I wasn’t as quiet as I thought though, because a few minutes later a young woman walked in through the door. Her name was Meiry, and she was going to be my personal maid. I was confused about that, if I was going to have a personal maid, did that mean I was going to be adopted, with the official papers and everything? Meiry must have seen my hopeful look because she smiled and told me if I needed help with anything all I had to do was ring the small silver bell on the nightstand.
I asked what time breakfast was at, and she told me I could have it whenever it best suited me. I was delighted! Breakfast whenever I wanted! That was the best thing that could ever happen in my new life!
I told Meiry that I was ready for breakfast as soon as the food was done and she walked out of the room with a smile. A few minutes later she walked back in with a tray big enough to sled on. On the tray was a massive amount of food. There was crunchy bacon, buttery toast, glittering jelly, fat sausages, chocolate muffins, hot oatmeal with sliced fruit, and a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice. I gasped, was all of this for me? Meiry just looked at me and said, “Would like to sit in the chair or on your bed?”
I wasn’t used to getting so much food; It tasted so good I ended up overeating and got a stomach ache. If this was breakfast for them, what would lunch be like? The next two meals turned out to be just as big but with foods typically found according to their times. I couldn’t believe this was going to be my new life!
Chapter 5
I woke up suddenly; it was just starting to get dark. I tried to find what had woken me, but there was only a dark, quiet room. Then, a sliver of light fell across the floor.
A quiet voice spoke, “Do you think she’s awake?”
“I don’t know, maybe; she can’t have slept all day, and then the night too.”
“Who’s there?” I asked.
“Huh! She can hear us!”
“You can come in; I won’t hurt you,” I replied.
“Are you Neridia?” a little voice asked.
“Yes, but you can call me Nia,” I told the quiet murmur. I stared at the door, waiting to see if they would brave my company. My patience was rewarded when a little girl with reddish-blonde hair walked in; she was followed by a small boy with the same colored hair. Suddenly the little boy blurted out,
“Are your legs really frozen?”
“James, don’t ask that it’s rude!” scolded the little girl.
“It’s alright,” I said, “My legs aren’t frozen, I just can’t move them anymore, see?” I pushed the suffocating blankets off and showed them my pajama-clad legs. James walked over and climbed onto the bed. The little girl followed but didn’t climb up.
“Can I touch it?” she asked
“Go ahead,” I said, “I can’t feel it."
She clambered onto the bed and poked my leg, then looked at my face and grinned. I asked her what her name was.
“Amily Serenity Crystal Arindes”
“That’s a beautiful name,” I told her. She blushed and gave a shy smile. That night I made my first friends in my new home. They were the two youngest of the royal family. Amily told me that after their nurses had fallen asleep, they snuck out to see me. I laughed at that, and told them they were very sneaky, but to be careful because sometimes the boogeyman came and stole your dreams if you were out of bed late at night. They squealed at that and burrowed under the discarded covers. I told them it was okay and that I would protect them.
At this, they poked their heads out and giggled. We grew closer as the night progressed, and I was grateful that they had snuck out to meet me.
************
The next morning we woke up to panicked voices. They were too quiet to interpret the words, but they sounded worried. Amily and James looked around sleepily.
“What’s that noise?” Amily asked.
“I think it’s a woman, and she sounds scared,” I stated. James looked at me with a serious face and told me I might want to eat pancakes because they were his favorite. At that moment, a beautiful young woman burst in.
“Have you seen…?” She stopped suddenly when she saw the little ones dive under the covers. “James, Amily; we’ve been worried sick. Were you here all morning?”
Amily looked guiltily at the young woman and said she was sorry. She told me that this was her sister, Camilla. Camilla paused, noticing me for the first time. Amily told her that I was their new sister and that they hadn’t been there all morning, but the entire night. Camilla went a bit pale at this but then shouted out the door behind her, that she had found them.
At least half a dozen women came running in. There was a loud cry, and then all was quiet. Amily and James looked shamefaced at their older sister. They apologized and went with their nurses.
Only their older sister and another woman stayed. The stranger spoke, “I understand that the youngest set was with you the whole night, correct?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied. She raised her eyebrow at this and then I realized that this was the queen.
“I would, like, curtsy if I could, your majesty, but I’m currently unable to move as is required.”
She smiled at me and told me I wasn’t required to curtsy or bow to her or the king since I was now part of their family. Camilla looked at her mother in disbelief.
The queen looked at her oldest daughter and smiled. She told me I was to call her mom, or if I were more comfortable with it, I could call her by her first name, Juliy Ann. I was stunned; call the Queen by her first name! She must want me to feel welcome.
************
Life was pretty good for me after that. I was alone for the good part of a month, but I always had something to do. Amily and James came and visited whenever they were allowed to. But I hadn’t seen Camilla or the Queen since. Nor had I seen any of the other children. I wondered if they had orders not to visit me, it made sense considering the ruckus I had caused only a few days after my arrival. Maybe they were just shy, or too busy to bother. Perhaps they were visiting family, or in foreign countries as ambassadors. I guess I would find out later if I lasted that long here.
I knew that my adoption was supposed to be official. But I couldn’t help but think that maybe this was like Annie, the old movie, where the little girl stays with the man long enough to improve his picture, and then she goes back to the orphanage. Maybe this was all a joke, a big prank being played by the King and Queen or somebody who hated kids. I just hoped that wherever I went afterward was nicer than the Matchen's house. Living in a cardboard box would have been better than living with them, even if it meant having nothing to eat. Maybe I was going actually to stay here, for good. I could only hope.
************
Later that day, I was introduced to the rest of the family. They all had long names, but they said I could call them whatever I wanted since I was their new sister. The oldest was Camilla, whom I had already met; she was twenty-one and took her responsibilities very seriously. Next was Jaerid, who was almost eighteen, out of all the royal children he was the most regal. Symon was thirteen, and he had that mischievous look in his eyes and an impish grin that seemed always to be present. There was a set of triplets named Fyiona, Francyne, and Felycia. They were all ten and very much like their mother. Amily was next at age six, James was three years younger than her. They all had the same reddish-blond hair except for Symon, who had light brown hair.
That night was the first night I had dinner with almost all of the family. The king was busy and wasn’t having dinner until later.
“We don’t see him very much” Fyiona informed me.
I understood. He was the king; it wasn’t like he could just abandon his job running the