For the first time in several

  months, there was no one waiting for me at the breakfast table. At

  first I thought I had to still be in bed dreaming, but after a few

  blinks of my eyes to remove the remaining sleepiness from them, my

  vision was clear and my aunts were missing. Excitement rose in my

  heart, quickly followed by a chill of fear, I was uncertain if this

  was a test or not, so perhaps it was wisest to continue on like there

  was still a specter hanging over me. As soon as I sat in the chair a

  sleepy servant appeared and placed a bowl of porridge in front of me,

  still gray and devoid of any additions that would make it palatable.

  “Would you like some honey,

  my lord?” the girl said weakly, like she was afraid someone else

  would hear even though there was no one else in the room.

  “Are they gone?” I asked.

  “I think so, there was a big

  commotion about an hour or two ago to get their bags packed and a

  carriage loaded.”

  Goosebumps rose along the back

  of my neck and traveled down my arms, it felt too good to be true. I

  had wished, dreamed, and prayed for some sort of relief or break from

  the situation I was in, but I hadn’t expected anything to manifest

  from it. My heart pounded in my chest from the excitement of knowing

  that today could be different, there would be no beating or droning

  hours long lecture to sit through. I knew they would be back, I got

  the sense that I was too important to them to abandon forever, but I

  was going to revel in the freedom while it lasted.

  “Honey, butter, sugar…

  fruit, nuts… anything you would put in porridge,” I requested.

  The girl smiled widely and

  disappeared into the kitchen briefly, then returned with a platter

  that she had to have set up ahead of time filled with all the sweet

  things in the kitchen. “I thought you might want something like

  this.”

  Dumping nearly everything from

  the platter into my bowl and most of the pot of honey, I dug in and

  nearly cried from tasting something other than salty, sticky glue. It

  seemed silly to be so emotional over something like porridge, but it

  had been so humiliating to be a royal so hamstrung as to not even be

  allowed control over my own food. Even the servants in the castle

  were not commanded to eat anything in particular or in a certain way,

  they had been allowed more freedom than I had been.

  Once my bowl was finished, I

  moved on to eating the additions directly, enjoying every bite of

  sweet dried fruit and toasted nuts in a way that I had never

  appreciated before. I ate until I had finished everything on the

  platter, feeling over full, but elated and content for the first time

  in a long while.

  The servant girl reappeared

  from the kitchen and picked up the platter. “Is there anything else

  you would like, my lord?”

  “Make sure there is some

  kind of roast meat for the midday meal,” I requested. “Preferably

  a duck if there is one on hand.”

  “Certainly, I will talk with

  the cook.”

  “Thank you,” I said and

  nodded to her that it was acceptable to leave.

  I had felt strangely compelled

  to express my appreciation to her. Before my father’s death I

  didn’t think I was cruel or abrasive, definitely less so compared

  to my father, but I had never thought to say “please” or “thank

  you” to servants before. They had been obligated to serve me and I

  had the privilege of commanding them to execute my will no matter

  what it was, though now it felt like things had irrevocably changed,

  the balance of power and how I perceived it was different. I knew in

  my heart that I was still the rightful monarch, or at least would be

  once a coronation was completed, however I felt more empathetic with

  the commoners around me.

  Unsure of what exactly to do

  now that I was back under my own will I decided the best course of

  action was to perhaps return to bed and truly rest for the first time

  in ages. Not only was my body exhausted, but my mind was constantly

  foggy and struggling to keep up. I suspected it had been intentional

  on their part, keeping me constantly distracted and not at my full

  mental or physical capacity kept me better under their control at all

  times. A part of my mind screamed that I had to use every single

  second of their absence to plan on how to get my kingdom back under

  my own control and I felt a little guilty for wanting to rest, but I

  couldn’t see how I could effectively plan when I was dead on my

  feet. Though it felt wasteful, I would be a lot sharper and more

  clever with a decent amount of rest in me.

  “Florin!”

  I was caught in a tight hug as

  soon as I had sleepily stepped out into the hallway. A familiar,

  comforting scent wafted over me and though my face was buried in her

  shoulder, I knew it was my nursemaid from that alone. For the second

  time since waking I caught a sob in my throat, it had been so long

  since I had felt a human touch that wasn’t a reprimand intending to

  cause pain.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Oh my dear, sweet boy,”

  she cooed softly.

  Her arms did not want to let

  me go, they clung so tight that I struggled to breathe, not that I

  minded or complained. I collapsed into her and let her hold me up

  while she rocked back and forth. Had I been thinking clearly, I

  probably would not have let her bear all my weight, she was an aged

  lady old enough to at least be my grandmother, but in that moment I

  wanted to curl up and pretend to be young and small, like a chick

  being protected by the watchful mother hen. She did not complain and

  instead continued to rock me back and forth and make soothing noises

  through her teeth.

  “It’s alright now,” she

  soothed, “I’m here now.”

  “They’re gone,” I

  managed to squeak out without tears. “I thought I might never be

  able to get away.” I pulled my face away from her shoulder so that

  I could breath and speak unimpeded.

  “I heard, it’s about time,

  they’ve done nothing but torture you.” She ran a hand through my

  hair, brushing it out of my eyes. It had gotten long and a bit

  unruly, usually it would have been regularly trimmed every few weeks,

  but all normal routines had ceased. “Oh my dear, I’m so sorry I

  couldn’t protect you. It broke my heart everyday to see you bruised

  and broken, they had no right, no right at all to treat you like

  that. I tried, I sent messages to anyone I thought might be able to

  help in secret, but I don’t know if no one bothered to answer or if

  they were intercepted.”

  I hugged her tighter, then

  pulled away gently. Not really wanting to, but feeling some need to

  preserve some identity as a young teenage boy. “Nothing you could

  have done more than that,” I assured, “they held all the power

  and authority. I wouldn’t be surprised even if your messages

  reached the right hands that they had already planned ahead and

  ensured there would be no response.”

  “The way she treated all of

  us.” The nursemaid shivered and shook her head with a frown on her

  face. “Your father was always quick to ensure we knew our place and

  that we do not hold a candle to royalty, but she truly acted like we

  were no better than cattle and certainly more expendable. That poor

  girl…”

  “The one who was sent to

  inform us that her sister had arrived?”

  “Oh the poor soul,” she

  explained, near tears, “I found a doctor who was able to set her

  legs, but I’m not sure she’ll ever walk without at least some

  pain again.”

  I winced and let out a deep

  sigh. I had really hoped that she had managed to get away and had

  convinced myself that since I hadn’t heard about anything terrible

  happening that she had. I should have known better than to think she

  would have forgotten or let the infraction go, she was simply not the

  type.

  “I will make sure it is made

  up to her somehow when I get the power to do so,” I pledged.

  My nursemaid placed a hand

  under my chin and looked down at me adoringly, though with a serious

  expression. “Is not right, you should have been crowned so long ago

  now, but that… woman,” she snarled the word through her teeth,

  “kept waving around some document that said you couldn’t be until

  she gave the word that you were ready. Ready? What does that even

  mean? You were born the heir, that’s the only ready you need.”

  “Document? What document?”

  I asked.

  I had wondered how she had

  managed to hold all the power, it had to be a very important document

  if it had let her usurp an heir. It had to be the key to undoing this

  whole situation, if there was a way to undo it.

  “Yes, I never read it,

  though I was instructed to defer to her like she was the monarch for

  the time being.” My nursemaid lifted her nose in the air and

  sniffed distastefully. “Such a nasty woman, told me I wasn’t

  allowed to even look at you too long, that it would stunt your

  maturity having a motherly figure around you too much. I have never,

  ever heard of such a thing.”

  “Do you think she took the

  document with her?”

  “I’m not sure, I was not

  one of those that helped pack her things.”

  “Could you please find out?”

  I asked. “If you find it, bring it to me so that I can read it, I

  think I deserve to know why I’m under their thumb.”

  “Oh of course, I should have

  thought of it right away, but I was just so happy that I could see

  and talk to you again. I’ll go do that right now, where should I

  bring it to you?”

  “My chambers, if I’m

  asleep please just leave it on my desk.”

  With another tight hug, she

  said goodbye and we parted ways on our separate quests. Thanks to her

  embrace and feelings of safety I was more exhausted than ever and I

  barely made it back to my room with my eyes open. Not bothering to

  take off the outfit I had put on for the day I plopped face first

  onto my bed and groaned contently into the pillow. Before sleep could

  claim me, tears erupted from my eyes and sobs tore from the very core

  of my soul, all the anger, anguish, frustration, and relief pouring

  out of me. Every physical strike or venomous comment had been locked

  inside me, I hadn’t allowed myself to feed into their cruelty and

  give them the satisfaction, but the hurt hadn’t gone away, just

  compounded and waited until it was safe to vent it out.

  There

  was so much sadness, but equal amounts anger. It was unbelievably

  cruel that my own family would put me through all this and deny me my

  kingdom. Balling up my fists, I sat up and punched my pillow over and

  over, tears still streaming as I took out all the physical aggression

  I had pent up from preventing myself from striking back every time I

  had been hit. I beat the pillow flat, then collapsed back into it and

  cried until it was soaked and my nose was stuffed to the point where

  I could only breath through my mouth. Eventually I calmed and I felt

  lighter and more at peace, though the anger had not been completely

  exhausted, the desire from revenge bubbled underneath the surface.

  Quiet enough to let sleep take me, I rested knowing that as soon as I

  was alert again that I would start planning how I would take back my

  power and my kingdom once more.