The Princess
Anneliese and Erika grew closer as time went on. They saw each other every week when Anneliese's schedule would allow. Madame Carp was not happy with this, but who was she to refuse royalty? And, as an added plus, it got that brat out of her hair.
The staff could always tell the day that Erika would come. Anneliese had a skip in her step for a full day before Erika came, and she would always try to get her work done so that she could have a free day to spend with her friend.
Anneliese met Julian a year after she and Erika met. Her mother thought that having a younger tutor would make it easier for her daughter to pay attention to the lessons.
She was right; Anneliese focused more on her lessons. But she was focusing more on Jullian than her studies. She had an instant crush on him and would talk to Erika for hours about him.
Hearing Anneliese talk so much about Julian left an uneasy feeling in the pit of Erika's stomach. But, she ignored it. It wasn't her place to tell the princess who to talk or not talk about. Even if it did make Erika want to tear her hair out after weeks of hearing nothing but what Julian was teaching her.
But then Anneliese's father died a couple of years later, and she was a mess. Julian tried to comfort her as best he could, but nothing he did seemed to help.
From the moment she stepped into the castle, Erika knew something was wrong. News of the King's death hadn't been spread past the castle yet, so she had no idea what was wrong, but she could feel it. That made her practically run to Anneliese's room, out of fear that something had happened to her.
She only remembered to knock at the last second, impatiently waiting for a "Come in." When she heard the voice of a man reply and not Anneliese, she practically threw the door open.
Erika felt immediate relief once she saw Anneliese, but it only lasted a second before the anxiety came back. Julian was hugging Anneliese, who looked numb. He stared up at Erika, then relaxed, and walked away from Anneliese and up to Erika.
"Her father just died." Julian whispered to her, a downcast look on his face, "She hasn't said a word since she heard the news."
Erika didn't say anything. She walked over and sat down next to Anneliese. She didn't say or do anything other than that, not wanting to make Anneliese uncomfortable.
Anneliese felt Erika's presence next to her and make eye contact, and the moment she did, she felt her walls finally break. Anneliese fell into Erika, burying her face in the crook of her neck.
"He's gone," Anneliese said, her voice cracking. "He's really gone."
Erika wrapped her arms securely around Anneliese and let her cry and rant and anything else that she needed to do while running a calming hand through her hair.
They fell asleep like that, curled up against each other.
It was the first time Erika stayed the night.
Erika stayed for a few more days before going back to the city, staying by Anneliese's side the whole time.
It took a while for things to get back to 'normal.' Anneliese wasn't smiling as often as she once did. It was getting harder and harder to get her to smile.
So, whenever she did smile, Erika took it as a personal victory.
It eventually got better, though. Anneliese was acting more like her old self after a few months.
Then, Erika's parents died. It was sudden. They got caught in the middle of a carriage accident. No one survived.
Erika was crushed, but what made it even worse was that Madame Carp was bearing down on her, wanting the debt to be paid, but also wanting a servent even more.
Anneliese was confused when Erika didn't come to the castle. But, she chalked it up to Erika being busy helping her parents and sent her a letter.
She started to get scared after weeks went by, not hearing from Erika. She stopped focusing on her lessons and stopped doing her duties.
Anneliese was about to request her mother to let her go down to the city to check on her after another week with no contact when Erika walked into her room.
She looked exhausted, there were deep bags under her eyes, and her hair was a complete mess.
That didn't matter to Anneliese, though. She was too worried about Erika.
"What happened? Where were you?" She demanded, standing up and walking quickly over to Erika. "I was so worried about you! I-"
Erika put up a hand to silence Anneliese, which no one but the Queen has done. But, Anneliese was too shocked to object to it, not that she would have anyway. She liked it when Erika didn't treat her like a princess.
Erika hesitated before responding. "My.. My parents are dead." She said, looking down at the ground.
Anneliese's jaw dropped, and she scrambled for something to say, to apologize. But Erika continued talking.
"Madame Carp had me working for her to make up for their debt. I might have to miss a few more of our meetings." She said, giving Anneliese an apologetic look.
Anneliese tried not to let her disappointment show on her face. She understood that Erika couldn't be with her all the time, but she was going to miss seeing her all the time.
Anneliese's princess training kicked in, and she stood up straight, masking any emotion she was feeling. "Very well. Thank you for informing me."
This didn't fool Erika in the slightest, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she took a deep breath and smiled. "I can stay the rest of the day, though, and I'll even let you do my hair since I was gone for so long."
Anneliese perked up instantly. Usually, Erika was stubborn about her hair, not letting anyone else touch it. So, Anneliese acted quickly before Erika could change her mind, dragging her over to a chair and sitting her down. "Let's see...."
Anneliese spent most of the day doing Erika's hair into different styles the servents had taught her, talking the whole time.
She got used to getting letters from Erika when she couldn't make it to the palace.
But what surprised Anneliese is when she started getting flowers as well, more specifically, a blue rose.
Every time she received one, Anneliese sent a pink rose back. It was like their own secret code that only they knew.
Anneliese kept the blue roses in a vase by her bed and tried to keep them alive as long as she could. It was like having Erika right next to her all the time.
Time went on, and Erika and Anneliese saw each other less and less, but still kept in touch.
Anneliese was nineteen when her mother gave her the news.
She sent for Erika right away with a heavy heart.
If anyone could make her feel better, it was Erika.