𝐌𝐫𝐬. 𝐌𝐚𝐣𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲 | Choni

Three

After realising she’d been stood concealed content with just listening to the other woman’s voice, the Princess decided it would be rude not to make her presence known and so cleared her throat.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there, your Highness.” The brunette woman gave a small last thought-out bow after spinning around startled.

Cheryl felt bad for making the woman jump and began to miss the melody that had stopped.

The Princess stepped toward the other girl and waved her hand dismissively, “No, it’s quite alright. I shouldn’t be in here anyway.” She didn’t know why she said that last part. This woman was dressed in the green and purple tunic dress that the staff tended to wear around the castle.

An awkward silence filled the air around them. The Princess watched the serpent woman as she tried to avoid her eyes. The brunette knew she shouldn’t dare address the Princess, but couldn’t help but ask, “So what were you doing in here then?”

If the redhead was affronted by the familiarity in the question, she didn’t show it. “Just looking for something to read.” She ran her hand over the book spines on the shelf next to her.

The brunette watched the redhead as she seemed to admire the feel of the paper under her fingertips. “Surely you’ve read all these books before?” It was out of her mouth before she could think.

“Not all of them, a fair few though.” Cheryl smirked and shook her head.

“I apologise, I should go.” The serpent girl gave a quick bow before she started to gather her things and make her way to leave before the Princess spoke again.

“What were you doing in here?” Cheryl bit her lip knowing that her parents would think it odd her starting a conversation with a Serpent woman.

The brunette didn’t know if she was being accused of something, her tone didn’t give much away. “I like to come in here sometimes while I work on some of the linen.” She held up the rough pile of cloth in her arms.

Cheryl hummed. “Yes, the view is lovely from that window.” She nodded to where she’d been working.

The serpent nodded in agreement as she attempted to keep all the cloth and sewing equipment in her arms.

“You have a beautiful voice.” The Princess had not planned on sharing that opinion with the other woman.

“Thank you.” It got caught in her throat in mortification. “But it really isn’t.” She shook her head adamantly.

“Cheryl!” The Queen’s voice echoed down the corridor making the two girls look to the door the Princess had come through.

They then looked at each other both with mild alarm, both not sure exactly why.

“Quick, you can go out that door, I’ll meet her at this door.” Cheryl spoke quickly indicating for the girl to go through the servant’s door she’d most likely used.

She nodded and slipped away. She didn’t know why the Princess was helping her from having an awkward and possibly intimidating encounter with her mistress, but she was appreciative nonetheless.

Cheryl opened the door as she heard her mother nearing the other side. “Yes, Mother?”

A smile crossed the Queen's lips at finally locating her eldest daughter, “There you are. I thought we were meeting in your reception room?”

“I apologise, I must have gotten distracted. I came to put a book back.” She vaguely nodded to the rows of books behind her.

Penelope brushed a stray hair behind her daughter’s ear. “It’s alright dear. If you’re free now there’s something I wanted to talk with you about.”

The young woman nodded and the Queen guided them over to a sitting area with a few cushioned chairs.

“How would you feel about having a Lady’s Maid? I know they’re usually reserved for married women, however, your father and I don’t see why getting you into a routine now would be unquestionable. Plus having a reliable Lady’s Maid now may help you in the future when you move away from us here.” Penelope finished off and seemed to be delicately balancing around a topic as she spoke. Nonetheless, she was clear in her words.

Her mother had a point. If she was going to end up where everyone around her seemed to want her to; being married with her own title and living heaven knows where, it might be nice to have someone familiar with her.

Penelope imagined her daughter would turn her nose up at the idea, but she seemed to be contemplating something.

Her youngest child and only son had been somewhat of a surprise, to say the least. It was expected, for the majority of Cheryl’s life, that she would be next in line for the throne. This was because she was the oldest living heir with no male heirs. That all changed when the Queen bore Andrew six months ago. Now Cheryl’s future looked very different and unsecure. Penelope couldn’t help but feel the need to steer Cheryl in the right direction. She wanted to ensure her daughter’s future was a secure and comfortable one. The best way to do that would be to have her marry the right man.

Cheryl knew of her mother’s plans, but couldn’t see how marrying a man she hardly knew quantified as a comfortable life. So yes, Cheryl contemplated having some sort of familiarity with her future selfishness. “That could be agreeable.” The redhead finally said after much thought.

The Queen couldn’t hold back the relieved smile she felt on her lips. “Okay. Your father and I will put some names together, you can meet them and make a decision. How does that sound?” Penelope tried not to sound too enthusiastic as she may scare her daughter away from the idea.

“That sounds perfect Mother.” Cheryl didn’t ever plan to let her parents down and was somewhat glad to see her response had pleased her mother.

It wasn’t long before Penelope had made her leave of her daughter and she was left alone with her thoughts. It seemed there was no real way of avoiding where her mother and father were pushing her to. She supposed there were worse fates.