insomnia
It’s the evening, and the two are in the sewing room with Navia.
Chiori had a expression of irritation as she fixed Navia’s dress, “How much times do I need to remind you to be careful with your dress whilst training? Ugh, your dress is just…” Navia’s dress was filthy and ripped, it definitely seemed like there was effort into cleaning it, though… However, it still left Chiori furious. “Aw come on, can’t you cut me some slack? We've been starting to train more because of the—“
”We’re not the only one in the room, Navia.”
Navia had seemed to completely forgotten that Chevreuse was right there, however it seemed like she was daydreaming. “…Can’t we just…?” Navia whispered to Chiori, who immediately shook her head, “It’s…it’s still too early,” she said. Navia glanced at Chevreuse, she seemed mezmerized by the designs on the mannequins, unfazed by their sudden, low-spoken tones, only then did she look back to Chiori. “It’s been months though, hasn’t it? Plus, the days are getting closer. We can’t tell her last minute,” Navia had a worried expression on her face, “I know you’re worried about what she’d think it’s ju…”
Navia’s words faded out of Chiori’s mind. She stopped to think, before finally making her decision. “…Tomorrow…”
”…Tomorrow is better.”
Navia sighed, “…If you say so,” Chiori continued to sew, fixing the final parts of the dress where she had left off. Then, she heard the door knock. Chiori stood up, “Come in,” the door opens, and a maid stood at the door, “Good evening, Ms.Chiori. I brought you supper, and as you requested the chefs have made another plate for your friend,” said the maid, “Ah, just set them onto the table over there. Thank you,” the maid nods, bringing the trolley to the table and sets it for them before leaving.
Chevreuse’s gaze went up, seeing the family photo hung on the wall. However, it seemed to be an old one. As it had Chiori when she was younger, and someone else. “Chiori,” Chiori turned all her attention to Chevreuse, “Yes?” Chevreuse pointed at the photo, “Is that your mother?” Chiori glanced at the photo, then nodded, “Yes, that is my mother,” Chiori went back to what she was doing before, Chevreuse turned back to the photo, she guessed that, if her mother was never seen or mentioned, she was likely deceased. But even then, she still had many questions. “How was she like?” Chevreuse asked, Chiori shoved Navia lightly, her gaze going from Chevreuse to Navia. “Oh! She was a very kind person! Though…uh…” Navia was very reluctant to continue her sentence, then slowly her gaze went to Chiori. Chiori sighed, “My mother was ill,” she said. “Therefore, it was a rare sight for her to be out of home. Even then, whenever I was playing with Navia in the garden, you can find her watching from afar.”
Chiori turned and walked to Chevreuse, a comb in her hand, she combed Chevreuse’s hair as she spoke, “However, if she felt well enough, she would bring me to go on walks with her,” she said, she leads Chevreuse to the couch, gesturing her to sit down. Chiori lets Chevreuse’s hair loose, “At that time, we never had a public appearance. So everyone other than my relatives didn’t know how I or mother looked like,” she said, braiding Chevreuse’s hair. “We would walk past the merchants, and at times, she would let me play with the other children if she still had strength.”
Chiori glanced at Navia, who smiled, “And that’s how I met Navia,” she said, “And…when I first met her, I never knew she was the princess until her mother recognised papa. I still remembered how surprised I was!” she said, Chevreuse tilted her head, “What about Clorinde?” “Oh! I already met her by then. Ms. Petronilla had some business with the King like papa, so that’s how she met Chiori,” she said, Chiori grabbed some fake flowers from the table, “A few years after…Mother’s illness had worsened. And she remained bedridden. Father rarely let me see her, as he was worried I would disturb her rest,” she said, “But even if, mother didn’t mind my presence, she’d let me see her in secret most times.”
“And…The last time I visited her alive was her last day here.”
Chiori sighed, looking at Chevreuse as she was done with her hair. “I guess she was trying to hold on for a little longer so I didn’t have to witness it, but it was too great to bear.”
“…I’m sorry,” Chevreuse apologised, “Don’t be. It’s normal to be curious,” Chiori said, she stared at Chevreuse for a moment, before turning, “Go on, eat. You must be hungry by now,” she looked to Navia, “And YOU must be careful with your dress. You better not come back to me to help you fix that while it is looking like trash.”
“Alright, alright! I got it.”
Past midnight, Chiori found herself unable to fall asleep.
She felt stressed that night, yet she didn’t know why. Nothing bad happened that night, it was just like everyday. She tossed and turned in her bed, she felt like she just couldn’t calm down. However, she suddenly heard commotion from outside. Curious, she opened the door, and saw Chevreuse standing outside with a guard. “What’s going on?” Chiori asked, “Royal Highness! It appears we had a attempted robbery!” Said the guard, Chiori looked at the guard with shock, “What?” The guard glances at the room, “Luckily, Ms. Chevreuse realised it on time and was able to scare him away. According to her, it appears that he actually went to the wrong room,” he continued, “By command of His Majesty, he tells for yours and Ms. Chevreuse’s safety, she’ll be sleeping in your room for the next few nights. We’ll be bringing a bed for you.”
As soon as the guard left, Chiori checked on Chevreuse’s well being, “Are you alright? Are you injured?” She asked, grabbing her hand, “Technically I am, but it’s not that bad! See? Just a scratch!” “You’re clearly bleeding, and there’s glass in your wound,” she sighed, “Oh, uh—“ “It’s fine, I’ll treat you first. We can’t find aid at this hour,” she said. “Sit on the bed.”
Chiori washed the wound, and carefully removed each piece of glass she could fine, then putting a bandage over it. “We’ll get Sigewinne to treat it properly tomorrow, this is the best we can do for now,” Chiori said, then, the bed were sent to her room as promised.
“Get some rest,” Chiori said, “You too…” Chevreuse yawned, she laid down and fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes. Chiori watched her fall asleep peacefully, and she stared at the window in front of her.
The full moon looked beautiful that night.
Chevreuse wakes up to find Chiori not in bed, worried, she hurriedly gets herself ready and finds her at the garden. "Good morning," Chiori said, patting the grass next to her, telling Chevreuse to sit down. "Good morning! Uh... Did I sleep in?" Chiori shook her head, “No, I’ve just woken up as well. It’s also still early,” she said.
As much as Chevreuse would like to believe her, she couldn’t help but notice that Chiori looked really tired. “Did you…get sleep at all? You seem so…tired,” Chevreuse said, Chiori sighed, then shook her head. “Ms. Chiori?” Chiori turned her head slightly, seeing one of the maids, “Yes, Eloffe?” “The chefs are asking what you both would like for breakfast, unless you’d like the usual…?” Chiori paused for a moment, then looked back at her, “…I’m not hungry, I think I’ll pass breakfast today,” she said, she looks to Chevreuse, lifting an eyebrow, “Oh, I don’t think I’ll have breakfast either,” Chevreuse said, Eloffe nodded, “Understood,” she bowed, then left.
Chiori stared at Chevreuse, then saw her injured hand, “Shall we go to Sigewinne now?” She asked, Chevreuse looked confused and was about to ask why, Chiori pointed at her hand with crossed arms. “Oh,” she replied, “Yeah, let’s go.”
The walk to her home was very quiet…or awkward.
Chiori looked too tired to even speak, and Chevreuse didn’t want to strike conversation because of that. The people who walked pass were gossiping as soon as they saw the princess, and Chiori did not seem to be a big fan of it. Once the crowd had died down, Chiori broke the awkward silence. “…I have something to tell you,” she said, “Hm? What is it?”
“Father said we’re being threatened for war.”
”…What?”
Chevreuse stopped walking, and her face had a look of distraught. “Why? I don’t think—“ “I’ve tried asking, he won’t tell me,” she said, “Whatever the reason is, he’s now worried about my safety,” Chiori was annoyed, “He said you’ll be fighting. And I’ll be stuck in some…"shelter".” Chevreuse was absolutely confused, but before she could ask Chiori another question, Chiori squinted her eyes at her. So, Chevreuse kept it to herself. After more walking, they reach Sigewinne’s house. Chiori knocks on the door, and the door opens.
Sigewinne peaks through the door before finally opening it completely, she bows, “Good morning, Royal Highness,” “Good morning, Ms. Sigewinne,” she said. Sigewinne smiled, "You're just on time, right this way..."
They entered a small room, which was more fitted for checking patients. It also looked completely different than her own house. “Do…Do you not have a clinic?” Chevreuse asked as Sigewinne was looking through her cabinets. “Her home is her clinic,” Chiori said, sitting on a chair. And Sigewinne treats the wound.
Once they were done, Chevreuse’s mind was instantly filled with so many questions. Ones she knew Chiori couldn’t answer.
“Are you alright?”
Chiori tucks Chevreuse’s hair behind her ear as she asks her, Chevreuse nods, “Yeah…yeah, I’m fine!” She said, Chiori squinted her eyes, and spoke after a while.“Don’t worry too much about the war. Our military are being prepared, Navia and the other’s will be extra help. Sigewinne and some others will be our medics,” she said. “Perhaps we can go somewhere to calm your mind? How is…Navia’s place? It’s always lively there,”
“That…that would be lovely.”
“Hey! Speak of the devil!”
Navia welcomes them inside, “Make yourself comfortable! The first batch of macarons are almost ready!” she said, Chiori sits on the couch, and Chevreuse follows. “Good morning,” Emilie says, “Morning…” Chiori replied, rubbing one of her eyes. “No sleep last night either?” “Couldn’t.”
Chiori sounded frustrated. “I thought that I could get 6 hours of sleep last night, but ohh no, I ended up being wide awake for the entire night,” she said. She couldn’t sleep for the past 2 weeks, without even drinking caffeine… “…Did something happen last night, Chevreuse?” Emilie asked, Chevreuse nods. “There was an attempted robbery, I managed to scare him off though,” she said, Emilie sips her tea, “I see…He must be very brave to try to rob the monarchy like that…”
They both did not realise Chiori had literally fallen asleep until later, even though she was sitting right between them. Chiori leaned her head against Chevreuse’s shoulder, and Chevreuse was really surprised. Though, she didn’t stop it. After all, Chiori had no sleep, she seemed so exhausted since this morning, providing her a shoulder for her to lean on was the least she could do. “Alright, they’re—“ “Shh!” Clorinde shushes Navia and pointed to the sleeping Chiori. “Ohh, sorry!”
Of course, they could still talk, just not too loud.
Chiori slept for about an hour or less, though she still seemed very exhausted. She seemed like she could barely keep herself awake and alert, even after washing her face. She probably didn’t even know half of what she was saying to them.
Chevreuse helped her walk home, hoping she wouldn’t fall asleep as she walked. As Chevreuse was bringing Chiori to her room, she was stopped by Eloffe, “Ah, Ms. Chevreuse,” she called, “Have you both eaten dinner?” Chevreuse nods, “Yes, we have,”
“Alright then, I’ll let the chefs know.”
As soon as Chiori reached her bed, she had already fallen asleep, as fast as Chevreuse did the night before. Chevreuse smiles.
”Good night, Royal Highness.”