Chapter 23

            Finally a letter from the Capital, especially the Royal family, came to my room, brought by my mother, where her face was not so happy…I was still laying on my bed…she came beside me…she didn’t give it to me, but recited it to me…I didn’t hear clearly about their opening, seemed some rubbish in my ears, but I heard the important parts..

“Royal’s decree to bring Aurelia Aurelius as Royal’s courtier, and to develop a bond between the Crown Prince with Aurelia Aurelius…..”

Developed a bond? Maybe I could do it or not…

I didn’t realize, mother had already finished reciting it to me, because I didn’t not pay attention to the letter, because I already knew it..

Mother leaned to me and said “Sorry, Aurelia, you will go to the capital, because those Royals”

“It seemed mother and father hate the Royal…”

I saw her face was baffling, she pulled her face to me…

“Hear me, Aurelia!! Never trust anyone from those people, in that court…that court is disgusting, and dirty, than you can imagine, perhaps, Lady Octavi already taught you about my terms of disgusting and dirty.”

“Yes she did…”

“Great, so don’t let you be drowned by their words.”

“But still, that’s not the answer to my question..”

“The reason is simple, Aurelia…they are envious of us…they try everything to get involved in our own territories and businesses. You may already know that the capital of Florence is more developed and richer than the capital of the Kingdom…and they dared to try to bring their people to be our Count or our vassal…who do they think they are? Try to intervene in Aurelius’ hands…” Mother stood up, and walked back and forth, while she was talking crap about the royals…at some point, she stopped and said something unbelievable “Your bethoral is their opportunity to meddle in our hands…We agreed to them, for exchange, they stopped send their people to our territories as our vassal. Somehow I felt Ophelia would be unsafe in the future..”

“Is that why? In these 7 years, the Crown Prince never visit me again?”

“We just said to the Crown Prince, you are not in a good state ... .Just that, we didn’t prevent him from visiting you again, but we didn’t know why he didn’t look at you anymore after that incident…What a great chivalry from the Crown Prince!”

“When I depart from here, to the capital?”

“Perhaps, did you not hear well from my reciting? Aurelia Aurelius shall depart tomorrow, As this letter received…So you went to the capital tomorrow…”

“Do Ophelia and Aurelio know about this?” I couldn’t call them little again.

“They will know, by dinner time…I will try to tell them…”

“Who shall accompany me to the capital?”
“Adel is the primary to accompany you anywhere and anytime, and Lady Octavi will be present to the capital, but not the same as you, she will come behind, after some preparation…”

“What about Sofia?”

“Unfortunately, she will not be with you, but she has taught some of her knowledge to Adel, so Adel can do some of what she did…..I think that’s everything…If I continue this conversation, maybe you will watch me keep talking about the Royals... ”

Mother excused herself, and left the room..

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..

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Dinner was already over, Adel brought my dish to the front of my door like usual, when she opened the door, I heard rushing steps towards my room, and immediately their faces appeared, they were Ophelia and Aurelio…they rushed into my room, while the door was opened by Adel…They immediately were beside me, leaned to me, and started to talk…

“What mother said it’s not true right, sister Aurelia?” They kept saying it a lot of times.

I just kept quiet and silent, until they stopped asking the same question repeatedly.

……

After a few minutes, they were exhausted after asking the same question, and became quiet.

“Now, you two are quiet enough for me, so I will answer your one question……Yes, what mother said it’s true…Tomorrow I will be departing to the capital, with Adel…”

“BRING ME TOO, SISTER AURELIA!!” Aurelio said with a loud tone.

“Why you want to tag along with me?”

“Because…..I kept watching sister Aurelia, alone in this room…”

“What are you talking about? I was not alone, Aurelio…there were you, Ophelia, Adel, and Lady Octavi, who made my day…and kept moving to another day…”

“NO! What I meant is the Crown Prince…”

“Huh??”

“How that man never visited you for a single second, minute, hour, even one day in his spare time, in the last 7 years???”

“Maybe he had business as cro–”

His voice became louder “AND NOW, HE TRIED TO SNATCH YOU FROM US!! THIS IS SO UNFAIR..” I was baffled about his behavior this time…he kept talking about the Prince “HOW DARE HE!! THOSE ROYALS!! IT FEELS …. I… W …ANT … TO … PUNCH …HIM …WHEN … WE…MET…AGAIN,” His hands were trembling and gripping hard…

Wohohoho, I didn’t know Aurelio would say that… “You are 14, Aurelio, and Prince is 23, how do you beat him?” I said.

“JUST…WAIT…IT…Sister…This…hand…will…be in his face, one day…”
“How about you save it for your sister beside you?? Ophelia is more fragile than me, even mother felt insecure about Ophelia's safety in the future…I am far beyond to get help from you, Aurelio.”

Ophelia was surprised and asked “What you, sister, mean about mother feeling insecure about me?”

“You are 14 like Aurelio, and you one day, will become a target like me, a target of betrothal…some people will find this opportunity to get close to you all…So you two need to help each other behind…”

“What about you, sister? Are you perhaps not happy with your betrothal?”

“Hmmmmmmmmm, I don’t know how to answer that question, but for now, I will try to seek the answer from your question……..For now, how about you two, especially Aurelio, go to your own room, to clean your minds…”

They excused themselves, I saw Aurelio’s hands still gripping hard…

They were already grown…I took a rest, for tomorrow morning.

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..

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In the morning, I was woken up by Adel. She immediately told me to do the morning routine, where I didn’t do it for 7 years…She immediately led me to the vanity table, I sat at the vanity table…I said to Adel..

“How amusing it is, somehow I miss the feeling of sitting here, and face to face with a mirror ... .It is better than getting washed on the bed for 7 years…”

“It's really relieving to sit at the vanity table again, my lady?”
“Surely, it is, Adel…When I sit here, it means I will leave this room…”

Next, Adel did the morning routine like usual, but she used every drawer on the table, like she did it to me, when the Crown Prince visited…After it was done, a sound of knocking from the door could be heard, Adel walked towards it and opened it, it was another servant bring stack of dresses…Adel came back to me with the dresses, and showed it to me…

She said “Because, all your dresses surely don't fit you anymore, we will use madam old dresses this time, and we will bring some old old dresses to you for living in the capital..”

I looked at it, there was no huge skirt around it, or the arms were not big as I used to wear…maybe it was an adult dress, so all of that was gone…Adel put on the dress for me, after it was done, I checked it from the mirror…Adel said..

“You look like madam with that dress, my lady…”

“Is that so?”
“Yes…”

She went to my bed, and took some sort of big suitcases from under the bed…She started to put everything that was useful from the room, especially all the old dresses from mother to the suitcases. I told her to put the book on the table in the suitcase…She just thought the book was my diary..She put all the things from the vanity table to the suitcases..

A few moments later, while I was sitting and waiting at the vanity table, the door knob could be heard, I turned my body to it, and it was my mother…She came into my room to check me, I saw her face show some unwillingness…

She said “Look at you, you look like me…”

“Surely, because of your dress, mother..”

“I hope, in there, you can act like me, don’t even trust a single word from them…”

“I will keep all of your words in my mind and my heart, mother…You don’t need to worry too much about me…”

“Hmmm…but I just couldn’t relieve all of my thoughts about you living there…”

I looked at Adel, it seemed she was done, put everything in the suitcases.. I said to mother “When will I be departing, mother?”

“Why are you in such a hurry?? Perhaps, you now don’t like to live here anymore?”

“Not like that, mother…it is just not polite for them, if I am late in their time.”
“Like I give a single damn about them….*sigh* Everything has been prepared, the carriage is already waiting for you in front of the home…But…how about we take breakfast first? While your suitcases are laid in the carriage by the servants.”

“Gladly I am…”

I stood up, followed my mother, and left the room…We walked toward the dining room for breakfast. It has been 7 years, I haven't stepped a single step outside my room, even to the dining room…In there, I saw everyone already in there…There were no single words before we started the breakfast…After the breakfast, mother told me, all my belongings and suitcases already in the carriage…I went to my room, for the last time, to check everything…I said farewell to my room and went to downstair followed behind me, Adel.

When I was downstairs, I saw everyone went to the front of the house; father, mother, Ophelia, and Aurelio were there…I walked toward the front of the house…Before I said farewell to them, Ophelia and Aurelio surely gave me something wrapped as gift, and an envelope..They told me to open and read it, after I arrived to the capital…I gave her farewell hug to them, and pat their head for the last time…Mother gave her last kiss on my forehead for the last time, and hugged me…Father gave me his hug, and pat my head…Everyone just said take care yourself to me..I walked toward to the carriage, and went into the carriage, Adel went to the coachman side…There was no guards who will be guarding the carriage, so hope this would went well…I waved farewell to them, and the carriage started to move…Slowly the carriage passed the gate of the house. The story had already begun. I hoped I could meet with Gena and Delia again, to show them…