speak to me about so I’d like you to excuse me.” He said, his face void of any expression. “I have a wedding to get ready for.”

He bowed slightly and began to walk towards the exit of the flower garden. Amelia caught a whiff of his scent as he walked past her and it brought her out of the dumfounded state and snapped her back to her senses. 

“Prince Andrew!” she called, her voice slightly raised. The prince halted his steps but didn’t turn to look at her.

Amelia took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down and think of what to say.

“He’s only annoyed because he was one of those I ignored at the party. That has to be the reason.” She thought. “I only need to apologize about that, right?”

“I’m sorry if I’ve offended you with any of my actions.” She stated. “I apologize for my mistakes, your highness.”

“Your actions?” Prince Andrew scoffed and turned to look at the young princess. “I thought you had a good reason for not showing up at the dining hall. Clearly, no offense taken!”

“So?” She breathed.

Andrew finally turned to face her. His expression remained unreadable.

"Do yourself a favor, Princess Amelia." He held her gaze for only a second. "Don't expect affection from me."

Amelia felt the words strike harder than she expected.

"The sooner you stop hoping..." he continued quietly, "...the easier this marriage will be for both of us."

He turned to leave before adding one last sentence.

"If fate had been kinder..." His voice was almost a whisper. "...neither of us would be standing here today." 

Prince Andrew turned and left the princess, standing right in the middle of the garden, stunned. Amelia remained rooted to the spot, and replayed every word he'd said, trying to understand what had made him so distant.

For a brief moment, just before he'd turned away, she could have sworn she'd seen something in his eyes. It wasn't anger or hatred. It looked almost... sad.

It looked as though he were carrying a burden far heavier than an unwanted marriage.

She shook her head.

"No," she muttered to herself. "He's simply rude."

Amelia let out a long sigh.

"Wonderful. Not only am I being forced into marriage, my future husband seems determined to make sure I regret every moment of it."