Tatiana walked back to her room, her chest heaving from the anger she felt.
She does not remember what her mother looked like, nor does she have any memories of her. But every single time that somebody mentions her mother, she becomes extremely sensitive and starts spewing out words that she, herself, does not even remember. For example, she does not know that the queen was a previous concubine and a poor noble. It just came out of her mouth.
Norma strutted behind her when the princess abruptly stopped making Norma also stop in her tracks. Her hands shivered in anxiousness, it was sweaty and cold. She almost jumped when the princess turned around to face her.
Norma immediately dropped to the ground kneeling in front of the princess, her head touching the ground.
"I was wrong, your highness!" she cried, "I deserve death for what I did to you!"
"Yes, you do deserve that punishment," Tatiana bitterly said. She can't believe what the girl tried to do with her. If Bjorn did not tell her then she would have remained clueless about everything around her. Who would have known that her lady-in-waiting was the one who tried to poison her to death as well as serve her tea that had small amounts of poison in the morning?
Of course, Tatiana felt angry and betrayed. But as she was staying in her room and thinking about what to do, she thought that what if she really deserved it for being such a cruel princess. But when she thought about it again, she realized that she didn't deserve this. Her actions should not be condoned but what if she was extremely ill-tempered and sensitive because of the poison that was being fed to her each morning.
Norma closed her eyes shut, her heart beating out of her lungs. Maybe this is the end for her, maybe this is punishment for following the queen's orders and trying to harm the princess. She was ready to accept her doom when the princess grabbed her arm and pulled her up.
"Stand up," Tatiana demanded and made her stand up, "how many times do I have to tell you that you shouldn't grovel before others that easily. Is that your hobby? Is it fun?"
Norma could not answer. She was ashamed and guilty for the thing she did.
"Did you hate me that much?" Tatiana asked her, "was I really that evil to you? Did you do it out of revenge?"
"No, your highness!" Norma gasped and shook her head, "I may have had negative feelings towards you for bullying me but I never hated you. I only did what the queen instructed me to because she told me that she would hurt my family if I did not do what she said."
Another person whose dignity and honor was bought for money. She and Simon are so alike. Tatiana could never judge them for doing the things that they thought were the only thing to do because they had no other choice. But in this case, she also could not let the girl stay by her side. It was too dangerous and she can't bring herself to trust the girl either.
Tatiana turned her back to Norma.
"I can't let you stay here any longer," Tatiana told her, "William will instruct you on what to do. Go and start packing your bags."
"Princess, I'm very sorry!" Norma wailed, "I did not mean for this to happen, I am extremely sorry!"
Tatiana started walking away. Norma cried after her and begged but Tatiana turned deaf to her pleas. This is something that the princess alone can decide anymore. She thought carefully before making that choice and she realized that it was, in fact, the only way.
--
The princess peeked through the glass window and saw that Norma was loading her things into the carriage. Norma looked around one last time when she and the princess's gaze met. She looked at her apologetically and gave her a sad smile and bowed her head before riding the carriage.
"No one even came to say goodbye," Tatiana said and turned away from the window. William stood behind her as usual.
"I already made the preparations and sent people to notify the orphanage," William stated.
Tatiana nodded her head in approval and sighed. "Why are people always after my head?"
William cleared his throat and glanced at the princess.
"Your highness, if I may ask, do you think that sending her to the orphanage is the best punishment? Wouldn't exile be the best option? What she did is an unforgivable crime."
William was somehow upset after hearing what happened. Things happened right under his nose and he did not even have a clue about it. He knew about the queen spying on the princess but he never thought that the queen was bold enough to try and assassinate the princess. To him, it was a clear act of treason and should not be easily forgotten. Merely threatening the queen and sending her accomplice to the orphanage is not the best thing that the princess could do.
Tatiana smiled and looked at him, "I understand your sentiments, William. But this issue does not revolve around me only. Other people are also involved in this."
"Are you thinking of the young prince?"
The reason why Tatiana could not report the queen was because of Elliot. The queen maybe just a stranger to her, an evil one at that, but she was also Elliot's mother, unfortunately. Elliot was already a sickly child, she does not want to turn him into an orphan just like her.
As for Norma, Tatiana thought that exile would be the best punishment but that was before she knew that Norma has a brother. She sent Morgan to gather other information about Norma and discovered that her brother was one of the children from the orphanage. Having a problematic family is enough, she does not want to take the kid's only family that cares for him.
"If that is your highness's decision, then I shall respect it. I will always have your back no matter what."
William looked at the princess. Her eyes are much clearer than before. She became wiser and more mature after coming back from the orphanage. He thought about how much the princess changed and how she grew up in such a short period of time.
As each day passes, she grows more and more like her mother. She has a long way to go before becoming queen but William will be there, and he will guide and protect her with all he has until she is ready.
"Thank you, William," the princess replied.
"Your highness!" Emma ran towards them. "I-I saw the queen's beloved chair outside! What happened? What did I miss?"
"Awww, Emma!" Tatiana locked Emma in her arms and squeezed. Emma immediately started tapping on the princess's arm as it was choking her. The princess finally let go and Emma was left panting.
"I am so glad you love me, Emma," the princess pouted and pinched Emma's cheeks on both sides, "What did I ever do to get a person like you!"
"But what really happened, princess? Did the queen do something to you again? You are the only person I thought of when I saw the chair outside." Emma pulled away from the princess's gasp.
"Me? What did I do?" Tatiana pretended to be clueless.
"Your highness, a princess must not engage in things like revenge! It is unladylike and a future queen must not partake in such actions!"
"Emma stops nagging me," the princess complained, "I was just sending her a little gift, a warning if I may say so myself."
"So, something DID happen." Emma raised her brows in suspicion. "Why do I feel like I am missing something very important?"
"I shall tell you in my chambers later, for now, let us go and meet Elliot. I have this idea of a board game that he might likeâ"
"That will not be possible your highness," Emma and William said in unison.
"Eh?"
"Your coming of age is approaching and there are a lot of things to prepare," William said.
"And you are scheduled for lessons and the royal tailor will be visiting you to take your measurements as well as choose the fabric and design that you will be wearing for your birthday," Emma explained to her.
Tatiana turned deaf for a while. Why is there so much to prepare when it's only her sweet sixteenth? It's just a waste of money and she would rather use that money for the orphanage's operations.
"I can't believe that you will be introduced to the kingdom as the crown princess on your sixteenth birthday. It was only then when you just started crawling," William said and wiped an imaginary tear on the corner of his eye.
That was when Tatiana realized that sixteen was the age when girls are considered adults in this era of the story. Her face turned pale and she started to feel nervous. People are making such a big deal out of it and it's making her feel nervous all of a sudden.
--
END