Chapter 11 -- Nightmare (10)

"Princess, these letters were sent to you. It seems as if they were sent some time ago, but whoever organized them must have gotten to it late."

Athanasia looked at the names on the envelopes.

Let's see. Including lily-girl, six of the people who joined my tea party all sent one. Ezekiel sent one. I don't know who these two people are. And...Jennette sent me five letters?! Oh my.

Aside from Jennette, everyone else had only sent Athy one letter.

"Jennette Magrita was the lady who gifted you a ribbon. Isn't that right, Princess? She must have been very worried about you." Smiling warmly, Lily left the room.

Feeling very strange, Athy opened the letter dated the earliest. She gasped. The scent of flowers reached her nose as soon as she opened the envelope.

Is this coming from the letter? It smells like perfume. Looking closely, she marveled at the pretty envelope. Wow. As expected of a female protagonist's style.

The elegant handwriting, which matched Jennette well, was written in a white letter with a drawing of a flower.

I hope you will not find my sending this letter discourteous. After hearing that you woke up, I was overjoyed. I was so worried about your illness that I could not rest properly. I prayed every night in hopes that you would wake up.

The princess paused, touched by Jenette's concern for her well-being and joy that she'd come out of her coma. It was then that she remembered how, unlike the other ladies who had run away after seeing Blackie, only Jennette had stayed back to protect her.

The other ladies who were present at our get together are all worried about you too. Knights escorted us out of the palace after His Majesty was said to have taken care of the problem. I had to beg my uncle to know the truth: that you had lost consciousness. Other ladies simply know you to be unwell. I haven't told anyone what happened to you.

Ah. That's what happened. Athy had heard from Lily that the other ladies were safe. Claude must have ordered them to leave the palace immediately. My being in a coma was a secret that only a few people were told. Wait, but how did Mr. White Doggie know? He really isn't someone to be taken lightly.

The rest of the letter was full of things like, 'I'm worried about you, so please get better soon.' But why did she send me five? Full of curiosity, the princess proceeded to open the rest of the letters.

I heard that you asked after my well-being. How could you be so kind? I am not injured at all, so please don't worry about me. Actually, it is I who is worried about you. I hope that you recover soon.

P.S. If it's not discourteous, would it be all right for me to send you letters like this, from time to time?

Athy continued to read Jennette's other letters with interest. The girl seemed to have a talent for writing because Athy had fun reading all of them.

It is with some hesitation that I am writing a third letter. I hope you will forgive me for doing so without your permission. However, you never told me that I could not. SoI would like to think that you might find it acceptable. If you find me to be troublesome, please find it in your generous heart to understand. I've written to Ezekiel when he was studying in Arlanta. But he considers me family. I have never before sent a letter to someone, aside from my family. I'm nervous and excited.

Speaking of Ezekiel, have you received a letter from him? He's also very worried about you, Princess. A few days ago I found an unsent letter to you on Ezekiel's desk, so I knew that he would send a letter to you sooner or later.

I decided to pretend not to know about this fact, however. Because I, too, am sending letters to you in secret. So, in a way, he and I are co-conspirators?

To Athy, they were just the sort of letters that would be written by a fourteen-year-old girl.

Ah. Thinking about this makes me feel so old.

Because Jennette's letters were so impactful, Athy felt as if the others were uniformly average by comparison. Ezekiel, lily-girl, and others only wrote letters full of concern for her.

The princess stood up from the sofa. She set the letters down on her desk, which was next to a window.

Let's see. Did I have stationary?

She had not personally written the invitations to her tea party. Opening her desk drawer wide, she eventually found some sheets that were passable for writing a letter. However, no matter how many times she looked at the paper, she was not satisfied.

Not only Jennette but also other ladies and gentlemen sent such sophisticated letters.

So if I reply on a paper like this, wouldn't they think I'm a cheap, shabby princess? Ugh. The letters I received were even scented.

Athy called Lily. She asked the maid to bring the stationary that had been used to send the invitations to the tea party. She set the prettiest of them down on her desk and studied them with a sort of piety. She chose stationary with illustrations of tiny, luscious, roses.

Let's see. What should I reply?

The top of her pen rested against her chin until, finally, her hands moved onto the white paper.

To my dear friend Jennette,

I apologize for the late reply. I have kept and cherished your earlier letters...

Afterwards, the two exchanged letters several times. With nothing to do in the Emerald Palace, reading and replying to Jennette's letters became her new hobby.