CHAPTER 4: It Grows With Care

There were days Rozena wouldn’t speak at all.

Not because she had nothing to say, but because she was afraid her voice would vanish into the walls, unheard and unanswered.

She would wake before the sun, listening to the silence of the tower. The only sound came from the wind brushing against the windows, and the occasional footsteps of Remy, her assigned nanny, walking quietly outside her door.

Remy was always early. She came in without a word, her face unreadable. She was young, but not too young. Her hair was always tied neatly back, her uniform perfectly pressed. She smelled of soap and lavender, and her hands were always cold.

She didn’t speak much.

But she stayed.

At first, Rozena tried to ask questions. Simple things. Like what her father was like, or what the palace looked like beyond her tower. Remy never answered those. She would press her lips into a thin line and focus on brushing Rozena’s hair, or folding her gowns.

“Am I not allowed to ask?” Rozena whispered one morning, eyes downcast.

Remy didn’t reply. But her hand paused for a second, just enough for Rozena to notice.

She learned to stop asking after that.

Still, even silence can become something precious when it’s all you have. And in time, Rozena began to look forward to Remy’s visits. Even when she didn’t smile. Even when she scolded her for leaving crumbs on the floor or for forgetting to wash her hands.

Because Remy was the only person who stayed.

One stormy night, when Rozena was six, the thunder cracked louder than usual. The windows shook, and the shadows on the walls looked like monsters. She tried to be brave. She hugged her doll Rosie tightly, burying her face into the worn fabric.

But the storm was louder than her thoughts.

She cried.

Softly at first, then louder, her sobs echoing in the emptiness. She didn’t know when Remy arrived, but suddenly, arms wrapped around her. Tight. Protective.

It was the first time.

Remy didn’t say anything. She just held her.

And Rozena, even with tears streaming down her cheeks, whispered against her chest.

“Does my father know I’m here?”

There was silence again.

Remy didn’t lie. But she didn’t answer either.

That night, Rozena clung to her until morning.

After that, Remy still didn’t talk much.

She was indeed distant. Over the years Rozena grew up under her care, Remy was slowly becoming soft to her. Only often.

But sometimes, she’d bring an extra piece of bread. Or let Rozena sit near her while she mended clothes. Once, she even let Rozena touch her hair. It was the softest thing she’d ever felt.

And when Rozena fell sick from the cold, it was Remy who stayed at her bedside, wiping her forehead and whispering softly when she thought Rozena couldn’t hear.

“You’re not forgotten,” she said once.

It wasn’t an answer.

But Rozena held onto those words like a treasure.

Remy's presence gradually became less; the moment she was always called into the main royal palace to help around.

Though alone again, the loneliness never truly went away.

Those words, it sat beside her during meals. It followed her like a shadow. But knowing that Remy was there, somewhere in the tower, made it easier to breathe.

And still, every night, she would write another letter.

"Dear Father… I waited again today. I’m still waiting."

She didn’t know if those letters would ever be read. Those letters were just only hopes and dreams and yearn- written on a blank sheet of paper. Only to keep to herself.

She wanted to give it to him, but she knew it could never reach him.

But she kept writing.

Because even the smallest hope deserved to be remembered.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***