Page 2 of Love Letters & Lemon Drops

"Thank you." The handwriting on the front makes my heart skip a beat. I pick it up, surprised by how heavy it is, like it contains more than just words.

As much as I love Mamá, I wish I were alone to open this. There's nothing for me to hide when it comes to the contents of Arthur's letters, but they still feel private, and like they're just for me. But I'm also aware that she isn't going to leave until I've opened it.

I flip over the envelope and run my finger under the seal of the Falhaven royal family. There's a satisfying snap as it breaksand I unfold the pages. Something falls onto my cat, making Felicia hiss and slink away.

Mamá leans in to pick it up before I can, holding out a delicate silver chain to me. I take it from her, running my finger over a pendant of sapphires and diamonds.

"A snowflake," I whisper.

"You have always talked of seeing snow," Mamá says, smoothing some of my dark hair away from my face.

"Arthur has told me of it," I say. "He says there is often snow in Falhaven during the winter months. There might even be some next week."

"Let us hope it doesn't come until after you've safely arrived," Mamá says.

I nod, too preoccupied by the rest of what Arthur says in his letter.

"And?" Mama asks.

"He wishes me a safe journey and looks forward to my arrival at Falhaven Castle." I hold out the letter to her, knowing that she won't stop asking me questions about it until I do. She takes it from me to read. I use the time to look at the necklace he sent me. It's not the first time he's sent me a gift, but this is by far one of the most extravagant. Before, he's mostly sent me sweets and other delicacies from his kingdom for me to try, and some of the same for Felicia. I reach out to ruffle my cat's head. She seems to have forgiven me for the necklace falling on her, for which I'm grateful.

"You are lucky you had a chance to get to know your betrothed," Mamá says, handing the letter back to me.

"I know." I look over the words again, feeling the adoration for Arthur grow within me. I shouldn't be able to feel like this for someone I've only met once, but he never misses an opportunity to write to me. I would never have thought twice about not receiving a letter today, especially when I'll be arriving in hiskingdom in just over a week, but the fact he has means the world to me.

I unclasp the necklace and put it around my neck, touching the pendant as I do and smiling to myself. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, but there was something exciting about the prospect of starting the life I've been promised.

"The carriage will be ready in an hour," Mamá says. "Your aunt is to accompany you as your chaperone."

I nod, disappointed that she won't be coming with me, but knowing that it isn't something that's up for debate. Mamá hates to travel, and will do anything she can in order to avoid it.

But I'm not going to let that change the excitement I'm feeling about what my future holds.

Chapter 2

The carriage rumbles along the road, bouncing up and down in a way that doesn't make it very easy to rest. Not that my aunt is having the same issues. She's snoring softly in the seat opposite and has been for over an hour. It's a far cry from how she was on the ship, she spent most of the journey with her head over a bucket. We were lucky to have a stateroom to ourselves, or rumours about the Queen's sister getting seasick would already be running rampant around Someil's fleet. They still might be.

The basket next to me shakes, and Felicia pops her head out of it, a curious expression on her face.

"We're almost there," I promise, though I'm not entirely sure if that's true. I don't know enough about the distance between the inn we stayed at last night and Falhaven Castle. I scratch behind her ears and she lets out a loud purr. "We're going to our new home."

She gives me a blank look.

"There'll probably be other cats to play with," I tell her. "And mice to catch. I'm not really sure. But Arthur said that there'sa cat tree made for you with all kinds of toys and fluffy pillows. You'll be like a princess yourself."

It's probably my imagination, but she settles down at that, and I find myself smiling. It's only going to be a couple more hours until I see Arthur again. I'm not really sure what to expect. We were seventeen when we first met, and years have passed since. I'd like to think the two of us got on well when we met, but there's no doubt that it was merely a meeting planned by our fathers in the hope that I'd find one of the Falhaven royals pleasing enough to consider marrying.

After that, we'd started sending letters to one another. Formal at first, but slowly becoming more than that as we revealed more about ourselves. When my father asked what I thought of an official betrothal two years ago, I knew what my answer was. And luckily for me, Arthur seems to have felt the same.

I check on my aunt to make sure she's still sleeping and pull out the miniature portrait I packed in the box with the letters. I trace my finger over his face, down the slope of his nose and the curve of lips, which seem to know how to smile. I have no idea if he's looked at my portrait the same way that I've looked at his, but I certainly hope that I'm not going to be a disappointment to him when I arrive.

It's a needless worry. He knows what I look like, though I'd like to think that I'm a little different as a woman of twenty-two than I was in my much more awkward phase of seventeen. He liked me then, and I'm sure he'll like me now.

I sigh and lean back in my seat. I'm done with the journey. It was exciting to finally be on the road to Falhaven Castle originally, but now I'm not as sure. I want a proper bath rather than a quick wash in a luke-warm wooden tub, and a chance to sleep in a good bed. But I know there's nothing that can be done about that until we get there.

I pull aside the curtain and look out, a little disappointed that there's no snow until I catch sight of a beautiful castle growing closer with every moment. Excitement rises within me as I realise that it's my new home.

Green forests stretch between us and the castle, with birds rising from them and flying up until they're spinning around the flags flying from the turrets. It's everything I want it to be and kind of nerve-wracking because of it at the same time.

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