Maybe Tomorrow

Chapter 2 - Alexandra

After we arrived at the massive palace yesterday evening I couldn't help but admire the large building. It seemed to go on forever and when we stepped inside with the leading of James Collins, the Queen's chamberlain, it looked just as majestic as it did on the outside. I expected it to be quite large but never could I have imagined this. Truly incredible.

It seemed the exterior matched the aesthetic of the interior. Shades of white and brown with gold decorated the whole palace. Even the large chamber which I can call mine for the next few weeks had the same vibes around the room.

How does someone manage to build something like this? How many workers had to come here every day over the years just to get it done for any future monarchs. How many lives were hurt in some form of an accident which happened while they worked here? I could only appreciate their hard work as most of them are probably dead by now. The palace still looks beautiful and their work was worth every single minute they worked on it.

And surely, waking up in a comfortable bed is another amazing feature this place has and as I look around the room in the light of an early morning, I can't help but let a smile take over my face.

Agatha, my maid, took care of my cases and clothes, putting them in the large closet the chamber contained along with a private bathroom and a small seating area in the bedroom part of the chamber. It was slightly bigger than my own at home and I always thought that room was extremely large. This felt ginormous and the thought that Her Majesty's chamber must be twice as big was a shock for me.

Her Majesty Charlotte.

To say I have underestimated her wasn't enough. One look at her and I realised everything people said about her being a beautiful woman was true. Because when I looked at her all that came to me was she looked like the goddess Aphrodite. I have seen many paintings and sculptures of her in Greece and Queen Charlotte is close to being another version of an artist's Aphrodite. It made me think of the rumours even more since the goddess was close to perfection in my homeland.

But thinking about a her made the voice in my head come alive again and the smile I woke up with was long gone.

I slip out of the comfort the bed provides and make my way into the closet where I put on my underwear and find a pair of brown trousers, a white blouse with lace detailing to make it more elegant and tucked it into the pants.

My mother supports my decision to dress comfortably but she insists on giving my clothes a feminine feel so people wouldn't give me mean looks anywhere I go. Or so not too many of them would. I did not want to disobey her even as a grown adult woman so I listened to her. While I get looks of curiosity or sometimes looks of disgust, it isn't so much when the clothes still look like women's in some way or another. In most cases it's the added lace or more fitted clothes.

Pulling my hair back into a low ponytail with a silk cherry red ribbon, I walk into the bathroom where I wash my face from the basin before I use the toilet. Even these look fancy and elegant. Different from the ones we have back home. And their only purpose is to...I think everyone knows what the purpose is. But you do it with style and elegance.

Agatha comes into my room just as I am in the middle of a chapter of the book I was reading. She waits for a few more moments before I let her paint my lashes and put a small amount of blush to my cheeks. The English society has already seen me without anything on my face with dried sweat covering the entirety of it but I wanted to make a good second impression today. For my brother's sake so he has a chance of success.

"Thank you," I say as I get up from the vanity table which stands straight across from my bed, straightening up my clothes in the process so I won't get them wrinkled.