Growing Wings - 1 - A restless night

Queen Raleene the seventh had been looking forward for this moment the whole day. After an eventful day of receiving guests, taking care of documents and dedicating a new hospital, she finally had a peaceful moment on her own. She was sitting in her favorite chair on her balcony, while a mild summer breeze passed her by. Additionally, she had a glass of her favorite wine right next to her, she only drank in these moments, her butler and most trusted servant standing quietly behind her, ready to refill the glass, if she wanted. Looking over the edge of her balcony, she could see the outer lights of the capital city, slowly going out one after another. Her eyes went from there over to the mountain ranges on the horizon and then to the clouds, surrounding her kingdom. Once more, she had the chance to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere, she had established over the twenty years of her reign. Raleene closed her eyes and inhaled the atmosphere and savored it like her wine and yet… something felt wrong.
The queen opened her eyes again and took a sip of her wine, before she looked into the distance again, focusing on a large building far away, surrounded by various smaller buildings and all of them in a wide, free area before it was entirely shut by a forest.
“Walter, have you heard anything considering my daughters choice? Is she still thinking about it?”
The butler, who hadn’t moved since the last time, he had refilled Raleene’s glass, slightly bowed and put a hand on his chest, before he spoke. “Yes, your highness. She is still considering to go to the Gold Dawn Academy. If I may be so blunt, I would say that the idea only has getting louder inside of her head, despite the opinions of her highness and others.”
Responding with a deep sigh, Raleene grabbed after her glass and emptied the rest of it in one go. She felt how fatigue slowly began to claim her, causing her to rub her eyes, before she looked up into the clear star-filled sky. “Sometimes I wonder if the number eight is really cursed in our kingdom. Rhalshaan the eighth was the one, who brought up the idea of taming feral storm drakes for our army, Malicia the eighth had been famous for claiming the surrounding islands and populate them and Viggorin the eighth… Why, why was it always the eighth, who seemed to challenge the current order and go their own way?” Raleene hesitated for a moment, before she continued, but eventually turned around and looked at her most trusted servant, hoping for his opinion, when she spoke again “Walter, what kind of path do think, will my daughter choose? Since the day, my beloved husband passed away, she began to yearn for a life outside the palace, becoming more and more tomboyish, but also self-critical, completely the opposite of a princess. She’s becoming like…”.
“Like him, your highness?” said Walter, before Raleene had the chance to say it. Only responding with a short nod, Raleene’s expression grew darker. She had loved her husband, although he was somebody, who preferred to stay outside and among the people of the kingdom. Seeing the change of mood in her face, Walter made a step forward and put a hand on Raleene’s shoulder. He had already served her, when she was a princess and far away from considering to be a queen one day, so he knew very well, how he should react to Raleene’s mood. Putting up a gentle smile, before he looked at the queen’s face, he responded, “Your husband, may Astra have mercy on his soul, was a man of his people. May it be because he didn’t inherit the crown or because he was born as common member of the society, he always had a different view on political situations, which, if I may be so bluntly, turned out to be the right choice at the end. I dare to say that it can’t be wrong for her to be like this.”.
Feeling how the fatigue grew stronger in her, she put a hand on Walter’s hand and signaled him that she wanted to stand up and head to bed. While standing up, she smiled at her butler, since his words actually helped her a little bit. Walter guided her, until she reached the wardrobe with her nightdress, before he headed towards the door. In the last second, before he was about to close the door, Raleene called on last time for him.
“Walter, please come and wake me an hour later than usual. Since the only appointment tomorrow is the meeting with Lord Willston, I think, I can afford it. Oh, and-“
Walter turned around and stood in front of the door, while making a humble bow towards his queen.
“Yes, your highness?”
Hearing Walter’s loyalty caused Raleene to smile again, before she responded “Thank you for everything. I don’t know what I would do without your help.”. “Why, you would lead the Overizon with gentle, protective hands and your sharp mind, my Lady.”, Walter answered, before he wished queen Raleene the seventh a pleasant night and closed the door behind him.
When the door closed and she heard how the night guard got into position, Raleene changed clothes and put on her nightdress, before she closed the door to her balcony. Through the window, she looked one more time up to the stars, several things rushing through her mind again, along with the unsettling feeling from earlier. She knew that Raleene would very likely talk with her tomorrow about her wish and probably right at the time, when she has her meeting with Lord Willston. While walking towards her bed, she sighed deeply, because her mind had put the various situations together to one simple solution.
“Well, Raleene, my dear daughter… You will have your wish. I would just hope that I won’t have to tie it to the problems of a queen…”
With that thought in mind, Raleene the seventh lied down and with a snap of her fingers, the magical lights in the room turned off, giving her a chance to accept her fatigue and sleep and hopefully, dreaming about her husband and her daughter.