Rosie woke up to a girl shaking her shoulder.
"Good morning, miss," said the girl. "It's time to get up."
"Okay, Flora," Rosie mumbled back. "I'll get started on my chores."
"Chores?" the girl laughed. "You have no chores here. You're a princess. Remember?"
Rosie sat up stretching. "No, actually, I had quite forgotten. Thank you for reminding me."
The girl laughed again, this time joined by another girl who Rosie hadn't noticed before. As she blinked sleep out of her eyes, she examined the two girls.
The one who had woken her up was a pretty girl, with brown hair and brown eyes. She had a few freckles, and they suited her well. She was taller than Rosie, which made her envious. Rosie had always wanted to be tall.
The other girl was quite pretty as well, but in a different way. She had a petite frame, like Rosie's, but had fiery red hair past her shoulders that looked like it needed a good brushing. Her eyes were blue, and they were framed by long, dark lashes. They were both beautiful, but looked very kind nonetheless. Rosie had always hated the pretty girls in the village who looked sweet but, in reality, were very sour. Those girls she had always clashed with, causing more than one black eye.
"So, miss," said the first girl, snapping Rosie out of her daze. "What should we call you?"
"I get to choose?" Rosie asked, surprised.
"Of course, miss," said the second girl.
"Well, then," Rosie blundered. "Call me... Rosie."
"Is that all?" asked the first. "No miss, or madame, or highness?"
"I want nothing of the sort!" Rosie declared. "Now, what are your names?"
"I'm Olivia," said the girl with brown hair.
"And I'm Neva," said the girl with red hair.
"Good," said Rosie. "Now that introductions are out of the way, let's get down to business. Who are you?"
"Your ladies-in-waiting," answered Olivia.
"Ah, I see," Rosie replied. "And what, exactly, do lady-in-waitings.. do?"
"Oh!" cried Neva laughing. "We heard you were new to being a princess, but I didn't realize how new!"
"I started yesterday," said Rosie good-naturedly. "So you'll have to help me. Please."
"Of course!" cried Olivia. "That's what we're here for. Ladies-in-waiting help with many things; we bring tea, help you get dressed, help you bathe..."
"Bathe?" interrupted Rosie. "I can bathe perfectly well on my own, thank you!"
"If you don't want us to help with something, we'll be happy to stand back," Neva replied placatingly. "But most nobility doesn't bathe without help."
"Well, that's odd," Rosie said. "But they're rich enough to do what they like. Okay, so, what are we doing today, ladies?"
"We are trying on your wedding gown, giving you a bath, then giving you time to read before you go to bed," answered Olivia. "With meals, of course."
"Well then, let's get down to business, ladies," Rosie replied.
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After a breakfast of pomegranate seeds and orange juice, they went to work trying on the wedding gown.
"I don't know why you alotted so long for the fitting of one dress," said Rosie. "I mean, it can't be too hard, can it?"
