Delilah

“Right, Your Highness. You need to remember…”

Delilah sighed as she attended yet another lecture on how to rule a Kingdom, she couldn’t help but gaze out of the window as far as the eye could see. She knew she had to pay attention, for she would be Queen, but she couldn’t.

It didn’t matter if she was royalty or not, for all the decisions would be made by parliament all run by Men. Men who wished her downfall more than her uprise.

It wasn’t just Parliament though; Genevia never had a female monarch so this was a big change for them, and of course having the mentality that they did, the public would rather spend their day listening to the orders of a Man than a mere Woman.

Delilah wouldn’t be in this mess, had her Father not died from an illness that wiped out less than half of the nation three years ago, and her brother not abdicated the throne a couple of months ago, leaving the young girl to figure out how to rule a Kingdom.

She doesn’t blame her brother for abdicating, the pressure got to him which resulted in him leaving during the night, but not before writing a grovelling letter to his younger sister, and adding that he would write to her occasionally to tell her he’s alright, and as promised she finally received his letter after 2 months of his disappearance.

“Your Highness, are you listening?” the tutor asked, annoyance laced on her features.

“Yes, apologies, Madam Hutchens,” Delilah mumbled before she started scribbling random things in her notebook. She got on with her work knowing she was already in Madam Hutchens’ bad books for wearing the clothes of a commoner.

Comfort was never in the vocabulary of her tutor who thought Dalilah should parade around the palace wearing a gown that suffocated her from her ribs, heels that made her feet hurt and a crown that weighed half of what the young girl did.

Madam Hutchens, despite being in her 40s was a tall woman and only wore a grey dress that reached her ankles, she wore black clobbers on her feet with a small heel that knocked menacingly against the floorboards as she took slow steps towards the Princess, her hair was always in a tight bun at the nape of her neck, not to mention the permanent scowl.

Right now, Delilah was wearing a white blouse, blue dress and blue flats, her hair was in a low ponytail and draped over her left shoulder. The young girl thought it was ridiculous to wear such regal clothes if she was at home, and chose something simple yet elegant.

“Your Highness you need to understand that your coronation is in a few months, whatever I am teaching you is for your good, and to help you be a good ruler like your father,” Madam Hutchins lectured.

Delilah rose to her feet, her chair scraping against the floor. She badly needed a break before she broke down. She had heard the same lecture from everyone she knew and the pressure was getting to her. Her father was a good ruler, but she didn’t want to be the same, she wanted to be different.

“We’ll carry on tomorrow,” she told her before opening the door and stepping out.

“At this rate, Genevia is doomed,” she heard her tutor mumble.

Delilah closed the door with a click before making her way to the one room she felt at ease; the royal kitchen. Despite being a Princess, the young girl loved baking, she was good at it and said it helped her relax.

“What are we making today, Your Highness?” the chef asked, a sympathetic smile on his face, he knew of the young girl’s distress and knew if she was in the kitchen then her day had been rough.

“Cinnamon buns,” Delilah smiled, her eyes shining at the mention of her favourite baked treat.

“Why am I not surprised?” the chef laughed, “Well, come on then. Those cinnamon buns won’t bake themselves.”

An hour later, the delicious aroma of cinnamon and sugar filled the kitchen making the mouths of everyone in the room water. Delilah couldn’t wait any longer and served everyone before wrapping one up in a tissue and leaving the kitchen with a smile on her face.

The young girl quickly and quietly crept through the halls, knowing fully well someone must’ve found out about her little escape from her lessons and a search would be going through the palace.

But Delilah was quick and knew the palace like the back of her hand, after all, it had been her home for almost 22 years now. Down the corridor, take a left, make sure to duck and dive to avoid being spotted by guards, first door on the right.

The door slowly creaked open before Delilah closed it, she inhaled a deep breath, taking in another smell she loved; books. Walking over to the desk with a book already placed on top, Delilah set her cinnamon bun down and started reading, only pausing to take a bite and brushing crumbs off the page.

The royal library was another place Delilah felt relaxed, it was a chance for her to see the world she never had, having been confined to only Genevia, Delilah wished she could go to other Kingdoms.

Her father and brother had been protective of her growing up, wanting to shield her from the horrors of the world. But Delilah knew she could handle it, she wasn’t a child and had battled many scary things like the death of her beloved Father and the separation from her dear brother, but what she hadn’t prepared for were the horrors of ruling a Kingdom.

As she turned the pages of the story, her eyes widened at the adventures the characters went to, a world full of magic and witches and wizards. The books helped her escape to a place where she wasn’t a Princess. A place where she could do whatever she wanted—a place where no one knew her.

The sun glared through the window making Delilah squint her eyes at the sudden light in her eyes. She gazed outside of the window and saw that the Sun was slowly going down, it was late in the afternoon meaning the young girl had stayed in the library far longer than she intended.

Picking up her book she made her way out, again this time she took a different route as she was going to her bedroom. She was engrossed in her book as the main characters had just had a falling out, she needed to know what was going to happen next, but just as she was about to turn the page, she hit a wall… or what she thought was a wall.

A small gasp escaped her lips, and a loud thud emitted from the foyer, she felt her hand slip into a slightly cold, slightly rough one which helped her regain her footing, and her eyes locked onto grey-blue ones before she was steadied onto her feet.

The gentleman who had helped her moved his mouth and a slightly foreign strip of words escaped past his lips confusing Delilah. His eyes widened slightly as if he came to a quick realisation and cleared his throat before he repeated himself, “Are you okay, miss?” this time Delilah understood him.

“Oh yes, thank you. My apologies I should’ve looked where I was going. Are you alright?” she asked, her eyes quickly scanning over him.

“Yes,” the young man nodded, again after briefly composing himself.

She took him in as she studied her from head to toe, he was wearing a dark blue Uniform with gold cords and was adorned with medals, he looked around her age but had a higher position than the men behind him, who only had one or two medals. She realised he wasn’t from there as her guards had a red uniform.

Her eyes wandered up his large frame and settled on his face, and sharp features, he could have been crafted by Michaelangelo himself. She should have been intimidated but the longer she looked the more mesmerised she had become, he had her under his spell without even knowing. He was undoubtedly the most handsome man she had ever seen.

However, she managed to break eye contact when he crouched down to retrieve the book she had unknowingly dropped. That would explain the thud she heard, he stood up and handed it to her, their hands brushed and the touch was so gentle it was barely noticeable, but Delilah felt a shiver go down her spine.

“Thank you, and, are you sure?”

“Yes,” he repeated himself with a firm nod.

“You, girl! Have you seen the Princess?” one of the comrades behind him spoke up.

“May I ask who you are?” Delilah questioned.

“We’re her bodyguards,” another comrade spoke up.

“I see,” Delilah nodded, the smile not leaving her face.

“Princess!” they all heard someone say, and looked behind them to see the castle steward; Cedric quickly walking towards them. Delilah flushed with embarrassment, she didn’t want to disclose her identity just yet, meeting someone who didn’t know who she was made her feel… normal for once.

“Where is she?” three out of four men spoke up.

“She’s right there,” Cedric pointed towards the girl Mamoru had just saved, “Princess Delilah of Genevia.”

Delilah smiled sheepishly as she turned towards the man who had just saved her from breaking her back, his eyes were wide and his jaw was clenched he looked more embarrassed than anything else.

“Mr Cedric, is her Highness looking for me?” Delilah asked, trying to look for an excuse to escape.

“No, I was. I wanted to introduce you to your new bodyguards, but I guess you’ve already met them,” he nodded with a smile.

“We were just getting acquainted,” the girl nodded, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.

“Excellent. Well, I’ll leave you to it, might I suggest you take this to the dining room,” he retrieved a pocket watch from the breast pocket of his blazer and quickly walked off.

Delilah turned towards the four men who hadn’t spoken another word and were looking at her shocked. She exhaled a breath before stretching her arm, “Please, follow me.”

The men silently followed her for a few minutes before they came to a door, the man who saved Delilah raised his fist in the air, he then did a two-finger point towards the door and two subordinates stood as guards on the left, the one left standing took his place on the right, all three of them standing straight as Delilah opened the door.

The two entered the room before the door closed, there was a huge table in the middle with a tray resting on top. The tray was filled with various biscuits, scones, and cakes, as well as a teapot and a few dainty cups and saucers.

“Please, sit,” Delilah urged.

“After you, Princess,” the young soldier gestured.

The young girl nodded before taking a seat followed by the gentleman, “Before we proceed allow me to introduce myself, Mamoru Himeji, and I apologise on behalf of my subordinates, they shouldn’t have spoken to you that way, believe me, I’ll have a word with them later,” his jaw clenched and something fierce flashed in his eyes, Delilah could tell he was going to yell at them.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr Himeji and please don’t apologise, it’s not their fault,” she smiled, which turned into giggles before she knew it, she was doubling over with laughter. Mamoru looked at her as if she had grown horns out of her ears as the young Princess swiped at the tears in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I just found it funny that’s all. What was most amusing was the fact that Mr Cedric decided on just settling on Princess Delilah of Genevia instead of my full name,” she told him after finally calming down.

“Your full name?”

“Delilah Irene Ariel of Genevia”

“Anyways, can I interest you with a cup of tea?” she changed the subject to calm her nerves as well as his frustration.

Mamoru nodded, the corner of his lips lifted slightly before it fell again, “Thank you, Princess.”

“Please, call me, Delilah.”