Anything Else

"TELL ME!" Flora's father screamed as he rushed towards her. He reached out his hand and yanked her head up by a chunk of hair. "TELL ME NOW!" Flora sobbed uncontrollably, her mouth unable to form words. No matter how hard she pushed, the air just wouldn't come out. Oh gods, she was suffocating. Flora clawed at her throat, trying to force her airway open. Oh gods, she was dying. The king jerked her head up into his face, his black eyes staring into hers. When he spoke again, his words came out like venom stinging her soul. "You will tell me about Leosta!"

Something broke free in Flora as she whimpered, "I don't know." The king threw her to the ground, kicking her over and over again without pause. Her ears were melting from the incomprehensible shrieking in the room. Flora couldn't tell if it was her or not as the pain flooded her body. "Please! Please stop!" Her pleas went unheard by the king. "Leosta will not join the war, so please stop!" Information swarmed around her head from an unknown source. Even still, her father did not stop his ruthless beating, his roar still deafening.

Suddenly, the room went silent, and all she could hear was her own ragged breathing. Flora struggling to lift her head, found the king on the other side of the room standing next to... Prince Andrei? Why was he here? A cruel smile covered his face, stretching all the way up into his black eyes that were devoid of all humanity. The king's face twisted to match the prince's as he purred, "she is all yours now." Prince Andrei followed his heed and stalked forward to Flora, pure malice exuding from his body.

"No!" Flora tried to move, but she couldn't. She kicked her legs and thrashed her arms, but she was frozen into that spot on the floor. "No, please!" Prince Andrei came ever closer, not listening at all. "Please, no No NO!" The blood pooling on the floor clung to Flora's clothes, each second passing added another layer, further gluing her to the ground. "PLEASE STOP!"

A loud bang woke Flora sending her to the back of her bed. Her eyes rapidly scanned the room, the image of the prince still in her mind. Where was he? Flora's heartbeat raced even quicker when she saw two figures approaching her from the side of her bed. "No! Leave me alone!" she screamed, kicking her legs under the covers toward the two shadows. One of the people flinched and folded over, a hand pressed to her temple.

A moment of clarity came over Flora as she realized that she was not in the receiving room, but her bedroom in Leosta. The two figures were the servants from yesterday, who had entered her room unannounced. Flora's throat closed up as the weight of her screams settled in, and her breathing still remained difficult as she forced herself to calm down. Flora held up a shaking hand, demanding the women to stay where they were. Still racing from fear, her mind worked to assessed the situation; this was reality. Carefully, she brought a hand up to her face, touching a tear-soaked cheek. When she moved the covers, Flora discovered that she was drenched in sweat; it coated both her clothes and the bedding. Bile rose up in her throat as the image of blood sticking to her rushed into her mind.

Amelia forced her way past the two women, rapidly scanning Flora for any injuries. "Yer highness, are ya O.K.?" She barely waited for Flora to nod as she ran into the bathroom and grabbed a damp cloth, returning to press it against Flora's forehead. "What happened yer highness?"

Swallowing hard, Flora struggled to talk through her dry mouth. She barely managed to ground out, "nothing." Flora's eyes darted towards the two servants, not caring how rude she came off. "Leave." They bowed and made their exit without a word. When the door clicked shut, Flora placed her head on Amelia's shoulder. Closing her eyes brought back the images of her dream, so she stared off at the tapestry on the wall. Amelia opened her mouth to pry more information out of her, but Flora beat her to it by saying, "was just a nightmare, nothing to worry about."

Amelia stayed for a long while, just sitting with Flora in the bed, until she got up and ran the bath. When she returned, she had a towel and a glass of water, which Flora downed in a few long gulps. Amelia guided her to the bathroom, and waited until Flora was done cleaning herself to put her in a fresh dress. As Flora sat in front of the vanity, Amelia softly brushed out her hair and braided it. Amelia's eyes met Flora's in the reflection of the mirror, her expression still deeply concerned. "Would ya like ta talk about it yer highness?"

Swiveling around in her chair, Flora shook her head answering, "I would like to talk about literally anything else." She stared at Amelia, tired despite just waking up.

"Er," Amelia fumbled for a change in subject. "So Ana and Staci told me that they are gonna show me around the palace today, so I can better serve yer highness." She tilted her head to the side, considering something in her head. "I have no idea how I'm suppose ta find ma way around this maze."

"Who are Ana and Staci?"

Amelia clapped her hands as she made a realization. "Oh! It's them ladies that helped out yesterday. After ya left yer highness, they showed me how ta get to the kitchens in this area of the castle and where ta find fresh linens. They are actually kinda nice." At this point, it was obvious that Amelia was compensating, but Flora wasn't about to object. Let the girl ramble on. "I think they are related, maybe sisters? They have been workin' here for a while."

"It looks like I'm going to need to teach them how to properly enter a princess's chambers." Flora picked at her finger nails, the embarrassment of the servants seeing her in such a state hounding her. "I can't have just anyone barging into my bedroom like that." More than anything, the fact that her room was so easily accessible to anyone left her feeling exposed.

A look of guilt came over Amelia's features. "Well, yer right yer highness. I can talk ta them about that today when I see them." Amelia twirled her thumbs as she muttered, "I don' get any of this stuff."

"It's alright Amelia," Flora said as she rose out of the chair. She eyed Amelia's hair, no longer in a Pranian servant's bonnet, but instead unleashed in all of its curly glory. Flora quite like the shine that came from the twists in her dark mane. "I thought about this yesterday Amelia. Where did you get those new clothes?"

As if she were caught in the act of something, Amelia jumped backwards, her hands running down the sides of her dress. Her face turned a deep scarlet as she stammered, "Well, well yer highness... Rose suggested that I wear some of yer old dresses." Ah, that's why the clothing had looked familiar to Flora. Those must have been years old to have fit Amelia's small frame. "She said it would be better if people here thought that I was... highborn yer highness." Amelia looked extremely uncomfortable with both the outfit and the situation as she rubbed a piece of her skirt between her fingers. "If you don' like it yer highness, I can-"

"No, no," Flora interrupted, thinking it through. "I think that it might be best in this circumstance. Normally, the only princess of Prana wouldn't have a random peasant girl as her hand maiden. Even Rose had status before she became my nanny." Even though Flora had no intention of insulting Amelia, the girl's face dropped. Amelia's fidgeting stopped as she let the statement set in. "Oh no, not like that Amelia." Flora laid her palm on the girl's back, patting it gently. "I don't care where you come from or who your family is Amelia. You are an amazing friend and loyal companion. That's all that matters to me."

"But, yer highness, don' ya think it's dishonest?"

"Please," Flora droned, "the Leostans are looking for any ridiculous reason to tear us down. Let's not give them any ammo to work with." Amelia still didn't look convinced, but she had calmed down. Flora poked her side, saying in a joking tone, "let's look at it this way Amelia, we don't owe them anything." Flora was finally shaking off the feeling of her nightmare. "Don't you have somewhere to be Amelia?"

Amelia shot back, frazzled. "Er, yes yer highness, but are ya O.K?" She eyed Flora, looking for any signs of distressed left on her face.

"Don't worry about me Amelia; I'm fine." Flora walked over to one of her chests and pulled out a pair of silk shoes to match her dress. As she slipped them on, she ordered, "Amelia, you follow through with your plans today. I think I'm going to explore the palace a little bit." Amelia quickly curtsied and scurried out of the room to find Ana and Staci. Flora straightened her back as she figured out her first move. She was no longer in Prana, so there was no way she was going to worry about the stupid rules she had to follow back at home. Hopefully, she wouldn't get herself into too much trouble.