8. Numb

The following days passed with relative ease for Lucy. She settled into the room appointed to her, it was quite large and much more elegant than she was accustomed to. She ate two hearty meals a day, spent her free time sewing or in the library, and settled into a distinct routine. Wake up, get dressed, eat, sew, read, eat, and sleep. All too often though did she found herself thinking about her sister. Nothing had changed, if anything people were getting tired looking for her. Lucy couldn't help but wonder how long it would be until everyone just assumed Mary was dead or long gone. Even worse, Lucy didnt know how long it would be until she herself believed that her sister, the last remaining relative she had, was truly gone.

Aside from a near crippling loneliness, Lucy didn't have much to complain about, if anything life was seamless. Meals were prepared on a strict schedule. She worked from within the castle, never needing to leave except to deliver finished goods. She was granted access to the library at all hours, and even had began making friends with one of the housemaids, Beatrice. The girl was a couple years younger than Lucy, reminding her of her sister.

The little bit of socializing that she did do though wasn't enough to fill the growing hole in her heart. She felt empty and asleep, stuck wandering in a nightmare that she couldn't wake up from. When she did sleep it was pure blackness. Every morning before she opened her eyes, she silently wished that everything was back to normal. As the days continued so did the nightmare.

On the fifth day since Mary's disappearance Lucy decided to not get out of bed. She thought, What was the point anymore? She had never quite felt this way before, but it was a distinct numbness. Food didn't sound appealing, even though the chef was a mater cook. Sewing sounded like a lot of work, more than she was in the mood to do. Even reading sounded too exhausting. All she cared to do was lay in bed.

After napping well into the afternoon she was visited by Beatrice who was concerned about her.

''Miss Lucy? Will you be getting out of bed today?'' The kind girl asked with a gentle and concerned tone.

After a long moment of silence of Lucy staring at the of the canopy bed that she laid in, she answered, ''I don't think I will.''

''Pardon me miss, but surely you have duties to attend to?'' Beatrice tried reminding her of her responsibilities.

''What's the point?'' Lucy mumbled, still not sparing a glance to the girl who looked so much like Mary did when she was younger.

''Surely if your sister was here she wouldn't want you to feel like this.'' Beatrice suggested, trying a different tactic to get Lucy out of bed.

''And I assure you she would.''

''Why would that be?''

''Because my sister was a whore and I made sure she knew how I felt about it.''

''Oh. I apologize your majesty.''

''What did you just call me?'' Lucy near yelled, immediately sitting upright in bed. Why in the name of the King would Beatrice ever refer to me as her majesty? Lucy was so far away from royalty that it wasn't even funny.

''I'm sorry, I didn't mean too, it was a slip of the tongue.'' Beatrice quickly explained.

Lucy eyed the girl skeptically, something was up, she could sense it.

''Tell me Bea, may I call you that? What do you know about the King?'' Lucy asked with an accompanying intimidating stare.

''I know nothing.'' She looked away.

''I think you are lying to me and I hardly find that acceptable in a friend.'' Lucy said sincerely.

Beatrice turned back to face to Lucy with an elated look hiding in her eyes. ''Do you truly consider me a friend Miss Lucy?''

''Of course I do, why wouldn't I?'' Lucy asked with a bit of confusion. She never saw herself as someone above the staff as she was one herself, the King's personal tailor.

''Well you are a guest of the King.''

''I assure you that I am only employed by him the same way you are.'' Lucy smiled reassuringly.

''Can I be honest with you Miss Lucy?''

''Only if you quit calling me Miss Lucy, just Lucy is fine.''

''Okay, well Lucy, everyone in this castle knows you are more than just a personal tailor. Sir Arthur specifically sought you out after the Coronation.'' Beatrice finally answered leaving Lucy stunned into complete silence.

''You are fooling me. Please, this is not funny.'' Lucy babbled, near incomprehensible.

''As your friend I assure you I am not. T'was Miss Maggie who recognized you as a seamstress from the city. Then the King went to every clothing shop there is in search of the girl who caught his eye.'' Beatrice said slowly but soundly. Her voice never faltered as if she were hiding a lie in-between her words.

''Oh.'' Was all the Lucy had left to say. The news was surely more than she could bare. Why would a man of his stature have any interest in her?

''Well why not? You're beautiful, smart, and very humble.'' Bea said as if reading her mind, or maybe she was thinking aloud again. That must be it.

''I have no intention of alarming you, but you know you are talking to yourself?'' Bea asked.

''I do. It helps sometimes. Please don't tell anyone.'' Lucy smiled to friend.

''I won't, as long as you get out of bed. Staying cooped up in here will do no good for you.'' Bea smiled in return.

''I suppose I could manage that.''

''Well get dressed then meet me in the kitchen. We saved some food for you.''

''Thank you Bea.'' Lucy genuinely thanked the girl.

''Its my honor, M- eh, Lucy.'' Beatrice smiled awkwardly then left the room for Lucy to get ready for the remainder of day.

Author's Note:

So this chapter was hard to write, mostly because I have such a hard time skipping several days into the plot but I also hate starting a chapter with ''She woke up the next morning,'' like duh of course she did, she does that every morning. So instead I tried really hard to to get past of some of the boring day-to-day things any normal person does in their own life. (This includes general hygiene and and getting dressed.)

Anyways, Thank you for reading, liking, and commenting, as always! I will 'see' you guys again next week!

P.S. Rick and Morty season 3 airs again this weekend and I'm stoked! Its a good thing I managed to find some time to write this week (when I wasn't purchasing $100 in comic books - at least my series are up to date now though).

Have a great week everyone!