The Hands of Fate

Chapter 26

"She's doing good," Theo commented, watching Farah spin before continuing to waltz with Strizor. The two had been working together on her princess lessons for over a week, and the ball was approaching rapidly. In a day, to be exact. Farah felt she had learned lots of new things throughout the period of time, although she was still skeptical about posing as a Princess. 

Farah broke away from the waltz as the music died down. 

"Good? Please, Theo, I'm trying," she crossed her arms, rolling her eyes, a grin on her face. She pushed a strand of hair out of her face, rubbing her eyes. She had to admit, all of the studies had stressed her out in a way, keeping her from sleeping, worrying her. What was to happen if she was caught? And not only that, Caspian kept gnawing at her mind. What if he did fall for Amara? What then? She would usually try to shrug it off, but lately it kept coming back to her mind no matter how hard she tried to keep the thought away. 

Theo chuckled, looking at his friend admiringly. "You're doing fine. I can't even tell if you're a maid anymore," he admitted, shrugging. Farah laughed.

"Huzzah, I have you fooled," she grinned. Theo shook his head, smiling. 

"Come, Farah, there's still more to do," Strizor interrupted the two, sucking the maid back into the world of royalty. She felt pity for Caspian, having to deal with this all the time. 

The day seemed to drag on and on, learning and relearning the graces of royalty. Soon enough, Farah lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling. She wiped tears from her emerald orbs, sucking in the air sharply. She had gotten some sleep, but had awaken due to a bad dream. 

Caspian. She had dreamed about him. She worried for him. She worried for herself and him. For them. Them. Was there even a them? No. There was a prince and there was a maid. No them. Never a them. The emotions hit her like a punch in the gut, tears sliding down her cheeks one after the other. She turned on her side, trying to have happier thoughts, trying to think past Caspian not-not what? Not loving her? Had he ever? She doubted it. The maid curled up in a tight ball, covering her face; and there she lay, until her breathing became slower. Until she finally drifted off into a deep sleep, one where there were no dreams of ifs and whens. 

"Wake up sleeping beauty, it's time to get ready!" Theo shook Farah awake, causing her to groan in protest. "Come on, Strizor's taking you to the boutique or something to get ready," Theo shook her again. 

"It's so early in the morning, Theo, why am I getting ready now?" Farah murmured, talking into her palms as she tried to keep the sun out of her eyes. 

"Morning? Early? It's midday, Farah. You've been asleep forever," Theo chuckled. 

Farah sat up quickly in realization, her head hitting Theo's. 

"What?!" She nearly yelled as Theo recoiled, gripping his head, cursing under his breath. "I have work, you didn't wake me up earlier? Why not?"

"Strizor told me to not wake you up until later on. Besides, Hendrix and I were able to work a bit extra to help you out. Just this once," he laughed at her shock. 

"Oh, well, thank you so much," Farah said, watching Theo as he grabbed a piece of bread, taking a bite out of it as he leaned against the wall. "Which boutique am I headed to?" Farah asked, getting off of the couch, rubbing her eyes which were still slightly puffy from the previous night. 

"Elizabeth's," Theo said plainly, focused on his bread as he took another bite. Stretching quickly, Farah wandered over to the small closet that the three shared, taking out her only casual outfit and drawing the curtain, getting changed. The brunette threw her hair in a messy ponytail, hurrying towards the door, stealing a piece of Theo's bread, much to his shock and distaste, before leaving, barefoot.