Meredith had just finished dusting every portrait in the picture gallery, noting, with interest, that the current portraits of the Crown Prince and the Princess were painted at the time they were children. There would be new ones soon, she guessed.
She was walking back towards the scullery, when she turned the corner and ran into Fulton.
He studied her for a moment, before saying "You'll do. Put down that feather duster and those rags and follow me."
She obediently set down the materials in one of the workrooms and began to follow him down a hallway. She realized, with interest, that they were leaving behind any of the servants' quarters, workrooms, and the kitchens, and were making their way quickly towards the main staircase.
She entered the entrance hall to see a girl with long, waist-length blonde hair and expressive blue eyes walking slowly around, as if memorizing the layout of the hall.
"My Lady," said Fulton. "I am sure that..." He glanced at Meredith.
"Meredith," she said, quietly.
"...that Meredith would be glad to assist you. I will send a footman with the tools you have requested."
"Thank you, Fulton," said the lady, her voice lovely and clear. "You are dismissed."
Fulton bowed and left the hall. The lady turned to look at Meredith.
"Hello, Meredith," she finally said. "I am Princess Isabella. But please: do not call me 'Princess'. We shall be spending a good amount of time together today, and...I would prefer you to just call me Isabella." She smiled hopefully, even seeming a bit shy.
So this was the first member of the royal family that Meredith would meet. She felt conflicted. Isabella seemed so kind, so eager to make Meredith feel comfortable; she even insisted on her using her first name, no title attached. Something about her almost seemed to draw Meredith to her. She had never really found a real friend in a girl of her own age, of which this lady, this princess seemed to be. She pushed that thought away. It would be improper; this lady was high above her in social status and rank.
"I am Meredith, My Lady," she said, giving Isabella a slight curtsy.
Isabella seemed almost disappointed that Meredith had not used her first name, but soon smiled.
"My cousin told me there was a greenhouse here; I've always loved flowers," she explained. "I thought that, as I've heard it's been neglected, I might be able to tend to it. I requested that Fulton bring me someone to assist me in my efforts."
"Of course; I would be pleased to."
"Oh, wonderful!" said the Princess, smiling radiantly. "Let us go then."
The two made their way to the greenhouse, behind the palace, and met the footman who gave them tools and rough work-aprons to keep the dirt off.
Once in the greenhouse, they set to work pulling the weeds that had overgrown a great number of the plant beds and pots. After a while, Isabella spoke.
"How long have you worked here, Meredith?"
"I only just arrived yesterday," Meredith answered carefully. She frowned as she came across a stubborn weed.
"Have you enjoyed it, so far?"
"I have found it very pleasant, My L..." She broke off at Isabella's sad look. Perhaps this princess had not found a friend before, either. "Isabella."
Isabella smiled, and looked so happy that Meredith felt happy too. Was it really so wrong to chat with the princess, if she invited it? She didn't seem like the type of person who would have condoned the destroying of Meredith's home kingdom...
"Tell me, Meredith. Do you have family near here?"
"My brother. Evan," she said. "He works here as well. My mother and my younger two sisters and younger brother live in Dunkirk. My father...died years ago, along with my eldest brother."
"Oh," said Isabella. "I'm terribly sorry to hear that."
And, she did look sorry. Meredith was momentarily confused. She had come to picture all members of the royal family as heartless and arrogant. But Isabella...she did not seem like that at all.
"Tell me about your family," said Meredith. She then hastened to add, still feeling guilty for chatting directly with a superior, "I mean, if you wish."
Isabella laughed softly. "I like this. Having a regular conversation, I mean, with a girl my age. How old are you, by the way?"
"I am nineteen. My birthday is in three months."
"I hope it does not matter to you...I am twenty-one, soon to be twenty-two."
Meredith was taken aback. Isabella seemed as though she planned on their friendship, if Meredith would accept her. I hope it does not matter to you...Meredith smiled.
"It does not matter in the slightest."
"Now..." said Isabella, moving on to the next bed of...weeds, mostly. "I believe you asked about my family. My father, and my two uncles, died when I was around your age. I live with my mother, the Princess Therese, my Grandma Olivya, and my younger cousin, Antony."
She paused, pulled a few weeds.
"Tell me about your siblings," she prompted, smiling. Meredith smiled too, at the excited look on Isabella's face, and at the mental picture she now got of Nash, Samantha, Prissy, and Evan.
"I have two sisters, Samantha and Priscilla, who we all fondly call Prissy. The nickname started out being just for fun, but as she grew older and began to take a large interest in dresses and hair bows, we decided it really fit."
Isabella laughed softly.
"Samantha loves to read, and to write. With my advance money that I received upon my hire here, I bought each sibling a small gift. Hers was a journal. She seemed to be writing in it every moment she could, putting down the stories she tells Nash at bed time onto paper.
"Nash is my little brother, the youngest of all of us. He's...adorable, really. He has blonde hair and blue eyes, and he's always cheerful and excited about everything. He's so easygoing. I miss them all, every time I'm away, but him especially. He always cheered me up, just seeing him."
Isabella seemed to have stopped pulling weeds and was listening to Meredith with rapt attention.
"Evan, he's the oldest, now that our older brother is gone. He's a little over a year older than me. He used to be as carefree as Nash, but after Father's death, when he became man of the household, he became very serious and I know it was stressful for him, worrying about providing for the family. He and I have told each other everything; we've become very close since we became the family's main bread-winners. He works here, currently in the stables. He's always very thoughtful; just the other day, he used money he had saved to purchase for my birthday, a beautiful strand of pearls, the loveliest thing that I own."
"And your mother?" prompted Isabella, still giving Meredith her fullest attention.
"She's worked so hard for us. She's the kindest, most thoughtful, lovely woman...But she's so tired, lately. The work she's been doing is catching up to her...she's not exactly young anymore. That's why Evan and I landing jobs at the palace is such a good thing. We are able to provide so much more money for the family, making it so Mum has to do even less work."
Isabella smiled. "They sound wonderful. So much...different...from my family."
"May I hear about your family?"
"Grandmother Olivya always calls us the mismatched family," she laughed. "There's her, of course. She's filling in as Queen right now, until Antony is crowned King. She's always willing to listen and give advice on whatever problem you're facing. I find myself going to her frequently; she always seems to understand. Other times, though, she's almost scary, for she can look strict and intimidating if she wishes to...regal. That's the word for my grandmother."
Meredith found herself listening to Isabella describe her family...It seemed almost just like any other family. Only this one ranked high above her. And this house killed her father and brother. She swallowed. She liked Isabella. Did one really have to hate the whole family?
"And then, my mother. She is very kind and loving but...also controlling. After my father died, she became horribly over-protective. However, some of that seems to have worn off and...she is determined that I shall marry soon. But..."
She looked, to Meredith, as if she were trying to decide whether or not to confide to her. She finally spoke.
"I don't want to...marry, that is. At least, not the way she wants me to. I want it to be for love, and I want the man to be a good one. I don't care if he's rich or not...as long as he really cares about me. Most of the time, men are only interested in me because they think I'm beautiful. They don't care about me as a person. They're too focused on the..." She shuddered. "Physical. One time, one of them who I had never even met, simply tried then and there to kiss me, because he thought me beautiful. He shouldn't have, though. Antony dealt with him. I think his nose was broken, come to think of it.
"And that brings me to the last member of my 'mismatched family'. My cousin Antony; he's the one who's about to be crowned King. He's...quiet. And very reserved around most people, but he really is a very kind person, and a good friend. Thanks, in part, to my mother's protectiveness, I never really got the chance to make lots of friends, so Antony was all I had. I sound as though that were a bad thing!" She laughed. "But I really do enjoy my cousin's company. He seems to understand me more than anyone else. I know he's going to be a great king; he cares so much about Astoria."
The two worked in silence for a bit then, and then Isabella sat back on her heels.
"I believe," she said. "That it's due time for a lunch break. I think I'll go in and fetch us a simple picnic lunch from the kitchens. I'll be back!"
And she left, before Meredith could protest and insist that that was her job, as the servant.
She pulled at the last few weeds in the bed she was working in. Talking with Isabella...it was a lot to think about. The princess actually wanted to be friends with her. And Meredith realized, just then, that, throughout her life, she had always wanted a friend, a girl, close to her age. She had simply pushed the idea away, knowing that, with her needing to work, it was impractical.
She allowed herself, to toy with the idea of being friends with Isabella. And what that might mean.