The Princess and the Peasant

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Everything at the castle was hectic. It was two days before the ball and my mother had every servant, maid, and cook doing something. I was left standing in the grand foyer watching all of the people rush by. The ball was going to be so gigantic that we had to use the ballroom, grand foyer, and part of the west gardens to provide space for everyone. With every day that passed, I dreaded the ball even more. And I still hadn't confronted Marcus about that day in the tree.

"Princess! Oh, Princess!" I heard my name being called in front of me. There on the stairs stood Martha and the Royal Seamstress, Rose. Martha was in her usual attire and her hair up on the top of her head while Rose stood critically beside her in a tan dress, her straight pitch black hair down past her shoulders. Rose took care of all of the sewing and mending for everyone in the castle. She always wore a tape measure around her neck, and when she would walk into a room, she always critiqued people's clothes.

I walked up to them as they descended the rest of the stairs. "Yes?" I asked.

"Your dress is ready, miss," Rose told me with a smile. She always loved to make fancy ball gowns for my mother and I. I forced a smile back at her. I loved ball gowns, that was one of the only good things about being royalty, but trying on the dress would mean that I had to go to the engagement ball. "Come along, then. It's up in your bedroom." I took a deep breath before I followed Rose and Martha up the stairs and into my room.

The first thing I saw when I entered my room was a beautiful deep red ball gown. It was hanging from my bedposts. I gasped slightly at the sight of it. It had a sweet heart neckline with short sleeves. The bodice had silver curlicues, and the skirt was very full and made of tulle with silver curlicues here and there. Also hanging with the dress was a pair of long silver satin gloves. And sitting beneath the dress was a pair of sparkly silver shoes. They looked like house slippers, but they had soles.

"What are those shoes called?" I asked Rose.

"Ballet flats, miss," she answered me. "They are the new fashion throughout the kingdom."

"Everything is beautiful! Thank you so much Rose," I exclaimed. Martha looked slightly startled. The past days I hadn't been excited about anything. I always got excited about new dresses.

"Well how about you try it on, miss?" Martha asked. I nodded my head vigorously and stepped toward the dress. Martha undid my lilac dress and helped me slide it off. Rose handed Martha the ball gown and helped my step into it. I stepped into the shoes and slid on the gloves with help from Rose while Martha did up my dress.

I walked over to the mirror and looked at my reflection. The ball gown was gorgeous. It was all I asked for and more. I turned to Rose. "Oh, thank you!" I told her again, beaming. "It's wonderful."

"I'm glad you like it, miss. This is the happiest I've seen you in a couple of months," Rose replied. Martha stood to the side with a huge smile on her face. I smiled back at both of them before turning back to admire the ball gown.

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After Rose made sure that the dress fit properly, I wandered about the castle again. I was told by my mother to keep out of the way of the servants and only ask Martha for things. There was someone that I needed to talk to so I looked all around the castle for him. Marcus. I finally found him out in the west gardens watching the servants set up for the ball. He stood with his hands behind his back and wearing a dark blue shirt and white pants. I walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. Turning around, he had a smile on his face, but when he saw that it was me, the smile faltered slightly.

"Hello Marcus," I said with a small snarky undertone. I made my face as blank as I could. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing my emotions.