Clarissa
***
"Name, please?" the guard on the left asked.
There were two. They were big and tall and dressed in armor. It was quite intimidating, but she'd made it this far. She straightened her shoulders.
"Clarissa Reina."
The two guards shared a knowing look, eyebrows raised, and stood down, uncrossing their swords.
"So you're the pretty little peasant who stole our dear prince's heart," the one on the right said with a grin.
She flushed. "Well-"
"We approve," he said quickly. "I'm just giving you a hard time. Come in, and there will be a maid waiting to take you to the King and Queen...unless you'd like to clean up first?"
She smiled, liking them already. "Please."
"All right," the one on the left said, answering her smile with one of his own. "Just let Elizabeth know."
"Thank you very much."
She did a little curtsy and walked through the palace doors.
Everything was bright, open, and beautiful. There was an ornate chandellier above Clarissa's head, and white flowers dominated every surface. Clarissa was in love with just the foyer. She couldn't even imagine the rest of the castle.
As promised, a middle-aged maid stood by the place where the foyer winged off in two different directions. She immediately rushed to Clarissa's side and curtsied.
"Miss Reina, allow me to show you to your room."
"Thank you. I left my horse by the doors-"
"Charles- he was the guard on the right- will have the stable boy attend to him. Do not fret. We all hope you will be very comfortable here."
"Thank you."
"My name is Elizabeth, and I will be your personal maid for your whole stay. Please excuse me, but I sincerely hope you win these Games."
She was the third person to be rooting for Clarissa.
She wondered why everyone here seemed to want her to win so badly. What had Xavier said?
Either way, it brought a smile to her face and gave her hope that maybe this whole thing wasn't completely fruitless.
Elizabeth led Clarissa through the left wing from the foyer. "The guest wing, where the princesses will be staying" she explained. "You will be given the nicest room available."
They climbed a beautiful winding staircase and turned right. Then left. Then right again. Finally, they came to a beautiful oak door. There was a golden plate on the door that had 'Princess Clarissa Reina' engraved in a pretty curling script.
"But I'm not a princess," Clarissa protested.
"You are an honorary princess in this kingdom. And you are standing in for Towoba. For now, you are their princess."
Elizabeth smiled her sweet little smile and pushed the door open, revealing a room that had Clarissa in awe.
The window overlooked the pond and the forest. There a lovely little nook, complete with a plush window seat and a bookcase stocked with ettiquite and royal history books, personalized for her. The furniture was all oak. The floors were stone, decked in white plush carpet and rugs. Clarissa longed to slip her shoes off and bury her feet in them. There was a fireplace, a huge, towering wardrobe, a ginormous bed full of white fluffy pillows and blankets, and an open door that led to a bathing chamber with a comfortable looking wooden tub and a white fluffy robe.
"I'll send a few more servants in with hot water for your bath. Feel free to get comfortable with your room while I'm out."
Elizabeth left, and Clarissa spun in a slow circle, hand over her mouth.
This room was bigger than her house, and looked far more comfortable and elegant than anything she was used to.
She kicked off her riding boots and removed her traveling cloak, putting them in a little pile on the window seat. She let her bare feet sink into the plush rugs and sat on the bed. It sunk comfortably, obviously a down/feather bed. She grinned. Finally, she settled on the comfortable window seat and pulled out a royal history book. There was a note on the inside cover.
'Miss Reina,
I hope you find your room to your liking. Here are a few books to help you learn on your own, in your free time. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.
Queen Isabelle'
Clarissa was touched.
She quickly turned the page and began reading, eager to please the queen who had already done so much for her. She was going to learn all she could in repayment for the generosity she was already being shown.
***
Actual servants gave Clarissa her first hot bath. They scrubbed her clean with sweet smelling soap and lathered her body in sweet smelling rose water, then rose water cream. They combed through her long, thick hair, and intricately braided it. They laced her into a corset (which was extremely unpleasant- Clarissa could barely breathe, and was forced to stand upright. And she was rather well endowed in the bosom, which showed even more than ususal.) and finally pulled a beautiful cerulean blue silk gown, complete with a saphire studden neckline and gorgeous silver threading on the skirt. They primped her and had her practice walking in the heels they'd forced her to wear.
Finally, she got to look in the mirror.
She didn't recognize the elegant lady standing before her. She gazed in wonder at her reflection and, for the first time, felt like a princess.
She was beautiful.
She let herself be led through the halls, down the stairs, through another wing, another hallway, up more stairs, until she finally came to stand before the throne room. She took as deep of a breath as she could get in her corset and gown, then nodded at the guards to open the doors.
The queen and king sat on grand thrones, surrounded by guards. Beautiful tapestries adorned the walls, and there was gold everywhere, but not even their ornate crowns could distract Clarissa from the couple's beauty.
Xavier had certainly gotten his looks from his mother.
Clarissa, aware now that she had been staring, dropped into a low curtsy, bowing her head. The queen and king stood and descended from their thrones to stand before her. She looked at them, awed, waiting for them to speak.
"Welcome," King Charles said warmly.
Queen Isabelle pulled a very shocked Clarissa into a warm hug.
"Thank you for saving our son," she said gratefully.
"It was my pleasure, Your Highness."
They smiled sincerely at her, and Clarissa felt her nervousness evaporate. They were so welcoming and sincere, so kind and loving. They weren't scary at all.
They gave her the grand tour, making sure she was familiar with the entire castle, then the king left to take care of business and the queen led her to the ballroom.
"Since you arrived early, I thought we could make the most of our time. First, we must work on greeting others."
Clarissa was taught how to greet everyone, from the king and queen themselves to the other princesses, to the prince, to the servants and townspeople. The queen kept having to remind her that she was a princess now, something that was hard to grasp.
She wasn't used to acting like a princess and being above others.
By the time sunset came, she was exhausted from learning all of the different curtsies, greetings, how to offer her hand just so to different people, what to say and what not to say in conversation with people of each class.
The queen released her from her lessons for the day and ordered the servants to ready her for dinner.
"You did well today, Clarissa. I expect you here before breakfast tomorrow."
"Yes, Your Highness."
She did a small curtsy to the queen, reminding herself that she didn't have to show as much respect as she did when she was a peasant because she was a princess now, and waited for the queen's nod that told her she could be dismissed from her presence. She walked away, holding herself upright and her chin slightly raised. She waited for the doors to be opened for her and for the guards to bow to her before leaving.
It was weird.
Out of sight of everyone, Clarissa let her shoulders sag and walked like a regular person to her room.
She was tired, she was a bit overwhelmed, and she hadn't seen Xavier at all.
And she wasn't even done for the day; she still had dinner.