Lady Illea (Lady Illea #1)

Chapter Twelve

I laughed. "You can't be serious?"

Esmeralda, with her arm locked through mine, smiled and shook her head. "Nope. The Queen was very irritated."

I laughed again.

Alma, who was holding onto my other arm laughed and said, "When Esmeralda was younger she gave this palace a run for their money"

Junebug, who was holding onto Alma's arm nodded. "She's a hurricane. The palace is her center"

   Esmeralda, Alma, and Junebug dressed me simply this morning. They said I was heading over to get a make over. How exciting! I dreaded what they were going to do. We were walking with our arm crossed into each other's and they were telling me stories of the palace.

   Alma was put up for adoption as a child and Nina, one of the cooks, adopted her and brought her to the palace and they gave her a better life here.

   Junebug's father worked in the stables and her mother died during childbirth. She wasn't sad when she talked about it, in fact Junebug was a very sweet and wholesome girl who smiled often.

   Esmeralda on the other hand was born and raised in the palace. Her mother, before she died, was the Queen's maid, and her father, before he died as well, worked closely with the King.

   It was funny how they spoke of death, as though it was nothing but perhaps they just didn't want to scare me off with tragic stories in depth only on my first day. But that was alright. I didn't mind waiting and if they ever wanted to speak to me I'd always be here to listen.

  We turned a corner and that was when I noticed the mob of girls heading down that hallway. I stopped dead in my tracks and the girls along with me. 

Alma frowned. "What's the matter?"

'There are....so many of them"

Esmeralda laughed. "Sweetheart please!"

I looked at her. "I have a feeling this is going to be a long day"

   The girls brought me to the door, bigger than life it was, and left me. I tried holding onto to their arms but it didn't work. I took in a deep breath and watched the girls pass me.

"Nervous?" I turned around.

  There was a girl behind me. She was tall with a very thick figure, rainbow hair and dark chocolate brown eyes. I swallowed.

"Is it obvious?"

She laughed and extended her hand. "Perri. Three. Angeles."

I smiled and shook her hand. "Alessandra. Six. Carolina."

"Want to go in together?" she asked.

"Would I be a chicken if I said yes?" 

   Perri laughed. It was the kind of laugh that was so weird and awkward it made me want to laugh. She held onto my arm.

'"Come on kid."

  We stepped into a room that made me eyes widen. It was big, with an entire wall made of windows. The floor was marble, there was a large hanging chandelier and stations everywhere. The room seemed to be divided. There were people rolling in racks with dresses in bags hanging on them. other stations were for nails and feet and then the stations that lined the wall of windows that showed you the gardens were for hair.