Hullo all, and welcome back to Bittersweet! Good to know that my first review was positive! So, I dedicate this chapter to you, dear.
Reinette's Point of View
This couldn't be happening. Was this actually happening? He was courting me with some man I had never met? If he was all three things my dad had said, he was either really young or really old. I made it to my room, struggling to open the door, as I was weak from running. I pushed the heavy door open and promptly collapsed as soon as I set foot. One of the chambermaids gasped, dropping the bucket of water she had in her hand.
"Someone! Call the medic! Our youngest has fallen!" She called.
_-_-My Candy Love-_-_
I awoke to see my parents and my siblings' faces looking down on me worriedly. Before I could even say anything, Alexy stood up with a yell. My mother clapped and almost began crying with joy. Even Alexa looked relieved, which was shocking, to say in the least. Only my father's face stayed hard as he glared at me then walked away. I sat up, watching him sit in a chair not far from the bed.
"Father..?" I asked, not wanting to anger him by calling him dad.
"YOU EMBARRASSED ME! Do you how degrading that is?" He asked me. I sighed, running a hand through my tousled hair. I knew he'd be on my case about this, but I was hoping later than sooner.
"Well, sorry I wasn't there to stroke your ego, and gushing about how ecstatic it would be to be handed off to some guy I don't know." I said sarcastically, a twitch in my eye. I could feel it. Anger flashed in his eyes, and he shot up, grabbing me by the hair. I whimpered, and he stared at me.
"ALEXANDR! UNHAND HER!" My mom yelled. He turned his head slowly to her, and she cowered away. He looked back at me and I tried to see what the others were going, but he jerked my view back to him. A wry grin hit his lips as he chuckled.
"I lied. The king will be here tonight. I just wanted him to appear as a visitor, but you've left me no choice. You will be married by the end of the week, whether you have any say in it or not." He growled, throwing me back on the bed. I cried out, holding my leg. I guess when I fell, I bruised something, because there was a large purplish-bluish mark from my inner right thigh to my knee. He then stormed out, and I resisted the urge to cry. Unlike the average princess, I didn't cry when 'daddy told me to do something I didn't want to'. Alexa reached out to me and I put a hand up.
"Don't. I don't need any one of you pity parties, and especially not one from you." I whispered, looking blankly ahead. After a few minutes, Armin, my sister's fiancé and Amber, by brother's fiancée, came rushing in. They looked very worried, and I'd actually wondered how long I was out.
"A few hours." Alexy said, as if reading my mind. I looked over at him to see Amber grilling him about my condition. Across the room, Armin and Alexa were doing the same dance. I sighed and quickly got up, managing to make it past the door that led into the medical ward. My mother had run off somewhere, probably after my father. I made it to my room without anyone seeing me, and quickly changed my clothes. I put on a red v-neck top and some black jeans with my black converse sneakers I had worn only hours before. A knock on my door sounded, and I froze. I wasn't here.
"Reina. I know you're in there." Iris said. When it was just us, I had allowed her to call me Reina, but around others, we were formal. I opened the door and hurried her in. In her hand, she had an envelope with a small, hand-drawn violet. I grinned as she handed it to me. Since I was in Europe, and all alone, I decided to get a pen-pal. Her name was Violette and she lived in the States.
Dear Reina,
It's very nice to hear from you again. This letter may be a little late because I had to finish an art assignment based on a quote. I will enclose the quote and the drawing at the end of the letter, because you say you liked seeing my art. Nowadays, I'm mostly sitting at home or at school. Word is, there will be a new transfer at school tomorrow. I'll probably end up sketching what they look like and then sending you the photo.
So, how have you been,
Little Queen? (I always get a kick out of calling you that.) And no, I haven't told anyone else about your little secret. You should come down here sometimes, though. A girl gets lonely sometimes.
With best withes,
Violette.
P.S, here's the artwork I was talking about.
I looking in the envelope to find a scan of a digitally animated photo. It was beautiful.
The quote was very inspiring, as well.
"I will not sit.
I will not lie.
I will take my stand, and show the world my vision of a better tomorrow."
Looking back on the letter, it hit me. 'You should come down here sometimes.' That was it. I gathered my things together, forcing Iris to help as well. When we finished, she looked at me questioningly. I sighed, putting my hand on her shoulder.
"I'm leaving, and I may not come back for a while. I'll miss you." I said, giving her a tight hug, which she returned. When we parted, I grabbed my phone and it's charger. I grabbed some paper, and scrawled something on it, and ripped it into three pieces. I handed them to her.
"One goes to Queen Avalon. One goes to Prince Alexy. The other belongs to you."
She looked down at the papers in her hands. "It's a number. Then it says 'Tell no one but The Island of Apples, The Defender of Mankind, and Rainbow'. What?" She asked.
"I looked up you're names once. The Island of Apples is my mom, The Defender of Mankind is Alexy, and Rainbow is you." I said, smiling sadly. She furrowed her brows and I chuckled. "Iris was the Greek goddess of Rainbows. It was fitting." I said, before leaving the room and making my way out of the castle.
Then I ran, I ran and I ran, all the while clutching the letter and the photo in my hands.
Wewt! That was epic, need I say more? At least, I think it was epic. The picture belongs to yuumei on DeviantART, and so does the quote. I'll put the piece on my page, under Reinette's dress set. If you liked that piece, go ahead and browse if you want. She'd appreciate it.