Chapter 7
4649words
“Okay, Rose. I’m ready to go.” I tell her.
The moment she notices me, her rings begin spinning more rapidly than before, but her demeanor remains the same: just a soft smile and a professional stance.
“Can I call you Rose?” smiling at her, trying to break some tension. But also calling her ‘Rosaline’ all the time is quite exhausting.
“You may address me however you like, Princess.” The maid enthusiastically responded.
She then proceeded to glance down and gasp softly.
“What, what’s wrong?” I glance down as well and it’s immediately obvious as to why she gasped.
Right right–I’m completely shoeless. I don’t even have my slippers on.
No matter how clean the floors of this mansion are, my feet are bound to get dirty eventually.
Not to also mention the fact that I’m supposed to be a royal princess–walking around without shoes doesn’t really scream ‘dignified’ to anyone with half a brain.
“Hmmm, I think I may have an idea for what type of shoes would fit this dress.”
The maid looks into my room while speaking her thoughts and then looks back at me.
“May I?” with a gentle smile, she asked for my permission.
With no other words exchanged, I opened the door wide for her, stepped aside, and gave her the permission to enter.
Rosaline hurries into my room, immediately heading for the closet. She opens it quickly, kneels down, and starts searching through the drawers.
After rummaging through the drawers a bit, she eventually stopped at one, at which she opened and brought out a pair of golden, shiny, and clear shoes with short heels.
And with that, she pushed the drawer in, got up, and slid the closet door shut.
She then headed towards my direction with the pair of shoes in hand, knelt down again in front of me, and placed the shoes right at my feet.
A sudden jolt of unease shot through me and I ended up flinching.
I hope she didn’t notice my body jerk or anything of the sort.
Rosaline got up and just stood there–completely unaware–with the same smile that never left her face, patiently waiting for me to try the shoes on. One more thing worth mentioning is how her rings are now back to normal.
After noticing them, I sigh internally in relief. She seems calmer now and it doesn’t seem like she noticed. Let's hope I don’t keep testing her blood pressure any time soon.
Being this close to someone still puts me on edge–I really need to get it figured out.
I turn my focus back to my new shoes and slowly–but awkwardly–slid one foot in one and then the other.
I gently lift my feet and kick the air.
Thankfully, they fit perfectly on me. No risk of them slipping off while I stroll around.
The heels are also of perfect length. I worried they might cause problems for me but I’ve been proven wrong. Overall, I’m quite content and satisfied with them, I’d give the whole experience an 8.5.
“How are they, Princess, are they to your liking?” Rosaline asks when she notices I’m done with my quick shoe examination.
“Oh yes–they fit more than perfectly. You seem to have great taste in shoes, Rose. Keep it up!” I praise her work while giving her a quick thumbs up.
The maid gives me a warm smile after hearing my response.
“I’m glad you like them. I’ll make sure to do more in the future. Please, do look forward to it.”
She holds the hems of her maid dress, stretches them outwards, respectfully bows towards me with her eyes closed, and then stands up straight again.
“We should start heading towards the dining hall, Princess. The cooks should be done with your meal and the other maids should be delivering it by now. Please, let me escort you to it.”
After being done with the shoe side quest and letting me know about the food being ready, Rosaline begins walking out of my room and I follow behind her–remembering to close the room door behind me before officially leaving.
As we begin walking down the vast, long hallway of the mansion, I fidget slightly and pull a bit on the dress I’m wearing. Despite it being not too bad to walk in, asking someone who’s never worn a dress before, other than a few very rare and special occasions, to go through their day in one is quite difficult.
The same goes for these shoes. I’ve always worn and gotten used to short-heeled, rough-fabric shoes, so to wear a pair that feels cold to the touch and like they’re made out of glass which could shatter at any time and send my feet through a world of hurt, that’s also quite difficult.
But the most uncomfortable part by far of wearing a dress is feeling the breeze graze not only my legs, but also under my dress. Just how do women feel comfortable with this?! It feels like I’m being violated by the wind with every step I walk…
Haaa… whatever. Not like I’ll have to always be in dresses and heeled shoes, right? I’ll surely get the personal liberty to wear whatever I want and not care too much about looking like a dignified princess, right????
Rosaline and I walk down the hallway, as my shoes click and clack with each step I take, the noise cascading and echoing through the damn place.
To the left and right sides of the hallway, we met several male and female workers of the mansion.
Wiping windows, dusting tables and chairs, and cleaning paintings of different nature landscapes and portraits of the king queen and I.
The workers were engrossed in their work but they still found the time to greet us with wide smiles and even wider respectful bows.
“Good morning, Princess. Good morning, Rosaline.” Each of the workers announced to us, acknowledging our presence.
“Good morning!” I responded back enthusiastically to each one.
“Good morning.” Rosaline, however, answered back calmly.
This place is quite lively, so many people work here in peace and harmony, each with their own set of tasks to complete by the end of the day. It’s endearing and marvellous to look at.
As we kept walking, we saw a man on a long step ladder with a piece of fabric in his hand wiping a chandelier.
“Ah, Miss Astaria!” The well-dressed man, wearing a butler outfit, spoke loudly.
He starts climbing down the ladder. He’s quite tall, about 185 centimeters tall with a rough assumption. He has long, black wavy hair, and light blue eyes.
He hangs the dirty piece of fabric on the ladder and then takes out a white napkin he has peeking out of his butler suit and proceeds to wipe his hands with it.
“Good morning!” The man loudly said, bowing at me with one arm behind his back and across his chest.
“And good morning to you too, Rosaline.” He then said to the maid, but without the passion he directed towards me.
“Good morning, Sir Dorian.” Rosaline replied back, with no passion either.
The butler then looks back at me and starts speaking.
“I hope you slept well, Miss Astaria. I also hope I didn’t make any noise while cleaning the chandeliers near your room.”
“Oh uhm, yes, I slept well, thank you for asking!” I awkwardly replied to him.
“And for the chandeliers, no, I didn’t hear anything actually, Thanks for being so thoughtful!” I really didn’t notice anything at all. He must’ve done a really good job.
“I’m glad!” The butler turns back to the ladder, “I apologize for obstructing most of the hallway for you, the cleaning tasks usually take place in the evening.”
Before I could chime in, Rosaline started talking.
“Sir Dorian, we appreciate your concern, however the princess’s meal is ready and she must tend to it immediately.”
“Oh, of course!” Dorian turns around, walks towards the ladder, and folds it. He then moves out of the way and rests it on an empty wall.
“There we go, now you may keep walking. Hope you have a good rest of your day, Princess, and enjoy your meal!” He finishes with a bow and after that, a simple wave.
I wave back at him with a smile as Rosaline and I start walking away from the passionate but respectful butler.
A couple of minutes passed since we last saw the butler. Once we’re out of his hearing shot Rosaline speaks up.
“I apologise for that, Princess.”
“Huh, for what?” I replied to her, completely confused as to why she suddenly apologised.
“For Sir Dorian’s behaviour. He’s new in his butler position so he doesn’t fully understand his duties, yet.”
“Oh nono, it’s fine. I really liked his spirit when it came to his work and greeting.” I assured her, “You seemed more assertive when it came to your demeanor with him, is your status higher than Sir Dorian?”
Rose seems a lot colder and less emotional overall when she’s addressing or speaking to other individuals. A far cry from how she acts and communicates with me.
“Dorian, please just address him as Dorian, Your Highness.” Rosaline responded, “and for the answer to your question, it’s quite complicated. Being your maid, I certainly hold more influence over many of the workers here. However, when I’m off-duty, as in not in your presence or tending to your needs, I become just a normal maid who takes care of other tasks such as cleaning, dusting, or organisation.” she continued, “Overall, Sir Dorian is of higher status than me when I am a normal maid, but I am of higher status when I am under your service.”
“Uhh okay.” These were a lot of words just now, “but what’s so special about Si– about Dorian and being a butler?”
“Since the mansion is too big for one person to cover, every floor has a special, well-trained butler hand-picked only by their majesties. Sir Dorian was the man recently assigned to be this floor's supervisor. Sir Whitlock, the man you met near the dining hall, was chosen to be the butler for the ground floor.” Rose answered me swiftly, “Sir Dorian’s… passion, as Your Highness may call it, falls down to his inexperience as a butler. His supervision skills aren’t all there yet.”
“Supervision skills? Was he not supposed to wipe the chandeliers as a butler?”
“No, butlers usually just move around their assigned floor checking up on the workers making sure they’re working diligently.” The maid says, “unless there’s something that went catastrophically wrong, butlers rarely ever intervene or take up more work on themselves.”
“Ohhh, okay.”
So, the hierarchy in this place goes as follows:
The king and queen.
The butlers.
The maids and workers.
Okay, very good. I’m starting to understand how this mansion works bit by bit, can’t wait to learn more.
“Thanks for answering my questions, Rose! I really appreciate it!” I said aloud.
The moment I said that, the maid’s rings went into full gear again. I hope that’s just gratitude and appreciation from receiving compliments.
“Of course, Princess. I’d be more than glad to answer any of your questions. Feel free to ask more when you want to.” Rosaline replied, with cheerfulness in her voice.
Phew, another crisis averted.
Just a few moments later, we finally arrived at the stairway leading down to the lower floors and dining hall.
This mansion is needlessly huge, there’s no reason for a hallway to take a whole 5 to 10 minutes just to go from one end to the other. And why the hell is my room on the farthest side of the hallway?! Do I seriously have to walk this distance every time I want to go down a floor or two? I can’t even run it since the maids, workers, and the butler work around constantly!
Whatever, certain things should be left to worry about later.
Rosaline and I start heading down stairs, and even they are pretty lengthy.
We keep heading down and down till we finally reach the ground floor to where we promptly start heading left, towards the dining hall. To the right of me was a beautiful open, green flowery field that I’m assuming is part of the garden. A smooth marble fence sits between the hallway and the field.
“Hey, Rose?”
“Where are mom and dad?” I haven’t seen them at all this whole time and neither of them have come to see me. I wonder if they’re busy, being the king and queen.
“His majesty is currently occupied with his work at the academy, making sure everything is in order.”
“The academy? Is he a teacher?”
“No, Your Highness. His majesty is actually the founder of the academy. Many decades ago this city had many schools which taught medicine, engineering, and fine arts. However, none of them taught magic or swordsmanship.” Rosaline answered, “so, your father, his majesty and the king of this city, saw this and decided to open up an extensive facility to teach all the required skills for battle alongside many other subjects such as: ethics, alchemy, and other subjects that are found in normal schools.”
Ohhhh, all of this sounds pretty interesting and exciting. I wonder if I’ll get the chance to see the academy someday and maybe even attend it, hehe.
“What about mom?”
“Her majesty is currently training some of the members of the special forces that work under her and his majesty.” Rosaline responded, “in fact, we’re pulling up on them right now. Make sure to greet her, Your Highness.”
Huh, what?! This is way too soon! I just saw her yesterday and my behaviour was more than embarrassing and now I have to meet her???
I gulp in anxiety. There’s really nothing else I could do except to just go for it…
We keep walking for a few more minutes, my heart about to burst from the stress, and then we hear a loud, feminine voice.
“Here we are princess.”
To my right, from a close distance, I see a woman wearing a beautiful purple dress with her long purple hair with a few whites here and there, standing on a small wooden platform.
Minerva zornitsa, also known as the queen.
I take a closer look at her chest. I noticed rings that were in everyone’s, however those ones are quite peculiar…
They’re purple coloured, huh I wonder if that’s why she likes purple so much, and for their number…
One… two… three… four… five…
Nine rings?!??! She possesses the most amount of rings I’ve seen thus far!!
Despite not knowing the power or influence of the presence of these rings, I can just tell they’re extremely important in some way.
Anyway… In front of the queen stood about 20 or so individuals wearing black uniforms. Most of them possessing eyes similar to hers, starry pupils stretching to the outside of their irises, or the minority of them who had eyes like the king’s, shiny golden irises with black pupils.
Looking at their chests I see a more normal number of rings, ranging from 3 all the way up to 6.
The ones with the queen’s eyes have purple rings while the ones with the king’s have golden ones.
I wonder if the king has golden rings just like them. I didn’t get to have a good look because of…. reasons.
We walk for a bit more and then Rosaline suddenly comes to a halt. She proceeds to face the queen’s direction and bows down toward her with her eyes closed.
The queen had an intense and focused expression to her–looking straight at the trainees standing guard in front of her.
However, she quickly realized we were here and her face immediately softened up and a wide warm smile appeared on her face when she looked at me. The trainees kept staring at her, paying zero mind to what made her change her expression so suddenly.
Her gaze returned swiftly towards her trainees and her expression changed back to the intense and serious one she had before.
“Listen up, younglings!” in an authoritarian tone, she suddenly spoke up, “I’ve been training you for many months now, you’ve gone through hard, torturous coaching, your minds went through a lot of reeducation and many of you even quit, leaving only the twenty of you left!” The queen continued, “Can you tell me why you’re going through all of this?!”
“To protect the sacred mansion!” The trainees yelled back in unison.
“What exactly is worth protecting in this mansion?!”
“The princess, her highness, Astaria!”
“Precisely, but your words mean nothing except foolish golden flattery!” The queen retorted harshly, “If there were to be any type of danger in this mansion, who would you be saving first, your worthless lives or the princess?!”
“The princess!!” The trainees yelled even louder this time.
“Perfect! However,I’m not quite convinced yet!” The queen then proceeded to point towards me, her expression not changing, which made me jump back a little, “To your right, you’ll see the reason you’re even alive to begin with!” she continued, “The princess in all her beautiful glory stands there waiting for your salutations! Greet the princess, NOW!”
All the trainees turned sharply towards me, immediately bowed their heads with their eyes closed, and hands locked behind their backs.
“We greet the princess, Her Highness, Astaria!” They yelled out in unison.
“She’s about to have her meal soon, wish her a good meal!!”
“We hope you have a great meal, Princess!!”
I look at my mother, the queen, not knowing what the hell to do or how to react. She apparently had the same idea as her expression changed once again to a warmer, softer one with a smile.
She waved lightly towards me and mouthed ‘have a nice meal!’ to me.
I waved back with an awkward smile still not knowing what the hell to do, completely taken aback by what just happened.
‘Go!’ the queen playfully shoo’d me away.
“Let’s go, princess.” Rosaline suddenly spoke up. Honestly, I’ve completely forgotten about her, and can you blame me?! What the hell just happened?!
Rosaline turned and suddenly started walking away.
I take one last look at the trainees, still bowing down, and the queen, still smiling widely.
Holding the sides of my dress I hurry up behind Rosaline, leaving the disciplined trainees and the queen behind.
I pick up speed to keep up with Rosaline's quick paced steps, starry eyes admiring the grand halls I don't think I'll ever grow used to. Everything about this place was breathtaking, all the way from the enormous windows letting light seep in, to the glossy polished floors.
“Hey, Rose… What was mom training those… uhm… soldiers exactly for?” I ask with a huff once I fall into step with her, lifting my gaze to catch hers before she focuses it back straight ahead.
“A few years after Your Highness’s birth, her majesty decided to form a squad of special forces containing individuals with combat talent in order to protect you.” My brows scrunch together at her words, her lips twitch as she adds. “All the trainees, without exception, would lay their lives on the line and put themselves in danger if it meant keeping you safe.”
I feel my guts twist. With the dangers this world brings, how could anyone die for me, sacrifice themselves for a girl they know nothing about.
“But isn’t that unfair to them? What could they possibly benefit from that… ” I said in a hushed tone, fists tightening into the velvety fabric of the skirt of my dress.
Rosaline catches my words, sharp-eared as ever. She lets out a soft sigh. One not of disappointment or shame, but a proud one.
“Your consideration and empathy are truly admirable, Princess. However, they do benefit greatly. Being part of the special forces requires great discipline and sacrifice, yes. But they have the chance to learn under and be trained by one of the greatest warriors and mages currently alive.”
We finally reach two large deep red wooden doors of what I assume is the dining hall. She twists her head and with a big smile on her face she reassures me.
“It’s nothing for you to worry about, Your highness. Simply having them on your mind is enough of a blessing to protect you.” With that, she pushes the doors open with a hand pressed flatly against the wood.
My brows shoot up when I'm hit with a mouthwatering smell coming from the dining hall.
This is the dininghall??? Is it because I came from a different entrance this time, it’s so incredibly huge and majestic.
My fists untighten from my dress, letting my eyes scan over the arrangement of an impressive feast.
They truly seemed to have it all, from glazed crispy duck, to roasted vegetables and freshly grilled lamb chops. What seemed to be a plethora of plates decorating the large circle shaped rosewood table, in the middle what appears to be an unlit bonfire.
Maids as well as butlers ushered around the room, carrying stacks of silver chalices, salt cellars and white cloth napkins folded in pristine triangles to decorate the grand table with. “Please, take a seat, young lady Astaria.” One of the butlers pulls out a baroque style chair, gesturing for me to take a seat with his white gloved hand.
I blinked twice, eyes flickering between the butler and the chair like it was all too good to be true. I cough, clearing my throat “Uh- yes of course.” I hurry into the dining hall before settling into the chair, flattening the skirt of my dress nervously.
“Is this all…just for me?” I ask, turning to look at the butler that gives me a confirming nod. “We were informed that you hadn’t feasted since yesterday, so the chefs and workers worked extra hard for this meal.” He hums with a smile, taking a step back from the table.
My gaze lingers on him, afraid he might take it back and drag me out of this place that felt better than any dream my mind could conjure. After a short beat, I rip my gaze away and lightly shrug my shoulders after confirming this is reality.
All for me!!
I reach for the leg of the braised duck. The skin is a crispy golden brown, shimmering under the light, painting my fingers with its golden oil.
I tear into the meat with gusto, a groan ripping from my throat at the flavor. I shake my head,
“Mmmmmm… all of this is too good to be true.” I mumble around the food, not bothering with courtesy or etiquette as I dig into the food like a pig.
While one hand still held onto the duck leg like some kind of possessive caveman, I was shoveling the roasted vegetables onto my plate with the other.
I'm never leaving this place, I'm staying right here until I pass out from a food coma.
Once my plate was pleasantly filled, I leaned back in my chair to continue biting off the meat from the bone.
My gaze momentarily flickers up, catching the tip of something white and large hanging on top of the fireplace. At first I couldn't care less, not when I was in food valhalla. But I couldn't stop my starry eyes from focusing on it again.
There, in all its glory hung the massive skull of a dragon, the one I saw yesterday.
The skull was almost horse-like, however much, much larger and broader. Though the hollow eye sockets face forward like the ones of a predator. Massive horns poked out of the crown of the beast's head, long and threatening. Followed by multiple smaller ones adorning the sides of its head, razor sharp. There was a wide gap separating its tearing canines and crushing molars, sure to have devoured even the strongest men in one chilling bite.
My gaze snapped away when the butler, who had previously shown me to my seat, coughed loudly, looking quite offended. Bushy white brows arched and posture as straight as a ruler.
“Lady astaria…this is not the proper way of dining for a young princess like yourself.” His nose crinkles as he steps forward, pointing with gloved hand. “Please, straighten your posture, just like mine.” His chest puffs up with something awfully close to pride at his perfected posture. “and take short breaks inbetween ur bites, we do not want you to choke.”
My lips turn down, still smudged with the sauces and oils of the food I've been scarfing down as I force my back to straighten and swallow thickly. “Like this?” I huff, mentally rolling my eyes at the man. He nods, seemingly pleased with himself but not quite done with his lecture.
“Yes, just like that. Now please refer to using the silver cutlery before you, Don't forget to wipe your hands before you do so. A clean table is a disciplined diner.”
I place the torn duck leg on the plate in front of me, earning a raised brow from the butler.
“Anything else I should do?” I force a smile, wiping my hands roughly with the cloth napkin staining the fabric in red and orange blotches while looking at him.
“No, Your Highness, this is quite perfect.” he muses with a nod, returning to his previous spot.
I nod back with a natural smile this time while heeding all the butler’s advice on proper etiquette and return to eating this time like a proper royal lady.
With most of the plates completely empty and polished, I lay back on the baroque chair and pat my full stomach. I’m just wondering how this girl’s body can take so much food.
The butler notices me leaning back, looking satisfied with the meal and he clapped his hands and the workers came rushing in to take away the plates.
“Was the meal to your liking, young lady Astaria?” He asks with his hands locked behind his back.
“Yes! It was perfect!! One of the best meals I’ve ever had!” I chirp, lips pulled up into a satisfied smile.
This seemed like more of a gourmand cuisine than a normal meal. I can only wonder if this is the type of standard I’ll expect for food from now on.
Roseline steps into the room, pristine in her black long sleeved dress. Sharp eyes scanning over the maids emptying from the dining room, one by one. Her dark brown eyes flicker over to me, assessing my content slouched form in the chair.
“Have you finished your meal, Princess?” She questions, nod eagerly.
“Yes! I really loved it!” I reply while patting my full belly.
“I’m glad!” Rosaline answers with a happy look on her face.
I look at her thoughtfully, with a tilt to my head for a few seconds before blurting out.
“Rose…do you mind escorting me to the grand library?”
Rosaline looks back at me with her brows raising to her hairline and eyes widening, absolutely perplexed.
What??? Is it that shocking that a child wants to read???
Actually… That is indeed quite shocking…
“Of course, Your Highness.” She regains her composure, “I’ll escort you anywhere around the manor.”
Finally!! I’ll be able to learn a few things about this world and perhaps even about some of the weird magic spells like the one the queen cast on me.
“Please, allow me to escort you there.” The maid turns around and waits outside of one of the entrances to the dining hall.
I get up from my chair and go the direction Rosaline went in.
To the library!!!
