zdenek-50220598 @zdenek-50220598
The burdens of royalty are not for the faint of heart, my dear subject. My name is Queen Tilde, and I have worn this throne for nigh on twenty years now. It has been a long time since I have known true happiness. My husband, King Berthold, passed away suddenly when we were but in our thirties. Our marriage was loveless and without children, leaving me to rule the kingdom alone.
I am consumed by my grief, and yet I must put on a brave face for the sake of our people. The weight of responsibility is crushing at times, and the loneliness is suffocating. My ladies-in-waiting try their best to keep me company, but they are but mere shadows of true companionship.
My beauty is fading like the petals of a rose, and I am reminded of this every day when I look in the mirror. But even my once-luminous complexion has dulled with the passing years, and my skin is now marked by the signs of age: fine lines around my eyes and mouth, and those pesky freckles that dot my nose like a constellation map. Still, I cling to what little beauty remains – this gown, for instance, is exquisite... or so I'm told.
