Her lungs were filled with ash, eyes watering from the heat.
The bottoms of her feet were screaming with the pain of accidentally standing on full flames or dying embers, but still she ran on, the smoke that surrounded her however never backed away to show that she was going anywhere safe. Muscles strained, breath was shaky and painful with every intake of the smoke polluted air, and every outtake had her coughing and sputtering.
This wasn't the first time she had been here, and the part of her brain that wasn't focused on her running as fast as her singed legs could take her, wondered if this was a very specific memory, or just a horrible nightmare. Whether it was the former or the latter it didn't really matter to her, since the girl already knew where this was going after apparently being through this more than once.
Her feet were carrying her to the same place they always did in this memory/nightmare. And despite how much she tried to convince herself that she had control if this was a dream, and wanted to run somewhere else, her limbs didn't listen to her brain as instead she continued to run towards it until the very point that she was standing so close to it that the stone was scratching at her already injured knees.
It was a well.
What it was doing in the middle of a forest was not the main question on her mind, especially since she could feel the fire growing closer to her back, her skin already feeling the sting of heat. Still she tried to convince herself that she had control, tried to tell herself that this was only a terrible nightmare, and wanted to run in a different direction, away from the well, and away from the fire.
However much like the other times that she remembered/dreamed this occasion, she felt something grasp at her from behind, holding her high into the air so that for a few seconds she had a good sight of the full moon that was watching her horrible event from the safety of the night sky. She wasn't given very long to be held up in the air, since before long the grip of whatever was holding her above the well, was loosened.
It took a moment for gravity to kick in and drag her down, and when it did she found herself looking down the well she was starting to fall into, the darkness in a sense rushing up to greet her while she fell into it. And so she fell, down, down, down until the darkness was all there was. No smoke, no fire, no embers to accidentally burn the bottoms of her feet, no painful intakes of breath as instead she was too frightened to breath at all.
There was seemingly no world left for there to be a fire in, only darkness.
She screamed.
Emma walked at a eased pace through the Storybrooke Hospital, the steaming, two dollar coffee that was clutched in her hand and lowered guard of her usually tense shoulders telling of how tired she was after such a long night, with all that had happened already no one could blame her for being exhausted. Although it seemed as though it as going to be a much longer one still since her Deputy duties told her that there was quite a few bits of paperwork to go through and questions to ask witnesses and victims of the mine cave in.
It was because of her responsibilities as part of the Storybrooke police that Emma was here, because as said before, questions needed to be asked. Most of the witnesses had been screened through and their paperwork somewhat finished, all that was left was the people that had been in the mine collapse and became victims of it. Archie and Henry would be easily questioned in the morning, the Deputy thinking that the ten year old especially needed his sleep after this night.
Lydia Gold however needed to be questioned as soon as possible, at least that was how Graham had worded it as she was leaving the police station. Why this was, Emma wasn't completely sure, but then again she had read the teenager's record after meeting her (just to make sure that she was a safe person to have around Henry,) and so knew that she was something of a trouble maker. Emma didn't really judge her character on that though, especially since the Deputy was exactly a law abiding citizen when she was Lydia's age.
Perhaps it was just Graham wanting the paper work to be done sooner rather than later so it didn't pile up when they weren't looking. Emma decided to go with that reasoning as she downed the last of the somewhat tasteless yet efficient Hospital coffee, throwing the paper cup into a nearby trash can as she finally found the door of Lydia's Hospital Room, which was oddly enough closed.
This was only odd to Emma as every other door in the wards she had passed on her way here had been open, even if the patients inside were sleeping. Because she didn't want to seem rude by just opening the door when something could be going on inside, the Deputy knocked on the door. She was sort of hoping that any Nurses or Doctors that might have been in there would open it on the other side, even if it was just to inform her that they were busy and to come back later or something else. Only to be let down when no one opened the door, her knocking seemingly ignored.
Before entering, Emma looked around just to make sure if there was any passing Nurses or Doctors who could inform her on why the door was closed. And after again gaining no results, Emma slowly eased the sliding door open and stepped inside, closing it behind her so no one else would come in as well. For a moment that Emma entered the room, everything seemed as quiet and normal as the rest of the Hospital wards, Lydia's bed and anything near it being hidden from sight by long curtains.
The silence was broken by a rather pain cry from the other side of the curtain. Reacting basically on instinct without thinking about it, Emma reached out and wrenched back the Hospital curtain to see what was going on. What she did see on the other side was certainly not something that the Deputy was expecting, but then again she was relieved that it was exactly not what she might have thought it was.
The source of the pained cry was from a still unconscious Lydia, whose expression was twisted inward in fear and agony. But thankfully unlike in the mines, where the teenager had been on her own, afraid and seriously injured, she was not at least alone in this case. Emma knew this because the teenager was, despite the fact that there was Medial plaster casing on both of her legs, being held tightly and rocked back and forth as the teenager whimpered and cried through her unconsciousness.
What was surprising however was that the person who was holding her as she cried, who she also held onto as tightly as possible, was her father.
This was strange to Emma, since she had heard Lydia say not that long ago on that day that she felt that her father didn't love her, and then proceeded to give the Deputy a whole list of reasons why she thought that. And if this was all true, if Lydia really believed that, then it didn't really seem to make sense that Mr. Gold would be there for her while she was having an apparently violent nightmare.
Mr. Gold had looked up from the teenager that was silently weeping in his arms when Emma had pulled the curtain back, an accusatory glare aimed directly at the Deputy that said not to tell anyone a word, that no one that wasn't in that room right at that moment was ever going to hear about this. Whether or not that was for his daughter's reputation or his own Emma wasn't really that sure, still she silently nodded and agreed to what Mr. Gold silently told her.
Lydia wasn't aware of any of this however, her arms still wrapped tightly around her father as she softly whimpered and cried. He was still carefully rocking her back and forth, his hands carefully holding her so she didn't injure herself in her current state. Emma watched the teenager's movements for a time before looking back up to her father for explanation as to why this was happening to her.
"Every full moon in the month, almost like clockwork, she has these night terrors. Had them ever since she was a toddler but there's never been a medical explanation for it or any medicines that seemed to work for it," The tone of Mr. Gold's voice as he explained his daughter's medical issue to the Deputy was very different from the expression of disinterest he was trying to portray on his face. He was definitely worried about her; Emma could see that despite the man's attempts to hide it.
"Do you know what she's having nightmares about?" Emma was really wondering to herself if the night terrors were from a time before she was adopted by Mr. Gold, something that the Deputy didn't want to think, but at the same time she knew what the foster system was like, and how unfortunate most kids were in the houses they were first put into. She herself was lucky not to be put in that sort of situations, but she did know other kids who had, and most of the time they never really healed from it, physically or mentally.
From what the Deputy had seen of Lydia while she was conscious, she seemed at least somewhat normal on the outside, no real signs of emotional distress whatsoever. Then again Emma knew now that the somewhat laid back exterior was somewhat false, the emotional breakdown that the teenager had had in the mines while on the phone with her being quite the evidence towards that. And while the Deputy had tried to not really listen to this breakdown, after all this was someone else's life and she was very emotional at the time so the teenager wasn't really thinking straight, Emma couldn't help but hear her out.
Her emotional situation with her father was unheard of either in the foster system, being adopted by someone who the adopted child felt as though wasn't loved by them and so acting out just to get their attention was unfortunately somewhat common. And while Emma did feel bad that Lydia felt this way, the Deputy wasn't completely sure if that mind set was true, since she was standing in front of the apparently emotionless father, comforting his nightmare plagued daughter.
And it was because of the fact that Emma was now seeing the father-daughter dynamic from this angle, the adult couldn't help but think that the teenager was at least in a better situation from one that she might have been in, in the past that would cause those night terrors.
"No, I don't think she knows herself," Mr. Gold muttered, his hand moving every so often to brush loose curls that would free themselves and land on Lydia's face, tucking them behind her ear again. Emma stood by the Hospital bed for a few more moments, continuing to watch the father as he gently rocked his child and was so gentle with her, whispering under his breath, comforting words that the Deputy couldn't really hear.
"Right well, I have to get back to the Police Station. I'll be here again tomorrow morning to ask Lydia some questions," Emma quickly muttered as she collected her red leather jacket that she had left on the chair nearby. The Deputy had decided to leave after feeling very awkward in what was obviously a very personal moment between a comforting parent and their frightened child.
"Goodnight Deputy Swann," The man's tone was still worried and distracted, his hand staying on Lydia's cheek as she whimpered softly. Emma then walked out of the Hospital room, closing and locking the door once again behind her to make sure that Lydia and her father had privacy.
A long time ago, and just before the Blue fairy had met a miserable girl that was one of the Beorn, a slave lived in the castle of King George.
How Nemo was collected into the service of the King was something that most weren't aware about, nor cared to hear, she was there and wore the clothes of a slave, and that was all that mattered to them. Because that meant that one screw up form this slave, whether it was because of her own action or being pushed into it by others, she could be punished. And she was punished quite a bit, in fact as regularly as possible.
It stayed this way for some time, an endless schedule for this slave of following orders and being beaten, day after day, morning to night. Nemo never complained, in fact she never aid a word to anyone ever while she was here, her idea being that no one in this castle that deserved to hear her voice. However this was again something the royals didn't really care about, since they had other slaves that were mute and treated them just as terribly as the others.
However one day, something in Nemo's repetitive cycle of being abused and following orders, was broken.
She had been doing her daily duties on that morning, just like the other slaves that she was confined with in the dungeons underneath the castle, their 'quarters' being more like rock cells that prisoners had yet to take from them. Her duties accounted for the most part in making sure that all the horses in King George's castle, were all fed and their manes cleaned and brushed to perfection. Of course her work was never thanked or noticed; in fact the only attention she ever received was that of abuse.
On the day that this was to change, she was summoned to the stables once more, after only just finished cleaning the horses and feeding them all. Nemo's mind went to the instant conclusion that someone wasn't satisfied with her work and wanted t punish her, after all it wasn't the first time and she felt that it wouldn't be the last. However, when the girl had managed to make it back to the stables, what she received was not the unfair punishment, but rather the reins of a new horse.
King George was the one to hand the reins to her, the royal looking for once directly at her since she first arrived here, seeing her literally for the very first time. And of course his expression for this occasion was complete indifference, much like everyone else in this castle. However what also made this situation different from the others that Nemo had been in before while serving in this place, was that the royal was also speaking directly to her, and more than one pair of eyes that for once didn't belong to a single guard, were watching her.
"You will prepare Prince James' new horse for his future trip, and from this point forward consider yourself completely under his orders," After speaking quickly and to the point, King George and the other court advisers that so liked to follow his every movement, left the stable. Oddly enough though, Prince James remained, even though it seemed from the frown that his father had cast in his direction that he should have followed him back to the court.
Nemo lowered her head, not looking the Prince directly in the eye, having already dealt with this Prince in the past and knowing that that action was considered insubordination to him, an she would be duly punished for it. The girl instead kept her eyes on her new duties of once again cleaning up, brushing and feeding yet another horse for a future 'trip', or rather, noble quest to show off to the women of the courts.
Still, Nemo couldn't help but be slightly puzzled. Though she knew it wasn't her place to question the royals, the girl already knew for a fact that Prince James was not in the habit of supplying new horses, at least not without the whole castle knowing ahead of time, plus she knew that this couldn't be a quick replacement for his original stead, since Nemo had already card for the Prince's original horse only moments ago, and so knew for a fact that the creature was in good health.
Plus, there was also the fact that the Prince had mysteriously up and vanished for a few days, the royals remaining tight lipped on where the future King had gone, apart from only saying that he had apparently gone on a long hunting trip (which again was unusual that the Prince hadn't told the entire castle beforehand so that the women of court would swoon and miss him every damned moment until he finally returned).
And then all of a sudden, with no fanfare or even a hunting trophy to validate the story his family had woven to cover his tracks, the Prince had returned. What made it even odder was that he didn't want to go to the court with his father to boast of his accomplishments while hunting.
Something strange was going on here, Nemo was very sure of it, but then again the girl knew it wasn't her place to say anything so she instead just kept her mouth shut and tended to the horse as she was ordered.
It took a few moments after the girl was finished carefully brushing the horse's mane and laying out hay for it to graze on, o notice that the Prince was still there, and for some reason, looked somewhat… bothered. Fearing that she had neglected some kind of duty that the Prince had failed to mention and was now going to be punished, the girl stood before the Prince and awaited the shouting or humiliation to begin.
However the royal still seemed to be distracted, and in fact now that Nemo was standing in front of him and had a better view of his face (though she still made sure that her head was at least somewhat down), he also looked disheartened. This was a strange sight for Nemo, since she had never really seen Prince James in any other mood than prideful or angered by her small mistakes. In fact it made her feel uncomfortable somewhat, and found herself wishing that he would go to the normal yelling that he usually did so this would stop being strange for her.
Finally Prince James seemed to finally notice that she was there, though instead of doing what she had really, really hoped would end this situation, he instead became even more awkward and unsure of what to say. Nemo didn't want to say anything either, partly because she didn't what she would say even if she wanted to, mostly because, as previously stated, the girl felt as though none of the court wanted to, nor deserved to hear her speak.
So the two of them stood there for a few moments in silence, before finally the Prince was the first to relent and actually talk to her, with looking directly at her and everything. Again, something that the Prince was not usually accustomed to doing when it came to talking to anyone, the royal usually thinking that no one apart from his family was good enough to treat them with that amount of dignity. However it was what he said to end the small period of silence that finally hammered the last nail into the metaphorical coffin.
"Um… that will be all for today, you can go back to your quarters and rest,"
She had never been, and never expected to be excused from her duties by the royals, and the Prince of all of them would be the last one of them all that she would expect of all of them to ever do it. However it was not just that, but there was the fact that he had also used the word 'quarters' when dismissing her. Servants of this castle did not have quarters; they did not sleep in rooms like the more privileged of the kingdom. They stayed in the dirtiest of prison cells that were not already occupied, ate the lowest of food and had no beds to 'rest' on, just the cold floor.
All of these things, were information that the Prince should have already been completely aware of, he was there when his father put these enforcements into place. Why would the royal say this? Especially since the Prince was not usually one to say something like that when it was meant to be a joke; he was more into just punishing those below him.
Unless of course he was unaware of all of this information that he should know,
Unless he wasn't the person that he and the royals were saying he was.
Waking to see large white plaster molds on her legs was certainly not really the sort first morning sight that Lydia really wanted to see.
There was no more pain, which was thankfully the second thing she noticed after waking up. Any of the physical torment that she had received from her injuries last night had faded away completely, leaving only a slight uncomfortable numb feeling of her legs being slightly squeezed by the plaster and bandages. Her neck that was once in a neck brace was now free to allow her head to turn back and forth to see where she was, though the familiar Apple-scented disinfectant told the teenager immediately that she was in the Storybrooke Hospital.
Lydia tried to ignore the rise of emotions in her chest at the thought that she was still in Storybrooke, her plan to get away from the town and travel to just about anywhere else not even attempted to really put it into action. And now there was no chance of her being able to get away , not just because eyes would be watching her more carefully, but also because her legs were currently not operational enough for her to be able to run away again.
Allowing her head to fall back on the pillow, the teenager closed her eyes and tried to forcibly will herself back to sleep, or at least into a daydream where she was anywhere but here. But the background noise of far off Nurses and Doctors chatting it up with other patients reminding her all the while that she was still there, still laying in that bed and unable to leave it or the town at all.
She just wanted to leave, to just close her eyes and open them to find herself somewhere else, a place where she could be free. No eyes to watch or judge her, no bars trying to hold her back. Just the freedom to run until she could forget about everything that was trying to keep her to this place.
God, she was going to miss running for the next few weeks.
And strutting, pacing, walking, basically any leg movement that allowed her to get away from something she didn't want to be near. For the next few weeks she was not going to be able to do that, instead she would probably be stuck to a wheelchair for a while, needing others to do even the simplest of actions. That last point had the teenager visibly wince at the thought, since it lead to an even bigger conclusion that she didn't want to speculate on, but really had no choice.
She was going to have to depend on her father.
With several curses underneath her breath Lydia squeezed her eyes shut tighter, wishing and praying to every religion that she was aware of to just take her away from this, or at least have the floor swallow her up completely. The previous time she had spoken to Mr. Gold, the emotional shouting match that she had freely taken part in, the teenager had been planning that to be the last time they would ever trade words.
Now Lydia was not only going to have to see him again, possibly not long into this day, but she was also going to need him for basic tasks for the next few weeks. And that made her even more want to just stop existing altogether, the humiliation and slight amount of unexplainable fear mounted in her chest over the sadness that she couldn't get away from it at all. She was going to be trapped in that situation now that she had no legs to run away with for now.
The teenager opened her eyes for the first time in the past few moments, her head turning subconsciously to the left, where her eyes were able to see the wheelchair that was waiting for her in the corner. How long that had actually been there, Lydia wasn't completely sure, but at the same time the teenager found that she didn't care in the least.
All of the other thoughts that had been on her mind on the factors that she was not going to be able to leave Storybrooke and how her legs had to remain in casts for the next few weeks fled to the back of her mind, as instead she started planning on how she was going t get herself into the wheelchair and leave this room.
Since, if she was not going to be able to walk away and put off the conversation that she was eventually going to have with her father, the least she could do was wheel out.
Ever the coward. And as Lydia started pulling herself to the floor to the waiting wheelchair, the teenager found that she wasn't really ashamed of that at that moment.
As Lydia was wheeling herself through the most bush covered areas of pavement paths in the Hospital Garden, the teenager found that was very disappointed with the security measures that this medical centre had to offer. Seriously, all that she had to do in order to find her way out of the hallways and apple scented floors, was to duck her head whenever she saw someone that could possible identify her and move quickly through to the waiting exit doors that weren't that far away.
None of the patients that walked amongst the gardens seemed that interested in her being there, and so left the blonde to her thoughts. This turned out to be the last sort of mindset Lydia wanted to be in while she awaited for a Doctor or even worse, her father to find her empty bed, missing wheelchair and then start to call a search for her, wasting valuable time that could be used on other patients.
So while that thought made her feel pretty bad, it was not really enough that Lydia would now turn back and continue her waiting in the Hospital bed that felt more like a cage. At least while Lydia was here, she could have the fantasy of at least being somewhat free instead of the reality of it not even being close to that. Plus there was still the fact that she wanted to avoid her father at every opportunity, so it was more of a pros against cons, and pros was definitely winning out.
The gardens of the Hospital were very well kept, and despite the fact that it was sometime in the middle of winter, there was still some beautiful flowers just finishing in their blooming. The sky was clear, there was a gentle cool breeze, and the teenager's sinuses were as clean and fresh feeling as the green leaves that turned the carbon dioxide that was all around her into clean air.
It was very peaceful, which was probably why Lydia couldn't help but feel somewhat uncomfortable, what with all the thoughts and issues that were spinning through her mind, it seemed almost alien that she would be so bothered in such beautiful surroundings. So she tried to clear her mind of those thoughts, tried to relax with the calm scenery. But then again it was hard to wipe her mind of thoughts, especially the ones that were really bothering her, so she was stuck in a paradox really.
Lydia grumbled to herself and grasped at the wheels of her wheelchair, tugging herself forward. However, it turned out that she had used too much force, and so the teenager managed to get herself stuck in the edges of where the pavement started and the dirt ended, the one wheel that was stuck refusing to budge. Lydia had hidden out in the very back end of the Hospital garden, in the hopes that no one would find her and send her back, so that would explain why there was no one around to help her now that she had gotten herself stuck.
The teenager sighed miserably as her hands covered her face for a few small moments, still wondering if it was too late to be swallowed up by the ground that now had her stuck firmly in place.
Just as Lydia was about to degrade herself even further to the point of yelling out for help, the teenager felt a sudden force from the back of her wheelchair that pushed her back up onto the pathway. Lydia twisted around in her seat as much as she could manage in order to see who it was that had saved her from her predicament, a good part of her ready to be mortified if it turned out to be her father.
However the rest of her only got to be confused when instead of her father, it turned out that it was a complete stranger that had saved her from that tight spot.
Lydia gave the unfamiliar person her usual 'totally innocent and happy to meet you' public smile, meanwhile her mind was racing to place who this face was, trying to add a name to it. Because of her father's business, the teenager had seen nearly everyone that lived in this town at some point, since everyone apparently at one point would want something from Mr. Gold's shop. She knew by face close to everyone that was in Storybrooke, but Lydia didn't know who this was, she had never seen this person before.
And certainly what with the easy-on-the-eyes attribute he had going on, Lydia was pretty sure that she would remember him. The teenager bit her cheek to stop her smile form growing any wider when he returned the gesture.
"Hi, couldn't help but notice you were in a bit of trouble there," Lydia smiled back at him still, her brain telling for god's sake to say something, anything was better than remaining silent and grinning like a fool as she was doing at that moment. Eventually she managed to find something to say, but it didn't turn out to be her greatest moment.
"Gold! …Lydia erm Gold… I'm Lydia Gold," The strange not bad-looking man smiled back at her while she embarrassed herself before replying back as they shook hands.
"I'm David, David Nolan. Nice to meet you,"
Oddly enough, Lydia did not remember ever meeting a David in this town, or really ever. And yet at the same time the teenager couldn't help but think that she somehow knew him. The teenager had often heard about something called 'in another life' and usually she never really believed in that sort of thing, thinking that this was the only life everyone ever got.
But there was something about this David, who even though Lydia was sure she didn't know, she couldn't but feel as though she had once. It was like a sudden thing, his face and name being too familiar for her liking even though it was already established to her by her brain, that this was a stranger she had only just met. Unable to help her awkward self from being an embarrassment that she would deeply regret later, the teenager spoke up.
"I'm sorry but… Have we met before? Like, I feel as though we've met already but I forgot," David wore the expression as though he were truly digging around in his brain for any recognition, only to draw a blank as he finally answered back.
"I wouldn't know, I have amnesia,"
Embarrassment had once again been achieved as Lydia felt as though she should just bite her tongue straight in half to stop herself causing any more issues. One hand made its usual trip to cover her face in humiliation, the chance to run away being taken from her as she currently had both legs covered in plaster. So that meant she was stuck here as David continued to push her wheelchair along the footpath, though really Lydia wished he would just push it down the nearest ditch by the pavement. Any escape is better than not.
"I'm so sorry I didn't know-"
"It's alright, in any case we both seem to have forgotten meeting once. Which does save us from being awkward if it was a bad meeting," In Lydia's opinion it was pretty awkward already, though apparently it could have been worse. And if there was anything that the teenager had liked to use as an excuse, it was the fact that no matter what happened, it could always be worse.
By the time that Lydia managed to think of something else to say in order to save the conversation from falling into the exact awkwardness that she wanted to save it from, David had managed to find some kind of short cut through the gardens or something since they had managed to travel from the very back of the gardens around the Hospital, to the entry door into the medical centre.
"Well, it's nice to meet you Lydia, even if it's possibly for the second time," David said as he was obviously setting up to end the conversation in the least awkward way possible, considering the absolute lack of help that Lydia had pitched into this effort, it seemed as though that it was an almost impossible target to have by this point.
And of course Lydia couldn't help herself but pitch in once more and spoil this attempt.
"Right… Erm by the way I forgot to say thank you, y'know for your help…" And just like that, David's cool attempt to finish this without embarrassment was right out the window. Thankfully before Lydia could be allowed to say any more to make this worse in effect, a nurse managed to make an appearance, along with another woman by their side that Lydia was thankful that she had met before and actually knew.
Also, it turned out that David knew her as well.
"Mary Margret," The man smiled pretty darn widely as he shook the elementary teacher's hand. Lydia watched as the woman in return looked as though she was enjoying this interaction. All the while the teenager swallowed back the sudden and strange empty feeling in the bottom of her stomach, deciding to blame it on the fact that she hadn't eaten in a while thanks to her little venture through the garden.
"Miss Gold, your father is waiting for you in the visitor's lounge,"
Well, Lydia couldn't help but think that despite her previous belief, that nothing about this new situation could get any worse. The teenager looked over to the two adults apart from the nurse that had to be the one to dispense this unfortunate information. David of course, being one with amnesia had no real idea why this was an issue, Mary Margret on the other hand looked very sympathetic.
"David, is there any chance that pushing me into the ditch isn't going to make our new acquaintance any less awkward?"
A few days passed since Nemo had started having her doubts for the Prince, and all the while the girl kept it to herself to the best of ability. The slightest physical reaction, never mind verbal, that could even suggest that she questioned the Prince to any other being in the castle, and she would be on the gallows before there was a chance to blink. Instead, she bided her time through the days to watch the royal more carefully.
This was easier to do than usual, since she was, for some reason, made one of his most personal servants. Any duties that she had had before the Prince had returned were negated for following every order that the royal gave. However, unlike every other experience that Nemo had had with the other royals in this case, the girl found that she was not running all over the place in order to try and do everything they had wanted within a time limit.
In fact, she had barely being doing anything, the Prince for some reason now thinking that he didn't need her for anything and could do it all himself. This was not a thought process the royal had had before, and was only another addition to add to her growing suspicions against him. Nemo had eventually decided to stop bothering to try and do most of what should have been her duties and instead followed the Prince around so she at least would look as though she were still doing her duties.
Eventually all of these suspicions and sudden lack of work came to a head for Nemo, which was actually just around the time when it was announced in the royal court that morning that Prince James was going to be off with most of the best knights in the castle to slay some kind of monster. This was the first time in a while since he had returned from this mysterious hunting trip, so of course that meant a celebration needed to be thrown the day before, which included a lot of drinking.
Once again this was not an unusual thing to happen before a battle, something that Nemo always found to be very idiotic in retrospect but then again it wasn't her that was going out to fight those creatures so she kept to herself. Plus there was always the upside for her and the other servants that whenever the people of the court drank one to many, they became a little too incapable to notice that they were stealing some of the food or weren't carrying out their orders to the immediate letter.
This night was completely different from the usual celebrations that Nemo had been forced to somewhat cater and serve for, since instead of sneaking the food like she usually did, the girl was instead watching carefully the actions of the royal whose order she was placed under. By this point she was ready to admit to herself that Prince James was not at all actually Prince James but an imposter, but now there was only one specific piece of evidence that would finally sell it for her.
So she watched him carefully from her corner that the Prince was meant to call her from should he have need of her. And so far that last piece of evidence she was waiting for still hadn't made its appearance, but still she bided her time and waited it out, her eyes never leaving his table as she watched. Eventually however it seemed like time couldn't be wasted any longer as the moment came.
"A drink for Prince James!"
The court cheered, holding their mugs of ale and other mind altering drinks above their heads in cheer for their royal that was soon going to go out and risk his life for the sake of their entertainment. But that was not was getting Nemo's entire attention as she instead looked through all those people, in that moment thinking them as nothing but distractions form the main focus.
There! The girl took a moment after she had seen it to rub her eyes jus to make extra sure that this was the real thing she was seeing.
As soon as she had seen it, it was gone and the Prince was awkwardly standing from his seat to walk back to his quarters. Nemo quickly followed after him, after all without him there, there really was no need for her to be there either was there? Still the girl did her best to remain a few steps away from the Prince so that he would not know that she was truly there following after him like a bloodhound on the hunt.
The so called 'Prince James' opened the door to his rooms and closed it quickly behind him, Nemo still being a few steps behind him so she was left on the other side when it shut. Just before one hand could open the chamber door, another snuck into the secret pocket of her skirts, feeling the small dagger she had managed to steal on her first day under this castle's charge, almost to just make sure that it was still there.
After all, she didn't want to go in there without a certain chance that she could defend herself should this person be dangerous in any way. Then, when Nemo was sure that she would be able to put up a good fight should anything go wrong, the girl easily opened the chamber door and walked inside. For some reason however it took the 'unlikely Prince James' a moment to notice that she was actually there.
"Your Majesty, may I be allowed to ask you a question?"
"Of course Nemo," The girl had seen the face of Prince James be clouded in thunderous anger before, had seen him at his most furious or frightening. At least that was before the mysterious hunting trip, ever since then she hadn't seen him angry once. In fact, just as this moment, instead of being furious that she had spoken he was instead indulging her request, and even gesturing that she could sit if she wished.
There was a part of Nemo that didn't want to say her suspicions out loud, in order not to spoil how well things had been going for her lately. After all, ever since she had was placed under this royal's immediate orders, the girl had been moved out of the dungeons and into the slightly better living conditions of the royal servants quarters, which was really just an empty room with rags on the floor.
Still, Nemo's curiosity and amounting suspicions couldn't allow her to keep her tongue, and in any case it was a little to lat by this point since she had walked into the Prince's quarters and was now staring him in the eye after politely declining his offer to sit. He didn't seem like the kind of person that was going to attack should she unveil the lie, but still Nemo let her hand creep back to the dagger as she finally allowed herself to speak the words that ah been in her mind since the Prince had 'returned from his hunting trip'.
"Where is the real Prince James?"
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