"What makes you say I'm good friends with the Prince?" I ask, a bit shocked by her question. Did she see us together earlier?

"I pry because he asked about you earlier." My face turns pale, then a bright ruby red. He asked about me? "That's why he came in this morning. He was looking for you to ask about how your hand was doing. Which, you forgot to mention to me last night." She put her hands on her hips.

"Sorry, Vicky." I say. She sighs, probably pondering whether or not she'll accept my apology.

"You're forgiven," She says with her eyebrow slanting slightly at the statement.

"So, what happened?" Vicky finally asks.

I fiddle with my dusty fingers, looking to the orange tiled floor for help. Has that crack always been there? "Queen Madia dropped her drinking glass on me, which resulted in me puncturing my hand in an attempt to move-"

"That no good for nothing queen. If I ever get the chance, I would give her exactly what she deserves!" Oh no, Vicky's going on one of her rants again. She takes a deep breath, "Sorry dear.. go on."

"Uh, anyway, Alice tried to help me, but Madia wouldn't let her. The Prince became... disturbed, when he witnessed what happened and helped me pick up the pieces. He even told Alice to escort me to the royal nurse so that my hand doesn't become infected." Vicky looks at me for a moment, taking in everything I've told her.

"Did you speak to him?"

"No." I lie, a twinge of guilt tugging at my chest.

If Vicky were to ever find out about my other experiences with him, she'd probably be furious with me. "Have you ever spoken to him before this incident?" I shake my head in response.

"You've never spoken to, contacted, or gazed upon the Prince?"

"No, I haven't." With every second I lie, my heart aches more. I've never lied to Vicky before. I've always told her everything that happens in my uneventful life. She then startles me with a surprise embrace, hugging me extremely tight.

"Be careful, Lily. Please." She pleads, her grasp tightening with every word that spills from her mouth.

"I know, Vicky." She separates herself, now resting her hands on my arms.

"She could've really hurt you... to the point of no return." I look back to the ground, nodding my head in understanding and shame.

She says goodnight to me and I'm left standing in my room, alone. As I start to make my bed, I can't help but think of him. He took me in and took care of me! He clothed me and he always speaks to me with such an overwhelming feeling of kindness. He doesn't look at me like I'm dirt. He looks at me like I'm a... person. If only that were true. I'll always be a nobody. I'll always be invisible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Lily!" Cara exclaims, waving her hand in front of my face. I've been spacing out all day from the moment I woke up, til now. It's starting to become dark as the sun disappears beyond the horizon. I'm currently doing the daily laundry with Cara.

I haven't seen the Prince all day. Even this morning when the Queen summoned me, he was no where to be found. "Goodness, girl! We can't even have a five minute conversation without you getting lost in wonderland!" She chuckles as she lightly elbows me. She then arches her eyebrow for a brief moment before continuing with the jacket she's been washing. "As I was saying, this old woman bumped into me as I was buying bread. I, of course, made sure that she was okay. The moment I took my eyes off the bread, she ran off with it! And let me tell you, that woman can outrun a horse."

I angrily roll my eyes. Who has such a heart of stone to do that? "On top of that, the price of bread went up a cent yesterday!" Twelve cents? How much more expensive can things get? They're basically robbing us of our hard earned money! Cara and her family have virtually nothing, and the fact that someone would steal the bread they earned just sickens me.

"I'm so sorry, Cara."

"What can you do? It's not like we can go back in time," I shrug at her comment.

I finish cleaning and folding the King and Queen's clothes, then make my way to their room. Before arriving, I momentarily stop in front of the Prince's room. I stare at the door, contemplating the reasoning for my stopping so suddenly. The feeling in my chest can't wait as I start to softly knock. No answer. A strange feeling of disappointment fills my chest, putting a slight frown on my face. Eventually, I carry myself to the golden room. Using small, quick steps, I go into the closet that is bigger than their ginormous kitchen.

"What on earth are you doing here, you filthy thing?!"

I freeze while I hang the King's jacket, sweat already becoming visible on my forehead. "Working, ma'am." She marches toward me and kicks my legs, making me fall hard on my back. A sharp pain shoots through my skull as it meets the marbled floor. "My Queen, I didn't do anything wrong!" I shakily shout, holding my head in my palms. "Do not question my tactics, maid!" As she kicks my side over and over again, the pain burns within my head and sides. After a never ending punch fest, she storms out of the gloomy room.

Why does she continuously do this to me? Why must I suffer this way? I let a single tear leak out, not letting anymore fall. I should get out of here before she comes back. I stumble out of the dark room and run to the safest place I know that has true security. The window above the garden. I keep running as far as my feet can carry me, eventually gripping a pillar for support. I'm just mere feet away from the window when I see a familiar, tall, masculine, figure in the dim moon light, peering at the garden below. As if I've been smacked in the face, I become caught up in a distant memory...

Of the first time I've laid eyes on a boy... A memory I never thought could be possible to remember.

~Love