The Bride

Chapter 3

     As Arabella leads me to the room, I can't help but notice the palace decor. Paintings line the walls of the royal family. There's the Queen and King and their son, the person I'm here for. He devilishly handsome. Tousled brown hair, beautiful brown eyes, perfect teeth! I sigh dreamily, he's a real life Prince Charming- literally! Arabella clears her throat, pulling me from my daydream. I blush, hoping she wasn't waiting on me too long. If she cared, she didn't seem to show it as she led me into the room.

     "Please, take a seat at the vanity, miss. I'll fix you up a bit before your meeting with the Prince" she takes out a brush and begins to run it through my hair. She hums a tune as she works her way through the knots that must've formed on my way to the palace. Once she's done with my hair, she then turns to do my makeup.

     "You're very pretty, miss. You don't really need makeup. But... it's what the Prince wants. The Prince always gets what he wants..." she trails off, and that haunted look returns to her eyes.
    
     "Uh, thank you," I say. "Also, my name is Arielle if you'd rather call me by my name that just 'miss'... not that I mind it" I added hastily.

     "Arielle! Even your name is beautiful! Miss Arielle it is," We laugh, and while Arabella fixes me up, she tells me a little about herself. Turns out she's my age. Her dad worked as a chef in the palace, and her mother was a cutlery maid. They both had mysteriously passed away from an unknown desease when she was fifteen. She also told me that being a handmaid is a great honour, only the best, special women the Prince chooses can be one. She continues to reassure me that the Prince is a wonderful, caring man, though it seems that she's more reassuring herself than anyone. I want to ask her more about the Prince when suddenly, a butler pops his head in.

     "The Prince will see you now"

°°°

     The butler had said nothing to me as he lead me to the ballroom, where the other nine ladies where waiting. He only gave me a number- nine. He told me that the Prince was much to busy for names, and would refer to us by our assigned numbers. I didn't really think anything of it, since I knew that he was in fact busy if he had to run a whole kingdom by himself.

     The ballroom was beautiful. It had high ceilings, and the floor had the perfect tile for dancing. Two staircases spiraled upward to the second floor. The best part was the large chandelier hanging from the ceiling, the fair centerpiece of it all. This was by far the best ballroom I had ever seen. Well, to be perfectly honest, it was the only ballroom I had ever seen.

     The butler then had us line up in numerical order. Sine I was number nine, I was the second to last girl in the line. The girl next to me- number eight- was only just a bit shorter than I was. Her blonde hair was in an intracate updo, which drew attention to her deep green eyes. She stared straight ahead, seeming to be lost in thought. While the other girls in line where chatting quietly, she just seemed to stand there. I decided to talk to number ten instead, who had a welcoming smile and a face full of freckles.

     "Hi! My name is Sandie, what's yours?" She asks cheerfully. I tell her my name, and we make small talk. Turns out, she's from a horse farm in the south part of Alanderia. Her father taught her how to ride when she was five. Her mother actually works in the palace.

     "Oh, awesome. What does she do?" I ask. Sandie tells me that her mother is some kind of assistant to the Prince, but that she doesn't know the details. Her mother is very secretive about her job.

     "I was actually kind of hoping that I'd see her today..." Sandie says as she looks around.

     "Hey, maybe you will! Just think, if you get chosen by the Prince, you'll be living with your mother again!"

     Sandie's sweet expression suddenly turns sour. "I think you mean when I'm chosen," she looks me up and down. "Bitch..." she adds under her breath.

     "Uh..." I start, but I was interrupted by the sound of trumpet fanfare.

     "The Prince" the butler introduces by bowing and sweeping his arm in the direction the Prince was in.

     This is it. This was the moment I had been waiting for.