The Letter V

Violet turned, startled, to see a man hovering in the doorway to the library.

Hurriedly, she put the book she had been looking at onto a nearby table and picked herself up off the floor, smoothing out her gown and her hair. She looked around frantically for her dusting cloth, but it was nowhere to be seen - drat, she knew she shouldn’t have started daydreaming again, it was bound to get her into trouble one of these days.

“Apologies, sir, I was just-”

But she cut herself off once she locked eyes with the man.

She didn’t recognize him, at least not immediately. She knew she’d remember a face like his. He was young, like he looked to be in his twenties. His features and his demeanor made it apparent that he was of nobility. His piercing green eyes were deep-set and thoughtful, as if they were staring straight into her soul. She noticed vaguely that he was dressed in what looked to be a uniform, but she couldn’t be sure - it was a deep, royal blue, with silver buttons trailing down the front. He had a small collection of pins on his left breast, which she was sure meant something, although she’d probably never know exactly what. There was an air of authority in the way he stood, towering above her, with broad shoulders that were adorned with decorative tassels.

There was something familiar about him - she just couldn’t place what it was.

The man made no move to enter the room, only stared at her. She was an exotic creature, to say the least - her golden hair tumbled in a mass of curls down her back, tamed only by a thin blue ribbon at the back of her head and a flower that had been tucked behind her ear. Her skin was tanned, freckled, like she had spent her life outdoors where the sun could leave its mark. She was small, thin framed, but looked like she was sturdily built. Her mouth was like a perfect pink rosebud, poised on her thin, heart-shaped face. Eventually his eyes met hers again - a deep, dark blue that he could have sworn, under that certain light, was violet.

She was remarkable. But it wasn’t her beauty that ultimately held his attention - it was the locket that was clasped firmly around her neck. A small golden flower with a clear jewel set at its center.

He knew that locket. He wasn’t sure exactly where he knew it from - it was deep in the back of his mind, from the days of old, his previous life in the palace.

The revelation seemed to hit the two of them simultaneously.

“You.”

There was a moment of silence as the two of them gazed at each other in awe of what time had done to their appearances. Violet was not the scrappy towheaded servant girl in a dirty shift dress and permanently scraped knees - she had blossomed into a radiant woman. And Nathan was no longer a lanky teenager with who couldn’t make use of his limbs - he looked every part of the royal family he belonged to.

In an instant, Violet cursed under her breath.

“Your Highness,” she said quickly, curtseying deeply in embarrassment. It was a thinly veiled attempt to hide the blush that was creeping across her cheeks. “I am deeply sorry.”

Nathan furrowed his brows. That was distinctly out of character from the girl he had been recalling - there wasn’t even a hint of sarcasm in her voice. She’d called him that more often than he could think of, but her tone had always been one of mocking, never serious. Besides, it wasn’t as though she’d offended him, he had grown accustomed to not being announced when he entered a room, and frankly was beginning to grow weary of it after returning to Alvandor only this morning.

“For what?” he asked, and Violet could hear rather than see the smile on his face. “You’ve every right to be here as I do.”

Violet’s head snapped up, confusion written across her face. “B-but, your highness, this library, this room, it - it belongs to the royal family. Which is you, I suppose. But not myself, no I-”

Nathan held up a hand to stop her, chuckling. “My family hasn’t set foot in this room in ages,” he said, still trying to find some sort of sign of recognition in her face. “Myself included, of course.” He took a few steps towards the girl, hypnotized by her, just slightly.

She widened her eyes, but finally relaxed out of the curtsey. “Of course. I just meant-”

“How about this,” Nathan continued, taking another step forward, so he was standing directly in front of her. “In this room, all are equal. In the pursuit of knowledge, the pen does not mind if the reader is a prince or a pauper.” He was standing so close that Violet could feel his breath on her face.

Violet wasn’t sure what it was about this new Nathan that left her speechless. Her brain could form the words she wanted to say, but somewhere between her head and her mouth, they got tangled and jumbled and didn’t resemble words anymore. He was intimidating, but she didn’t fear him - it was something else, something she couldn’t put her finger on.

“Deal?” he said softly, his eyes pinning her to her spot.

Well, when he was standing so close, Violet would have agreed to pretty much anything. He was a royal, after all, so it’s not like she could refuse.

Violet blinked a few times, leaning backward and away from his unrelenting gaze. “A-Alright, your High-”

“Nathan,” he corrected.

“- Nate.”

The two of them froze that way for what seemed like forever. No one had called him Nate in years - that had been what he had been called in his childhood, but no one who knew him in his older years would dare call him a pet name - they had a hard enough time calling him by his first.

He couldn’t help the goofy smile that spread across his face. “Time has been on your side, Violet,” he said warmly. “We were friends, years ago.”

Violet was made very aware of that fact, yes. But that had been ages ago, when Nathan was a scrappy young boy who looked like he would never grow into his body. Now, the way he was standing in front of her, he looked like Prince Nathan Morganstern, heir to the throne. She wanted to believe that boy was still in there somewhere, but how could that even be possible when he was clearly a man she didn’t know?

“Friends,” she echoed, breaking the eye contact in favor of staring at the carpet. “Right. But that was years ago, we were kids then. Surely you realize circumstances have changed.”

In truth, it was very unlike her to want to stick to the rules, the way things were normally done - Violet had always been more fond of breaking rules instead. But it the royal family was to be regarded as highly as possible, or run the risk of severe punishment. Violet herself had seen what happens as a result of putting one’s trust in the royals, and it never ends particularly well for the servant.

It is a constant reminder that they are close to gods, and their servants were not their equals.

As a child in the palace, growing up with Nathan, it was a fact that Violet had learned to suppress. She knew Nathan was different, more valuable - he disappeared for weeks at a time to make public appearances with his family, while Violet learned how to sew, mend, and wash whatever linens they had touched. But as a child, she chose to focus on the parts of Nathan that made her happy.

Once he had left, however, she was left with only the reality that she was the help, and her royal friend was gone.

“Perhaps they haven’t changed, not as much as you’d think,” Nathan protested, reaching up to rub the back of his neck.

Violet turned away, breaking the trance. She leaned over and grabbed the book that she had set down, trying to recall where she had pulled it from in the first place.

Nathan eyed it from where he stood. “A Tale of Two Cities,” he said absentmindedly, recognizing the glyph on the cover as the same one he’d read before. “Excellent book - I read it in school. Do you like it?”

It took Violet a moment to process. She glanced at the book, then at Nathan, then back at the book again. In truth, she had been hoping for a book with more pictures than this one had - it was full to the brim with words, too many words, more words than she knew.

“I don’t know,” she said softly, running her fingers along the bound spine. She marvelled at how nice it felt in her hands, like it contained more knowledge than she’d ever know. “I couldn’t read it.”

Nathan seemed to relax a little. “Ah, I understand. The plot was a little drawn out, but once you get through it, you’ll appreciate it.”

Violet looked back up at him, confused. “No, I - I’ve never learned to read.”

The awkwardness that hung in the air was palpable.

She had wanted so badly for Nathan to be the same person he had been before he left. She remembered the fun the two of them had together - at least, she thought she remembered it had been fun. Perhaps it was all she knew? Maybe the years passed made it seem different than it really was?

Nathan wanted to smack himself. Of course she wouldn’t be able to read - he hadn’t thought about that. He had known, somewhere in the back of his mind, that it was a privilege that he had received the education he had. He was so accustomed to being surrounded by students and peers of similar caliber that the thought hadn’t occurred to him. And besides, he was made painstakingly aware that not only was Violet a servant, but she was also a woman. He was clearly the more educated, but also the bigger idiot.

Nathan sighed, running his hand through his hair. “Look, Violet. I understand why it might make you uncomfortable to talk with a royal so casually. It’s a fear that many others share with you.”

Violet said nothing, only raised an eyebrow in response.

When she didn’t say anything, Nathan continued, feeling as though the words were falling out of his mouth before he could stop them. “I just mean that - well, alright. It’s - this transition for me, to Alvandor, to my royal duties, it -” Why was it that all of his words had escaped him? “I’ll be leaving most of my close friends out in the world while I hole up here. It would be nice to have… a friend. A confidante, if you will.”

Nathan was suddenly made very aware at how stupid he sounded. What kind of man was he, to start blurting out his feelings to some woman that he happened upon? It was unfamiliar territory for him, to say the least. But it was something about her that inspired a certain welcoming comfort, a piece of home that he had forgotten.

It was something in those eyes, he thought, admiring the depths of their colors. Her eyes called to him in ways that words could not convey.

Violet saw something on his face, then, that she recognized. He looked… vulnerable, she thought. Her mind flashed back to the fourteen-year-old boy who had left her so long ago to embark on an adventure of a lifetime, only to end up back here at her feet. The man who stood before her was someone that she neither knew nor could relate to, necessarily - but there was once a boy that she could, and he was somewhere in there.

Violet offered a sad smile, clutching the book to her chest. “Pri - Nate,” she said softly, “You have to understand that while you were away - being educated, serving your country - I have spent my life here, serving your family.”

Nathan furrowed his brows. “Right, understandably, but -”

The girl held up her hand to indicate that she hadn’t finished talking - an act which sent her heart pounding. The prince was silent. “If someone - someone who wasn’t as understanding as yourself - caught me speaking out of turn, I would lose my place here in Alvandor. It would mean my entire livelihood, if not my life.” Violet looked down at the floor. “I was… very lucky to find a place here, as I have no parents to speak of. This is my life, my home, and I bear what I have to in order to stay.”

The prince was hanging on her words.

“I’m afraid I cannot allow myself to partake in anything that could jeopardize that, no matter how just the cause may be.” Violet then looked up to see a pair of hopeful green eyes on her. “Or how much I’d like to.”

Nathan paused for a moment, trying to read the expression on her face. No, it was clear that she was right - he’d be daft to think of a servant that way. It was their job to be friendly to the royals - in all likeliness, she’d return to her barracks and poke fun at himself and his family with the others. If he were in that position, he’d do the same. It was part of Nathan’s curse that he always saw the help as though they were people, unlike his brother and his parents. Perhaps his early friendship with Violet was the reason for it.

“Of course,” he said softly.

He wasn’t sure what caused him to do it - perhaps it was the fact that her eyes hypnotized him, and he hadn’t been thinking properly. Those eyes did make him feel lightheaded. But something possessed him to reach out and tuck one of Violet’s stray curls behind her ear. Her golden hair moved like water, and his fingers gently grazed the side of her rosy, porcelain smooth skin.

A warm tingle travelled down Violet’s spine at the prince’s touch. She had never felt the likes of it before - perhaps it had been a startle? But something about it - the unexpected intimacy of the gesture, how close he had been standing to her - had he always been that close? - his smell, like soap, and sandalwood, and a hint of lavender. It was all so intoxicating.

Nathan lowered his hand, bewildered. “My mistake.” He cleared his throat. “I - uh - I should be on my way, I suppose. Preparations for this evening, and all.” He took a step or two back, as though he were heading toward the door of the library. “It was nice to see a familiar face, Violet.”

After blinking a few times to rid herself of the spell he’d cast, Violet offered him a weak smile. “Welcome home, Nathan.”

With that, the prince strode off down the hallway, thinking only of those eyes and the way her voice sounded when it said his name.