The Princess And The Castle Maid

Chapter 2

"Princess?"

God, I should've known that I wouldn't be able to get a few minutes peace.

Sat alone in the gardens, I was looking up at the leaves overhead, but was rudely interrupted by somebody.

"Yes?" I reluctantly responded, rolling my eyes as footsteps advanced towards me.

"It's time for your tutor!"

"Very well." I stood up, dusting off my skirt. "I shall take myself there."

The frail girl began following me, her voice squeaking, "Well, I need to talk to you..." 

I paused, sighing. "Come along then, walk beside me."

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about- Princess? Are you listening?"

I shook my head out of thought just then. "Yes, quite. Sorry."

"That's okay," My maid said. "I was just reminding you that the debates commence this week. You know, the ones where Princes debate over topics to win your hand in marriage?"

"Hm?" I sounded, momentarily lost in thought again. "Oh, yes. Of course."

"Anyway, I'll run through the lists of names for you. We have Prince Dante, Prince Gabrielle, Prince Johnathon, Prince Nathan, Prince Matthew, Prince Henry, Prince Lucas and Prince Theodore."

"...Right." I replied absent-mindedly, fairly sure that none of them would be very appealing.

"They have pictures, too; see?"

I peered over at a few of their faces. Cocky little bastards. "I thought there'd be more, to be honest with you."

"Oh...No, there are only eight this time."

"Well, either way, I don't want to marry any one of them."

The maid was visibly at a loss for words. "...Um-"

"Well, if that's all, I think I can escort myself to my tutor, thank you."

"Okay, your highness."

My maid left me solitary as I paced down the hallway, appreciating the very rare silence that surrounded me.

It was extremely unlikely for a moment like this to commence. One where somebody wasn't fussing over me, constantly in a state of fear that I may be even the slightest bit uncomfortable.

Ever since I was merely a child, I had been babied and fussed over as if I couldn't carry my own weight. My parents had both been strong contendors in this, too, making sure I grew up knowing that I had the power to eliminate and incinerate with one simple string of words. This, however, had left all the people surrounding me with some sort of fantasy that I was actually planning on both eliminating and incinerating them; thus, making me somewhat of a terrifyingly powerful figure. 

Well, I wasn't, of course. In reality, I was just a fifteen-year-old girl begging to talk to someone her age.

The halls began to crowd once more, each person scurrying off or looking down at their feet as I passed. 

"Ahh! Zelda!" My tutor beamed once I had walked into the library. "How wonderful to see you, as usual."

Lady Elsa, my tutor, had been teaching me ever since I was three years of age. She knew me better than anyone; which is quite a sad fact, really, because she didn't really know me all that well.

"Yes, well, let's get this over with, shall we?" I smiled, sitting down opposite her.

"I was thinking we could start with piano. Does that sound alright with you?"