𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑡𝑜𝑛. ʙʀɪᴛɪsʜ ʀᴏʏᴀʟ ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ

8 ♔♕ 𝗮 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗻

𝟸𝟹𝚛𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟿𝟿𝟾

The first birthday has been so hard.

It had almost been 2 months, which was better than it had been for Harry's birthday but still, it was raw.

Christmas had been hard too. Sat around with every member of her family had only made it excruciatingly clear that there was someone missing. Bella usually loved Christmas, it was very normal for her to start talking excitedly about it and singing Christmas carols from the 1st of December and then not to stop until Boxing Day.

But last year, last year it had been different. She had stayed quiet. Not as quiet as before mind, but still quiet. The family noticed it. Noticed the gap that was made by their little ball of energy being, well, not that.

Her pa had taken herself, her brothers and Zara skiing in the new year. It had been lovely, it had pulled her out of the quiet. Zara was like a sister to her, but one that hadn't been overtaken by grief. So having her there for a week, it had lifted her.

Whilst Bella might have been oblivious to what that skiing trip had done, her family weren't. Her grandmother had actually teared up at the sight, and sound, of her granddaughter laughing when they came for tea the day after they had arrived back. It had been so long since that sound had filled the halls of wherever it was they were. Charles knew it too, knew that she had turned a corner, that the grief of her mother, whilst it was still there of course, it wasn't all consuming, his daughter had begun to return back to them.

She had finished Pembridge that summer. Both her father and aunt had turned up to all the finals of the sports games and her father was there for her leavers assembly. Whilst she had loved Pembridge, she also couldn't wait to leave. The whole place reminded her of her mother, it was a constant never ending reminder that whilst she was there she couldn't escape.

Bella would be starting St George's school at Windsor come September, a fact that she was delighted with. She was also delighted that her best friend, Lady Rose Powlett, would also be attending.

♔♕

The first anniversary had been hard.

Her aunt and grandmother took her off riding in the Scottish hills for the day, never probing her to talk and allowing her just to walk that little bit further ahead to make sure she didn't feel pressured.

It was a lot. She couldn't believe that it had been a year, that a year ago she was being woken up and told that her mother had died. They rode in silence the majority of the time, Bella in deep thought about her mother.

When they got back, her brothers still out fishing with their grandpa, she had gone up to her father's sitting room, A Midsummer Night's Dream held tight in her hand. There, in exactly the same position as almost a year prior, she had fallen asleep, lulled by her fathers voice and thoughts of her mother.

♔♕

She had been at St George's for almost two months now. And she loved it.

It was perfect for Bella. A complete mix of sports, academics and art, it also helped that Windsor Castle was literally a stones throw a way. She was doing well so far. She was intelligent, a 'good all rounder' her grandpa would say, and she loved all the sport. She also continued with ballet which was something that her mum had started her on, and it was nice, she wasn't particularly good, she preferred much more to run about on a hockey field, but it was nice, to keep that link with her mum.

And now it was her birthday, her 12th birthday to be exact. It was easier than last year, that was certain. The grief that she had for her mother's death had dissipated, it was now a dull sensation that was always there but instead of it hurting all the time, it was only sometimes.

They were all at Highgrove. Her pa, William and Harry, her aunt Anne, Peter and Zara, Beatrice and Eugenie, Rose and her mum, Lady Grace Powlett, and a few of her new friends from St George's. It was small, but it was all she needed.

Except one thing, she still needed her mother.

♔♕