"Ro are you dreadfully busy?" The arrival of Annalise's unexpected voice nearly caused Ro to jump out of her skin.
"Oh Annalise! You scared me!" Ro exclaimed with her heart pounding in her chest.
"Sorry Ro, that was not my intention!" The Princess apologised.
"It is ok, no my work load is not too bad today actually. I believe that Evangeline is having tea with you and Princess Rosilabeth this afternoon, so it should be quite an easy time for me." Ro smiled as she stood up from the bathroom floor she was scrubbing.
"Perfect! Well, about the afternoon tea, unfortunately Ladies Hera, Drusilla, Magnolia and Anna have come down with dreadful stomach-aches and are quarantined to their rooms, so we have a lot of food going to waste. I was wondering if you would like to take one of the Ladies places? There is no pressure Ro, it would only be me, Princess Rosilabeth who is lovely and unfortunately Evangeline, but I had one of the maids tell her we changed the time, so she is going to turn up late anyway." Annalise giggled mischievously.
"Are you sure that is... proper?" Ro asked nervously.
"Yes of course Ro! My mother may be forcing me to meet with my possible future sister-in-laws, but it is up to me who I invite." Annalise insisted.
"Ok... I will come." Ro replied with a giddy smile.
She had never had afternoon tea with Princesses before.
Twenty minutes later Ro felt out of place yet it did not bother her too much. She had taken her white apron off so she was only sporting her plain black maid's frock, but apart from a fleeting judgemental look from Rosilabeth, she did not feel too disapproved of. The Princesses obviously looked impeccable, sipping tea out of little china cups and sitting on armchairs with golden legs and pink flowers embroided into the material. They both had sparkling tiaras and lavish gowns on, talking eloquently with faultless manners. Ro felt a little like an ogre next to them with her wild hair she had forgotten to pin up and her untrained hands making her spill her tea slightly.
"Oh I am just so excited for our ball. You know how much I love to dance with fine society Annalise darling. They are the highlights of my life." Princess Rosilabeth giggled frivolously. "Tell me dear – how are things going with Lord Timotus? He certainly is dreamy."
"Oh I do not know Rose. He kissed me two nights ago, but yesterday I saw him talking quite closely with Lady Magnolia." Annalise sighs.
"Well, he is a fool if he thinks he can lead you on." Rosilabeth proclaims.
"Yes you are certainly beautiful and a lovely girl Annalise, as well as an actual Princess! You deserve someone who will love you and only you."
"That was quite poetic Ro. Do you like to read?" Rosilabeth asked as she clicked her fingers, and Sally who was waiting by the door hurried over to pour her some more tea.
"Yes, I have recently got back into it. Do you like reading?" Ro replied.
"Not if I can help it! My tutors used to make me read all of the time and I hated it. My sister Sapphira and my brother Gabriel are always reading though. I prefer to be read to." Rosilabeth explained.
"Did you know that Ro here was rescued by Theo from a pirate ship?" Annalise asked the other Princess making Ro blush.
"Really? Oh you poor creature, pirates are simply awful and deserve to be slaughtered. Have you been reunited with your family?" Rosilabeth asked with a hand on her heart.
"Not yet... I lost my memories." Ro replied with a sad smile.
"That is just so tragic. If I lost any more family... oh I do not think I would ever be ok again." Rosilabeth revealed in a choked voice. "It is hard to believe that my eldest brother Cassian's son Mordecai is now older then Aurora when she went missing. And my sister Sapphira is married and pregnant with her second baby. Time just flies so fast. Goodness, when we get back to Alluvia, it will be Cassian's wife's thirty-second birthday! It feels like only a couple of months ago it was her thirtieth."
"Cassian's wife... Yasmine?" Ro suddenly blurted out just as she was about to take a bite of her cake slice, as the name started ringing in her mind.
"Wait, how did you know that Ro?" Annalise asked sceptically, as she did not expect Ro to know the next Queen of Alluvia's name.
"Well I do..." Ro started before Evangeline rushed in looking flustered.
"Oh your highnesses I am so sorry! A stupid maid told me the incorrect time of our meeting!" Evangeline flapped around. "I have been looking forward to this all day, do not think that I have not, it was not my intention to be late. You look beautiful your royal highnesses and Ro. Wait, Ro? What are you doing here? A maid should not be dining with Royalty." Evangeline stuttered disbelievingly.
"She is here because I want her to be. Now why don't you come and sit down, stop causing such a stress and indulge in some food with us? It is here to be eaten and shared between friends."
"Fine." Evangeline murmured as she rolled her eyes, making sure to give Ro a pointed glare no one else saw.
The rest of the afternoon tea went well, and eventually Evangeline warmed up to Ro and the four of them laughed together like old friends. Everyone forgot about Ro's unusual name remembrance. Ro realised that although they were certainly dressed more fancily and spoke more eloquently, the members of Royalty were not that different from the maids and common folk. Both classes of people loved to gossip and giggle about people and fashion. It was only their upbringings and wealth that set them aside.
Ro was more full then she had ever been at the end of the meal, having had lots of mini sandwiches and cake slices which were a delight to her taste buds. She envied the girls that got to eat like Queens everyday. In the end Princess Rosilabeth had to leave first to tend to her mother, and Ro excused herself next, curtsying to Annalise and Evangeline and wishing them a good evening so that she could return to her duties. On her way back to the kitchen, Ro bumped into Theo who was coming out of his suite the same moment she was walking by.
"Ro! How are you? I have not spoken to you properly in days! I have missed you." Theo exclaimed, happy to see her. He was actually on his way to a meeting with his father, but he pushed that aside as he wanted to spend a little time with the girl who was impossible to pin down.
"Oh... Theo. It is good to see you too, how are you?" Ro questioned with a polite smile, hating the way his alluring chestnut eyes and handsome features took her breathe away.
"I am good thank you. I guess you have been too busy helping to arrange the ball for the Alluvian Royals to come and see me?" Theo asked teasingly, but Ro could detect a glimmer of hurt in his expression.
"I am sorry I have not seen you Theodosius, I have been quite busy with Evangeline and yes getting the castle ready for the ball. I suspect you shall miss the Alluvian's when they leave." Ro tried to lighten the atmosphere.
"Yes I will. Actually, about the ball... do you think you will go?" He asked casually.
"I am a maid Theo. I am not invited." Ro replied quietly.
"I am sure I can pull a few strings, I would love to see you there." Theo tried again.
"Theo... please. It is not proper; I am not anyone of station. I am not the girl you want me to be. I am sorry Theo but I am no Princess... I am a maid and that is all I will ever be." Ro insisted, gingerly placing a hand on Theo's arm to make him see things her way.
She quickly flinched her hand away as his skin made tingles flutter up her arm.
It was one thing to eat privately with the Princess who had quickly become her friend, but to go to a public ball people would kill to receive as invite for was way out of her boundaries.
"You are so much more then a maid Ro... you are kind, sweet, beautiful..." Theo emphasised as he raised a hand to caress the side of Ro's face.
Involuntarily she found herself leaning into his touch, before she snapped out of it and jumped away from the addictive man. Ro's cheeks were hotter then a desert and she was incredibly embarrassed by Theo's declaration. He thought she was beautiful which warmed her heart.
"T-thank you Theo b-but I have to go now." Ro blurted out as she turned and dashed away from him before she could throw her inhibitions out and do something foolish like kiss the untouchable Prince.
Theo was left standing alone in the corridor with a stupid grin on his face, happy that he affected Ro like she affected him.
Only seven chapters left! xoxo
Do you think Ro will go to the ball? Find out in the next chapter!
Edited