A New Beginning

After the Crown Prince's banquet, Viola was escorted to her room. Despite her request to be close to either the second prince or Amelia, she was placed in one of the castle's towers which was further away. The tower was the closest to the Crown prince's room. The arrangement was made by the King himself. Despite being opposed to it, Alexander accepted the arrangement so as to not cause conflict. After getting to the room, Alexander left Viola with two maids that were assigned to serve her. Viola remained at the door as she watched Alexander go down the stairs. She stayed there for some time until she decided to go inside. Once inside, the maids helped her to change and clean up. Both maids were fairly young but seemed capable. Viola didn't pay much attention to them. Although they didn't show any signs of ill will, as Viola was not familiar with them, she was cold towards them. After they were done she had them leave then she walked around the room for a bit. The room was well lit with high-grade light stones. It was spacious and well decorated but somehow felt lifeless to Viola. After walking around a few times she stopped in front of a mirror and looked at herself. It still felt foreign to her to be in that form. She was used to the feeling of the earth beneath her, supporting her and the feeling of familiarity from being surrounded by those like her. Although she was grateful for the opportunity to serve she couldn't help feeling out of place.

Viola sat in the centre of the room with her legs crossed and her eyes closed and tried to fall asleep. As she did so, she absorbed the light from the stones resulting in the room now being dimly lit. She remained in that position for about seven minutes but couldn't seem to fall asleep. As a result, she got up and started to look for another place to sleep. She tried several spots but none seemed to work. She finally decided to try the large rectangular object in the room. Viola pressed her hand on it and realized that it slowly sprung back into shape after she retracted her hand. It was peculiar but the softness she felt was enticing. She approached it once more then plopped herself on the bed. She could feel herself drifting off to sleep. As she did, Viola smiled to herself. Despite feeling out of place, thinking back at what she had experienced so far, she was happy to have met Alexander and Amelia. Viola had a blissful sleep that night.

Viola woke up at around dawn the next day. The position of her room allowed her to get a perfect view of the sunrise. She pushed open the window and leaned forward. She bathed in the morning rays. A gentle gust of wind kissed her cheek. As she looked down, she could see the different areas of the kingdom. There were already many townsfolk up and about. Small birds flew as though they were performing an aerial ballet. It was a breathtaking view. In order to be closer, Viola got up and sat on the window sill. Her long night gown blew in the wind. She lost track of time as she sat there peacefully.

"My lady, what are you doing?!" yelled one of the maids anxiously. The maid quickly ran over to Viola and tried to pull her in but wasn't able to move her even an inch.

"What are you doing?" asked Viola coldly.

The maid froze in place, her hands still on Viola. Viola looked down at the maid's hands, drawing her attention. She removed her hands swiftly. Viola returned to her original position. The maid stood there, unsure of what to do.

"You didn't knock," said Viola.

"Um, well, I, I did but you didn't respond my lady, and I was worried that something would happen to you so I decided to rush in but you're right that was rude, I should've waited but then again if something happened that would've been bad and and, I'm sorry..." responded the maid nervously.

"I see… I was wrong. I'm sorry," said Viola as she got down.

"What? Oh no my lady, you shouldn't apologize to me, I, I probably didn't knock correctly. How could you be at fault? That's right, you're not at fault at all!"

"You're strange."

The maid laughed awkwardly. Without her noticing, Viola approached her. Viola looked at her from head to toe. She had a chubby face but wasn't overweight, dimples, short brown hair and dark brown eyes. Viola unconsciously tucked the maid's hair behind her ear. The maid suddenly realized how close the two were. She didn't dare to move. Her heart was racing. As she stood there, she was able to take a good look at Viola. Although Viola was a few inches taller than her, she could still look right into her eyes. Her blue eyes were like sapphires. As the sun shone behind Viola, the rays made her look angelic. The maid was mesmerized. She couldn't help but blush.

"What's your name?" asked Viola.

"Oh… me, yes. My name is Delia, Delia Warren my lady," she replied respectfully.

"Why are you here?"

"Well, it's my job to take care of you, well mine and Judeen's. Judeen is the other maid from last night, she should have started on your breakfast by now. I'm here to help you bathe and get dressed," said Delia. She then rushed over to a chest that she brought. It was a somewhat large chest that was placed in the corner of the room.

"I brought you some clothes. These are all from the best shops in the kingdom. We weren't sure of your size or what you'd like so I brought a lot for you to choose from. I've heard that the previous Blossoms all liked flowing gowns so I got you some of those. I also got outfits that you could spar in. I'm sure you'll look pretty in anything. Oh, these negligee are nice too," said Delia as she continued to ramble on while going through the chest. As Delia continued to go through the clothes she brought, Viola undressed. Hearing a knock at the door Viola went to open it as Delia was still distracted. It was Alexander.

"You… you, again, you…." mumbled Alexander as he stared at Viola. He unexpectedly regained his senses and quickly went in and closed the door before the guard noticed. He wasn't wearing a coat at the time so he could only hurriedly remove his shirt to cover her. At the same time Delia turned around and saw them.

"Your Highness! My lady! You two are… I shouldn't see this. No wait... did you want me to see this?" asked Delia with an expectant look.

"Are you crazy?! We aren't doing anything! Why did you have Vi stand around naked?! asked Alexander with a flustered look.

"Wh- what, if I did have her do it I would at least have the decency to appreciate it, " said a baffled Delia.

Alexander was dumbstruck, he could do nothing but look at Delia. She seemed to find no issue with what she said. While Alexander stood there Delia couldn't help but ogle him. She knew it was wrong, as he was her superior, but she decided to look and die without regrets. He had an amazing body that wasn't too muscular. Delia imagined being in his arms. It took a great deal of willpower to prevent herself from drooling.

"Delia is here to help me get dressed. Shouldn't I take off what I'm wearing to do so?" asked a confused Viola.

Although the manner she did it in might not have been the best, Alexander couldn't dispute that she was right. Delia also nodded in agreement. Alexander then decided to wait outside while Delia helped Viola to get ready. He left his shirt with Viola to keep her covered as he left. While waiting, Judeen arrived with breakfast. Alexander was still shirtless so she couldn't maintain eye contact after greeting him. Alexander tried to act composed by folding his arms but it was obvious that he was feeling embarrassed. Once they were done, Delia opened the door and called them in. She handed the shirt back to Alexander. Alexander hesitated for a moment to put it on. He discreetly smelled the shirt. It had a fresh scent. He smiled as he put it on. He then noticed Viola who was dressed in a casual brown dress with her hair in a ponytail. After they had breakfast, Alexander took Viola to explore the kingdom. As they were about to exit the castle they were stopped by the Crown Prince.

"Where do you think you're taking her?" asked the Crown Prince with a stern tone of voice.

"I'm just taking her to see the kingdom," replied the second prince.

"Who do you think you are to make these decisions on your own? What if people saw the two of you together and started to get suspicious? Don't you think so?" asked the Crown Prince as he stared at the second prince with contempt.

Before Alexander could say a word Viola interjected.

"It seems like common sense that if you'd like us to work with you then you should treat us both as equals. Your tone doesn't sound very respectful," said Viola with a cold gaze. There was a chill in the air. The look on Viola's face made William's blood run cold.

"Of-of course, you're right. I must not have been thinking straight since I suddenly saw you guys," said William as he scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly.

"If we're gonna do this then we should do it properly. Let's make this partnership a success," said Alexander as he outstretched his hand. Alexander was beaming with confidence as he stepped forward.

William was stunned at first, Alexander seemed like a different person. He, however, agreed and shook Alexander's hand firmly. They all left together to start the tour.