Chapter 3: Reminisce
Adelia stared upwards for a long time. She had been in the Main Palace for so long, she had almost forgotten about this place.
The paint had begun to lift from the ceiling boards, and the space between her four poster frame and the ceiling was small.
This palace had been abandoned many years ago, but as a young teenager, she had begged to move from the Tietia Palace - the traditional residence of the Crown Prince or Princess - to here. She liked that she could look out over the city from her window. The other palaces were all deep within the Royal castle, and nothing but perfectly manicured gardens surrounded them. Her Father had opposed the idea for a long time, and insisted they at least refurbish the property before she moved in - but she had once again refused.
Adelia chuckled to herself. She had been so determined that living more like the common people of her Kingdom would somehow make her closer to them. But in doing so, she didn't realize she was discarding her role and responsibilities as part of the royal family.
In her past life, as she ascended the throne and moved to the Main Palace, she had grown more fond of that place that became her prison. She began to understand better the relationship between her wealth and family position, and the insurmountable pressure that came with it. She realized that the palace, in all its grandeur, did not belong to her family - they were merely borrowing it - for as long as their people deemed we deserved it. A reward bestowed by the people for ensuring the wealth and prosperity of all citizens of Erin, and also a reminder to all the people who visited Erin, that our nation was strong and proud.
Adelia smiled forlornly. Of course, she had failed miserably at that role, and for that reason, she didn't hold much bitterness for her death. She failed as a ruler, and so death seemed a reasonable price.
But she simply couldn't forgive all the others that were killed, starved to death, or died from disease as a result of Nathaniel's shady dealings in Adelia's name.
She pondered quietly.
She truly did wonder what the objective was. Erin was a very prosperous kingdom. It also stood as the continent's bastion against the monster influx from the North. One of the reasons Erin has remained fairly free from the ravages of war was due to the neighbouring kingdom's reluctance to deal with the monsters themselves - she was unsure if they were even capable of doing so.
The Duchy of Mercia, which bordered the North along Gelly's wall had been solely responsible for the Great Subjugation for so many centuries, no one rightly knew what happened before then. The reason was due to a handful of ancient families in the Duchy which held the power to infuse mana into their weapons as they fought.
One of these people had been Genevieve. Of course he had held the purest lineage of the Mercian Swordmasters, as he was the last living descendant of the ancestral main family.
Adelia's heart ached. She had never seen a Swordmaster in action until the last day of her previous life. It wasunmistakeably a sight to behold.
What a waste, Adelia thought to herself, chewing on her lips. In this life, she would not make the same mistake, even if Genevieve threw his entire body down at her feet and begged - which of course he never did before. She couldn't imagine the man expressing so very much... Emotion.
Although his help would have been invaluable, and Adelia trusted the man to her core after he stood by her side right to the end. But this time, she needed to hold the power in her own hands, so that Genevieve could stay where he belonged. His home, and as the glorious Protector of Erin. It was a role as important as the Royal family itself.
With the mismanagement in Mercia in her last life, despite the Grand Subjugation having gone smoothly merely years before, the remaining monsters had spilled over into the Duchy, and later the rest of the kingdom. The monsters had decimated the crops and disease spread rampant. This was the time the Minor Subjugation was normally carried out by the Palace Guards and knights and squires of the remaining regions.
At the time, Adelia had not only been powerless, but the Capital had its own internal issues to deal with, and so the monster infestation remained unchecked.
Adelia brought her hands to her face and squeezed her cheeks tightly. Her memories were running ahead of themselves. She needed to focus on here and today, but it was so difficult when she had only recently been plucked from that devastating future.
She focused on her previous musings. What was the objective? She knew she needed to understand the motivations behind those who worked to destroy Erin if she had any chance of rooting them out in this life. She needed to find out what could possibly be a good motivation to hold a kingdom in ruin, rather than the prosperous one Erin was today. After all, Nathaniel held all the power before - there was no need to destroy the kingdom in the process. It was of no apparent benefit to anyone around them - even Cartusia.
When she thought back to it, she had a vague idea that what came first was to replace all of the long standing and loyal vassals of the Fitzpatrick family within the Royal Court. From there, corruption and misuse of taxes became commonplace. After that, her marriage to Nathaniel, then the poisoning of her father. Shortly afterwards was when the monsters had begun to appear in the kingdom.
By that point, only a miracle would have saved Erin. It was completely unrecognisable from the kingdom that lay outside her window today.
- - - -
The tweeting of birds outside interrupted Adelia's thoughts. Soon it would be time for the maids to come in. She would often wake up early, unlike other Princesses and nobility. Probably another foolish thought of hers to behave more like her people.
Which was stupid. All she was doing was making her maids and servants get up even earlier than they already did! She made a mental note to adjust her daily schedule.
Almost on cue, Adelia heard a light knock on the door. It seemed she needed to put her other thoughts on hold.
"It is time to rise, Princess."
The voice brought a smile to Adelia's face. It was the voice her old wetnurse, Mary. She was a minor Lady from the countryside who applied for the position at the palace after her 3rd attempt at pregnancy had ended in another miscarriage. Furious at his barren wife, her husband, the Lord of Ackerby had pleaded to the church for a divorce.
After it went through, Mary came here. As they say, one man's trash is another's treasure.
Adelia loved Mary like a mother.
"The maids will be up shortly with the water, your Highness." she heard Mary continue, her voice a trill so early in the morning.
- - - - -
Some time later, Adelia found herself seated once again in her dressing room, the royal maids rushing and fussing over her appearance.
She found it very difficult to keep the smile blooming. So many cherished faces surrounded her.
"Rudy. I want to look especially pretty today. So do my hair up wonderfully!" Adelia asked the ginger haired maid working on her hair.
The maid grinned widely and looked pleased.
At this age, Adelia had always gone for subtle and simple designs for her clothes and hair. The maids had always begged her to try out more of the fancy and luxurious possessions of the Royal Family. As her mother the Queen had died when she was merely one year old, she had inherited her jewellery, as well as her own collection of gifts from her father and visiting dignitaries.
"Bring the jewellery box too, please."
Adelia picked out a set of her mother's favourite jewellery. It was a set of sapphire butterfly hair studs. When woven into her silver hair, the butterflies would glisten and shine as her hair shifted, making it seem as if they had come alive in her hair.
When she had been locked up in her past life, she had taken on the hobby of plaiting her own hair. She had pulled the unused jewellery box out of the depths of her shelves and decorated the strands with her family's jewels. At the time, it was virtually all that remained of them, and so she liked to carry them on her body with her.
After choosing a more humble sapphire and diamond necklace to adorn her neck, Adelia waited patiently while the maids excitedly did her up.
Today was a special day after all. She was going to see her Father!
She had made careful inquiries while the maids had bathed her as to what year it was, and what was on her schedule in the coming weeks. As suspected, she learned her 15th birthday was approaching in two weeks.
As 15 was before her coming of age (16 in Erin), the affair would still be small. Well, small for royalty. There would be a private banquet in her Father's palace, with only the closest of family and vassals. In her past life, the event had been even smaller due to the Call suddenly being heard on the Northern border.
She assumed the same would be the case this time as well. At least, it would be a good indicator to her to see whether the events of her past life and this were going to unfold in the same way. Was her past life a terrible dream? Or had she really come back?
A pit of anxiety formed in her tummy but she willed it away. She really wanted to enjoy this a little longer - the hearty smiles of the people she loved so much surrounding her again.
"All done, Princess!" Rudy clapped, her head cocking to one side with a bounce as she exclaimed proudly.
Looking up at the mirror, Adelia realised she truly had been squandering her maids talent before!
Her deep sapphire eyes were accentuated beautifully by the work of her makeup, and her silver hair had been curled, teased, and then lifted into an updo, the small butterfly studs expertly woven into the style. Small strands had been left out of the bundle, letting the graceful curls hang down on her neck like a waterfall.
She smiled widely and thanked her maids again.
- - - -
"Announcing: Her Royal Highness, the Princess, Adelia Elizabeth Emmencell Roldeila Fitzpatrick." The steward at the door declared loudly, his voice echoing along the walls.
Adelia walked through the large gilded doors into the meeting room.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Doobeedoo
Doobeedoo Sorry for the typos and missed words :(
It's been a long week, and I needed to get his chapter finished!
I'll go back at some point and edit it. \o/
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