Blistered Roses

Chapter 2: Persistent Princess Adelaide

                  

Sometimes I wonder if this will be my life forever. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever leave. Sometimes...I wonder if times will change and I will escape to somewhere peaceful.

"Tara, what are ye doing?"

Tara jumped to the sound of her mother's voice behind her and folded the paper up in her hands. "Nothing...." She said holding the paper tight in her hands. She started to shake not only from the cold, but from the possibility of her mother looking down upon her for writing, because it is not something servants needed to learn. She sniffled from her nose beginning to drip and Caoimbe put her hands on her hips giving a sigh.

"Get inside. It is blimey cold out here. And if yer going to do something like that, at least do it in private and not out in the open. I don't want my daughter to be in trouble with the royals." Caoimbe said and gave Tara a push to get her inside.

Tara got off of the bench, slid the paper under her sleeve like she always did, and laid the charcoal stick down near the steps where she hid it. Caoimbe watched her daughter as she followed and shook her head becoming worried of what might become of her daughter one of these days. She walked with Tara into the castle describing to her what will be going on during the day. Tara day dreamt through some of it, but quickly focused at her mother giving all of her attention when she brought up the upcoming royal gathering.

She knew the royal gathering would involve the upper class having a party with masks covering most of the people's faces, but it would also mean that suitors would try to grab the Princess's attention by dancing with her to try and gain her interest. This worried Tara, because it might result in a loss of her friend, her only friend that she trusts and the Princess trusts Tara.

"Tara, are ye listening to me?" Caoimbe snapped at Tara's eyes causing her to blink multiple times and flinch.

"Yes, mother. Go on, you were discussing where the servants would be." She said staring in her mother's eyes. Caoimbe looked at Tara for a moment realizing her daughter is losing interest in giving her full potential as a servant.

"There will be a small group of servants attending the gathering to make sure everything is running smoothly. Yer not a part of this, so the King and Queen have requested those who are not a part of it to stay out of the way. Do you understand?" Caoimbe stared deep into her daughter's eyes hoping she was listening this time.

Tara nodded her head looking back at her mother giving her assurance she did listen and understood everything. She felt relieved that she had a night off, because the last royal gathering they had she was almost attacked by a filthy man and that was the last thing she wanted to deal with. "I understand, mother. I must attend scrubbing the royal hall with the other maids now."

"Alright darling, go on now." Caoimbe kissed Tara's cheek and patted her back. Tara shifted to the side and walked off towards the royal room where all the royals and upper class will be attending the royal gathering.

Tara entered the great big royal hall of nothing but paintings and wall designs. She felt so small in such a big room with nothing in it. It is designed for people to seal up like a can of sardines when royal gatherings are held along with servants serving food or wine. She looked over to the large windows where light shined onto the floors causing a reflection of the windows shape. During the day, this is when the room gets the best lighting, but at night, the servants had to light over two hundred candles to get the room lit as bright as possible. As soon as it became dark, this is when the royal gatherings began.

People would chatter amongst each other occasionally chattering with the King and Queen as they made their entrance. Music would play constantly and people would be dancing in a group or with a partner. The smell of food often filled the room with a wonderful aroma. Royal gatherings happened every few months as an extra time frame for the Princess or Prince to learn as much as they could before meeting a possible suitor.