Behind The Walls

Chapter 19 : Della

Hair? Made.
Dinner fit? Put on.
Perfume? Sprayed.
Large flaw on my forehead? Covered.

Tonight at dinner, i wanted to look my best... for myself of-course! Getting dressed in this foreign area felt good; his scent filled the air.

Yes, needless to say, I was in Hugo's room with only thoughts of him infiltrated my head. We hadn't had any encounters after the once that occurred this morning and even though it happened just this morning, I yearned to see him.

I longed to know the reasons behind his acts of wrong. He had an explanation; there was no proof of it but deep down I knew he could clarify. Or maybe I was ready to believe whatever he would tell me.

I was hoping I'd see him even before dinner since we shared the same room now but that didn't happen. My heart thumped a excessively harder beat when the chamber door open.

I spun on my heels to catch the glimpse of the person that had just entered; it was Clara. However my excitement didn't leave as she told me, dinner was ready and on the table.

Without wasting a second, I hastened downstairs and into the dining room. Hugo wasn't there. A frown fell upon face as I slowly took a seat and greeted the king.

The dull dinner however was soon lit up for me as soon as Hugo came in. He pulled his chair back before taking a seat, his gaze not meeting mine; he hadn't even looked at me since he came! "Apologies for being late, 'had a lot of catch up to do with Bella."

Bella? Who the hell was Bella?

"I had some important news to share with the two of you." King Phoebe began, intertwining his fingers from both hands onto the table as Clara filled his plate. "As for some absurd reason, you both weren't able to attend the royal meeting with the kingdom of Debtford..." he paused, giving both of us a stern glare, "tomorrow morning they have come to discuss and fully figure out matters for themselves." He finally announced in a tone that carried a purpose to guilt trip.

"What matters?! We've already decided that I will become king and carry out mother's legacy for good and only good purpose!"

I flinched at his sudden increase in volume.

"Eu- Hugo!" The king warned. "What? Can we not just tell them to shoo and keep their eyes off our goddamn kingdom just because our family consists of two people?!"

"Y-you mean th-three?" I sheepishly stuttered. Why on Earth would I say that??

"Yes Adelaide dear, that's exactly what he meant." The king responded before he shot Hugo a glare.

The dinner concluded and it was made final that tomorrow the royal family of Debtford was coming for a debate.

I caught myself, again, waiting for Hugo in his room. Pathetic questions washed over me: would he make me sleep on the floor?

Would he sleep on the floor so that I could sleep on the bed? Would he be ok with us both sleeping on the bed? Or would we both sleep on the floo-
ok
that's enough I thought to myself as I was tackled with another mystery...
who was this 'Bella' he had mentioned? And what was her relation with Hugo?

I jumped straight out my imaginary world of questions as a click of a door funnelled through my ear. My head turned to look at his face: his eyes that recorded my stolen glances, his lips that gate kept the most endearing smile but sadly didn't often stretch into one, his nose that inhaled the-

"Della?"

Oh shoot.

"Why are you looking at me as if I'm a unicorn?" He asked in a suggestive tone. The nickname however, confused me.

He thinks he's the jokester doesn't he, I rolled my eyes. "I- your just so magical." I blurted out, mentally cursing myself, wanting to slap myself straight after that comment. "Well then... if only I had wings..." he played along. "But you just ate dinner?"

Hugo facepalmed as if I had said something stupid.

"I meant unicorn wings.."

"Unicorns don't have wings, those are Pegasus's!"

"Why do you know that...?" he started after closing the door and sitting down on the opposite end of the bed.

"You know... you would get along great with the prince of Debtford."

"And why is that?" I folded my arms at the sudden change in topics.

"You guys share similar interests and he's about the same age as you." He announced as if I cared to know a lot.

"Wait, so... how old is he?"

"Twelve." Hugo smirked.

I wanted to punch a whole right through his teeth. Why do I waste my time thinking about this idiot so much? What did I even expect from him?

I turned to look away as my face turned red with the mixture or embarrassment and fury. Why couldn't I muster up the courage to insult back?

I was able to do it easily before.

"Hey-hey, I was joking..." He reassured catching onto my the drop in my mood. I nodded in his direction, "..or maybe I wasn't."

My frown returned, not knowing why his words had such a big impact on me. This murderer I swear-

"who's Bella?"

This was my attempt to change the subject and maybe to get my question answered. "Bella?"
He seemed surprised at the mention of her name.

"Y-yes... w-who is she?"

"What makes you think you have a right to ask me that?" He lowly chuckled getting off the bed. "B-but I'm your wife.." my voice trailed off into a whisper as he was about to leave.

"I'll see you in the morning."

He left. He left without even changing, still in his formal attire. Where was he going to sleep? Why didn't he tell me who Bella was?

I rested my head on the pillow and hid it under the duvet feeling pathetic whilst a stream of tears dampened my cheeks. Why are you crying Adelaide?

...

I think I can call this Authors POV but it's not really part of the storyline🤪read it anyways though if you want to obtain a better understanding

Rumination is a mental act that the individual engages in to reduce the distress caused by obsessive thoughts. Individuals may go on a rumination on one obsessive thought, questing and trying to find answers, for hours and even days. They may be normal but the individuals themselves know how distressing it is. This can be looked upon as a lead on after experiencing Stockholm syndrome: a condition in which hostages develop a psychological bond with their captors during captivity or abusive relationships - can be a result of feeling loss or incompleteness in their past.