Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 109: Flashback: Gloom

28 April, 1349. Arlen Castle, Moraigth.

Camilla leapt out of the carriage before it had quite stopped moving, too excited to wait any longer. She ignored Agatha’s reprimands from inside the carriage, such was her excitement at finally arriving home after spending weeks at Magdaline Castle in Islia.

Her father and Malcolm had arrived slightly earlier because they’d been lucky enough to travel on horseback, whereas Camilla had been stuck in a bouncy, uncomfortable carriage with her nursemaid. She hadn’t even been allowed to draw back the velvet curtains during the long journey, for fear of drawing unwanted attention.

Camilla heard everyone talk about how dangerous the borderlands between Islia and Moraigth were, teeming with thieves and criminals. The carriage had been surrounded by Moraigthian knights the entire journey.

None of it made sense to Camilla - surely thieves and criminals would know a child her age carried no valuables on her to rob? And with the way Agatha could raise her voice when she was angry, thieves were better off avoiding her as well. Camilla thought that she should’ve at least been allowed to peep out from behind the curtains. Did no one realise how dark and stifling it was inside the carriage for hours on end?

The little girl bounced on her toes as she looked around the entry courtyard, taking in the familiar surroundings. She saw her father a short distance away, giving instructions to the stable hands and supervising the servants as they carefully unloaded several trunks from one of the carriages.

Agatha had told her the trunks were full of gifts from the Islian king and queen. Camilla loved gifts but doubted there was much in those trunks that would interest her.

She turned her head again to look for Malcolm and saw him standing next to their older brothers, laughing as they jostled him good naturedly. With an excited shriek, she bounded towards her brothers.

When they saw her running, Duncan dropped to one knee and held his arms open to her. She threw herself into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck as he picked her up and twirled her through the air. She looked at his smiling face, noticing his jaw was shadowed with dark whiskers. When had that happened?

Duncan passed Camilla into Daniel’s arms and she hugged him just as fiercely. She felt so incredibly happy to be reunited with her family except...

Looking around again, Camilla asked, "Where’s Mother? Did no one tell her we were coming home today?"

The smile on Daniel’s pleasant, freckled face wavered as he set her back on the ground. "She knew when you were due home."

"Then why isn’t she here with you? Wasn’t she excited to see us and see Father?"

"Of course she’s excited but she’s also ill. She’s in her rooms, recuperating." Duncan explained gently, looking away briefly and then giving Camilla a reassuring smile. "I’m sure seeing you both again will make her feel better in no time though."

There was an odd little catch in Duncan’s voice. Camilla looked up at the youth. Duncan was almost fifteen, which seemed like a very adult age to her. However, he didn’t treat her like a baby, the way many others did. He wouldn’t lie to her, would he?

Camilla locked eyes with Malcolm. He pressed his lips together and then, as if he’d made a sudden decision, held out his hand to Camilla. "Let’s go see her now and tell her how much we missed her."

The two children ran through the entry courtyard and up the short flight of steps leading to the main castle doors. Through the entry hall and up the grand central staircase they ran, Camilla doing her best to keep up with her brother’s longer legs. By the time they were standing outside the doors of their mother’s presence chamber, her lungs were burning from the effort.

As she stood and tried to catch her breath a little, Camilla saw that the presence chamber doors were closed, which puzzled her. Her mother always preferred the doors thrown open.

Looking unsure, Malcolm rapped on the doors tentatively. "Mother? Are you inside?"

An eternity seemed to tick by as they waited for a response.

Camilla suddenly felt a little scared. Without waiting any longer for a response, she bounded through the doors and promptly crashed into Lady Marie Fenner, one of her mother’s closest companions.

"Lady Marie!" Camilla piped up breathlessly. "Where’s our mother? Does she know we’re here?"

The lady-in-waiting grimaced slightly and spoke in a low voice. "Yes but she’s resting now. I’ll let her know you stopped by and I’m sure she’ll send for you very soon-"

"Send for us?" repeated Camilla, looking at Lady Marie as if she was speaking a barbarian language. "Why can’t we just see her now?" Her heart began to pound with fear. Without a second thought, she charged towards the closed bedchamber door.

"Your Little Grace, no!" Lady Marie hissed but Camilla tumbled through the door regardless.

The curtains were closed, shrouding the bedchamber in gloom. Camilla stood blinking for a moment while her eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness.

"Mama?" she softly called out the childish title. She felt Malcolm enter the room behind her.

Relief filled her chest when she saw her mother in the window seat. But Camilla’s young face scrunched with confusion at her appearance.

Ordinarily, Duchess Isabella of Arlington was famed for her exotic beauty, with glossy hair of the darkest rich brown and golden skin. She was still beautiful but now looked pale and drained. Her unbushed hair was pinned in a messy pile on top of her hair. She huddled while wrapped in a fur lined quilt, despite the room already being uncomfortably warm from the roaring fireplace.

Duchess Isabella smiled with genuine joy at seeing her children, though this couldn’t disguise her pallid complexion. She held out her arms so that she could fold both children into her embrace.

Camilla felt her mother’s thin frame within her arms. "Mama, what’s wrong with you? Are you very sick?"

"I’ve had a little fever, my doe, but I’m so glad to see you both again. How was your visit? Did you have fun at King Edward’s court?"

Malcolm shrugged. "It was alright, I guess. The Islians are odd people, to be honest. But Mother, you were unwell before we left Arlen Castle. Have you been sick all this time? Aren’t you getting any better?"

"I’m doing my very best to get better. The physicians are looking after me well and I take all the tonics they give me." The duchess smiled down at both her precious children to reassure them. Camilla buried her little face in her shoulder and snuggled up against her. Malcolm, however, wasn’t as easily fooled. He pulled back slightly and looked at his mother with large, solemn eyes.

"The physicians think the warmer weather will help me recover more easily." Duchess Isabella added quickly and she saw her son relax a little. She tried to speak with conviction, though it took tremendous effort. Her throat burned and her head ached with an almost blinding pain. Her only consolation was that her illness didn’t seem to be contagious, so her children didn’t have to be kept away from her.

The three of them turned their heads when they heard heavy footfalls, to find Duke Robert’s tall frame standing in the door threshold.

He closed the distance between him and his beloved wife in two long strides, a grieved expression on his face. Touching her as if she were made of the finest crystal, he gently cradled her face in his large hands. Camilla saw the beam of joy on her mother’s face but her father looked despondent, deep creases cutting across his brow.

The two children hopped off the window seat to create room for the duke to sit next to his wife. He enveloped her in his arms, not caring he was still in his dusty travelling clothes. Foreheads together, they started whispering amongst themselves, the way Camilla had noticed adults did when they spoke of things children weren’t supposed to hear.

Malcolm and Camilla stood next to the window seat, looking restlessly at each other. After a few moments, their father turned to face them. "Why don’t you both go unpack and bathe? We can get the servants to bring dinner in here, so we can all eat together as a family. Right now, your mother needs to sleep."

Camilla shook her head, confused again. "But why? Mother never likes to nap during the day-"

Malcolm nodded at Duke Robert and started steering Camilla towards the door. "Rest well, Mother. We’ll see you for dinner."

Camilla looked back at her parents as she was bundled out the door by Malcolm. Why did both look so sad? Shouldn’t they be glad to be together again after weeks apart?

Adults often made no sense. Then again, her brothers all seemed to understand better than her why everything seemed so different.

Sometimes she hated being the youngest. Whatever happened, she was always the last to know.