The Hidden Secret

Chapter 4

It was still bright outside when the two cautiously walked out of the Palace grounds. The guards in the area did not seem to find it suspicious of two young maidens walking out at such an hour. Tessa frowned at their nonchalance. If anything, it appeared as though they didn't care who entered or exited the palace. She made a mental note to report their easiness to the Prince.

Just as the thought of the Prince crossed her through her mind, she felt her shoulders tighten. In his letter, he wrote that he was to get married, that the queen had found someone for him. Of course, she wasn't hoping for him to get married to her. She knew that wasn't possible. But deep down, she had hoped that he would not seek another girl, someone she knew she couldn't compete with - a princess.

"Are you alright?" She heard Cordelia ask in a soft voice. If a person were to take one look at Cordelia, he shall have known that she didn't seem the kind to notice detail. However, if one had to spend as much time as Cordelia with foolish things like sitting up straight, walking with your head high, gracefully using your hands even though you are wearing heavy jewelry, which was making sure of such foolish detail, you were bound to notice small things.

"I am fine, Princess. You need not worry about the likes of me." Tessa quickly dismissed her away. Cordelia frowned and stepped in front of Tessa and held her hands in hers.

"You are my friend, Tessa. No matter how you look at it. Yes, you may be my hand-maiden, I can't change the fact that your family has been serving the royal Kingdom for generations. But regardless, you are the only person whom I am close to. You are my only friend!" She exclaimed with a big smile. Tessa felt her heart tug as she gazed down on the ground.

It was true that her family had been serving the Royalty. It was for this reason that she was involved with the Princess ever since Cordelia was born. She never had the opportunity to make friends with other kids outside the Palace grounds. In fact, she hadn't stepped outside the Palace grounds until she was almost twelve, when Prince James had taken Cordelia on a ride on his horse and had been kind enough to take Tessa with him. It only made sense that Cordelia had gone through the same thing. She was never allowed to interact with anyone outside the Palace grounds. Her only friends were the maids that worked in the Palace, and they considered Cordelia as their Princess, not their friend. Tessa may have been the only one who Cordelia got close with.

"Tell me, Tessa. What is it?" A small tear fell from her eye as she thought of why her heart felt heavy.

"I heard... I heard from one of the maids that the Queen, your mother, has found someone for Prince James." She bit her lip, trying to keep more tears from falling. She couldn't tell her that the Prince had been writing to her and getting close to her. She didn't want the Princess to know about such a thing. "The Prince is getting married! Isn't that a wonderful news?" She tried her best to not sound hateful. Cordelia's eyes softened as she wrapped her hands around Tessa's shoulders.

"They might just be rumors..." She tried to console her but Tessa shook her head violently.

"I know that it isn't. He is getting married." And with that, she broke down once more, clutching onto Cordelia tightly.

"Tessa..." The young Princess said with a tight smile. "You knew that this would happen. He needs to get married to be crowned a King. You knew from the very start that this would happen." She said as she pulled away slowly. "I am surprised that you aren't over him, yet."

Tessa shook her head, wiping away her tears. "I am fine. I hadn't expected this topic this soon. Let us continue. We shall go to the market place." She said before realizing how that must have sounded. It looked as if she was deciding where they should go, instead of the Princess deciding herself. "If that is alright with you, of course!" She quickly added. Cordelia smiled and giggled a little before linking her hand with Tessa.

"Yes, the market place is a wise option. I shall buy you something to cheer you up! Do not argue with me, you know that your efforts would go in vain." Tessa shut her mouth without protesting with the Princess, fully aware that there wasn't any point.

The two walked to the market place. The street of the marketplace was decorated beautifully with small stalls of food and jewelry on each side. Some even sold flowers and vases. At the end of the street, stood a medical herbalist whose establishment looked too big for a stall but far too small to be considered a store. "What are you wondering, Princess?"

"Call me Dalia when we are outside. The medical herbalist is surly doing well." She said as she pointed to the crowd outside the shop.

"Well, of course! There has been a break of flu around the Kingdom. You need to be careful! If you catch the flu, the queen shall have my head." Tessa said as her eyes widened.

"A flu? Is it curable? How severe is it?"

"Severe enough if not treated. The medicine is quite expensive in my opinion. But that shouldn't be a problem for you." Tessa smiled. "You need not worry."

"But if the medicine is expensive, how are the people being able to afford it? Has that become a concern?" Cordelia continued to ask question after question, leaving Tessa speechless.

"Why are you interested in the Kingdom's business, Princess? You have never shown interest in such matters before. Is everything alright?" Tessa asked. Cordelia immediately shook her head.

"Curiosity, that's all. Besides, I do not intend to be kept hidden about the possible horrors. I am the Princess and I'd like to be as involved in such problems." Cordelia said. "A naive princess is a bad princess." Tessa felt herself smile at her.

"I do not think that it's possible, but I feel like you've grown over the past months."

"Of course! When you see the real world, you learn a lot more." She smiled. "Come on now. Let's buy you something nice."

"You do not need to!" Tessa argued as Cordelia pulled her to the nearest shop. The jewelry was neatly laid out on a several tables.

"Good afternoon!" A bright voice chirped.

"Afternoon, Miss." Cordelia said. "I am looking for a beautiful necklace for my friend over here." She wrapped her hand around Tessa's arm and pulled her forward a little.

"Ah! A red ruby would look perfect on you, ma cherie." She exclaimed before turning her head to the side and yelling. "Get me the new stock, mon chou!"

"Hold up!" a voice yelled back before a familiar face emerged from the back, carrying with him a big box. Tessa let out a soft grunt of annoyance as he lowered the box on one of the tables.

"It's you." She mumbled under her breath. Zen turned around at the sound of her voice and grinned a huge smile.

"Miss Dalia, Miss Tessa!" He exclaimed. "Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Zen." Cordelia said with a soft smile on her face.

"You two know mon chou?" The lady asked. "Zen, I wasn't aware that you knew these two beautiful maidens."

"I met them a couple of days ago, Aunt Zelda." He said. "How about I help them find what they need? I shall take care of the shop." Ms. Zelda smiled gratefully at her nephew and thanked him before walking back inside, leaving Tessa and Cordelia alone with Zen.