Adelaide's childhood was charmed in only material ways. She was doomed ever since she killed the queen in childbirth. The king resented her from the day she was born, as The Queen's life was too heavy a price to pay for a second child.

The king rarely spoke to her and she was raised by nannies. She was placed in etiquette classes, learned to sing and play the pianoforte, learned to speak many different languages, and occasionally she would attend events alongside her older brother the golden Prince Lysander.

Adelaide always begged to receive the same education her brother did. Of politics, history, strategy—everything a rule could need. However, on the advice from Lord Roland of Latheshire, The king ensured that Adelaide's education be primarily tailored with the goal of her becoming a good wife for an official. The king already saw Adelaide as her mother's killer and nothing more than a valuable pawn he could give to a disgruntled lord when she came of age. Overall, she was very emotionally neglected and completely sheltered from all the bad things in the world that she begged and begged and begged to learn about. She had purpose and power dangled in front of her face and told that she would never deserve it.

Adelaide begged her brother to tutor her, but he refused, saying he can’t go against their father. The only thing she got him to budge on was Chess. He taught her to play chess, and she instantly fell in love with it—quickly learning to beat her older brother. Though their bond was strained, he kept teaching her the strategy games he learned, and she learned to beat him at each and every one with relative ease.

Lysander and Adelaide were distant, as Lysander treated her as a girl before she was a person. And Adelaide resented him for being the golden child. However, there was a sort of unspoken agreement that they didn’t need to resent each other when they were actually near each other. They were both pragmatic children, and they mutually decided that they didn’t want to be sad or angry with each other when they could instead be brother and sister. Of course they did fight occasionally, but they really could only be kids instead of royals when they were with each other, so they just…decided to be kids

Adelaide also grew close with many of her servants, insisting on friendships with the people that worked with her. (“I don’t think you should keep your enemies closer than your friends. You’re always around, and I don’t want to be your enemy at all!”), and through that had many positive relationships with them. This both taught her to value the labor of those beneath her on the totem pole and to feel more comfortable talking to older people than those in her own age group (uh oh). Of course, there was also Roland, who was sort of a distant family friend. He was just close enough for her to think of him as a protector but never as a father figure (UH OH)

Overall, her childhood was materially good, but she was plagued with a constant feeling of dread and isolation. Adelaide tried to take connection wherever she could get it, and that vulnerability followed her into young adulthood. What ALSO followed her into adulthood, though, was her ability to improve herself when everything around her worked against her. Little Adelaide was a surprisingly cunning and mature girl.