Emergency Princess (Under Editing)

Chapter 12| Lessons With Louisa

Chapter 12| Lessons With Louisa

"Tighter!" shouted Louisa to Adwoa, who in turn pulled harder. I was sure that there would be burns on her palms when she was done. I closed my eyes and held in a breath as Adwoa complied with Louisa's frantic demands of, "Tighter!"

After what seemed like an eternity of pulling and sucking in my breath, Louisa was satisfied. As I stiffly tried to slip my hand through the armhole of the dress I was to wear, I saw Louisa's lips move in the ghost of a smile. As Adwoa yanked my arm through, I promised myself that I would have my revenge before the day was over.

Adwoa mouthed an apology to me before slipping out of the room. She seemed terrified of Louisa. Louisa circled me, like a hawk eyeing a chick before swooping down for the kill. I stood still, back straight, eyes fixed on the mirror in front of me. The dress was stiff and pleated, and my gloved hands were starting to sweat.

"Satisfactory," she said at last, and I slouched, only to straighten up as the whalebone of the corset dug into my ribs. "Now, follow me."

We exited my bedroom, and I had hop, skip and jump just to keep up with her brisk strides. She stopped in front of the ballroom, and the guards bowed to us before opening the lacquered doors.

"Stand in the very centre of the room," she said. I did as she asked, my movements restricted. The first chance I got, I was going to take off this corset.

"Today, we will be studying posture. You may ask me why we would spend two valuable hours learning how to sit, stand and— oh yes—sleep. Let me tell you this, a royal commands attention based on his posture. If your subject walks in and sees you slouching in your throne, you lose respect that you should command. The correct posture helps you exude confidence as is right. Am I understood?"

I nodded, and it took a glare from her to make me open my mouth and mutter, "Yes Miss Johnson."

"Good. Now walk."

Confused, I did as she told me to.

"No! All wrong. Again."

Frowning, I started again, but before I had taken more than two steps she stopped me.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Erm...walking? Like you told me to?"

"You call this walking?" She purposely exaggerated my gait, swinging her arms wildly. "A true lady of rank sways her hips slightly to and fro. She swings her arms, not too noticeably. She keeps her chin up, and looks in the direction of the place she is headed, not at the floor. Her back is always straight."

I was nearly cross-eyed from trying to keep the facts straight. I managed not to give a snarky comment about how I had virtually no hips to sway, and tried doing as she asked.

She put two fingers to her temple and rubbed, as though I was giving her a migraine. "Princess, you look like a toy soldier. Try again."

If anybody had walked in in the next hour, they would have seen some pretty strange goings-on, as I tried to apply what Louisa had taught. For some reason, it never turned out the way she wanted. Either I wasn't swaying my hips enough, or I was swaying so much I looked like a hooker. Eventually, she just sighed and said, "That will have to do."

She muttered some rather unsavoury comments under her breath, along the lines of 'completely unteachable.' At least that's what I heard, and I couldn't resist snapping back. After all, we were both worn out.

"No, no, no!" I exclaimed, mimicking her Maldonian accent. "Young ladies never mutter. They speak clearly and audibly." Then I tapped my chin. "Though you wouldn't exactly fall under the category of young..."