The First Queen *Sample Only*

Chapter 3

The castle was more grand than anything I had previously expected, anything I could’ve dreamed up with my wild imagination. It was far beyond any manor house I had seen and it was so much more elegant than the shack my owners called a home. For a brief moment I couldn't fathom going back to sleeping in the barn, nestled in straw. Even just seeing the palace was enough of a taste to drive me mad with envy. It seemed impossible that such glamour could exist in the same world as my poverty.

But here it was, with no expense spared. It had glorious gardens with flowers of every colour and variety and fruit bearing trees I had never even heard of which delighted me. It was a sensory overload almost immediately and I quickly became dizzy when my eyes darted from the gorgeous stables filled with gleaming horses, to the the glittering statues that dotted the perfectly green lawns, and all of the other girls who arrived just as I had, crowding the space.

But as the initial wonder wore away I took a better look at the other young women my heart plummeted. Ladies held out their gloved hands with dainty importance as men and servant rushed to help them off their horses and their large gowns glittered with all the gems that had been sewn on and opulence. Even their horses were prettier than my masters’. They had mares and geldings of the finest breeding with well-formed bones, and fantastically fit bodies while the plow horse beneath me was nearly napping after the long strenuous journey. I almost felt defensive of the poor beast and my flimsy dress.

And even if the king did not care about having a financially independent, socially stable wife there were women here that were far more breathtaking than I. Some women had corsets that made their breasts nearly touch their chin and their waist appear tiny. Others wore plain dresses like mine, but had lovely hair that flowed down past their shoulders, gorgeously full lips, or bright, sparkling eyes. Optimism and warmth just rolled off of their beings, making the approachable and sweet. Just looking at all these women made me feel terribly insecure and I could already imagine the awful things that the king and his men were going to say about me.

"Get down girl, what on Earth are you waiting for?!" my owner snarled.

His words startled me out of my unpleasant thoughts and I shook my head, effectively scattering my thoughts then tried to slide off my horse with the grace of the ladies I had watched earlier. It certainly didn't work and I was fortunate that my master was there to catch me; otherwise I would've fallen directly on my face. Though that might’ve been better than having the vile man touch me. My master just grunted and thrusted me away from him.

"With any luck this god awful event will be over before the sun goes down so we can ride home. If not, I'll have to leave the beast in the stable so you can return home by yourself when you get disqualified." He muttered, "I'll leave word with the guards that you are not to go near this horse until you are sent home and you best come straight back, men know that women will be travelling alone. I can assure you that you'd much rather have the life you live now then a life they would offer you." He warned.

When my face became clouded with fear he just howled in laughter before leading both our horses over to the stable.

After we passed the horses to the stable hand we had to wait nearly an hour just to get into the palace. I stood in line with hundreds of other girls and their servants or masters and we all slowly shuffled up the grand stairs to the entrance of the palace. I had still not been able to get over just how astounding the whole building was. Huge stone pillars, tall spires, daunting statues. It was like nothing I had ever seen before in my life and I tried to take it all in and engrave it into my memory. I had a very strong sense that I would only see this palace again in my dreams. And what a wonderful dream it would be.