Elsie is supposed to be a young, demure Victorian woman, waiting to enter the high society and search for a husband. The problem is that ever since she was a child she has had a secret that makes her disappear every night. Not exactly something she...
"No, Princess, no! Your aim is so poor today. What's the matter?"
The arrow had hit the dome and fell down with a clank. The young woman lowered her bow and sat down on a chair with a huff, crossing her ankles. This caused her hem to rise, and revealed pretty kid shoes with a bow at the tip. A servant girl immediately appeared from behind a screen to offer her some lemonade on a tray. She took the amethyst glass with a gilded rim, and downed the sweet lemonade with one gulp. This caused a disapproving glance from her tutor, a stern looking woman. Her black clothing was in stark contrast to the light coloured, tightly corseted dress of her protege.
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"Manners, princess! Manners! It is not proper to show your ankles! And a lady doesn't drink like a sailor."
Alexandrina turned to look at her tutor. She did not like her much. she had not even asked for her name, and because she had not, and called her only as Tutor. Who did not seem to mind this in the least, which in her present state of mind irked the princess even more.
"I don't understand why I have to keep practising. Who cares how I aim? Or how I drink. Or if my ankles show? There's no one here to see any of these things, and there never will be."
For a while it looked like Alexandrina was going to throw her glass to the floor. Her hand trembled, but she took a deep breath and then placed the glass on the small table next to her chair.
Tutor shook her head. Her long black hair was in a tight bun at the nape of the neck, not a single hair out of place despite the long hour they had been practicing. Again in contrast with the loose, brown ringlets on both sides of Alexandrina's face. The princess sighed, waiting for the inevitable lecture about manners to continue. It always did, no matter how small the offence was. All her life she had been corrected by her mother, her servants, and now her tutor.
"A lady must always behave as if she was being observed. All the more so when the lady in question is of the royal family. She needs to keep herself fit and beautiful to show good example to the lower classes who need educating in manners of style, taste and good manners."
"And how, pray tell, am I supposed to show good example to them when they cannot see me?" Alexandrina sassed.
"True, it is out of the question for a princess of Amun's royal family to get out and show herself in public. Yet those who know her will discuss her reputation and elegance and these rumours spread. Thus you must never behave in substandard manner, not even when you are alone, so you don't unwittingly slip when in company of others. You must root etiquette so deep in your mind you never slip. Overweight is also a sign of lack of self discipline. A lady must pay attention to what and how much she eats, and she needs to exercise to keep her feminine form beautiful. She cannot look like an innkeepers wife. For a princess of your family, indoor sport is the only way to do that. And if you look around, this is almost like being outdoors. You should be happy to have the Ladies's Dome to practise in!"
