"Good morning, Princess. Today is the day!"
Daphne blinked as Brienne drew the red curtains to let in fresh sunlight, and she then slowly rose from bed. "I'm ready," she said.
"That's the spirit!" Brienne helped her dress and put her hair up; then guards came to take Daphne's trunks to the carriage she'd be riding in. Everything was too much for Daphne at the moment. When would she be back to the palace, her home? Would she ever return here? Looking around, she had so little time to say goodbye to everything. She would see her family again at the wedding, but what about after that? Would she be forced to stay with only her new family, present in her mind as unknown faces? The world seemed strange to her, and she had two weeks of traveling to endure now.
Servants whispered as Daphne stepped outside of the front doors of the palace. Her family appeared to be in a perfect line on the marble steps, their faces unreadable. All ten of them watched her as she went down the line, receiving eight kisses on her cheek from her brothers, a bear hug from her father, and a dainty squeeze from her mother. "Remember why you're doing this, Daphne," she whispered. "For Ordonea. And you should also remember that I love you and I'm proud of you."
She wanted to be mad at her mother with all of her heart, but it was not enough. Daphne began to cry. "I love you too, Mother, and I promise I won't forget."
Slowly, she began to walk to her carriage, while guards and others traveling with her mounted their horses. She saw through watery and blurry eyes as she sat on the velvet bench. Everything was silent now, and she couldn't even hear horses outside. Her head leaned against the window, and in a moment she saw and felt movement. Away they went, away from her home, away from the palace and everything familiar to her, and closer to the unknown, closer to the frightening.
They rode through trees until they reached the village, a place Daphne had only seen a few times in her life. She perked up when she saw people craning their necks to see her, their faces adorned with smiles at the sight of the princess's carriage. She grinned and waved at them until they had gotten out of the city and there was nothing but hopeless countryside, fields of growing beans and potatoes. Leaning her head against the window, she wished to be outside.
Looking out her right window, she saw Roz riding next to her, who waved enthusiastically at her. Daphne opened the door to speak to her.
"Hello, princess," said Roz. "Must be nice riding in there, huh?"
"Would you like to? I think I'd rather ride your horse."
"Are you serious?"
Daphne nodded. Roz looked behind her, dismounted, and climbed in the carriage. Daphne got on the house quickly and began to ride. It was much better outside. Although there wasn't too much to see, her surroundings were cool and fresh to her skin, and Roz seemed to be enjoying herself.
After awhile, Daphne asked the driver of the carriage if there was a way Roz's horse could pull it as well, so the two ladies could sit inside and talk. There was way, and for the rest of daylight they sat on the soft seat cushions and spoke about what was to come. Roz said she was eager to meet the new guards and hoped they'd be attractive. To Daphne, she seemed so excited about going, so eager to start anew. How Daphne envied her. Why couldn't she feel that way?
The next two weeks passed in about the same fashion. When darkness fell, they caravan would pitch tents and camp, and early in the morning they would set off again. Daphne worried and worried until that day with they reached the capitol of Ardny.
The palace looked like her home, only it was much, much larger. Daphne saw even from inside the carriage Roz's excitement about the whole thing. The sight of the palace provoked many emotions in her, but thrill was not one of them.
The group pulled up in front of the palace and Daphne got out. Two guards met her sides and the horseback riders went to the stables to dismount. She was escorted up the steps while a line of unfamiliarly dressed safeguards stood on both sides. Her skirts were pinched between her fingers as she ascended. The doors were opened for her, and once she entered the castle they closed behind her.
A woman with what Daphne perceived to be a servant's uniform on approached her. "Princess Daphne of Ordonea, on behalf of the country of Ardny and our royalty, I welcome you to our palace, your new home!" The princess was surprised with the woman's happy tone and said clearly, "Thank you. I'm delighted to be here." She forced a smile.
"Lovely, just lovely. You will meet your prince and his family tomorrow. Until then, I will be giving you a tour of the grounds. My name is Aurora, and I'm head of the kitchen here." Daphne wondered why on earth she had been picked to give the tour, but it didn't really matter to her.
She was shown where she would be staying until the wedding, the gardens, the kitchen, the main court, the ballroom, the bathrooms, the dining hall, and the observation deck on the top floor of the palace. The last place she was shown was quite an oddity and it stuck in Daphne's mind. It was a statue room, something she had never even heard of before.
"Here we have a collection of statues from across Ardny's timeline. Kings and Queens live on here, having their likenesses carved out of bronze. You know, the prince rather likes spending time here," she said in a different tone, as if she was off tour-guide mode. "Normally this is where one would be able to find him."
Aurora led Daphne away and took her back up to her own room.
That night, Daphne tossed and turned as the darkness curled around her. It seemed as if tomorrow marked the beginning of the rest of her life, and how could she possibly sleep before a day like that? She stared at the ceiling and let her thoughts wander. Suddenly, she got an idea.
She could go to the statue room and perhaps clear her mind. She was pretty sure she knew the way, and she had sneaked past guards before. Placing her feet on the rug, she opened the door and carefully walked down the long and dark hallway.
At the end of it was the main staircase, the door being at its feet. Knowing that most of the guards were outside and some of them were walking about, she waited until the coast was clear and bounded down the steps, hiding behind a fainting couch until clarity was again reached. She did this a few more times until she had finally reached the statue room in a secluded part of the palace. No guards were on duty there.
She sighed as she entered, looking at the curious creatures. In the darkness, it looked even stranger than before. A statue of a far-off queen held her hands by her side, and Daphne slid her fingers around an extravagantly carved right around the statue's middle finger. She got lost looking at the frozen people until she heard a sound, one like a sneeze perhaps. As she had been doing all night, Daphne hid got down and hid behind a statue. Listening, she heard a sniff and then quiet. Ever so gradually, she stretched her head and peered around the statue, her eyes alert. That was when she saw blue eyes looking back at her. At first she was terrified, then she began to think and realized what was happened. She slipped upwards, her hands still on the bronze, half her body still behind it. "It's all right," she whispered.
The young man did the same, rising to his feet yet still keeping almost hidden.
Daphne felt the cool of the metal against her cheek. "Are you…Prince Niles?"
"I am. And you're…"
"Princess Daphne."
"YOU ARE?"
Daphne shushed him and giggled. "Yes. We're not supposed to meet until tomorrow. Although I suppose things aren't going exactly as planned."
"I…I…um…what-what are you doing here?"
"I got shown this place today and I couldn't sleep. It's lovely."
"Yes, yes, dear me, it certainly is…lovely."
"I'm sure I'm not supposed to be down here. Imagine what your family would think if they caught me sneaking out of my room!"
"Oh, well, they'd…I'd make sure they'd never…um…they won't ever find out."
"It's funny, us meeting like this. It seems like everyone wants all this formal stuff between us, and here we are meeting in the middle of the night in our pajamas!"
"Yes, it is funny isn't it?"
They giggled again and it echoed through the room.
"I never expected this, did you?" Asked Daphne.
"No, never in my life did I ever think…I…no, I never did."
"I should be getting back, I guess. Now that I've talked to you it will be a lot easier to sleep."
"Mmm, yes."
"Goodnight, Prince Niles."
"Pleasant dreams, Princess Daphne."
"Aren't you sweet?" And with that, Daphne scurried away to her room.