I will tell the world I will sing a song

It is a better place since you came along

Your touch is sunlight through the trees

Your kisses are the ocean breeze

Everything is alright when you are with me.

______________________________________________

Princess Sarocha jolted up in her bed in a cold sweat, breathing heavily as her hands clutched onto her eiderdown comforter. It was still midnight but now she was wide awake. It was the same nightmare that had been haunting her for years. It felt just as if she was reliving the moments that happened years ago. It was the same nightmare every time: the floor beneath her feet would tremble, and the ceiling would crack with a loud, menacing sound, sending off plumes of dust and cement mixture in its wake. "Becca," she would call out in her dream in panic, she would see a terrified pair of eyes locking onto hers, everything else the girl yelled, muffled by the noise of the crumbling building. She wouldn't run away to safety in her dream, no, she would run to the little companion of hers, embracing her into her protective arms, and then a moment later, something hard and heavy would hit her from behind, and she would feel her life fade away.  

It was the same nightmare but it was also a memory. Princess Sarocha had never been that afraid in her life. She had experienced death, having had her entire life flash before her eyes.

It was an earthquake, the magnitude and intensity of which had not been recorded in more than thirty years at the time. And the two children, the princess and her little maid had been in an ill-advised environment: a dilapidated, crumbling two-storey building.

Sleep wouldn't come back to the princess for the rest of the night.

____________________________________________________________________

It was late in the evening and Becky had just made a friend. It was the goofy gardener who liked to joke around. Becky almost instantly felt at ease with him. Every other maid was seemingly doing their own chores and Becky was here sneaking out in the garden, yet again. She really was a risk taker and a daring one at that. 

"I can arrange a beautiful pink rose for you to hold and admire," Heng said, pointing in the general direction of the patch of pink blooms on the side. 

"Why pink though?" Becky asked teasingly. 

"I don't know. You look like someone who likes pink. I mean don't you like pink?" Hang asked, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"I do. But are you really allowed to cut roses to give to maids from this garden?"

Heng nervously laughed again. "Well, I haven't given any other maids any roses from here if that is what you are trying to know. But I am pretty sure no one will notice one rose gone. And besides, as long as it's not from the Princess's personal garden, I won't be beheaded for one rose." He joked.

"The princess has her separate garden?" Becky enquired.

"Oh yes, she does, one she protects like it's going to be her tomb site when she dies."

 Both Becky and Heng turned to see none other than the prince.

"But I have managed to sneak in a couple of times when she wasn't around. It's fun and peaceful in there." The Prince continued.

"Your Highness" Becky and Heng greeted in unison. 

"Becca, will you accompany me?, I will show you around the royal garden." Prince Non extended his arm for Becky to hold. 

After a reluctant little nod, Becky gently held onto his arm and both set out to tour the garden, leaving a very confused Heng in the background. 

"You have grown up to be such a gentleman, your highness." Becky offered with a genuine smile.

"Likewise. You have grown up to be such a fine, gorgeous lady. Who would have thought you would grow up to be this tall and pretty?" 

Becky laughed. "Really?"

"Yes. Hasn't anyone told you? I am certain you've got yourself a queue of suitors lining up at this point. Has any of them caught your eyes?" 

"Wow. You can make things awkward really fast. Can we talk about something else?"

"Yes, we can. Ask me anything."

"I haven't gotten a chance to see the queen ever since I got here."

"Oh, Mother has been down with an illness for a long while now. A has left her paralysed."

"Oh, I am so sorry, I didn't know" Becky answered. "What about your sister, I haven't seen her all day," Becky asked, wanting to change the subject and she had been dying to see the princess again.

Prince Non visibly stiffened, momentarily stopping in his track. "She, the princess is out again."

"Where?"

Prince Non sighed, "Well there's a painting auction in the royal palace of the neighbouring kingdom. I bet she's going to throw away all of our money to buy one of those ridiculously high-priced random paintings to add to her collection again. She's never tired. She has to own the most expensive everything she sees." 

There was silence as the prince and Becky stared at each other.

"Are you angry at her?" Came Becky's question.

"I don't know. I don't know what goes on in her head. I haven't spoken to her properly in god knows how long. It's just, she's very irresponsible. We have a kingdom to look after and she doesn't realise it."

Becky slides her hand off of the prince and stands to look at him directly. "Why would she do all that?"

"Father and mother have spoiled her, let's say." He smiled, "I am the only hope now. I aspire to make everything right in our kingdom. Help the poor, decrease the taxes on our people and make them happy."

Becky nodded. "Will she make it back home today though?"

"No. Apparently, the crown Prince, Prince Saint and my sister are in a courtship. I heard he has invited her to stay over. Besides. It takes a day to commute. So, its not possible to come home in a single day."

"Oh, I see." Becky replied, slowly nodding.

"Oh and, I apologise in advance if my sister says to does anything to hurt you. She's been removing the maids left right and middle. If it comes to you, I'll protect you. That is if you want to keep staying in this palace. I am sure you miss this place too. And I like having you around as well. After all, you are one of my childhood friends." The prince offered. 

"Thank you."

____________________________________________________

Princess Sarocha tossed and turned in the foreign bedroom. As much as the bedding and mattress was luxurious, it was nothing compared to her bed back home. She loved a good rest and a good sleep so she invested fortunes in getting the best of the best materials when it came to her bedding. She softly cursed under her breath as she pulled up the duvet. Sleep wouldn't come again. Usually, she would sleep happily after an expensive purchase of what she desired but right then, she seemed to be chasing sleep which didn't want to be caught. When she tried to close her eyes, she would start to recall things she wanted to remove from her memory. A memory which caused her so much pain: pain of loss, a loss she could not replace with all the riches in the world. 

Yet, she blamed the inferior quality of the mattress and the pillow for her sleep deprivation.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The little princess awoke to an incessant sniffling sound in her large bedroom. She registered a throbbing pain in her head as she tried to open her eyes. She let out a whimper as she finally cracked her eyes open just a little. Now that she was awake, she could now feel the ache all over her upper body. After a couple of agonising blinks, she was able to see her mother, with bloodshot eyes looking at her with concern. "Mother is here," She said, blinking away new tears, "I'm here. You are going to be okay. I won't let anything happen to you." 

Her memories came like a ton of bricks. She and her little maid had been playing in the old, broken-down building when the earthquake hit. The last thing she remembered was the feeling of panic as she embraced her little friend. Everything had gone blank for her after that.

"Becca," the princess weakly spoke, "Where is Becca?"

The queen gently pushed her child back to her sleeping position as she tried to sit up. "Honey, lay down, you're injured."

"Mother, Becca is alright. Isn't she?" 

"She is fine. Don't worry about her." The queen gently caressed her child's cheek. "Now, you must rest. You are very precious to your father and me. You know that, right?"

"I am sorry, mother. I wasn't supposed to play there. I told Becca it was a bad idea. She-"

"I know, honey." The queen reassured.

The princess nodded, "Mother, can you call Becca in?"

"Honey, please recover first. You can't meet anyone in this state. Okay?"

And recover she did. It was a miracle she survived, had it not for a beam that had inserted itself between the girls and the crumbling brick walls, both the children would have been dead. The rest of the debris that had fallen past the beam fell on the princess's little body. An ill-placed piece of brick scarring her head for life. But none had been too deep to cause any deformities in the brain's functioning by god's grace. But the princess had nonetheless died and come back as she had lost consciousness for too long. 

But the worst part came after her recovery for she was not to see her playmate after that...

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Yes, new chapter is done now. 

So, 6 of Cups, some of you might know is from the tarot deck. This card represents old memories, past friendships and longing for the gone days. 

I hope you enjoyed it. Please show some support if you are enjoying. I told you already your comments are fuel for me. I promise to update frequently if you promise to support me. 

Ok, I come off as a desperate person. Well yes, because I am. I really am a lazy person and I have Uni to attend to. Your continued support will keep me going. Otherwise, I will abandon this and write a new one because I have another story idea. 

Well, tell me if you want one long chapter  weekly or two short chapters per week(Bi-weekly)

Bye. FreenBecky shipaaaas :)