"Happy birthday, miss!" I was awoken by a loud yell, from somewhere close to me, I forced my eyes open, Clarissa's beaming face quickly coming into focus.
"Keep it down, Clari. I don't want people making a fuss, you know that." I said, trying to sound cross though her smile was infectious.
"You're the princess, it's your twenty fourth birthday. A fuss will most certainly be made, Catherine."
I say up on my bed, playfully pushing my maid away. "Shh, don't remind me. It's the ball tomorrow." I grumbled, standing up.
"I never even mentioned the ball." She laughed, pulling me over to where she'd already laid out my clothing for today. It was a dress, not as simple as the ones I usually preferred to wear but a lot less extravagant than the one which had been made for the ball.
"Yes well, we'll not mention it, or even think about it until tomorrow." I said firmly, slipping out of my nightclothes before she helped me into my dress. "What was that?"
"Oh, nothing, Catherine. I was just talking to myself." She said with a slight smile, quickly finishing adjusting the dress. "Ready for breakfast?"
I nodded slightly, turning to smile at her. "Yes, let's go."
We had to separate for breakfast, my mother and father had wanted to talk to me about the ball, how to act and who to suck up to. They 'only want the best suitor for me', they'd said several times though I knew none of the men there would even catch my eye, let alone my heart. It was all for my parents, I was just a way of getting more money for the two of them.
I returned to my room soon after, Clarissa and I messed around with my paint set for a few hours as I had no lessons that day, my last full day of 'real freedom'.
