Chapter 104 - Decisions (2)

Alexandra returned with a troubled expression plastered on her face. Diana greeted her with a smile and she asked what happened with a worried expression on her face. "I'll tell you all about it later," Alexandra responded and gave Diana a smile before she continued walking towards the stairs. She clearly looked distracted, it was all too sudden and she was afraid of what might happen if she will agree. Sure, she achieved one of her goals and that is for her father to treat her as his own daughter which he should have done a long time ago. Carlos reassured her earlier that everyone inside the Diamond Palace is all friendly and would never do anything stupid that will harm her.

Carlos followed Alexandra behind her and Diana looked at him. Her expression asking him 'What happened?' She was curious and Alexandra looked tired. She doesn't want to force Alexandra to tell her what happened, Carlos just responded with a smile and he continued walking. I'll just ask him later, she thought to herself before she followed behind them.

The walk to Alexandra's room was rather quiet and peaceful. This is no time to be afraid, I should trust what Carlos and Father said. I wonder if they are as friendly as the maids in my palace like Daisy, Mari, Grace, Diana, and the other maids, she thought to herself clearly distracted as she walked up the stairs. Well, setting that aside, Harrison might visit her later before he leaves and go back to the academy since it's the last day of their vacation today. Sucks for them, she thought to herself. Well, it's not like her tutor would return tomorrow and she would spend most of her afternoon studying and learning. Spending time with her brother would be less now since her tutor will come back. That sucks for me too. Thankfully, she was able to read and did some research, so that he wouldn't have a hard time teaching her and she wouldn't have a hard time processing all of that information he teaches in just one day.

Eventually, they arrived in front of the door of her room and Carlos was the one who opened it as always. Alexandra entered and Diana followed behind her, Carlos was left outside and he closed the door when Diana completely entered. He remained on standby outside and guarded the outside of her room.

--

It took her 20 minutes to finish taking a bath and 10 minutes to change her clothes. Diana was now combing her hair so that it wouldn't get messy or tangled when she woke up in the morning and to maintain its smooth, and silk-like feeling. Alexandra remained silent as she stared at the reflection of herself in the mirror, she wondered what she would look like when she would turn 18 and become a young lady or something. In case if she was born in another family, what would it be like? Will she be experiencing the same things she is currently experiencing now or would it be better?

It's not like she is not satisfied but she was just having a hard time in this current life of hers. "Hey, Diana," She called out to Diana who was still combing the ends of her hair, making sure that it wasn't tangled. "Yes, young miss?" She glanced up and looked at Alexandra's reflection in the mirror, meeting her gaze in the process. "What are the servants and guards like in the Diamond Palace?" Alexandra asked in a curious tone of voice. Since Diana became a maid once at the Diamond Palace before she started taking care of Alexandra, she might know some of the maids there. Diana wondered and blinked multiple times when she heard Alexandra's question, wondering why she suddenly asked that out of blue. It must be related to what they talked about earlier, she thought to herself before she hummed and answered Alexandra's question.

"Let's see… Ever since your mother died and your father changed, multiple maids resigned and some of them were fired because of your father. He was at the state of confusion, anger, and shock that he lashed out some of his anger towards the maids and would fire them when they tried to get close to him. Some of the noble ladies took advantage of your mother's death and tried to seduce your father but they failed. I don't want to tell you what happened to them after they failed. Some of the maids who resigned and got fired were the ones I'm close with, there used to be so many servants before but now, it became few. Most of the maids that I knew were all friendly and kind as well as the guards who would just mind their own businesses," Diana said as she continued to comb Alexandra's hair as she spoke. "Daisy, Mari, Grace, and the other maids in the palace either came from the Diamond Palace or they were recruited by me," Diana added and Alexandra hummed as she lightly nodded her head repeatedly.

"Why do you ask, young miss?" Diana asked and as if on cue, she finished combing Alexandra's hair. "Father wanted to introduce me to everyone, the servants in the palace," Alexandra said and she yawned right after indicating that she wants to lay down her bed and sleep. Diana blinked multiple times, what Alexandra said echoed and repeated non-stop inside her head. She was like a loading website, trying to process the information she just got. Alexandra looked at Diana's reflection in the mirror, waiting for what she will say next or how she will react. "Eh? Could you please repeat what you just said, young miss?" Diana wanted to make sure of it if she heard it right and if she wasn't dreaming.

"Father wanted to introduce me to the servants in his palace as his one and only daughter," Alexandra repeated and stared at Diana who was listening attentively to every word she just said. Then silence surrounded them once again before Diana exclaimed in a rather loud voice, shock written all over her face. "Wait, seriously?!" Alexandra nodded as a response and showed Diana a faint yet gentle smile which she noticed. "Although father will still consider my decision or opinion if I will agree or not. Anything will be fine for him," Alexandra said in a gentle voice. Wait, his highness is acting like a father to Alexandra now and he wants to introduce her to everyone inside the palace, does that mean he finally accepted her as his daughter? She asked herself and a smile crept up her lips.

"Is that so, young miss? I'm very happy for you. Are you going to agree?" Diana said she can't hide the happiness from her voice as she spoke. She looked genuinely happy as the expression that was plastered on her face was bright and filled with joy, her eyes were sparkling and she looked happier than Alexandra. "I am still thinking about it. I am afraid of how the people would react knowing that they had a daughter all along and she was just introduced to them 7 years later after mother died, it might be a great shock for them," Alexandra said in a worried tone of voice. Diana's expression slowly turned into a worried one as she witnessed Alexandra's expression, she looked worried and lost. Diana let out a sigh, "Young miss, sometimes you have to prevent yourself from thinking about other people and how they would react when they saw you. You are overthinking but it's not a bad thing nor a good thing. Try to think about yourself first, you're still a child and you need to have fun, okay?"

Alexandra was about to speak when Diana spoke first, interrupting her from what she was about to say. "Besides, how can you change a person's view about you when you still haven't met them or talked with them? It's not like they would just decide to think of you as a good person when they still haven't met you. It's just part of the process, just like what you did to Prince Chandler. What you did was brave and it showed how much you wanted to get along with him and change his view about you. Honestly, I looked up to you, young miss," Diana said in a gentle voice as if to assure her. The smile that was on her face, there was a trace of sadness. "But they don't know me, they don't know that I exist up until I would appear in front of them and introduce myself," Alexandra responded.

"Right, but you got a huge advantage on that. You can easily show them that you are actually kind and they shouldn't listen to what other people say about you if you are close with the other princes and the emperor, that would show that you are a person they can completely trust," Diana said and ruffled Alexandra's hair. "Besides, we will be there. I already told you, right? That from the moment you were born, I have decided to take care and be with you until your very last breathe or my very last breathe. Carlos will be there to protect you," Diana said as she ruffled Alexandra's hair. A smile crept up Alexandra's lips and she nodded before she got up from her seat and walked towards her bed, feeling sleepy.

She threw her body towards the body that caught her. The softness of it slowly engulfed her and Diana lightly giggled before she covered Alexandra with a blanked, tucking her in. The warmth of the blanket hugged her and it felt comfortable. "Good night, young miss," Diana said and smiled at Alexandra. "Good night, Diana," Alexandra responded before Diana started walking towards the door, she turned off the lights making the room dark before she left quietly. When she heard the sound of the door closing, she turned around to her other side and stared at somewhere. Her eyelids felt heavy as her consciousness slowly drifted away, her eyes slowly closing at the process. She was about to be pulled in a deep slumber when she heard a loud voice in her head, causing her head to ache.

[Don't you dare fall asleep, I still got something to tell you]