"Princess Helena, it is time for your walk," her personal maid smiled as she stepped inside. "I will retrieve your chair for you."

"Thank you, Isabella. Will anyone else be joining me today?"

"I believe Prince Kai is out in the gardens now. Prince Licht should be there as well."

"Where are Leonhard and Bruno?"

"Prince Bruno is working on a paper, and Prince Leonhard is completing some homework for Professor Heine."

"Did you just say Leonhard is doing homework?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Professor Heine is a miracle worker."

The black-haired maid laughed lightly. "He is indeed."

Isabella wheeled Helena's wheelchair over to the side of the bed before handing her a light cover-up.

Following routine, Helena steadily swung her legs over the side of the bed and grasped onto Isabella's hands. Isabella helped keep her upright as she slipped the cover-up over her clothing.

Helena had been given many dresses in her lifetime, but she had yet to be able to wear any of them. Because she stayed in bed for the majority of the day, she could only wear a loose-fitting day dress that resembled a nightgown in a way. It was modest enough to wear outside of her room and allowed her to move and breathe freely.

Once the cover-up had been put on, Isabella helped Helena into her wheelchair. Then she slowly pushed the chair through the hallways until they reached the palace gardens.

"Sister!" Licht called as he ran up to her.

Helena smiled. "Hello, Licht!"

"Look, Heine-darling is here too!"

Heine-darling? Helena thought. She looked over to find Kai lying on the grass while Adele and Shadow played nearby and Heine watched them.

"Hello, Professor," she greeted.

"Good afternoon, Your Highness," Heine returned.

"Are you taking a break from lessons for the day?"

"No, I am simply giving Prince Leonhard time to finish his homework before I check it and tutor him on his weaknesses."

"So, basically, he'll be reteaching the entire homework assignment," Licht laughed.

"Licht," Helena gently scolded. Unfortunately, the sad truth was she knew he was right.

Shadow barked and bounded up to the side of her chair.

"Hi, Shadow!"

The large fluffy dog put his front paws on the arm of the chair and licked her face.

Helena laughed as she rubbed his fur. "Miss me? I missed you too!"

"Helen!" Adele squealed as she ran over to her legs. Helena took her up into her arms and let her sit on her lap. "I haven't seen you in ages! Shadow and I want to play with you more!"

"Well, you are always welcome to come see me in my room whenever you wish. I always have time for my siblings."

"But sometimes the servants don't let me in."

"Then you tell them that unless I'm sleeping, I personally said you can come in."

"Okay! I'll tell them that next time! Then I can see you, right?"

"Right."

"Helena," Kai said softly as he stood up and came over to her. "Are you…going to walk now?"

"Yes, I am. Are you going to help me?"

Kai nodded.

Licht raised his hand with his usual ecstatic vigor. "I wanna help too!"

"All right," Helena smiled. "Help me out of this chair then."

Adele hopped down from her lap and resumed playing with Shadow.

Kai took Helena's left hand while Licht took the right. Together, they helped her ease her way out of the wheelchair. Once she was standing, they both placed their free hands on her back to make sure she stayed upright.

Heine's eyes widened in surprise. Now that he saw the princess standing, he realized that she barely had any height on him.

Helena laughed a little when she caught his expression. "Apparently, growing up in a bed doesn't allow for one to get very tall."

While Isabella followed the group of royals with the chair for Helena to resume sitting in once she was finished, Helena slowly walked the path with her brothers' support.

"Professor?" she called. "You may walk with us if you'd like."

"Thank you," Heine responded.

He walked alongside the princes as they aided their sister through the gardens.

"I take walks like this every day," Helena explained to him. "It's good for me to get out of bed and move around a little, and the fresh air is very nice. I need assistance since my legs are very weak and it's hard for me to walk on my own. When my brothers are available, they will help me out. Otherwise, I have three servants with me. In the winter, I walk around the halls of the palace, but when the weather is nice like this afternoon, I like to take walks around the gardens."

Heine had to admit that he saw a different side of Prince Licht as the youngest male helped escort his weak sister down the path. His normal flirtatious behavior was gone, intensely focused on making sure the princess took another step carefully. He truly began to see just how much the princes admired their older sister and looked out for her as much as she looked after them. It was an interesting relationship they all shared with one another.

The girl was several inches shorter than her brothers. However, unlike him who also had a youthful face in addition to his short stature, there was no mistaking that she was the eldest royal. Her face held years of hardships, weariness, and wisdom. She looked her age everywhere but her height.

"You're walking farther than usual, Helena," Licht remarked.

"I've been having a good streak lately," their sister laughed.

"I'm glad…you're doing better," Kai told her.

"Thank you. I'm glad I have you two to escort me today."

After several more minutes, Helena finally stopped her walking, her legs shaking slightly from the work the limbs were not used to. The two boys gently helped her back into her wheelchair.

"If you'll excuse me, Your Highnesses," Heine said. "But it is time for my lesson with Prince Leonard."

"Good luck, Professor," Helena smiled.

Isabella pulled the chair onto the grass. "I have your books for you, my lady." She handed Helena a couple of her study books, her Bible, and one of her novels.

"Well, I gotta get going," Licht smiled. "I've got a date with a lovely lady up in my room."

"Licht, are you ever going to take your station seriously?" Helena asked him.

"It's not my fault I was blessed with such super good looks. See ya!"

The princess shook her head in amusement.

Soon, Kai left the gardens as well for his lesson with Heine leaving Helena alone with Isabella.

She took a deep breath, letting the scents of the multiple flowers and trees fill her senses. Then she opened her books and began to study their rich texts.

While she always made sure to keep up with her religious studies as it was extremely important for the royal family to study those just as much as their other lessons, history was her favorite thing to study. She felt that by studying the past mistakes of others, she would be more aware to not make those same mistakes and create a brighter future for her and her brothers and sister.

When she read for pleasure, she preferred to read fantasy stories. They whisked her away to another world where she was no longer ill and she could run and play to her heart's desire.

"Is there anything I can bring you, Your Highness?" her maid asked.

"If it's not too much trouble, I would like some tea, please."

"Of course, Your Highness. I will be back shortly."

Isabella left her side to fetch the drink.

Helena was left alone with her thoughts. She longed to walk amongst the roses without needing assistance from another. She wanted to be able to pluck one from the ground and press it close to her face to inhale the beautiful sweet scent.

But it was just a fantasy.

"You are still out here, Your Highness?"

Helena looked over to find Heine entering the gardens. She gave him a small smile. "Have you finished lessons with my brothers?"

"I have. I plan on taking them out to town tomorrow for a lesson on everyday life in the city. It is important they see their citizens up close so they know how to better take care of them should they become king."

"I see. To answer your question, Isabella went to get some tea. I prefer reading my books out here rather than in my room."

"What are you currently reading?"

"Well, I've been studying Austrian history lately, particularly the Austrian monarchy. I've been hoping to learn from their errors during their reigns. But at the current time, I am reading a fantasy novel about a woman who falls in love with Death and vice versa."

"Falls in love with Death, you say?"

"Yes, and he's been spending the majority of the novel trying to get her to come to him, but she is determined to keep living even though she knows she loves him as well."

"That sounds very interesting."

"It is. You should read it if you ever get a chance."

"You mentioned you are studying the Austrian monarchy. Which royal have you reached?"

"I am currently at Princess Marie of Glanzreich. She was born in France, but she married into the German throne."

"Yes, I am aware. Her life was cut rather short, was it not?"

"Quite literally. The poor woman was sent to the guillotine when the people revolted against her."

"May I borrow this book? I think it might be useful in the prince's studies."

"Of course. Just return it to me whenever you get the chance so I can continue where I left off."

The two of them engaged in a conversation about other previous Austrian royals. Heine skimmed the book she had been studying and further mentioned other royals not addressed in it.

Isabella returned with the tea and Helena took the small cup with the brown liquid inside as the smell of the honey reached her nose. Isabella always knew to put an absurd amount of honey into the tea, just the way the princess liked it.

"Your Highness, it's getting rather late," the maid said to her. "I believe it is time to go back inside now."

"All right. It was wonderful speaking with you, Professor."

"And you as well, Your Highness," Heine bowed.

"I hope to have more of these conversations in the future."

As Isabella carefully wheeled Helena back to her room, the princess slowly thought over the short conversation with the tutor.

For the first time in a long time, she had gotten to speak with someone who didn't treat her like she was sick. A lot of people who came to the palace seemed to believe that because she was sick, she was also stupid. Yet she was actually smarter and more well-versed in all subjects than most of the visitors themselves.

Moreover, he had actually followed through on his acceptance of her offer to speak with him about what she studied. She always made the offer to the other tutors, but they ended up becoming so frustrated with the princes and trying to get them to complete their studies that they inevitably forgot about her.

It was still early, so there was a chance Heine would still end up forgetting about her, but at least so far, she had someone to talk to.