Greenmor Palace was a large place and it was a good thing given the amount of guests that were still visiting the king and his queen for the holiday celebrations.<span style="color: #0000FF">Rebecca Montgomery</span>was one of those guests. She was the fifth of seven children born to Henry and Victoria, the Duke and Duchess of New Haven. Of course, Victoria made it a point to anyone who would listen that she and all seven of her children were cousins of King Theodore. If things had worked out differently in the past, perhaps it would have been Victoria on the throne, but it hadn't. Not that it mattered much to Rebecca. While Victoria clearly loved every moment being here, Rebecca couldn't wait to return home to Montgomery Manor.<br/><br/>While it was nice to visit with the king and his lovely queen, politics and social status mattered very little to the young woman. She found the conversations boring and was often zoning out as her mother dragged her around the parties. Which, in turn, caused her mother to give her cold looks and subtle jabs in her ribs to pay attention. "Oh, Mother, I'll never be like Katherine," Rebecca thought. Katherine, Rebecca's older sister, seemed quite at home in these type of situations, while Rebecca felt more at home talking with the servants.  She sat on the guest bed as she thought. It was decked out in the finest silks of the land. Definitely fit for royalty. Rebecca sat cross-legged on the bed, still dressed in her nightclothes. She was looking at her favorite Christmas gift. A gift given to her before Christmas, since she and the present giver knew they were apart on that special holiday. It was a simple gold bracelet. Not fancy, not nearly as nice as the bed sheets Rebecca was sitting on, but the most perfect piece of jewelry in the world to her because of who had given it to her.<br/><br/>Soon they should be heading home and Rebecca was excited about that. Since the palace was so large, most guests had their own rooms. Rebecca did and she was happy. She could be alone and write her letters, letters she would never dare show her parents. She got off the bed and took a seat at the desk and grabbed a quill and a piece of paper. Her brother, Nicholas, had noticed that she loved to write, although he didn't know or ask much what or who she was writing to. He had just decided to give her new stationary set for a Christmas present. It was something she would actually use and Rebecca had liked it much better then clothes and jewelry others had gifted her. She set the bracelet down and began to write:<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">To my beloved Tomas,<br/><br/>I miss you so. The time we have been apart seems like it has been months not weeks. While the king and his queen are quite lovely, these parties bore me so. I cannot remember who is who and my mother is not pleased. She is fussing over me, worried that I will offend someone very important if just one hair on my head is out of place. She parades me around like I am an exotic animal. I cannot wait until I am home and in your arms again. I do not belong with these people. Only with you do I feel at home. Today is the beginning of a new year and I feel I am finally ready to tell</span><br/><br/>There was a knock on the door and Rebecca stopped writing.<br/><br/>"Rebecca?"<br/><br/>It was<span style="color: #8000FF">Victoria</span>and Rebecca knew she had to hide her letter and the bracelet quickly. Her mother knew who Tomas was but would never approve of her daughter writing letters to him or receiving a present from him either. He was on the stable boys of their manor and Victoria thought all their servants were beneath her. No, Victoria would never, ever, approve of such a relationship. Thus, Rebecca had to hide it from her and the rest of the family. But hiding her love for Tomas was getting harder and harder each passing day.<br/><br/>"Yes, Mother?"<br/><br/>Rebecca called as she quickly hid the unfinished letter, the bracelet, and the stationary supplies in a desk drawer.<br/><br/>"Let me in, we need to get you ready."<br/><br/>"Of course, Mother."<br/><br/>Rebecca replied and after a quick check that nothing looked suspicious on the desk, she opened the door for her mother. Victoria scoffed at her messy hair and her state of dress. They were still guests of the king and Rebecca should have been ready to go the moment she had woken up.<br/><br/>"You are such a mess. You cannot be seen by servants like this, let alone his royal highness."<br/><br/>Rebecca lowered her head and quietly replied.<br/><br/>"I am sorry, Mother."<br/><br/>"You should be."<br/><br/>Victoria replied and grabbed a hair brush as Rebecca took a seat in the desk chair. Victoria stood behind her and roughly started to brush out Rebecca's hair. Rebecca winced as her hair was pulled by the brush but said nothing. Her mother was angry and it was never good to talk much when Victoria was angry. What she needed to tell Victoria and her father, Henry, would have to wait until much later in the day. Perhaps after they both drank on some more of the king's wine.