Hope in a letter

Eva's POV

The disappointment hit like a backhanded slap to the face. Disappointment was a gross understatement. The paper was filled with words that I could not read. They looked like a bunch of random symbols arranged to look like words in another language.

It was a prank. Cecilia was probably laughing her head off. She had to be heartless to raise my hopes like that only to crush them. She had done a lot of things before but this was the finishing blow. She was right about one thing at least. I would not forgive her, I would only forget. She was not worth remembering.

It ached so bad I found it difficult to breathe. I needed Thomas so much now that my life was about to change. Everything was happening so fast I felt like my head was being pushed underwater. The void within me was sucking everything in. Including my will to live. What was I even living for?

Myself? No, I was a mess. My 'family' seemed not to like me so much. I was the alien within them. How would I cope? Does it get better? Will I get better? Do the words in the letter have any meaning? I had so many questions that I felt I was being swallowed by them

But maybe that was a way out of my despondency. The answers to those questions were what I should look forward to. I was not weak, I knew it but along the way, I had lost myself in my own labyrinth. But that was what life was about; the puzzles, the setbacks, the obstacles. There was no 'life' without these things.

"Before a baby bird can fly, it will fall a lot of times," Thomas always told me. I was the baby bird and right now I had not yet found the strength in my wings. I could still fly only if I endeavored.

I placed the paper on the bed and looked at all the items. "...all the questions you have and all the questions you will ever have..." Cecilia's words found their way to my lips. There had to be a surreptitious meaning to their purposes. I took a better look at the paper and noticed that despite the fact it had been folded before the creases were no longer visible.

I tried to fold it but it would not budge. I picked it up to crumple it but still would not yield. I stopped after a while, exhausted. I examined the paper. It was discoloured and slightly worn out. It was flimsy and seemed weak. I got up and walked to one of the candles. I took a tip to the flame but as though it had a life of its own the tip recoiled from the fire.

Spooked, I let go of it and let it fall to the ground. When I had garnered enough courage, I picked it up again with shaky hands. The paper was magical. Rosé would have known a thing or two about this kind of item. Then I remembered her map and how it had the ability to have its contents enlarged.

I set the paper on the bed and pinched Thomas' name and spread out the two fingers. As suspected, I watched in astonishment as it enlarged on the piece of paper. Cecilia had not tricked me, there had to be a message on the paper. I just had to find it.

"Hello..." a voice came from the doorway.

I turned my head too quickly, I was surprised my neck did not snap. It was the queen with a tray of food. "Sorry, I knocked but you did not answer."

"Um... I... " Mumbled, unsure and fidgety.

"May I come in? I brought your food." She asked.

I did not want to rouse her suspicion so I gave a stiff smile. "Sure come in."

She entered and closed the door behind her. I cleared the bed. She put the food on the bedside and sat on the bed.

"You look like you freshened very well." She remarked with an uncertain smile forming on her lips.

"Yes, I did," I replied. "my queen."

The smile on her face flattered and could not help but feel a tinge of guilt. "How do you feel?" she asked ambiguously.

Unable to put into words the emotions running riot in me, I gave a complacent shrug.

She looked at me with so much remorse and chuckled to herself. It seemed as though that was the only way to keep herself from breaking down in front of me. It did not help though because two tear drops managed to slip through.

Could I really stay angry at this woman? My mother? I had to move on from the past somehow no matter how haunting it was. Thomas would have wanted that for me. I wanted it for myself too. I needed it. Rosé would forgive me because I was a royal too. I helped her so maybe not the royals were evil. You just had to find the good ones.

I reached out and used a thumb to wipe her tears. She stared at me, stunned at my action. I was shaky at first then I got a hang of it. The ends of her lips lifted and I could not help but smile back at her.

"Eva..." She croaked. "I... I... "

I did not let her finish before I gently held her hand. We both had so many things to say but no words could describe the complexities of our feelings so it was better just to cry and hope that time would heal the deep gashes inflicted upon our hearts.

****

Darius' POV

A starless night sky gazed back at me through the window. The war with the Narvan army has been tough but was dealt with in record time. As intended. But to my dismay, my problems were beyond the next course of attack by Merynian enemies. It was about the queen's daughter.

What was she doing with that witch? The same one I had helped escape. I had hoped she would be stealthy enough to leave the kingdom undetected. It was not that I had helped her out of the kindness of my heart. I did not have one, to begin with. She knew too much. Just from looking at me.

"You have no soul..." The words reverberated in my head for what felt like ages, she was right but no one needed to know that. The end was near for this facade of mine. The partial truth about my birth had been known. That did not worry me. It was the other part that did. Once that was revealed, they would all know who I was. What I was.

At least, the young witch would not remember. I had made sure of that. Her memories were not completely useless though. I was interested in her relationship with the queen's daughter, Eva.

I would not contest her being the lost princess. Even without eyes, I would have known. At the river, Seraphine's scent had been so strong I could have sworn it was her but it was not the queen but her younger replica. It was no coincidence that Seraphine would discover the girl too. It was fate working in her favour and the kingdom's favour.

The woman in my bed stirred and moaned softly as she stretched. She touched the side of the bed she was on, expecting I would be beside her. Strange woman.

"Your Highness..." She called, still drowsy.

"Um..." I hummed to get her attention.

She turned her head in the direction of my voice and managed a small smile. She was almost without colour. She looked dead.

"How did you sleep?" I asked her. "Zelda?"