Jealousy & Blood| Etheria Series Book 1

Chapter 3

Two hours had passed before the children were summoned back to their chambers; within that time, the siblings abandoned their swordplay in favor of playing a game of tag. Axelle had been It most of the time, while the other two happily kept her just out of arms reach. That was to be expected though; the twins played these kinds of games regularly, so their victory was a given no matter what effort their sister gave. Their game left the children sweating and giddy, which irritated their personal attendants as they now required baths. Luckily, they didn't need a perfumed bath, so Axelle found herself being dressed in no time at all although that process was a bit tedious by itself.

Though her dress was nothing extravagant, which was acceptable for tonight, it still required some struggle to put on. Her ladies had to dress her in a special underwear that was light and able to still maintain the figure that was acceptable for the unmarried royal princess. To the princess in question, it made her look fat and only succeeded in maintaining her sweat. Of course, such complaints were ignored by her ladies as they tightened her corset and hoisted her stockings up. Axelle didn't take kindly to the manhandling and would occasionally jerk her limbs whenever someone did something she didn't like.

"Hold still, my lady." Said one of the servant girls, as she gave the princess a rough jerk of her own. "If you keep acting out of line, I'll send for your mother."

Axelle groaned in submission and allowed the ladies to complete their task, the dress itself was easier which was a relief for everyone in the room. "You're better suited for a torturer than a lady in waiting."

"And you a stubborn cat." The lady laughed; none of the other ladies would dare speak so freely to the princess, but Allana knew her princess well and thus earned the freedom to address her princess as a friend than as a mistress. "Now, behave while we comb your hair and fetch your shoes."

The princess obeyed; it took two ladies to tame her wild waves of dark locks and an additional three aided the two with the pins and the small crown she was meant to wear for the night. Only one needed to find the proper shoes that the princess required, and she was ready to be taken away be an escort. The ladies left their princess alone, all except Allana who wished to know why her princess was acting so strange.

"It is nothing, I suppose." Axelle answered with a weary sigh, "I might just be tired from playing."

Allana was unconvinced but pressed no further. Instead, she asked about the chance of being offered to another potential groom. "Last was Sir. Harold from Regiana; handsome indeed but ill-tempered and whorish to say the least."

Laughter threatened to spill from her throat and the princess was forced to muffle her unladylike snort by pressing her hand against her mouth. "I wouldn't consider that the least of his shortcomings, but I am glad the council could see that he was not worthy of being consort. I believe that Prince Alfonzo and his cousin Frances of Umivia had come forth though I doubt much shall come of that."

But," the lady stated with earnest concern and sadness, "they must have gone through all available men by now. That does put you at a disadvantage."

Axelle had to agree, there were only so many unmarried and acceptable candidates from their immediate neighbors. Admittedly, none had been sent from Nautica yet, but her father had wished to keep their search for her husband within their continent. If they must search toward the western continent, it would cause a rift between their diplomatic relationship with the other kingdoms. So far, most of the men they found or were offered failed to meet the council's criteria, the rare few that were acceptable to them fail to impress the king. None ever got the chance to entertain the princess, and perhaps that was where the problem laid; without the opportunity to show their compatibility, the few appeared unworthy and were tossed aside. But, then again, with her heart beating for only Oswald, Axelle felt that she would have be unable to give those men a fighting chance.