In a previous life…
If I could have one wish in this life… No matter the cost, I would only use it for her happiness
“This is for you, dear. This necklace protects our family, brings good luck!” My mother smiled as she placed the golden chains around my neck. “My own mother told me that it can even grant wishes! So keep it with you in Reterand.”
I played with the small sapphire amulet, my mood which had been down becoming slightly better. “But mother, I don’t know the crown prince very well, what if he isn’t a good man?”
I hadn’t been happy since my engagement had been announced. Reterand was a good kingdom, the western neighbor to my country Giral. Even though I was a princess, and I had always known that my marriage would be political in nature … I couldn’t pretend I was excited to marry the man I had only met once before. I had even heard he had been previously engaged, and had broken off the relationship for this alliance.&n
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“Our engagement is cancelled, Lenora.”Prince Ronan’s voice was flat and dispassionate as he faced me.I had to admit, he definitely had a flair for the dramatic. To meet me here, under this awning, surrounded by the downpour of rain, made this event seem all the more sad. His face was serious, his stance slightly defensive. From head to toe he was the perfect image of the tragic hero. I felt a strange desire to applaud.Unfortunately, the outfit he was wearing was much less impressive. Who had made his clothing? It was expensive-looking, but to the discerning eye, one could easily tell that the fabric was cheap, thinly woven, and that the stitching was uneven. Knowing how much the royal palace spent on clothing, I felt a headache coming on. What an inferior product. So insulting.The prince was still talking. Why? I felt his first sentence was more than enough.&
First things first. I needed to get the expenses of the house under control.I wanted to be thoughtful about how I dressed, trying to project an air of maturity and competence. It was important that I convince my father that I was capable of taking care of the duchy’s finances.Looking through my wardrobe, however, it was difficult to find anything worth wearing. I sighed loudly as I flipped through different gowns. Not only were many of them far too fancy for simple daily use, I knew the customization of the gowns must have been horrendously expensive. The construction of most of the them weren’t even very well done…_____________________________________“Is that really your best?” the older seamstress who had taken me in shook her head disapprovingly.I held up my work, examining it. “It looks fine!” My heart sank as she took it
As I walked towards my father’s study, I rehearsed what I needed to say in my head.Everything had to be perfect.My father, the Duke of Armeny, was not a complicated man. He took what was given to him, and assumed if he did the same as his father and grandfather before him did, that the world would stay the same. Trusting, naive, he thought everyone had their place… and that mine was on the throne next to Prince Ronan. I often wondered if he had ever considered me anything more than a commodity to the family. We had not been very friendly in my first life.Given what I was about to do, I doubted we would be very friendly in this one either.I arrived, standing outside the door to his study, taking a few deep breaths to steady myself.“You can do this, you can do this.” I muttered under my breath, trying to bolter my confidence.
“Your Highness.”I plastered a polite smile on my face, performing a perfect curtsy, but all the while my mind was racing, desperately trying to figure out how long he had been there, how much he had heard.Even if I was planning to let the engagement be broken up like last time, I needed the three years to get my family back on track financially before that happened. If we broke up too soon… the debtors would come calling and my life would end very much like the first.Fortunately, Ronan didn’t seem upset or angry, he looked more bored than anything.I let out a silent sigh of relief. He must not have heard the “temperamental child” comment I had made to my father. I wasn’t too concerned If he had heard my blatant lies about the Queen managing accounts. He didn’t know enough about how things worked in the palace to know if that was true or false.
Despite my wishes, the morning of etiquette training with the Queen arrived all too quickly. I departed in a carriage just shortly after sunrise, arriving at the palace without too much delay. As I followed a footman deeper into the building I had once known so well, I felt a cold wave of a memory swell over me._______________________________________“Just lift your feet, miss!” The dancing instructor clapped his hands, looking frustrated. “You act as if your shoes are weighted down!”I stumbled, tripping on my shoes, wincing as I felt the skin tear on my elbow as it hit the floor.The instructor chuckled, the Queen looked concerned, but my mother… she simply stared at me with a look of weary contempt.A look I knew all too well._______________________________________I gripped my elbow, almost feeling the
The next week was brutal.Each day I would get up before dawn, moving to my office to get started as soon as possible. Reading, studying, I was trying to learn a lifetime of knowledge at a breakneck pace. I still was piecing together bills and tax documents, working with Hallers to consolidate all the debt I could. Fortunately, as I was still in good standing with the Royal family, the interest and repayment plans were very generous.I stayed locked in that tiny room, only to pause whenever Hallers brought up a meal, an increasingly worried expression on his face with each passing day.“Miss, you must sleep!” He broke his professional silence on the fourth day, as he walked in late into the night, finding me reading a chapter on historical government forms while taking notes by candlelight. I glanced up, surprised to see him still dressed up in a proper butler uniform despite the late hour. 
The next day’s etiquette lessons were harsher, just as Mrs. Rendler promised. I was able to keep up, using my previous knowledge and skills, but this time I did my best to make it look difficult, hoping that she would relax the pace a little. Instead my efforts rewarded me with her satisfied expression, and a gleam in her eye that promised only more pain and suffering.“You will be the greatest young lady I have ever trained.” She pronounced, looking me over from head to toe critically. “But must you dress so… plainly? I will say it’s a great improvement over those frilly monstrosities you used to wear to lessons, but the last two outfits have been simply dull.”I smiled at her words, glancing down at my plain grey gown. Over the last week I had sold the majority of my more ridiculous gowns, leaving me with surprisingly few choices. Angela had pouted, saying that I was going to be out of style, but
The day of the meeting had arrived. I paced back and forth within my office, taking deep breaths, trying to force myself into the right mindset. This would be a delicate balance of a meeting. If it didn’t go the way I planned… it could be disastrous to everyone.It had to go according to plan.“Hallers,” I called out, waiting for the butler to arrive before asking my nervous question. “Where is Jim? I thought he agreed to come?”Hallers was frowning. “He did, Miss. He was never one to be tardy, despite his unprofessional attitude in many other areas. He should be here very shortly.”“I can’t be here alone. I need them to take me seriously, and for that I need scary looking support!” I resumed pacing. “The meeting is scheduled to start in a few minutes, we may have to delay it.”He wat