The King's Crest

Chapter 14

"Good morning, My Lady," Amelia said as she opened my curtains letting the light shine in my face. Her greeting made me think of Charles though, so I didn't mind. My body was stiff from not moving at all in my sleep and it took a long time before I was willing to get out of bed. "Shall we get you ready for your breakfast? I don't believe the royal family is willing to dine with anyone in the mornings other than his family," Amelia said.

"If that is the case, why must I go down for breakfast at all if I'm not to dine with anyone special for breakfast?"

"There will still be nobles at the table I would assume. Not to mention, you start lessons with Rehabiah right after breakfast. We have some casual clothes for you, too that were sent up with all your other clothes before you woke this morning."

"Fine," I grumbled pulling the covers back. I slowly sat up as I slid off my bed unhappily. I heard Amelia giggle and I couldn't help but join her. I stood and walked over to Amelia and she walked me over to my armoire and changing area. I pointed to a couple of the new ones I thought would be good for today. Amelia grabbed the simple light blue one that had white sashed around the waist and framing the bottom and showed a white ruffle on the top of the dress and sleeves. It was casual and reminded me of home in the blacksmith shop.

Amelia tied the bow in the back and tied my hair up with a white bow like on my dress so none of my hair would be in my face. I thanked her again for all her hard work. "Amelia, I don't know if this is okay to ask but I see no reason not to trust you, Is the prince always so rude to ladies?"

Amelia smiled before honestly answering, "Well, he is rude to everyone except the Lady Roseanne. It seems he uses all the sweetness he has inside of him to charm her!" Amelia laughed as she finished her sentence. I laughed at her answer. "Please, don't tell anyone I said that! I could lose my job for such comments towards a lady," Amelia suddenly exclaimed.

"I suggest that what we say to each other stays between a lady and her maid. Everyone needs someone to talk to honestly, and so far you're the only female I've met and can easily converse with," I explained to Amelia as she shooed me out of the chambers laughing. She told me to go on and have breakfast with other nobles and get onto work.

I had a small breakfast of my choice when I got to the dining hall. To my surprise, Prince Alexander was there talking politely to the nobles. I walked in and all the men stood up to greet me. "Lady Grace, I didn't realize you were such an early riser," one of the noblemen in a dark gray and red suit noted as he was sitting down.

"I'm not," I simply replied as I sat down to quickly enjoy my breakfast though I still wasn't hungry. I was eating and enjoying my breakfast when I heard Alexander turn to the men and explain it was because Rehabiah the physician started work early. I merely nodded in agreement. He was surprisingly accurate. "So my question is, why are you all up so early? What are your jobs for the day?"

"We have a hunt today that my father would like us to attend. The earlier the start the better," the blonde prince said giving me a smug smile. "Did you expect that we sat around all day just staring at ladies prancing around the court trying to get us to swoon with their looks?"

I turned a deep red for I had imagined that they didn't do much. Though I still didn't see how a hunt was that important. I managed to sputter out, "I-I thought no such thing!" I cleared my plate and walked off for the day on my way to see Rehabiah. As soon as I walked out on my way to Rehabiah I ran into Kenneth. "Daniel," I exclaimed as I bumped into him.

"Lady Grace," he said bowing respectfully. "I'm here to escort you to Rehabiah's work place in the palace. He led me along a path down steps to the right and down a twisted hallway. We were mostly alone now and I felt comfortable enough to make small chat with him as we walked.