Kingdom of thieves

Kingdom of thieves - part 10

Princess Alyssa sat at her makeup table in her room, the sun streamed threw the arches and a slight breeze rustled the thin curtains, she gazed at her reflection in the carved mirror.

It was midday and she had only just woken up, as princess she could sleep in however long she wished, yet she didnt like sleeping in and she wished that Trintiy her handmaid would wake her up in the mornings, she felt she'dslept the whole day away. Unfortunately her childhood handmaid insisted on treating her with the upmost care and in her own words, "you need your rest after a hard days work training to be the future queen". As if speaking politely and eating gracefully were any type of hard work.

Trinity entered from her room where she slept in order to be close to Alyssa.

In her early thirties, Trinity was only recently married and expecting her first child, she was just beginning to show and so her usually bare belly was covered with a longer top which came down to her waist. Her light brown hair was springy and her face had the tired, strained look of someone who had worked their whole life and because of this had aged prematurely,however she always had a smile on her face and it was clear that she loved working at the palace.

Alyssa felt her stomach clench with guilt as she watched Trinity bustle around, rearranging the

cushins and smoothing down the sheets on her bed.

She left her husband and her elderly mother to work in the palace, it was a small wonder she had even come with child, the amount of time she spent in the palace.

"I must find someone to replace her as my handmaid", Alyssa thought as she watched Trinity place her hand on her stomach and wince, "She wont like it, and ill miss her but she need to think of her child and her husband, its not fair on either of them".

Trinity bustled around the bed then came and stood behind the makeup stool.

"Good afternoon Princess" she said brightly, her voice a little too high and squeaky for many people.

"How would you like your hair today".

"Does it matter?" Alyssa said, stifling a yawn, "I am not doing anything today, just leave it as it is".

"Leave it as it is!" Trinity exclaimed, horrified, "A princess must always look her best, she cannot be seen just as she is when she wakes up in the morning"

"It is not morning" Alyssa pointed out.

"Still" Trinity said sternly, pulling her fingers threw Alyssa's golden locks and twisting it skillfully up into a bun at the back of her head, letting a strands of hair fall artfully around her face, tiwisting them around her finger to curl them. "It is a princesses duty to be beautiful and comely to her household, what do you think people will say if you wandered the palace in your bed clothes with your hair down and unseen to?"

"Maybe ill start a new trend with the ladies of the court" Alyssa mused, helping her self to some flat bread Trinity had brought up as her 'breakfast'.

"The other day I wore a flower in my hair I found in the gardens and the next day I saw all three of the Stazia sisters doing the same" she scowled at the memory, then added "Their flowers were horrible compared to mine".

Trinity laughed "I've no doubt princess. those girls would probably dress just as you do everyday if

they didn't have their pride", Alyssa laughed along with her.

"Well I had better go, cant keep them waiting" she said lifting herself out of the chair and appraising herself in the mirror one last time.

"They're probaby hiding round the corner waiting to check on me." With her hair up, her slender neck was exposed and more attention was focused on her pale blue eyes, she looked older but thinner. She frowned, she always ate whenever food was placed in front of her, yet she always looked half starved.