Queen's Obsession

Chapter 26

*Suzanna's P.O.V*

The next day I got up early to get ready, braiding my hair back in a simple braid. I didn't want to do anything too elaborate since today was my day off. I put on a dark gray dress, draping a cloak over it as I tied my money pouch around my waist.

I spent a little bit of time making a list so that I would remember what I wanted to buy. I was honestly a bit stuck on what I should buy with some of my money seeing as living in the castle and being so close to Queen Seraphina seemed to take care of all the necessities I would need.

My brow wrinkled in thought as my quill tapped against my desk. I flinched when something brushed against my arm suddenly, looking down to see one of the castle cats up on my desk. I blinked in surprise as I lifted my free hand to pet the black and white cat.

"How'd you get in here?" I asked as I stared in confusion before looking at my bedroom door. It was slightly open and I realized that I may not have shut my door all the way. Thankfully the cat waited until I was at least dressed before it came in.

The cat meowed and sat down on my desk. It's tail was flicking back and forth slowly, its brown eyes staring at me. I continued to pet it, pulling my hand away when the cat started to bat at my bracelet.

"Don't do that, you'll hurt it," I said as I sat down my quill, my other hand moving to wrap around the teddy bear on my bracelet. "You're not a very nice kitty," I muttered with a small frown on my lips.

I ignored the cat as it continued to sit on my desk, picking up my quill again. The cat reminded me of a small plush that I had owned when I was a child. My parents had thrown it away when I reached the age of 10, claiming that I was now too old to have such childish things. In retaliation I had knocked over several glass cases that contained priceless items, always coincidentally doing it right before I left to visit my grandparents for the summer.

I scribbled down a quick note to look for a new plush, a small frown on my lips. It wouldn't be the same but I would still try to find something I could be happy with. The cat pawed at my hand and I looked up at it.

"Don't worry, I'll get you something too," I assured it, gently scratching its chin. The cat purred, its eyes closing for a couple of minute before it seemed to get bored of me. It jumped off of my desk, walking out of my room. "Rude," I muttered as I folded up my letter, tucking it into my money pouch.

I left my room, deciding to grab something from the dining room before I left the castle. I quickly grabbed a cheese pastry, turning to leave. I huffed when I spotted Pandora entering the room. I tried to walk past her but she grabbed my arm, making me pout.

"Where are you going?" Pandora asked. I took a bite of my cheese pastry, mainly to make Pandora wait for an answer.

"Market," I answered as I pulled my arm free before continuing to walk. Pandora followed after me, an exasperated noise escaping her when I didn't look back.

"You're not going to tell Seraphina?" Pandora asked. I took another bite of my pastry as I glanced back at her.

"Why should I? Day off, not my boss right now," I shrugged as I looked at her. Her eyebrows furrowed at my answer, shaking her head slightly.

"It would still be nice of you to tell her," Pandora said.

"Can't be nice, I'm leaving the castle," I stated as I exited the castle doors. I headed to the castle gate, freezing when the guards stepped forward to stop me.

"Let her go," Pandora called. The guards stepped aside and I continued to walk forward. I shoved the rest of my pastry in my mouth once I was past the gates, rolling my eyes at myself for forgetting about the fact that I was technically a prisoner.

I headed straight to the market, going to grab more ink and quills. I bought a few quills, my favorite one was a dark green one, as well as a few small pots of ink. I stopped to buy a few pastries to take back to the castle with me.

I ended up spending most of the day in the market, looking for any stand that sold plush animals. I found a few spots but most of them didn't have any cat ones and all of them refused to do custom ones.

I was sulking over it when I made my way back to the castle. I had eaten a strawberry pastry and ended up giving one to a stray dog that followed me back to the castle. I watched it run off after it took the pastry, heading back to town. I turned back to the castle, still pouting over the fact I hadn't found a plush.

"What's wrong?" Queen Seraphina's voice startled me out of my thoughts and I realized that she was standing right inside of the gates.

"Nothing, I'm just a little upset I couldn't find a plush like I wanted," I said as I offered her a pastry to which she politely declined. "One of the castle cats I saw reminded me of this old plush I had when I was younger. It was a black and white cat with a crooked ear. My parents ended up throwing my plush away when I got too old for it," I muttered.

"Hmm," Queen Seraphina let out a contemplative hum. "Could you show me what it looked like?" she questioned curiously, to which I nodded a tad bit confused.

"Yeah, I'll draw it for you later," I said with a small nod. I walked with her until we reached my room to where she bid me a good night.