Chapter 3
The room was filled with the flurry of dresses being chosen and the chatter of excited serving girls. What I couldn't work out was why. I longed to be in the kitchens or the stables with Dart, rather than here with the other girls.
"Aren't you going to pick one?" Julia asked me, twirling around with a horrendous pink gown pressed against her. Did she think it would look good on her? I wasn't sure, and I felt it was better not to ask at this point.
"I will." But only because I had to. The Matron had barged into our room today and announced that we were to get ready for the Prince's visit. I thought that would mean double the amount of chores and cleaning, but apparently, that wasn't the case. She'd left us here with the vague instructions of getting ready.
Julia danced away to talk to Nancy. Not for the first time, I felt as if I didn't belong with the girls here. Tanwyn wasn't a common name, and it certainly wasn't one that was used for the class of people who typically became servants. It was a noble name, and as a child, I'd heard the girls whispering about that and wondering where I came from. I tried not to think about it too much. What did it matter that I wasn't from one of the villages around here? Perhaps I was the daughter of a noble, one who'd owed the Duchess. To me, that made sense, even if it wasn't particularly fair. Then again, none of the girls here were treated fairly. Every day, everything was about how much the Duchess and the Matron could get out of them. It was all work, no play. And as far as I knew, I wasn't the only one who didn't get paid either.
"Have you seen this one, Tanwyn?" Jill called from across the room.
I looked over to the girl who'd become my best friend through nothing more than circumstance. She was holding up a soft blue gown which flowed in a straight skirt down. It wasn't as fancy as some of the others.
Knowing that I had to get ready along with the others or I'd be in trouble, I made my way over to her. I slipped the fabric of the dress through my fingers.
"It's beautiful," I said.
"And perfect for you," Jill said, pushing it into my arms.
"No, you should wear it..."
She shook her head, cutting off my protest. "I have a different one." She gestured to a stunning emerald gown behind her. "It'll bring out my eyes."
"It will," I admitted.
Her dress was fancier than the one she'd chosen for me, but not as ridiculous as the ones I could see the others getting into. Ten girls who wanted to be women all dressed in fluff and skirts with huge ruffles and puffed sleeves. Thankfully not all on the same dress, that truly would be a horrendous sight, and not one anyone would want to see.
"Why are we getting dressed up?" I whispered to Jill, not trusting any of the others with my question. They'd wave it away and tell me it didn't matter so long as they didn't do any work.
Jilly shrugged. "The Prince is coming."
"Hmm." That didn't seem like enough of an explanation. What did the Prince care what the serving girls wore? We were nothing more than the servants who kept the house running to him, nor should we be. That was how the system worked. The royalty ran the country through the nobility, and the rest of us served them and made it seem as if their houses cleaned themselves and food magically made its way to the table. It was a flawed system, that much was for certain, but one that did work on some level.
I ignored the chatter and slipped the dress on over the soft and silky undergarments the Matron had given us. Unlike the dresses, which I suspected had once belonged to the Duchess herself, the underskirts and chemise had been new. I loved the feel of them against my skin, even if they made me wary about what was to come.
"Will you button me up?" I asked Jill once I was mostly dressed.
"Only if you'll do my hair for me," she teased.
"Of course, I will," I promised, already thinking about the best way to frame her face with her beautiful red curls.
"Turn." She spun a finger around to mimic the movement.
Her deft fingers had my gown fastened in a matter of seconds. She was wasted on the chores she was given. Jill should be embroidering fine fabrics and showing off the beautiful things she could create. Just one more thing to add to the list of reasons why the Duchess' system didn't make the most of the resources she had.
"My turn," she said, and claimed a seat in front of one of the dressing tables in the room.
I smiled and made my way over to her. I released her hair from her cap and let the curls bounce down to her shoulders. It shone in the light, beautiful and captivating.
"Maybe we should leave it like this," I said. "Then you can captivate the Prince with a look."
She giggled. "I doubt I would. My nose is too crooked."
"It is not," I protested, even though she's right, her nose is a little crooked, but I thought it made her all the more beautiful.
"It's fine," she dismissed. "With hair this colour, my nose is normally overlooked anyway."
I didn't answer, and simply focused on doing her hair instead. I wanted to leave it mostly loose, it was too beautiful not to, but then I'd pin bits of it back and tease out some strands at the front to frame her face. I could see it all in front of me. By the time we were finished, no one would know she wasn't noble by birth.
The other girls were all dressed now and doing the same as we were. It was easier to do someone else's hair than our own. Nancy even pinched her cheeks and bit her lips to put some colour into them. I didn't see the point when it would fade within a few minutes anyway, but I supposed it also didn't hurt.
"There you go, all done," I said to Jill.
She jumped up, her eyes shining with excitement. "Do you want me to do anything for you?" she asked.
I shook my head. "I'm just going to put it back up a bun."
Jill frowned. "Don't you want something more special?"
"Not until I know what we're doing," I said. "I don't want hair getting in my eyes if I'm cleaning the floors."
"You don't think they're going to make us do that, do you? Not in these gowns." She shuddered, as if the idea of working while wearing something pretty was the worst thing imaginable. I supposed in some ways it was. There was a reason the nobility didn't do the hard labour of the lower classes.
One of the other girls caught her attention and she wandered off to start comparing the dresses they'd chosen. I watched in the mirror as an amused smile lifted the corners of my lips. I wasn't sure what was going on, and if I was honest, I was a little worried about it, but it had filled a room of silent withdrawn workers with laughter, and for that, I was grateful.
I let my hair down, then brushed it back into a neat looking bun. A sparkle of blue on the dressing table caught my eye. I leaned forward and picked it up. A hair barrette, with stones a similar colour to my dress. I could make use of that. I slipped it into my hair, admiring how good it looked against the slicked-back blonde strands. I hadn't planned on adding any decoration like that, but now I had, I knew it was right.
"Attention girls," the Matron called. I'd been too distracted to hear her come in. I needed to be more careful about that. "If you'd all line up and follow me, the Duchess is waiting downstairs to talk to you all."
The others exchanged glances, and I could tell they wanted to talk to one another about what might be happening, but didn't dare because of the Matron. I stayed completely still, dread settling inside me. The Duchess hadn't talked to us all together in years, so whatever this could be, it wasn't good.
The girls started to follow her out of the room and down the stairs. I scraped my chair back and joined the back of the queue behind Jill. At least I'd be next to my best friend for whatever came next.
Chapter 4
We lined up at the bottom of the stairs, a rainbow of colours in our silk, satin, and damask clothing. It was richer than any of us had ever worn before, and I could tell from the way the other girls were shuffling about that they were starting to get uncomfortable. I'd have to thank Jill later for picking me a comfortable dress. It seemed as if that was the way she'd gone for her
self too, as she stood completely still, not moving a muscle. I narrowed my eyes. Something was up with that. Why would she be so laid back while wearing a fancier dress than normal? Was there something she hadn't told me about where she'd come from?
I didn't dwell on that, it wasn't worth it. Instead, I watched as the rest of the servants filed into the room, standing on the opposite side of the staircase from us girls. The Matron went to stand with them. All of them looked smart, as if they were wearing the best clothes they owned, but none of their outfits came anywhere close to the extravagance me and the other serving girls had on. I tried not to think about what that meant, it only served to make me more uneasy.
We stood in silence, nobody moving or saying anything as we all waited for the Duchess. With no clock in the entrance hall, it was impossible to tell how much time had passed, and it felt like an age despite the fact it probably wasn't. If we'd had hours before she needed us, then the Duchess would have us working them.
The woman in question stepped into the hall a moment later. Her dress was a deep purple, a bold choice with royalty visiting, but she was a Duchess, and could get away with the choice, especially if there wasn't a royal woman arriving with the Prince.
"Good morning, everyone," she said loudly. "I've called you here to lay down a few ground rules for while His Majesty is visiting us."
One of the cooks leaned in to whisper something to a gardener. My gaze flitted to the Duchess, wondering if she'd seen the gesture, but she didn't seem to care in the slightest.
"You are not to be seen unless you are called for. The castle must be spotless. There will not be anything out of place," she said, pacing back and forth. "If you are called for, you are to come immediately, no matter what you are doing."
I wasn't sure why she was telling us any of this. It all sounded like nothing more than a normal day under her rule.
"For today only, the girls are not to perform any of their normal tasks. But I expect them still to be done." She glowered at the other servants, who pulled faces as if they wanted to protest, but dared not. I didn't blame them. If they had to do all of their own work, and all of ours, they wouldn't get any sleep tonight.
But no one spoke. There was no point. What the Duchess wanted, the Duchess got. It was as simple as that and no one argued if they knew what was good for them. And we did. We'd had a lot of practice and experience with it.
"Excuse me, Your Grace?" Nancy asked.
I sucked in a breath, as did several of the other servants.
The Duchess' attention swivelled to her, an eyebrow raised as if asking her why she dared speak at all. "Yes?"
"If we're not to do our chores, then what would you like us to do, Your Grace?" she asked.
It was a valid question, even if it was a dangerous one to ask. I wasn't sure I'd have had the courage to.
"You will be diverting yourselves with reading, music, and walks in the garden," the Duchess answered.
My eyes widened. Why was this happening? It didn't make any sense.
"But I don't want to see any of you, and expect you to vacate any room I enter," she added.
I almost laughed. I didn't want to be in a room with her if I could help it anyway, having an excuse to leave any she walked into was a good thing as far as I was concerned.
"And if the Prince calls for you, you are to do anything he asks for." She paused for dramatic effect. "Anything."
Confusion crossed some of the girls' faces, but I understood what the Duchess was getting at. The reason we were supposed to do all of those things was so that we could appear desirable to the Prince. If he called for one of us at night, then we were supposed to go. I wasn't sure if the Duchess wanted that so he would be pleased, or so she could use the information against him at a later date. I didn't think I wanted to know.
I felt sorry for the Prince. The Duchess tended to have beautiful serving girls, and I was certain he would find at least one of us attractive, though whether or not he'd ask for a companion remained to be seen. I'd never heard any rumours about the man being a womaniser, but then, I barely left the Duchess' castle, so what did I know.
"And if he does call on you, then as soon as he is done, you are to report to the Matron and tell her exactly what occurred," the Duchess ordered.
My stomach twisted into a knot. Was she really saying this? She wanted us to entrap the Prince and give in to his every whim, but at the end of it, report back to her so she could use the information.
I wasn't the only one who didn't seem to like the new development, a couple of the other girls were fidgeting noticeably, not wanting to go ahead with the things she was saying. I could understand that.
"He will be arriving any moment, please assume your places throughout the castle. And remember what has been said to you," she warned. "I don't want to see you in my way. You are expected to constantly be on the lookout for the good of this household."
I stopped myself from pulling a face at that. What good did any of this do us? We were all going to be trapped in basic slavery to her. If she did well, there'd be more of us, and more to do. Nothing was going to change.
"Dismissed," she said, walking off and leaving us to do what we wished.
Without thinking twice about it, I left the room and made my way to the stables. If I was going to have free time while the Prince was here, I was going to make the most of it and spend it with Dart. No one would bother me out with the horses, especially if the grooms and gardeners were putting in extra hours doing the work that one of us girls would normally do.
Chapter 5
I swung my legs back and forth, enjoying the cool air against my bare skin. I knew I shouldn't have hiked my skirts up to my waist and sat like this, but it was hard not to when I'd been given such rare freedom.
Dart zipped past me with a soft whooshing sound.
I chuckled to myself. The small dragon was also enjoying her newfound freedom. Normally, she spent her days hiding from the people in the stables or the kitchens, and didn't spend it flying like she should. Deep down, I knew I should tell her to fly off and live her life away from me, but I couldn't do it. She meant too much to me. In a way, she was the only thing that kept me sane while living in this house, and I wasn't ready to give up on that yet.
As if she knew I was thinking about her, Dart landed next to me on the wall and cocked her head to the side, looking up at me for permission to do something. Probably climb on me if I knew her.
"Go on, then," I said, amusement creeping into my words.
She chirped, then lifted herself up in the air and landed on my shoulder. Her claws tickled my skin, but didn't hurt. She knew what she was doing when she sat there.
I reached up a hand and stroked her. She closed her eyes and made a soft clicking sound, almost like the purrs the kitchen cat made when it had eaten a particularly satisfying meal and then found the best spot in front of the fire.
Instead of saying anything, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the slowly setting sun. None of the other girls had bothered me here, nor did I expect them to. No doubt they were enjoying the maze in the gardens, or the comfortable seats in the library. In other words, they were doing all the things we weren't normally allowed to.
"Excuse me?" a man asked from behind me.
I jumped, not having expected anyone to want to talk to me. Especially since I didn't recognise the voice. He was probably someone who came with the Prince. I got up and turned around, dipping into a shallow curtsy. I had no idea who the man was, but I did know it was better to be polite. I tried to ignore the tickling sensation of Dart running down my back and disappearing behind the wall. At least she doesn't want to get caught, it makes protecting her easier.
"Can I help you?" I asked, making sure to keep my voice light and airy. The last thing I want to do is insult one of the Prince's retinue.
"It's a lovely sunset," he observed. "I was looking for somewhere to enjoy it, but I see this one is occupied."
"You can join me, if
you want," I suggested. "I'm not doing anything interesting, but if you want to look..." I shrugged.
"Why would you want me to do that?" he asked, his brow furrowing.
What did he mean? "Aren't you angling for an invite?"
He chuckled. "Are you offering one?"
"It makes no difference to me if you sit next to me in silence, or if you go on your way. I'm only here for the peace."
"In which case, I shall take you up on your offer." He came around and perched himself on the wall next to where I'd been sitting.
I hopped back up, keeping my skirts over my legs this time.
"Are you enjoying your time here?" I asked after a few moments of silence.
"I thought you wanted to sit in peace," he teased.
"It felt rude to do that," I muttered.
He chuckled. "I understand that. It's one of the reasons I came out here in the first place. It seems as if no matter what room I go into, girls are constantly wanting to talk to me."
"Oh, they've been told to do that," I answered flippantly. "Sort of."
"Oh?"
I sighed, unsure if I should tell the man what was going on. It went against what the Duchess had said, particularly as he'd run back to his master and tell him what was happening. Then again, the Prince probably deserved to know what was happening so he could choose to avoid everyone if he wanted to.
"We've all been told to be as nice as possible to your master in case he wants to use us for nightly pursuits."
"My master?" the man checked.
"The Prince?" I countered. "I'm sorry, I haven't seen you before, I assumed you came with His Highness. Didn't you?"
"Oh I did," he said, an odd tone to his voice. "Nightly pursuits? Really?"
I nodded. "Between you and me, I think the Duchess wants us to spy on him, though who knows what she'd do with the information." I tried not to roll my eyes. This whole situation was ridiculous. Why was this even happening?
"I don't think the Prince will even be thinking about those."
Dragons and Mages: A Limited Edition Anthology Page 84