Cursed

A Cure

As noon approached, the sun's light glimmered throughout the garden, painting a beautiful picture of flora against the towering castle. Despite the way things looked on the outside, however, Princess Ellinor was worried and growing even more restless. There she sat, with her three ladies in waiting beside her; yet the queen had yet to arrive for tea. It was obvious, though depressing, that she had been stood up.

Just as Ellinor was ready to return to her quarters, she noticed the queen's consort approaching. "Lady Beatrice," she said, nodding as she stood up to greet her.

"I'm sorry, your highness," she said, handing the princess a small note. Taking it in her hands, she read along as Lady Beatrice continued. "But her majesty will not be joining you."

Before Ellinor could reply however, the queen's consort was gone; back through the doors she had just appeared from moments ago. Sighing loudly, she sat back down and shook her head. Why must everything be so difficult? she thought, staring off through the greenery of the garden.

"Well... I, for one, despise cold tea," Lady Marigold said, her voice faint in the princess' distracted mind.

"I'm sorry," she said, feeling defeated. "It's my fault."

"Unless it has a bit of extra sugar in it," Lady Penelope added.

Ellinor smiled for a moment, but it quickly faded as her eyes fell upon the empty chair; the place where the queen would have been seated if she had shown up for tea as agreed.

"Cold tea with sugar. My favorite," Lady Abigail said, flashing a half-hearted smile.

The princess was upset, but one no show didn't mean that tea would be entirely cancelled. At once, she and the other ladies sipped from their mugs in their fancy ways. Luckily, she had been taught well by her step-sister, and the women around her all looked impressed with her new found technique. That was, until she reached the end of her cup and slurped the remnants quickly. She noticed a few annoyed glances, but because she was the princess, they kept their disdain hidden.

Lady Marigold leaned forward, a look of bitterness on her face. Maybe it was the cold tea, Ellinor thought, trying to stay positive. "So, how is your new charge getting on?" Marigold asked, stiffening back up in her chair. "You know... the former Lady Stephanie Thorne."

"Quite well, thank you," she replied.

As the other ladies all shared knowing glances with each other, she looked away, focusing instead on the event that would come next. In her trembling hands, Ellinor held an empty teacup and fidgeted with it as she worried about how the party would go. If the queen didn't care to take a few minutes to meet with her new daughter-in-law beforehand, then what would that mean for the princess? Nothing seemed to be going how she had expected, and that was a very scary thing.

"The queen's party will be fun, won't it?" Abigail asked, heightening Ellinor's worries temporarily. "Anyone who's anyone will be there. Oh, and Ellinor; you'll be right next to the queen..."

At the mere mention, Ellinor glanced up quickly; her mouth open as the teacup slid from her cold fingers. It fell to the ground forcefully, shattering into dozens of tiny pieces. "I'm so sorry!"

"You needn't apologize, your highness," Abigail said, her voice sounding reserved, but sincere.

"I'll clean it up. I..." she said, kneeling down beside the mess. As Ellinor swept the pieces up in her hands, she realized her mistake. Without looking up, she could already feel the heated stares of disapproval upon her. "I'm sorry, but I must go," she said, standing to her feet immediately before darting off. She was ashamed; not because she was still learning how to be a princess, but because she was so terrible at it.