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I shake my head, trying to remember how I got here. This isn't my bed, right? My head is aching, preventing me from any rational thought. A plump, age speckled hand reaches through a gap in the curtain and smoothly pulls it to the side. It lets more light in, hurting my eyes. I make a sound of discomfort and throw an arm in front of my face.
"My apologies, My Queen," comes the same voice, followed by the dimming of the bright light.
I lower my arm and hesitantly peek through the opening in the curtain. I'm in a large room. The floor is made of a dark, rich, brown wood. The walls are made of a black, granite looking stone. The stones sparkle in the light that has managed to escape the drapes covering the window. There's various trunks and dressers along the walls of the room, all painted the same black color with gold trim. It's all very elegant.
My stomach gives a rumble, and all of a sudden, I can smell the heavenly scent of food of some kind wafting towards me. At least my stomach seems to be working even though my brain isn't.
"Come to the table dear, and have some breakfast," comes the same voice.
I finally locate its origin when a plump, older woman comes into view carrying a steaming dish. She's wearing a neat, black uniform with a white apron, sort of like the French maid uniforms I have read about in books before. Her grey and white hair is pulled back into a tidy chignon. She would look severe if it weren't for her rosy cheeks and the slight twinkle in her eye.
I step onto the cold floor and notice for the first time that I'm wearing a long, lacy, thin, white nightgown and that my feet are bare. A flash of a poofy, white wedding dress slides through my mind but it disappears before I can recall where the memory is from.
I gingerly step onto the cold floor and walk to the table, following the call of my stomach. The table is laden with enough dishes to feed an army of people. I look around the room, half expecting a pile of people to appear and start eating, but there's no one there except the woman and myself. There's several thick wooden doors throughout the room, but it's firmly closed.
The woman pulls out a heavy wooden chair for me to sit at. I'm still trying to figure out where the heck I am. This woman acts like she knows me, like this is something we have done every day. Did I hit my head? Am I suffering amnesia?
I sit down but don't reach for any of the food. "Um, excuse me ma'am, but do I know you?" I ask the woman tentatively.
"Oh deary, you've been brought to King Aiden's lands for safekeeping. He's going to be here soon to explain all about it though, so don't you worry your head right now," she clucks at me while setting a fancy cloth napkin in my lap.
As she's talking she's dishing heaps of food on my plate. I don't recognize any of it, but at least it looks appetizing.
King Aiden? I can't remember ever meeting a king before. But right now, I can't remember anything, so I guess that's not a stretch.
"Eat up, you need to get your strength up. Everything will be explained soon."
"Where is this King Aiden?" I ask, standing up from my chair as if to go find him. "And what am I being kept safe from?"
"My Queen," she says worriedly, wringing her hands. "It's better if it comes from him. Please eat, the kitchens have been delighted to have a guest and they've gone all out on this breakfast for you."
Why does she keep calling me a Queen? I open my mouth to ask when I hear the embarrassing call of my stomach once again. I glance at the spread on the table and reluctantly sit down. I'll just have a bite to eat and then I'll go find this King Aiden character and get answers. I feel like I'm still recovering from something akin to the flu and I could probably use all the energy I can get. I go to take a bite and then realize I still don't know this stranger's name.
"Who are you?" I ask rather rudely.
She looks relieved that I've moved on from wanting to go find the King. "I'm so sorry, Your Majesty. I should have introduced myself first thing. My name is Gwendolyn, but I'm called Gwenny by most of the palace."
"It's nice to meet you, Gwenny." I respond.
Gwenny looks absolutely delighted by my use of her nickname and I'm instantly charmed by her. I guess if one is to wake up with no memory of anything, there could be worst people to greet them.
At that thought a flash of a face frothing at the mouth swells into my memory, disappearing just as fast. I give a shiver and focus on tasting the dishes laid out in front of me. While I eat, Gwenny absentmindedly chatters about the castle and its occupants, her voice getting faster and louder depending on how exciting she deems the topic.
"And just wait until you go to your first ball. People are going to go absolutely nuts over you. Our long lost Golden Queen, at last returned to us," she is saying, when a strong knock on the door echoes around the room.
Gwenny immediately stops talking and begins to fidget with her appearance, attempting unsuccessfully to smooth down stray, gray hairs that have come loose from her bun from the excited gesturing she was using while telling me all about the apparent palace I've found myself in.
"That will be the King," she says out of the side of her mouth. "Just wait until you see him."
I have no idea what she's talking about.
"Come in," she calls out and the door immediately swings open, bringing with it an absolutely awe-inspiring specimen. He's tall, taller than any man I could imagine and his features are dark. His hair is as black as night, and his eyes are so dark that they almost match the black of his pupils. His skin is tan like he spends his days in the sun, and his facial hair looks like he's the type of man who never could be clean shaven. I examine the rest of him. He's dressed in old fashioned clothes much different than the style I'm used to, but that thought leaves me wondering how I know that he's dressed differently.
He's studying me just as intensely as I'm studying him, except his eyes seem to be hungry as they stare at me. Hungry, and relieved. He takes me totally by surprise when he falls to his knees and rests his head against my stomach, his arms coming to wrap around my waist. Gwenny gives a little nervous titter and exits the room briskly. This stranger seems to be weeping softly into my stomach, and I'm not sure what to do.
I clear my throat. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've met," I say awkwardly, patting his shoulder gently. His shoulders start shaking, and his weeping seems to have turned into laughing now. He pulls back from me, wiping the evidence of his tears from his eyes as chuckles.
"I'm sorry, My Queen. I've imagined how this would go for what seems like forever. Falling to my knees and crying wasn't quite what I imagined," he tells me. His voice is pleasantly deep and it relaxes me when I hear it for some reason. He must see how confused I am at his behavior, because he hurries on. "My name is Aiden."
