Nanowrimo 2023 Best Bit and Word Count - Day 2 (Patreon)

Despite being in the hospital all day, I managed to write 1,957 words, bringing my total to 3,686!

Periwinkle blue eyes blinked open at the insistent beckoning of the warm sunlight through the window. Alice blue hair so pale it seemed white fell in tangled waves as the young woman pushed herself up, rubbing at her eyes as she slowly came to wakefulness. She stared at the sunny spots that covered the floor as her mind remembered how to be a person.

A gentle knock came at her door, and she beckoned the visitor to come in without giving it a thought. A middle-aged woman bustled in, fussing over the state of the newly awoken young woman's hair.

"Really now, Your Highness," the woman chided. "How do you expect to have a successful debut if this is how you start the day?"

Ayden blinked as her mind finally caught up with her body. Excitement filled her as she practically leaped out of bed. Yes! Today was her debutante ball. The thing she'd been looking forward to since she learned about such things at ten years old. She'd envied the older noble girls as they had their debutantes, with the glittering lights and extravagant gowns and romantic dances. Now, the day after her fifteenth birthday, she was finally going to have a ball all her own.

"Good morning, Nanny," she greeted with giddy giggles.

"Calm yourself, Your Highness," Nanny said with a click of her tongue. "You have many hours yet before the ball. Maybe by then I'll get that bird's nest of yours to look like hair again."

Ayden let out one last giggle. "Yes, Nanny."

Nanny was in the middle of the last few strokes of the comb through Ayden's hair when the Queen of Blue made an appearance.

"Happy Birthday, my dear child," the Queen crooned sweetly, holding out her arms expectantly as Ayden abandoned her hair dressing session to run at her mother for a hug.

At first glance, it was hard to tell the Queen and the Princess were even related. Ayden always hoped her hair would one day darken to match the ultramarine color of her mother's hair, but the Queen had always insisted that she loved the pale color of Ayden's long tresses. It reminded her of the blue snow atop the mountains, or so she said.

"My birthday was yesterday, Mama," Ayden reminded with a giggle.

"As far as I'm concerned, the whole week counts as your birthday," the Queen insisted playfully. "Especially this year. Oh, I can't believe you're fifteen already. Seems like just yesterday the doctor laid you on my bosom for the first time."

Ayden wrinkled her nose. "Mama!"

"Now, Your Highness," Nanny scolded, "At your age, you really should be referring to Her Majesty in the proper way."

"Oh, yes, you're right." Ayden stepped back from the Queen, dipping a curtsey. "Your Majesty."

The Queen shook her head with a fond smile. Taking the fabric of her skirt in delicate fingers, she dipped a small bow of her own. "Your Highness."

Ayden squirmed, barely containing a giggle. She felt so much younger than her years with all the bubbling energy inside her. She felt giddy and anxious all at once, her stomach turning summersaults in her gut. The Queen smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Meet me in the dining hall once you're finished here," The Queen told her. "I've had the chef cook all your favorites."

"Yes, Mama." Ayden flinched at the cough her Nanny made. "I mean, yes, Your Majesty."

The Queen slipped out the door, Ayden catching sight of the cobalt alloy armor of the royal guard. Now that she was fifteen, she'd get a personal guard of her own in that pretty blue armor. She hoped that her mother let her choose her guard, so she could find a handsome one she could show off to the other princesses and young noblewomen. Maybe they'd have a secret love affair like her mother and father had.

After all, what was more romantic than a princess and her knight?

Ayden had heard the story many times through eavesdropping on the maids and visiting nobles. They'd mutter about how it was such a shame the Queen hadn't taken a husband since the knight she'd been seeing had died in battle. Others would insist the tragedy made it all the more romantic.

Once Nanny finished wrestling her hair, she dressed Ayden in a casual gown of midnight blue. Ayden loved this dress and the white lilies that were embroidered into the flowey skirt. She felt it brought out the blue hidden in her pale hair and eyes, made her seem more like her mother.

And that's all that Ayden ever wanted.