Fourth Arc (Thorns of The Black Throne) - 442. Bored Princess I
Another day passed. Then two. Then three. Then a week.
The castle was still too big.
Princess Jane, though no one in this place ever said her title aloud, had been here just long enough to know exactly how strange that title felt on her tongue. She wasn't used to silks that didn't itch. Or to food that wasn't boiled in one pot and shared by ten. Or to being followed.
Especially that.
"My Lady," the maid said again, soft, polite, with a practiced smile that Jane was already tired of seeing—"would you like to visit the tapestry hall next? Or perhaps the inner courtyard? The koi are especially lively this morning."
Jane blinked. "Fish?"
"They've just been fed."
She rubbed her neck, walking slower. "I'm not hungry."
The maid's smile didn't falter. "Of course. I meant, just for observation. They are quite beautiful."
Jane snorted faintly. "Are they embroidered too?"
The maid looked momentarily startled, then coughed lightly into her sleeve. "No, My Lady."
Jane didn't answer. Just walked.
This was her seventh lap through the western corridors, not that she meant to memorize the route. But she could tell you how many columns lined the silver gallery, or how many steps it took to reach the blue drawing room from the main hall.
It felt like a palace, not a castle. Even the floor was smug about it, soft enough not to echo, but expensive enough to remind her she didn't belong here.
Not really.
They had been kind. Angel had smiled, offered her the best guest chamber, told the court she was an old friend of Rose's, just as they'd agreed. Rose had nodded with that queenly grace she wore like skin. "Lady Jane," they'd said to the others. "A companion from childhood."
A lie, but a useful one.
And Jane didn't mind. Not really.
Except...
She hadn't spoken to either of them in three days. Not properly. Not outside of mealtime courtesies or the occasional passing wave. They were busy. Of course they were. One ruled a kingdom. The other ruled beside him.
And Jane?
Jane wandered.
"Would you like to try painting?" the maid asked, her voice gently hopeful.
Jane tilted her head. "Can you eat it?"
"…No."
"Then maybe later." She wasn't a fan of painting after all.
They turned another corner, this one adorned with massive stained glass windows that painted the floor in blue and gold when the sun hit just right. Jane paused and stared.
There was a boy in the glass. A prince, probably. Holding a sword and kneeling before a glowing crown.
"Do you know who he is?" she asked quietly.
The maid stepped forward, almost relieved to be asked something she could answer. "That is Prince Lucian, My Lady. The great prince of this kingdom. The window depicts his pact with the Spirit of Dawn."
Jane stared a moment longer. "He looks tired."
The maid blinked. "I… suppose?"
"Or maybe just done. Like he's thinking."
There was a brief, uncomfortable silence.
Then Jane kept walking.
It wasn't that she hated the place. Not really. The food was good, too good. The clothes were soft and absurdly beautiful. And the bed? The bed was a crime. No mattress should be allowed to hug a person like that.
But it was lonely.
In the village, there had always been noise. Shouting, laughing, someone always needing something. She missed old Tobias' constant cursing and the way Maren's baby always reached for her hair like she was some kind of favorite toy.
Here, she was offered parasols and pastries and embroidery lessons.
She didn't want any of it.
"My Lady," the maid said suddenly, "would you like to visit the royal stables?"
Jane stopped. That one caught her off guard. "You have horses?"
"Yes. Several. Would you like to see them?"
"…Yes," Jane said slowly. "Yes, I would."
The maid smiled like she'd just won a prize. "Right this way, then."
They walked. And for the first time that day, Jane didn't drag her feet.
The stables were enormous. Bigger than her entire old village hall. The scent hit her immediately, hay, musk, the familiar earthy comfort of animals. And she didn't realize how much she missed it until she was breathing it in.
>Read the original on webnovel* .com
>Read 10 chapter ahead of DM + 2 weekly update
My Pat*reo*n-page: pat*reon.*com/nanakawaichan
(erase the *)
My ko-fi page: ko-fi.*com/nanakawaichan
My Discord: discord.gg/mSRHyMVhnG