Love & Duty

Chapter 9

Today was sunny; the sun was high in the sky, shining down on everything without a single cloud. It seems it's going to be a perfect, bright day.

"Aaah! It isn't working!" out of excitement, Sophia was already wide awake and somehow trying to get ready for her day with Rowen. She has been standing in front of the mirror for almost an hour, still with no satisfying results.

"Princess Sophia, it's almost time for you to leave." Valerie walks in, already knowing she's awake. Both she and Tyler could hear her frustrated screams in their rooms.

"Valerie... it's not working. Do something!" she turns to her aide for help, with hair going all over the place.

Valerie almost couldn't catch herself bursting into laughter when she saw her state, "What did you do to your hair?"

"Don't laugh! Help me!" She turns back to the mirror, trying to tie her hair in some way. "It keeps looking normal. It won't change."

Valerie walks up to her to try and help, confused though. "Don't you like your hairstyle normally?" she takes Sophia's hair and brushes it.

"I do. But..." Sophia's voice quiets down, and she looks to the ground. Valerie saw the conflict in her Princess' eyes.

A part of her knew why she was so bothered with her typical hairstyle today, but she wanted to hear it clearly from her. If she admits she wants to change, then she will be sure. "You know you can tell me anything; my lips are sealed." she continued brushing her hair.

"I'm just going to the festival, and... I want to look a bit different."

"For the festival?" Valerie hides her smile, finding it cute how the Princess tries to conceal the real excuse.

"Yes, probably everyone will look pretty and h-handsome, so I want to look the part too." a slight blush creeps on her cheeks.

"You are already pretty, Sophia." Valerie always found her to be pretty, beautiful, in fact. If Sophia bothered with her looks like the other Princesses, her beauty would be unmatched.

"I know you think that. You always say it, but it doesn't mean others can't be prettier." Sophia just wanted to look her best.

"I'm sure Rowen already thinks you are very pretty." she knew she would get a reaction out of this.

"H-How did you know... about that?" her cheeks are now crimson red, remembering what he told her when he gave her the rose.

"We were there that day, or were you so entranced that you forgot about us?" silence fell in the room. Sophia was so embarrassed that she didn't know what to say. "Could that be the reason you want to change your hairstyle?" she takes a chance and asks her directly.

"Maybe..." Sophia still can't lift her head high. She doesn't know what she feels to be proud of or share it with others. She just knows it's making her happy, and she wants more. "I just want to look better today."

Valerie was finally able to tame the hair she had raffled up. She looks at the Princess in the mirror and gives her a sweet smile. "How about we let your hair down?" she brings Sophia's hair to the front, "And tie just a bit from the top?" she holds back the top to show the style she is thinking of.

Sophia can readily admit how different she looks. She always did when her hair was down, looking like a girl or the Princess she was supposed to be. "It's nice, but it's too different. He will think it's weird if I look too different." she whispers the last part. "I don't want to make it seem... umm," she didn't know how to say it.

"Obvious?" Valerie helped her; she only nodded. "Okay, I get it now; how about you close your eyes and trust me with my choice?" Sophia was a bit reluctant to accept; she was running out of time and didn't want to be late. But she decided to trust Valerie and closed her eyes.