Amelia's Birthday - Chapter Thirty Five

Amelia woke up from her nap. She made a pitiful face at James, who was playing quietly in the room.

The lady got Amelia out of her crib and placed her on the floor. She immediately went to James and gave him a big hug.

James sat down before he had to do his studies. He played peek-a-boo with Amelia. She would jump every time he moved his hands. She loved to play games with him.

Playtime was over, and James had to do his studies. He took his studies very seriously. He knew that one day he would be king and would have to rule the kingdom.

The lady sat down with Amelia to teach her how to talk. She would need to learn the basics before she could learn the important stuff.

Amelia was a fast learner. She picked up on walking faster than anyone believed she could. At first, she was a bit unsteady but soon was on her way to walking on her own.

After a bit of practice, Amelia learned how to use the potty.

James returned from one of his lessons to find Amelia walking to greet him when he came into the room.

"Oh! I see you finally learned how to walk! Did you miss me?" James asked her. With a little voice, she replied, "Me miss you."

James sat down to tell her some of the stories he had read. She listened to him with such surprise and interest.

"Let us build a castle fit for a queen and king," James told Amelia as he grabbed some blocks and started stacking them. "Me make a castle for me and you!" she replied. James began to giggle."You're so silly, my little Amelia," James said as he smiled at her.

Now it was time to go back to his studies, and Amelia had to play by herself. So one of the ladies took Amelia outside to enjoy the night air.

It was dark outside, and pretty much everyone was asleep by now, or at least indoors for the night. She took her on walks through the gardens where no one would see her. 

Amelia played in the dark with no problem as one of the ladies watched her close.

After some time, the lady brought her back inside to get her ready for bed. When she entered James and Amelia's room, she found the queen there. The queen held out her hands to receive Amelia from her lady. "Here, I will put her to bed," she told her. She dressed Amelia in her nightclothes and then placed her into her crib.

The queen looked down at Amelia, and deep down inside, she wished she was her own child. She wanted to have a girl one day, and with her having the same curse, she felt a closeness to her like she felt towards James.

Morning came, and Amelia was wide awake. She wiped her eyes so she could focus to see where James was.

He was waiting for her to wake up. The lady got her dressed and then placed her on the floor so she could run to James. "It's your birthday today!" James exclaimed as he hugged her tight.

Amelia was dressed in a cute dress for her birthday.

Then Amelia stood, and with a few sparkles, she grew up.

James was so excited to see Amelia, now a child like himself. "We are going to have so much fun now!" James told her excitedly. "Oh yes! We can now do all kinds of stuff together," she replied.

"It's almost dark. Let's get ready to go play outside!" he told Amelia.

When they got outside, James gave Amelia a hug."What was that for?" she asked as she giggled at him. "I'm just so happy to have you around," James replied.

Amelia sensed that she was not James's sister, even though they were raised together. There was something else she could not quite put her finger on. She wasn't allowed to go down into the throne room or any other public rooms where the guests would be in the castle. "Surely I'm the queen and king's daughter?" she thought. The castle was all she knew. So why did she have this feeling of uncertainty?