Queen's Obsession

Chapter 5

*Suzanna's P.O.V*

I woke up covered in sweat, immediately climbing out of my bed. My entire body was covered in a sheen of sweat as I unbuttoned my nightgown. I let it drop from my body as I entered the restroom, taking a washcloth with soap to scrub my body clean from the sweat.

I let cool water trickle down my body as I kept my hair pinned back to keep it from getting wet. I obviously knew that this kingdom was hotter than the one I was used to but I hadn't expected to wake up in a sweat.

I thought back to the previous night when I had arrived here. Captain Orion had shown me where the guards and other staff ate first thing. He had sat down with me and introduced me to a few others that he knew. Once we had both finished eating, he showed me where my room was.

I had only barely gotten to start to unpack before I had to go to bed. I ran my washcloth over my neck, scrubbing the sweat away as I snapped out of my thoughts. My entire body shivered from the cold water as I wrung out the washcloth. I laid it on the edge of the tub as I stepped out, grabbing a towel from the counter. I wrapped my towel around me, stepping into my room to get dressed.

I slipped on my underwear, debating on whether to wear a corset or not. I hardly ever wore one so I saw no reason to wear one today. I slipped on a chemise before slipping on one of my nicer dresses. The long sleeves went to my wrist and I reached back to button up my dress. My sleeves prevented me from reaching though.

I cursed under my breath when there was a knock on my door. I gave up trying to button up the back of my dress for the moment. I walked to my door, opening it up. An older woman stood outside my room. Her hair was pinned up in an extravagant updo and she had dark green eyes with flecks of brown in them.

"Suzanna Gaidh?" the woman asked as she raised a delicate eyebrow. I nodded my head shyly as I met her gaze. "My name is Pandora, I'm the Queen's head scribe," she introduced herself as she held out her hand. I shook it after a moment of hesitation.

"It's nice to meet you," I said softly. I was acutely aware of the fact that my hair had yet to be done and the fact that she seemed to be analyzing me.

"You are almost ready for the day? I have many things to show you," Pandora said. It seemed she wasn't someone to wait, she always got straight to the point.

"I just need to do my hair and button the back of my dress," I answered as I played with the end of one of my curls. I was really regretting not braiding it last night before I went to sleep. It was going to be a pain to brush out now.

"I can help you," Pandora said softly. I bit my bottom lip in thought before nodding her acceptance. I stepped back, letting her into my room. I turned my back to her to allow her to button my dress up. Her hands moved nimbly and quickly as she buttoned the back of my dress.

"Thank you," I said as I moved to my trunk, picking up my hairbrush. Pandora followed me to my vanity, letting me sit down before she took my hairbrush from me. She clearly was an expert in detangling dry hair with a brush. She worked through the tangles quickly, being gentle enough to not cause much pain while being efficient enough to detangle my hair with ease.

"How do you want your hair styled?" Pandora asked once she had detangled my hair.

"I don't know, any way you want to style it is fine with me," I informed her. She hummed softly as she parted my hair, she braided the two halves and then twisted them into an updo on the back of my head. She apparently had bobby pins attached to her sleeves and used those to pin the two braids up.

"You're going to need to get dresses made of lighter fabrics, it's going to be hotter than what you're used to and it's a lot more humid," Pandora warned me.

"Yeah, I realized that when I woke up," I muttered as I studied my updo in the mirror. "Thank you for doing my hair," I said with a small smile.

"You're welcome," Pandora said as studied me carefully. "I can introduce you to a tailor I know," she informed me.

"That would be very much appreciated," I said. "So what's on the agenda for today?" I questioned curiously. She seemed to brighten up at my question, her green eyes glittering in delight.

"First obviously is breakfast. After that I will give you a tour of the castle grounds, mainly focusing on where you'll be working then Seraphina wants to meet you," Pandora said with a small, slightly unnerving smile. Maybe it was only unnerving because of what she had just said but I felt a chill run down my spine.

"I have to meet Queen Seraphina?" I asked softly, my voice had suddenly gone quiet and dry.

"Of course, you'll be working with her on a daily basis so it only makes sense that you meet her," Pandora said simply.

"I...I..um okay," I stammered as I suddenly felt fear course through me. I was absolutely terrified of meeting Queen Seraphina. I knew I would be working close to her but for some reason it hadn't occurred to me that I would have to meet her.

"There's no need to be nervous, I promise you that my sister is quite nice," Pandora said. My brain stalled for a moment and my mouth went dry.

"Queen Seraphina is your sister?" I asked quietly, feeling lightheaded when she nodded her head. It felt like my life had just gotten a lot more complicated.