[ a thick envelope is taped to the door to Bailey’s dorm room, a shiny Genovian stamp in the corner with the return address simply stated as “Royale Palace, Pyrus, Genovia”. bailey’s full name is written out carefully on the front of the card, and the letter inside is written in neat flowing cursive, nearly perfect except for a few scratched out words and a crinkle in the bottom of the first page ]
You have no idea how many times I tried to write this letter. I have been single handedly increasing the recycling output of the palace these last few days and I don’t even have the energy to be concerned about it. You deserve second chances, and perfect letters, because you are beautiful and wonderful and deserve the world. You also deserved to have this letter written about a week or two ago, but I’ve woefully failed you on that front, and I’m ashamed of it. God, I am so ashamed.
The last time I got to talk to you and have a real conversation, I told you about my dad's assassination attempt. You have no idea how much I regret not being able to tell you everything when I had the chance. If we hadn’t been cut off it would’ve been so much easier to tell you everything, but I can’t tell you everything I want to. It was hard to write this without any of it being redacted, if I’m being honest about it.
The 600th anniversary of Genovia’s founding is coming up, and just as it is on every anniversary, so are the elections for prime minister. Normally, this wouldn’t be such a big deal, but this year something is different. Genovia being such a small country and all, there’s been some discontent on our borders. Nothing big, but enough to make our politicians nervous. Even though the people of Genovia love my mom and dad as rulers, there remains groups of people who’d like to do away with the monarchy, people who moved out of Genovia in the 1980’s when their proposition to turn the goverment into a democracy was denied. You’d think distance would help them clear their heads, but obviously time didn’t do jack shit either.
After our food taster almost died sampling my dad’s breakfast cereal, the secret service here started to take more precautions. Me, my mom, my dad - even Grandmere and Grandpa Joe - for our safety we’ve had to stay close to the capital, stay inside the country. I don’t know if you’ve seen the press conferences and campaign trails over here because Genovia is often overlooked by the world, but it’s whats been happening over here. At least until the election is over and we have a new prime minister, I have to stay here. I had to withdraw from WDU for a time almost overnight because of how scared they were for my safety.
I don’t know when I’ll be back, and it makes me hate being a princess just a little bit for that. I promised you I’d never leave, Xavier, Sylvie, Carter - I didn’t want to do to others what Max did to me, but I didn’t have a choice. Please forgive me for it, but I love my country, and what I can do for it - I had to go home. I just had to.
With all that’s going on, I can tell you one piece of news, if you’ve even made it all the way through this letter without crumpling it or feeding it to the fire - my Mom is pregnant. After nineteen years of trying and treatments, she’s finally pregnant and it’s about one of the best things that’s happened to Dad and I. And to you, if you still want to be a surrogate member of our family. She’s still early, only a couple months in, but I wanted you to know. We, wanted you to know. Please tell Carter for me, okay? Show this to him as well. You guys are so very important to us, we just hope you know it.
I have to go now - the time I’ve spent writing this letter to you, and the one I’m sending to Xavier, is time I really should be spending helping my parents. Sorting out who is for us and who isn’t against us isn’t fun, but it’s necessary - especially to keep those I love alive.
I love you, Bails. You are my Bailey boo forever and you couldn’t be more my sister if my mom had given birth to you herself.
Please, I beg of you, forgive me.
If you do, please respond to this - video calls are harder to do here, but phone calls, and texts - I need to talk to you. I miss you, so so much.
Eloise Adelaide Deverau-Renaldi
