“Mary?”
“Yes, Samuel?”
“Can you describe the Princess? You are one of her Ladies in Waiting.”
Mary looked at him with her dark brown eyes and put a few strands of her golden hair out of her heart-shaped face. “Well,” she began. “The Princess is indeed beautiful. She has dark, earth-brown hair down to her shoulders, and her eyes are a bright emerald-green. And her face is the most beautiful ever beheld. Why do you ask?”
Samuel sighed. “No reason,” he said. “I just saw a very beautiful girl that looked just like the person you described in the lower-class district. She saved me from a Mediator.”
Mary looked at her older brother sharply. “What would the princess be doing in that area?” she asked. “As far as she and her family care, it doesn’t exist.”
Samuel shook his head and looked around at his father’s estate, which was near the main gates to Guldtosia. It was a large house, with at least seventy bedrooms, and a dining area that could house one hundred people. His father had had it painted gold-and-silver, in honour of Samuel and Mary’s late mother. Her hair had been a beautiful mixture of gold and silver, her eyes a beautiful blue. A nudge from his 16-year-old sister (Samuel was 18) brought him back from reality. “Uh oh,” he thought. “I know that look. What are you planning?”
Mary smiled a smile that melted men’s hearts like butter and tilted her head sideways. “I’m going to ask the Princess where she was two days ago,” she said, grinning at her brother’s expression. “Anyway, I have to head back to the palace. As you know, there’s a rather huge social event happening at the palace tonight, and I have to help the Princess get ready.”
Samuel smiled as he watched her walk off, her sapphire-blue sleeveless dress blowing in the light breeze that had just started. He loved his sister more than life itself, and he would kill to protect her. He sighed and stood up, brushing the grass off of his black clothing – black being his favourite colour – and went inside to get ready for the ‘social event’ at the castle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rebecca hid a wince as her Ladies in Waiting tightened the straps on her silver evening gown. Her hair had been braided, and she was going to wear a small silver tiara to match her low-cut, puffy-sleeved dress. Her mother had protested, saying that such a dress was inappropriate for such a young girl. But Rebecca had convinced her eventually. Besides, she knew that she had a beautiful figure, so why not flaunt it? “I wish that they’d stop tightening my dress,” she thought. “I’m going to suffocate! I think that is tight enough. What are you trying to do? Suffocate me?” She blinked when the reflection in the full-length mirror showed that her Ladies in Waiting had backed away and had their eyes cast downward, all except one of them: Mary Neocene. “The same name as that handsome young man I saved the other day.” She turned around and looked at them, an amused smile on her face. “I was joking,” she said. “Don’t be so nervous!” Now they laughed and looked at each other. Rebecca also smiled, and bid them to leave, but Mary stayed behind.
“What is it, Mary?” Rebecca asked. Mary looked at her princess nervously for a moment.
“My…brother was
asking about you,” she said. She didn’t miss the quickly banished look of
surprise on the princess’s face. “Was she really in the low-class district?
If she was, does she care?”
“I’m afraid I’ve never met Sam--” Too late, she realized her mistake. Mary tilted her head to the side, the golden strands covering half her face.
“Then how is it that you know his name, My Lady?” she asked. “He has been here before, but you two have never been introduced.”
“I, uh, I’ve heard of him,” Rebecca said, her weak lie not even convincing her. “I’ve heard that he is quite the handsome young man.”
“She’s lying,” Mary thought, but she would never dare to accuse her of lying, so said simply: “He’s coming to the ball tonight.” She hid her smile when she saw the look in her Ladies’ eyes. “She wants to see him again,” she thought. She decided to ask her The Question. “Were you in the lower-class district two days ago?”
“What?” Rebecca asked, shocked. “I-I’ve never been to the centre of the….” She stopped talking right then and there, and remained silent for a few moments, then: “I met him there.” Mary nodded.
“You saved him from a Mediator. Thank you, your Highness,” she said. Rebecca waved a hand dismissively.
“Call me Rebecca,” she said. “I hate formal titles.”
Mary blinked. “Excuse me?” she asked. Rebecca sighed and walked up to the girl and looked into her eyes.
“To be honest, Mary,” she said. “I have no real friends. Oh, I know most of the noble men and women by name, but none of them are my friends.” She sighed. “I guess I’m trying to ask you if you’ll be my friend.”
Mary was speechless for a minute, and then: “Of course!” she said, smiling. “I’ll be happy to be your friend, Rebecca.”
Rebecca smiled back at her. “Good. I’ll see you tonight then.”