Linked

Chapter 1

"Have you seen him yet?"

"No. He hasn't come out yet."

"What's taking him so long?"

"Maybe we don't get to see him today?"

The ballroom was abuzz with the chatter of curious young women, all anxious to meet their possible future husband. The room practically glowed with the shine of tens of young women wearing their jewelry and fancy gowns. Among all the fancy women, I felt like a rock in a gem box. I heard small whispers all around me;

"What's she doing here?"

"Is he really considering her?"

"He must be desperate!"

I silently pulled at my short sleeves, self conscious about my appearance. I was in rags with dirt and patches. It was the only dress I had. I got a shock when I got a tap on the shoulder and the ladies took a step back. I turned around to the eyes of a tall and handsome man wearing fine clothes. "Excuse me miss, what are you wearing? Don't you know where you are?" The whispers grew louder with his words.

"Is she finally getting kicked out?"

"Thank goodness."

"It would have been rude for her to be in his majesty's presence."

I lowered my head in embarrassment. "I'm aware it's not a fine dress but it's the only one I have." The man eyebrows lowered giving him a slightly angry expression. "Follow me." The man simply grabbed my arm and quickly walked out of the room, dragging me along. We walked on for a few corridors until he stopped in front a large door.

"Go in. They will take care of you."

The man stormed off before I could get even a single word in. I watched him down the corridors until a he disappeared around a corner. After standing in the door and staring at it for some time, I pulled the heavy door open with a heave and entered.

Inside I was greeted by a five maids lined up on the left side of the door. They all began to surround me as the door closed behind me. Their hands started tracing my figure and they mumbled various things to each other before they lead me to a bathroom, undressed me, and threw me in. Like a whirlwind, they left, closing the door behind them and leaving me alone in a giant bathhouse.

I froze, unable to process what had just happened. When it finally hit me, I found myself observing the bathroom instead. "This bathroom is bigger than my whole house." My voice echoed through the large room. The bath was big enough to fit my whole town and then some. My amazement was disturbed by two of the maids barging in with a rolling cart. Without a word, they began scrubbing my every part clean before pulling me out and wrapping me in a towel. I was then pulled into the main room once again and placed on a small stage behind a partition.

The girls slipped a strapless dress on me and began adjusting it quickly. I tore my eyes away from their actions and peeked at the mirror in front of me. I was shocked to see such a gorgeous dress. It was a white dress with a pink tinge to it that flared out at the bottom. It was decorated with white flowers and gold embroidery which made the color stand out. It was the most elegant thing I had ever seen. Soon the maids finished their movements and stood aside to allow me to see their work. I hadn't even noticed that they adjusted my hair and curled it. After a few seconds, they quickly ushered me out of the door where I was once again face to face with the man I had met before.

He looked me up and down before peering into my face. I had wanted so badly to curl up and hide with how long he stared at me. Yet he shocked me when a smile came across his face. "Much better."