In the palace, Princess Orchid's room.
Bella tended to the strawberry plant. With gentle hands, she snipped the dead leaves and cut the ripe strawberries weighing down the plant. Her eyes cut to the large plate of ripe strawberries on the desk. This had been the same routine for the past two days.
Bella didn't know what to do with the strawberries. Eating them felt wrong without the Princess' permission. But letting them go to waste felt even more wrong.
With a soft sigh, Bella ate one strawberry. Its sweetness didn't reach her.
"Where are you?" She asked the air.
Deep down, she couldn't believe she was worried about the Princess. After all Bella had gone through in her hands, the working late into the night, barely having time to herself, Bella didn't imagine for one second that a time would come when she missed the Princess.
But the room felt empty. It was always spacious but lately it felt even more deserted.
