Chapter 3

(Hugo POV)

Sofia came down to dinner and sat silently in her chair barely touching her food. She would catch me staring and gave me a smile but it never lasted long. All her answers to any attempt at starting a conversation were short and polite Something was on her mind but she wasn't going to talk to me about it now. I waited until Dad left before walking over to her, "Hey Sofia, are you alright?" She smiled and nodded, "Yeah I'm fine, I just..." she was thinking about something before she said, "have a lot on my mind." She smiled at me but it was not her smile. It lacked her sincerity and warmth. "May I escort you to our chambers?" I asked. She went to take my hand but then pulled it away, "I can't yet, I still have work to do with my training." She whispered and looked straight ahead. This wasn't like Sofia but it seemed that the more I tried to get her to talk the more she retreated into herself. "You know I have a project I need to attend to as well, will you come with me to the library so we may do our work," She nodded to this request and took my hand.

It was clear that she didn't want to talk about her training so I tried talking about something else, "Hey Sofia." She looked up at me, "We never talked about this, and I have kind of assumed this before but I need to know... Is purple actually your favorite color?" She let out a laugh before she recomposed herself and straightened her posture. What was going on with her? "Yes, it is. Has been since I was a little kid" she replied with a smile. She looked forward and I was worried our conversation was over but then she said, "What about you, what is your favorite color?" I thought about it for a second, "Blue." I tried looking in her eyes, my favorite shade of blue but she wouldn't look at me.

We got into the library and she went to a table that had a gigantic book on the table. She flipped it open and began copying the writing. I decided to begin working and I started reading through the ledgers and looking into the kingdoms we traded with. Most of them were my friends' kingdoms from Royal Prep so I knew that I would be able to reach out to them and make sure that they had the things we needed. I began reading through the ledgers and documenting what we were trading so far. I looked over at Sofia and she was doing the same thing as before. Her shoulders began slumping over and I can see her blinking herself awake but, she continued with her task. I looked at the clock and saw how late it was. I walked over to Sofia, "Hey it's getting late. Why don't you finish this up tomorrow and we go to bed?" She shook her head, "I have to finish tonight.""Sofia, please come to bed. It is late and I am sure whatever you are doing with this can wait until the morning." She just repeated, "I have to finish tonight." I sighed sitting down next to her. "Alright, is there anything I can do to help?" She stopped working for a second and looked at me, "Hugo I-" she started. I wish she would have finished but then Countess Laurianne walked in, "Prince Hugo, Princess Sofia what a surprise to see you right now." Sofia turned back to her work and continued. "Prince Hugo, I am here to let you know that you have an early morning tomorrow as you and your father will be going to Freezenburg to discuss the updates to the trade alliance since your brother's engagement to Princess Astrid." I nodded and turned back to Sofia. She still wasn't talking and her body was stiff as she copied the text. "Prince Hugo, would you please escort me to my room?" The Countess asked. "Sofia," I whispered but her body wouldn't move. I didn't know exactly what was going on but, I knew that Sofia was not comfortable and it was worse since the Countess entered the room. "Yes Countess Cunningham, I would be delighted." I turned toward Sofia, "Wake me up when you come to the room." She still didn't move. I watched her as I walked out of the room moving robotically. What was going on?

(Sofia POV)

I watched Hugo leave the room and I looked down at the book. I was barely halfway done with what I had to do and I would be up longer. I wanted to tell Hugo what was going on but, I didn't want to do anything that might anger Countess Laurianne any further. This book for example was the complete history of this kingdom and all the royalty that had come before. Almost all of the marriages were arranged for the king. Hugo and I escaped that fate but, I'm not sure why she felt the need to make me aware of this.

I stayed awake for hours painstakingly writing each word until I was finally done. I bound them together with a ribbon and carried them to Hugo's and my chambers. Hugo was asleep on the bed. He looked so peaceful and even though he had asked me to wake him up I couldn't do it. I felt tears coming down my face but I didn't audibly cry. I attempted to take off my gown but, was only able to get the gown off. I went to bed in my corset and petticoats. I laid down in our bed and rolled myself closer to Hugo. He wrapped an arm around me unconsciously and I smiled.

When I woke up Hugo was gone. I could feel myself cry as I looked at his side of the bed. Sarah and Mary walked in and I quickly composed myself. They changed me into today's gown. I went down to breakfast but without Garrick or Hugo I was sitting alone at the table until Countess Laurianne walked in, "Good God, Princess Sofia." She came closer to me and grabbed my chin and examined my face, "Your face is puffy, your eyes are red and you have circles under your eyes. Everyday I expect you to be presentable. This means another ten chapters tonight." I nodded knowing my compliance was the only way to have her let go of me.

The day was painstakingly long as she critiqued the way I walked, the way I smiled, the way I waved and everything else I did. By the time that dinner had come around Garrick and Hugo were still not back. I received a letter saying that negotiations were running long and that they would be staying for dinner. I sat in the dinning hall enjoying a moment of peace, despite missing my family, when Countess Laurianne walked in and sat across from me, "Since they aren't here now is the perfect time to go over some dinning room etiquette wouldn't you say." I nodded. I have learned that she prefers when I don't speak and have retreated into nonverbal cues. The chef brought out the food and I waited for the Countess to take the first bite before beginning to eat. I slowly ate and enjoyed the quiet after hearing her yell at me all day only to hear her start again, "Princess Sofia, don't you think you have had enough?" I looked down at my plate and saw that half of the food was still there. "Your bites are far too big, you eat too fast and you eat too much." I sighed as she had them take the rest of my food away. She then continued to eat in front of me, clearing her plate and indulging in desert. She eventually dismissed me and I went to the library and began working again.

(Hugo POV)

Sofia didn't wake me up last night like I asked. She looked tired as she slept and her breathing wasn't right. I then saw that she was still in her corset and petticoats from yesterday. I loosened the corset and saw her breath settle into a more regular pattern. I wanted to talk with her but, I could see it on her face that she was exhausted. "I will talk with you later Sof." I smiled planting a kiss on her forehead. I stood in the meeting and listened in alongside Axel and his fiancée Astrid. I just wanted to get home and talk with Sofia. "Hey little brother," Axel whispered, "pay attention." I guess it was clear that I was lost in thought. The meeting ran long and Dad decided that we would stay for dinner. I wanted to be at home with my wife but, I tried to remain engaged in the conversation with everyone else.

When we finally got home I expected to find Sofia asleep in our room but to my surprise she wasn't there. I walked into the library to see her doing the same task I saw her doing last night. Had she not been in a different part of the book I could have sworn she hadn't moved at all. She didn't hear me as I walked in, "Sofia?" She looked up at me and I could see the circles burrowing in her eyes that were laced in tears. What was going on? "Sofia," I cleared my throat, "Why don't you come to bed with me? I really think you could use the rest." She shook her head and began writing again. I knew it was late but, I didn't want to leave her alone so I began working on my project looking over at Sofia every now and then. It got to the point where I was near exhaustion. I could only imagine how tired she was but, she continued working showing little sign of slowing down. "Sofia, I am going back to our chambers. Will you come with me?" She shook her head. I closed my eyes and sighed. "Sofia, please wake me up when you come to the room. We really need to talk." She nodded and I kissed the top of her head before leaving. I fell asleep as soon as my head touched the bed. She never woke me up.

We fell into a cycle, I would wake up first and leave her to sleep exhausted in our bed, I went to conduct my training, I would see Sofia at dinner and try to talk to her, we went to the library and worked until I left to go to our chambers begging Sofia to come with me. She always refused and I would ask her to wake me up when she came but, she never did. She was talking less, her smile was more fake, she was barely eating, I hardly ever saw her.

The night before my presentation in front of the advisors, I woke up in the middle of the night and Sofia still wasn't there. I walked down to the library and found her asleep on top of the book she was copying. Her hand had blisters from all the writing and her eyes were sunken in from the lack of sleep. She was still stunning but something wasn't right. My first instinct was to carry her to our room but, we needed to talk. I decided to shake her shoulder slightly and wake her up. She got up with a start her eyes filled with panic before she saw me. She looked down at the book and at her work, "Oh no" she began muttering to herself. Starting to write again looking at the pages of the book. I carefully grabbed her hand and forced her to put the pen down. She wasn't fighting against me, "Sofia, we need to talk."