-The Human Girl-

Chapter two - The palace.

Lady Isabella's PoV:
(Age fourteen)

I was startled awake by the jolt of the carriage as it pulled up inside the castle grounds. Still freezing, I rubbed my hands together to warm them up and stamped my feet a few times. Thee carriage door was pulled open by a Paige boy, who offered me his hand as he helped me out.

"The Lady Isabella I presume?" He asked and I nodded. "If you'll allow me to show you to your rooms, they are right this way..." I nodded again and followed him out onto the cobbled courtyard of the palace. The castle was gigantic, made of proper bricks and Windows like nothing I'd ever seen. Stunned speechless I could only nod dumbly as the Paige both went through everything I need to know.

"You'll be in the same quarters as three other girls, all human, who are about your age. Your belongings will be placed in your room by tomorrow morning and you are to remain there until six o'clock, when the bell will ring and you shall go attend to her majesty. Do you have any questions?" I shook my head and blushed as I tried not to trip over the stone step we were going up, all the while cursing my clumsiness.

"All right, Lady Isabella, your quarters are here. I'll inform the Queen of your arrival and tell the servants to bring in your trunk. Good day m'lady." And with that he left me, standing outside the wooden door, utterly speechless. I took a few shaky breaths and blew up my courage. I can do this. I thought to myself. The first step for Father. I held my knuckles up to the door and knocked quickly, waiting in anticipation for it to open.

A second went by before the door creaked open and a young girl peeked out. "Oh, it's you!" She grinned widely and yanked me through the door before I could reply. "Jess! Jess! Look who it is!" She cried out as she pulled me into a hug, complete knocking the wind out of me. "I'm Lady Angela and this is Lady Jessica — and you must be Lady Isabella! We're so excited you're here, we've only got one other human girl and the all boys are totally rubbish." She pulled out of the hug and gasped for breath while I smiled back at the two wearily.

"Hello Isabella." Said Lady Jessica from the bed she was sitting on. "It's very nice to meet you." She must have been about an inch shorter than me but she still looked older, perhaps fifteen or sixteen years old, with dark curly hair pressed flat under the orange French style cap that she wore with a yellow dress. "It's nice to meet you too." I replied, shifting my gaze to the somewhat calmer looking Angela, who was wearing a green dress and simple green cap.

"Your bed is just over here, next to mine and Lady Lauren's, who you'll meet later, do you know when all your things are coming?" Angela sat at the end of another four poster bed and pointed to one in the far corner of the large stone room. "Uh, yes, the Paige boy said that he'd ask a servant to bring it up now." I replied, watching a look of surprise cross over Angela's face.

"Oh!" She said. "You must travel light, usually people send all the clothes that can't come with them in several trunks, so that it arrives some time after they do." I blushed deep red at this but I didn't let my gaze drop to the floor. "Uh, no... you see I thought I should only take the nicest dresses to court so I only packed those." Angela nodded in understanding and patted the spot beside her, motioning for me to sit down.

I slipped onto the soft mattress, surprised by how comfy it was, and tried to get my heavy blush under control. There was no way I was going to admit to anyone at the palace that I couldn't afford anymore than the four dresses I'd bought with me. The whole point of being here was to make a good impression — not to look like some poor beggar.

I caught Jessica's eye and saw the shrewd look she gave me, but when her eyes dropped back to Angela's I was sure she knew the actual reason. Glad that she hadn't said anything I tuned back into the conversation, listening to Jessica tell me excitedly about the rest of the humans here.

" ... He's quite handsome actually and his father is very good friends wi— " Jessica was cut off from her detailed analysis of one of the Paige boys' by a knock on the little servant's door in the corner. Although I hadn't noticed it at first there were actually three doors into our room: The first door, which I'd come through, a second door, which I presumed led into the dressing room, and a third door, which was being knocked on now.

"You can come in!" Jessica called, looking slightly peeved that she'd been interrupted, and in thumped two large dirty men, holding my trunk. "For the Lady Isabella. Where should we put it?" One of them said, looking around until he saw an unfamiliar face. I pointed politely to the bed I'd been assigned and smiled at the two men as they set down the trunk at the end of the bed. "M'lady" they nodded and turned away, smiling over their shoulder as I called out a thank you.

When the door had shut firm Jessica turned to me and sighed. "I suppose now that you've got your nightdress we haven't got an excuse to stay up any longer, the maid will be up soon to turn out the candles, so we'd better be in bed." We all walked over to our own trunks and opened them up, taking out our nightdresses. "Never mind," Jessica sighed again. "I guess I can tell you about the boys tomorrow."

Angela and Jessica walked into the next room (through the second door) and I followed quickly behind them, watching as they slid behind the separate room dividers to get changed. Glancing at the growing mountain of clothes slung over the dividers I decided that I needed to get changed fast, so I picked one of the spare dividers and hid behind it, changing into my nightdress as quick as I could.

I sighed in relief as I took of my corset, thankful that as a simple Lady in waiting I did not wear posh enough clothes to warrant a maid's help to get all the cords undone — no, that was my job, to help the Queen with her's. Once we'd all changed (which took a lot longer than I'd of liked), we hurried back into the bedroom to brush through our hair and slide into bed, giggling at Jessica's jokes.

Soon enough we were ready for bed and under the covers, too tired to talk after our good-nights.