A/N: So this is the other half of Princesses Don't Cry. It picks up exactly where the last part left off. Reminder, the bolded section of the story is a flashback/memory.
Thx!
AMM
"If you don't eat that soon, Gloria will take it away and accuse you of being too picky to have anything else." I'm startled from my reverie by one of the other maids, a lady in waiting for the Queen.
I roll my eyes at Karen, appreciating that she treats me like a normal person but nod and take a bite of the food despite my appetite having vanished.
Pushing the food around my plate, I take a few more bites before giving up, cleaning my dishes and tidying up the spot I'd sat out before moving to turn in for the night. However, right as I open the door to the maids' chambers, Kori tugs the cord in her room, ringing the bell above my bed. I fight my groan, eager to crawl into bed before straightening my shoulders, spinning on my heel and head back up to Kori's bedroom.
I ball my hands into fists as I draw closer to Kori's room, her overwhelming emotions assaulting me yet again. I would think by now I wouldn't be so affected by her strong emotions but they continue to catch me off guard.
Approaching her door, I rap my knuckles against the door before pushing it open. I peek my head in and see Kori crying in her bed, clutching one of her numerous pillows to her chest.
"You rang?" I ask quietly into the dark room but the only response I receive is Kori's whimpering. "Kori?" When she still doesn't respond, I step fully into the room, the door snicking closed quietly behind me as I move towards the bed. I hesitate at her bedside, unsure what to do. Emotions and how to react and help with them has never been my strong suit despite being an empath. One of my powers may be empathy but I'm not the most empathetic.
I reach for her shaking shoulder but pause before touching her, not wanting to lose my hand if she didn't hear me come in. After a moment, I take a deep breath and place my hand on her shoulder, flinching when she immediately rolls over and wraps her arms tightly around my waist, sobbing into my apron. I uncomfortably pat her shoulder in a poor attempt to soothe her.
After a few minutes, I feel my legs begin to grow numb as she begins cutting off circulation since her grip has yet to let up any. "Kori, let go for a minute." She's reluctant to do so but eventually pulls back, a full pout on her face as she does so. I toe off my shoes before gesturing to Kori to move over, only hesitating for a second before climbing onto the bed and sitting against the headboard, patting my thigh as soon as I've settled.
Kori instantly collapses across my lap, once again crying. I begin to soothe my hand over her hair, trying to recall what my mother would do when I was young and allowed to express my emotions so strongly. "Tell me what's wrong," I quietly command.
"He was just so rude!" She whimpers against my legs.
"Kori, you're not still hung up on Jason? You hardly know him," I lightly reprimand.
"But he knew all the things to say to get me riled up and upset! And then made fun of me for being a princess and unable to do anything about it!"
"That's who Jason is, that's what he does. He'll say anything to get under your skin and upset you. He's good at it. Why do you think he never has a partner at galas and balls?"
"I just figured he was picky." She mumbles.
"No, it's because he's a rude person and no one wants to tolerate his behavior." I correct her, hoping it'll pacify her but she continues to weep.
Don't waste our precious time
On boys with pretty eyes
"He's not worth the effort." I breathe into the room. "He may be handsome and from one of the richest kingdoms but no amount of good looks and pretty eyes are worth the time you're spending on them. A princess doesn't cry," I whisper quietly and try to ignore the burn as my hand on Kori's head stills, calling upon my abilities and soothing away her sadness. The longer I press my fingers to her temple, the more severe and sharp the pain around my throat becomes but as soon as her breathing turns even, I yank my hand away from her head and hold it close to my throat, itching to tear off the belying lace. It may look pretty but the pain is awful.
As soon as the burns cool to a dull throbbing, I move Kori off of my lap and slide off the bed, slipping my shoes back on before escaping back to the maids' quarters, finally collapsing into bed for the night.
Girls, so pretty and poised
And soft to the touch
I keep my eyes straight ahead as I step from the carriage, uncomfortable with the amount of murmuring that had begun as soon as the door swung open. Richard greets me a few steps away, offering his arm politely. Despite the comfort he brings from his familiarity, I yearn for my cloak.
This is the first time in a long time that I've actually been required to be seen outside of castle walls or a carriage. My father dressed me for the occasion in a light lavender dress, on the verge of washing me out. The dress was not only too light for my skin tone but also far more revealing than my usual gowns. Two purple ribbons crossed in an x over the top of my breast bone, circling up behind my neck before wrapping down and around each bicep a couple of times. I won't lie and say the dress is ugly, it's just not pretty on me.
Richard's hand covers mine in the crook of his elbow and I calm somewhat, his touch helping to calm me so I can ignore the stares around us, though my back remains rimrod straight, my chin held high, shoulders back, all the things I was taught but have hardly used as far as proper princess etiquette is concerned.
"I don't know how you do it, Raven, but you have the softest hands." Richard comments as we walk towards the entrance to the Castle of Gotham. While our castle at home fits every sense of the word, coming across like one you'd read in a fairytale, Gotham's castle looks far more like a large mansion or house. It doesn't have spires or skyscraping towers, no drawbridges or gargoyles. I find it rather plain but at the same time, much prefer it to the castle I've grown up in.
"Lotion and herbs," is all I tell Richard as we finally make it to the gates of Gotham Castle. Richard chuckles, aware that I didn't fall for his compliment. While I daydream of possibly marrying Richard someday, I also am not a girl to be swept off her feet with sweet words and compliments.
But God made me rough
Even though we've made it past the onlooking Gothamites who had gathered to catch a glimpse of my father and I, their emotions begin to choke me up. When I stepped out of the carriage, my thoughts were more preoccupied with how I was so revealed to the eyes of people I do not know. However, now that I've made it past that, I begin to notice all of their emotions, the curiosity, the confusion, the judgment. I can't help but clutch Richard's arm tighter as we near the main door of the castle, wanting to hurry up and get inside so that I can find a dark corner to calm myself.
"Woah, Rae, ease up, would ya?" Richard tries to tease, having felt my grip tighten but I see him glance at me, watch the teasing grin falter on his face as he realizes the problem.
I hear the metal gates begin to close behind us when something hard hits the back of my head. Moments later, something wet drips down my shoulder blades. I immediately stop, my hand reaching up behind me and feeling something wet in my hair and hissing in pain as I come in contact with whatever it is that's wet. "Go do you devilry somewhere else, demons!" Someone calls through the gates.
"Who threw that?" King Bruce demands from in front of us. I'm unsure how he knew something was thrown but he'd spun around the instant whatever hit me dropped to the ground.
"Rae, your head!" Richard carefully spins me away from him before turning to Tim who had been walking between Bruce and my father and Richard and I. "Tim, run to Barbra and tell her to get bandages and warm water ready." Richard commands before turning back to me and further ushering me inside.
"They don't belong here! They'll curse you and then us! God will strike them down!" God's already struck me down and cast me to hell. If only those people knew they're behind the times.
"Alfred!" I hear Bruce yell for his second in command, an older gentleman who's never been anything but kind to me. He's old enough to be Bruce's father and had advised King Thomas before he and Queen Martha were tragically struck down in Bruce's youth. It's a story I know well though I am not allowed to speak of it aloud. Bruce, understandably, didn't handle the tragedy well and never really recovered over absolved the trauma.
"Come, Raven, we need to get your head looked at."
"Richard, I'm fine. I can heal it myself," I insist once the main doors have closed behind us. I glance at my father who is glaring at me, as if I told the people to throw rocks at me and accuse us of witchery.
"We both know how that'll go," Richard says under his breath, having caught on that my father grew violent towards me with any use of my powers. I could only keep that a secret for so long. Richard and Tim were both too clever for their own good.
"Don't worry. I'm sure God will help me." I sneer.
"God or no God, we need to take care of your head." While I didn't want to admit it, where I'd been struck did hurt pretty bad and a headache was forming.
"If you insist," I reply before allowing him to guide me towards the kitchen where Barbra, the daughter of one of King Bruce's highest soldiers-turned makeshift nurse was waiting.
I blink open my eyes but upon seeing it's still light out, I roll over and quickly fall back asleep.
Girls, so heavy the crown
They carry it tall
But it's weighing me down
I hold my head high, unused to the weight of my tiara. It was beginning to squeeze my temples and a headache was beginning to form but I refused to show the growing pain. I stand quietly beside my father as his fate is announced, boos and profanities litter the square before us.
My eyes remain locked on a single spot in the sky, refusing to make eye contact with anyone around us.
The fate of my father has been decided, that he shall be beheaded, but mine is yet to be determined. Will they make me rule in his stead, with an eye kept on me at all times? Will I be sentenced to beheading as well?
I glance down for a second, looking to the one person who can always calm me but his eyes refuse to meet mine, focused on the ground or on his father and brothers beside him, even flitting to my father but skipping right over me to land back on the stones at his feet.
I can't help the way that my shoulders drop slightly, unsure how I'll be able to continue ruling if the one person who understands me refuses to even look at me now.
My fingers begin to pick at the fabric of my dress where my hands hang at my sides. The dress is far more my style then what I typically wear in public, a deep eggplant with silver and light blue stitching across my chest in a simple yet elegant pattern and across my hips and the tops of my thighs before fading off into the billowy skirt. My shoulders and collarbone are unfortunately revealed, not even a choker or necklace around my neck. Two sleeves that are unattached to my dress hold light lavender flowy sleeves around my biceps, draping across my arms delicately when raised. It's probably my favorite feature of the dress but even the sleeves can calm my anxiety for the future.
I find myself wishing, not for the first time, that I was someone else. That I wasn't the daughter of King Trigon, that I didn't have powers or stand out like a sore thumb, that I was normal, that I wasn't royalty. My fingers itch to pull my crown out of my hair, to yank it off of the spot where it sits across my forehead, to destroy the red diamond sitting in the center and bend the twisting metal into something unrecognizable.
"And Princess Raven!" My father's former advisor calls out. My eyes widen and I glance at the cruel man. Slade had worked with my father for years, I was surprised he was the one sentencing my father to death and now, possibly me. Though, Slade and I never did get along. He gave me the creeps.
"You, too, shall be sentenced to de-"
"Stop!"
A princess doesn't cry
Though Slade is cut off from finishing his sentence, I know what he was about to say and I can't help but be slightly shocked. I knew it was a possibility that I would also be sentenced to death but since I couldn't be tied to any of the things my father had done, I was under the belief that I wouldn't be punished as severely.
I guess I was wrong.
As the thought of also losing my head begins to whirl inside my mind, I feel my control over my powers begin to slip and my eyes begin to water.
A princess doesn't cry, a princess doesn't cry. I repeat that thought over and over in my head, hoping it'll be enough to keep my powers and tears in check.
Burning like a fire,
Feel it all inside
But wipe those teary eyes
But as I begin to hold back my tears, my sadness begins to morph into anger, spilling through my veins like fire. This emotion is even more difficult to rein in, knowing that if I grow too angry, a second set of eyes will appear above my own, my irises will turn a violent red, and my powers will seep into every surrounding object and I cannot allow that to happen.
I nearly tip over the edge, though, as I feel something hot drip down my face. I angrily reach up and wipe it away, more than likely smearing the black coal that lines my eyes.
'Cause princesses don't cry
I wake up to a searing around my neck and immediately gasp, my powers snapping back into my person with a vengeance and the pain stopping. I sit upright and try to catch my breath, the emotions tied with those awful memories still too fresh and powerful to be remembered, especially when unconsciously thinking of them.
My hands are shaking from both the pain around my neck and the pain of those 3 week old wounds reopening as I carefully stand from my bed.
I glance towards the window, noticing it's still rather dark out, only a hint of light peeking through. Looking around, I'm glad to see the other girls are still sleeping and can only hope none of them noticed my powers.
I quietly make my way into the small bathing quarters, rinsing my face off with cool water to try and pull myself together, also dabbing some around my neck, hissing in pain. If I didn't immediately burn myself, I'd try to heal myself but it'd just be counterproductive.
Taking a deep breath, I step from the bathroom and run right into someone. Hands immediately grab my upper arms to steady me and I immediately pull back, ready to tell off whoever grabbed me. However, the words die in my mouth the second our eyes meet.
I nearly collapse at the sight of what's normally a reassuring cerulean. However, they're guarded and unwelcoming and it snaps me back to the present. I shake his hands off my arms and step back, throwing up my own emotional shield, unwilling to be hurt anymore.
We simply glare at each other for a moment before he opens his mouth. "How are you, Rae?" I nearly slap him but just manage to restrain myself. How dare he call me that when he immediately abandoned me as soon as my father was called out?
I'm fine, I won't waste my time
Keep it in a jar, gonna leave it for the next one
"I'm fine, Dick," I sneer, appreciating the way his lip slightly curls at the nickname he despises. "Doin' just dandy." My emotions flare and my powers reach for something to unleash them on but immediately withdraw at the burning sensation.
The coldness in Dick's eyes fades as his eyes drop to my neck. "Rae-what-?" He steps forward, hands outstretched to me.
"I said I'm fine, Dick," I snarl, taking another couple steps back. "You don't care anymore, remember? Because if you cared, you would've stuck up for me. If you cared, you would've been there for me. But you weren't. You abandoned me the second my father was dragged through the mud, even though you knew what my life was like, you knew how I was treated. You don't get to care anymore."
"Rae, please, I-"
"Go woo Kori or something. Go find someone who cares."
I spin on my heel with the intention of marching away but I'm stopped by arms wrapping tightly around my chest.
"Let go," I growl, wriggling against him and trying to get away, even though my heart pleads with me to stop fighting, to sink into his embrace and just let go. But I can't. I couldn't.
"No, I'm sorry, Rae. I am. I didn't know what to do. I knew what everyone was expecting me to do, how I was supposed to treat you and I wasn't strong enough to stand up to that, to them."
"I don't care to listen to your lies," I hiss, still fighting against his solid hold, though my fight is waning the longer he holds me.
"Raven, please, just stop." he pleads against the back of my head. As much as my head tells me not to, I do. I stop squirming, stop fighting, and drop. Richard follows me to the ground as my knees collapse beneath me, a sob suddenly bursting from my mouth and my powers once again seeping out around us, despite the flare of pain around my throat. The corners of the rug we're kneeling on begin to roll up, a picture of the royal family removes itself from the wall, a spare broom, mop, and bucket from a corner begin to levitate in response to my energy.
Yeah, I'm fine
I'm lying on the floor again
Richard moves to be sitting fully on the ground, pulling me back into his chest while beginning a rocking motion. He turns me into his chest, running a hand soothingly up and down my back as I cry. His hand sneaks up my spine before touching the back of my neck, the pain fading almost instantly as the choker slackens from around my neck.
"Rae," Richard gasps as he brushes my hair off of my neck, reminding me to attempt to put it back up in a ponytail later.
"It's to keep me under control," I hiccup against his shoulder.
"No more. You aren't staying here any longer. You're coming back to Gotham with me."
I lean away from his shoulder, bringing my hands up to wipe away my tears. "Why? So I can be a maid there instead of here? So I can watch you get married off?"
"No, to be my bride." He leans in and presses his forehead to mine.
"What?" I ask breathlessly.
"Your name's been cleared, Rae. I told myself I would only come to tell King Myand'r and that if I saw you, I'd have to remain distant but I couldn't do it, Rae, not when I saw all the hurt in your eyes. I'm so sorry. I know I caused a good majority of that pain and I can only hope you'll forgive me. Father, Tim, even Jason, and I have all been working to clear your name, to prove that you are not your father.
"Rae, I want you to come back so we can be together, officially. No more sneaking around, no more stolen kisses or secret embraces."
"Richard, please don't be messing with me. I couldn't handle it." I close my eyes, hoping this is real but afraid I'm still asleep.
"I'm serious, Raven. Your title and status are being reinstated as we speak and you are coming back to Gotham with me-if that's what you want, of course." Richard pulls back and I open my eyes to see him looking nervously at me. "Even if it's not what you want, I still insist you let Barbra take a look at your neck."
"Without the choker, I can heal it myself. And I don't have to worry about Father's backlash if I do." I give a weak smile before considering the man on the floor in front of me, sitting on the dirty carpet in the maids chambers. "Wait, if you were coming to see King Myand'r, then what are you doing in the maid's quarters?" I ask, borderline accusatory.
"Though I told myself I wasn't coming to see you, I had secretly hoped that I would." He admits, the tops of his cheeks brightening in embarrassment. I can't help but roll my eyes before standing up, dusting myself off. Richard follows before looking at me expectantly.
"Well?"
"I suppose the title of princess will due. Surely it's better than 'hey you' or 'witch'."
"My princess?" he asks hopefully and another tear trails down my cheek as I nod, throwing my arms around his shoulders as he sweeps me off my feet, pressing a kiss against my forehead.
Maybe it's okay if princesses cry.
A/N: I'm not the biggest fan of the ending to this particular story. I felt like it was kind of rushed, anticlimactic, out of the blue, however you want to put it. I feel like it didn't live up to the rest of the story but maybe that's just me.
Thx!
AMM