Chapter 4

It had been about three months since she had gotten that first letter and already Serena seemed to be so connected to her secret friend. She had no idea how she had lived through so much time in a place like that and not have a companion such as the person who sent her letters everyday. They spoke of the books they read what they had done, but of course they usually could not finish all they wanted to say to each other in one letter the pigeons were small and they could only carry small tins.

So she settled for only a few words per day, but it seemed to be enough to keep her going. She had gone through meeting five suiters in the past months and she actually did it with a smile on her face, as if she enjoyed, and when she got in trouble she would smile and hum as she did the patchwork on her balcony. She laughed at the words she remembered him saying to her the day before. Or what she said to Serena, she didn’t really know what her friend was. But of course she did not care. this person talked to her as if he thought she was the smartest and most beautiful person in the world and she did the same.

She now sat on her balcony rocking back and forth as she hummed to herself the beautiful music of her locket. A song that had stopped a long time ago, but she still remembered. She would never forget it. Every night and now it lay open in her hand and his picture looked faded but it never stopped glowing with his life. Oh how she missed him so.

She closed the locket when she felt a light peck on her toe and a sting in her eye as if she was about to cry. She looked down and the lovely pigeon sat in front of her and as expected the bird carried a tin on it’s leg. Tied on by a little piece of twine that was so simple, but she kept it anyway in a little pouch she held under her pillow.

She slipped the note out of the tube and unrolled the note in her delicate palm.

She read slowly:

“You will have to guess my name, and yes it is a man’s name “ She giggled at the end of the note. And jumped from her chair startling the bird that stood waiting for it’s piece of bread. “Oh sorry.” Serena said to the bird and skipped over to the place she hid the daily piece of bread for the bird. Making sure it was an extra big piece for the fact that the bird had to wait.

She read the note and jumped for joy startling the pigeon that was occupied eating the bread crumbs it was so happy to get. Now it expected it so she was just too happy to give it to him. She was about to sit down and write more when she saw another piece of a paper in the tin.

She pulled it out and rolled it out. She read:

“You spoil my bird?”

At first she did not understand it, but then she knew. It was his way of telling her that he could see her. Most girls she knew would cringe at the fact men could see them at their worst, but she was glad that he had seen her cry so many times, worn ugly puffy dresses, and have the ugliest hair days ever and still want to talk to her.

So she stood up and if he could see her, Serena waved at him and anybody else who was looking, but It was especially to him.

She sat down again and took her last piece of parchment and her quill and put it to the paper, but once she did it was as if the thought popped in her min. ‘Will I ever meet him?’ She did not want to think of the fact that it was impossible for them to meet under their circumstances. She was a princess with men chasing after her, and a man whose was just going to force her to marry her son.

So they would never have a real chance to meet, but she would hope that they would never stop sending letters to each other. But she would never she his face and her eyes were stung by the thought. She tried to stop the tears from falling, but one had already fell to the paper and she knew that there were more to come.

She pushed them back until the stingy drop covered her eyes and she could not see in front of her nose. She had to close her eyes and then they seemed to go away, hidden away for another time so he would not think her weak. But when she opened her eyes se saw that they had covered the paper. She thought of getting a new piece of paper, but she had no more.

Then she had the thought of just not writing anymore. If she stopped now it would save her pain later, she would get used to it, and she would go on with her life with…

“Ouch!” She squealed as she felt a sharp beak poked into her dainty toe.

“Alright alright, I’ll write quickly.” She took the birds anger as a sign so she quickly wrote a question she didn’t know if she wanted the answer to. “Will I ever meet you?” She read back to herself, and she reluctantly stuffed it into the tube and tied it to the bird’s foot with a ribbon she had worn that day. Which came as a shock to the people around her. She had not worn any ribbons during her time in the castle. So it was quite a shocker.

She sent the pigeon off with a kiss on the head and watched as it flew away. Into the night to an unknown destination. She strained her eyes to see where it landed but soon it was gone. No landing in sight. She sighed with disappointment and walked over to the other side of the balcony. Turned away from the pigeon, and began to cry. She let her tears wet the plants, and trees far below. No one could see her so she let it fall for hours. About everything. Like she did very night, but tonight she took extra precaution so that he wouldn’t she her a her weakest.

The next morning she woke up in her chair and stretched before trying to go back to sleep. She closed her eyes, but it did not work. She was fully awake and she had to get up or she might be permanently stuck in the chair so she stood up. Stretching the rest of her body and waved in the direction of where she thought he was, and walked into her room.

She walked over to the bookcase and pulled out her favorite book of myths and was about to open the book when a knock wiggled Serena’s door. She walked over to it knowing the knock was too soft for the queen so she opened it with a smile on her face.

“Hello dear.” An old man stood in front of her. His wrinkly body trembling from age. “Your majesty.” Her voice worried as she wrapped his arm around her shoulders so he would not fall, and get hurt.

“Your majesty you are not supposed to be out, you might get hurt.” And Serena knew she would be blamed for it. “Don’t worry my love is asleep so this little walk can be our little secret.” How he said my love while referring to the queen and keeping a straight face was beyond Serena.

She walked him down one of the many staircase, the only one that didn’t end up passing by the queen’s room, and into the garden, while holding him up by her shoulders.

It was scary how light he was on her shoulders. It seemed that he had not eaten in so long, even though she watched eat as much anybody else at the dinner table. While she had a piece of meat and a roll with no butter. It scared her that she had eaten less than him and he was lighter than her.

His steps were strained and he slapped the ground with his pale white feet, as she cringed as if she knew they would be caught if he was heard. Soon he began to step lighter as if he could read her mind. But when she read his mind it was all blank. His thoughts wiped of everything.

They walked silently for a while until they were outside in a garden that they both loved. It was filled with flowers that could only bloom in complete darkness, which was quite ironic since when they did their colors were light and beautiful.

“The flowers are in bloom.” The king said as if it was a surprise even though every time he would walk by them they were, and he would still be surprised. Serena just nodded.

“You remind me of the flowers every time I look at you.” The king said in a shockingly strong voice. Serena looked at him in shock , had he actually thought of that.

“What did you just say your majesty?” She asked In complete shock, and his strength seemed to fade back into his dull state. “Oh nothing dear, just an old man babbling.” She looked back as if he had fallen away again.

“What a beautiful night.” Serena looked up and saw nothing special about the night, nothing but a few measly stars. As she looked at the king with stars eyes in his eyes as he looked at the sky she became very annoyed. She looked up again and a shooting star shot across the sky and she didn’t bother making a wish, but as she looked back at the king he seemed to close his eyes in slight concentration and open them.

When she searched for his wish, it seemed to vanish as he smiled back at her. She couldn’t take him anymore. So she walked him over to a chair in a garden and sat him down. So he could look up at his stupid sky and she smiled down at him.

“Good night majesty.” She walked back into the castle back up the stairs and into her room. She almost ran to the balcony to let her tears fall to the ground, but before she could she heard the coo of a pigeon.

She smiled and wiped away her tears before she ran over to the pigeon and took the tin from his leg. But when she was about to reach for it, the bird’s leg jerked back and she knew exactly what he wanted.

She ran into her room and picked up another piece of bread. She crushed it in her hand and laid it on the floor. She looked up to the pigeon and it nodded it’s head and flew down and began to eat, but before it could she held her hand out for it’s leg.

It poked it out quickly and she untied the tin and stuck the twin in the pouch. She ran out to the balcony and pulled out the piece of paper. She unrolled and read it.

“Very soon.” She looked at it as if it wasn’t real. Were the words true? Was he just trying to cheer her up? When he did come would he be what she expected? She was trying to think of what to ask him, so she picked up a piece of parchment she had received from the king on their walk and wrote down a simple few words.

“I’ll be waiting” she read back to herself and put it in the tin, a little less than satisfied. But it would do she decided as she stuffed it back in the tin and wrapped it with a ribbon to the bird’s leg.

She kissed the bird on the head, and sent it on it’s way back to it’s owner, who she was hopefully going to meet very soon. If she had known that that was the last time she would see the bird she would of held onto the bird for so much longer.