"Your majesty?" I looked up from the novel I was reading. "Yes, Clemmings?" I asked, the bald fat man looking at me admiringly. "Ms. de Silva is here." I shut the novel. Clearly, I frowned upon marrying my own cousin. But at least Maria was a good woman, as far as I know. "Yes, Clemmings. Bring her in." The bald man nodded and bowed to me, and then gestured to someone standing beside him in the hall.
"Hello, Hector. Lovely to see you again," Maria sat in the chair beside my desk. "I wanted to speak to you, Hector. It is about your - and soon to be my - people. They seem to resent me." Maria adjusted her skirt and frowned to me. "I must prove to be one of they're own. Even if I am greater than them. We do not want our very own revolution, now do we, Hector?" I nodded to her. "Yes, Maria. What do you propose to do?" Maria glared at me in disbelief. "Go to the town market, of course. Buy oranges and cloth, like all of the villagers. This way, we will prove ourselves one of them. Just fetch the carriage and we'll be on our way."
I rose from my seat, and called Clemmings. He appeared a moment later. "Yes, your majesty?" He asked, hanging his head from the edge of the door. "Fetch the carriage, will you? We are headed to the town market." He bowed again, and a second later we were in the carriage.
"It is a lovely day, it is. Isn't it, Hector?" I was looking out the small window at the edge of the carriage. People were running toward it, trying to catch a sight of the king and future queen together. That was until not a moment later, we were at the entrance of the town market, and people were running all over, carrying baskets and bags filled with merchandise, offering them to bystanders. I was only in the town market several times in my life, and Maria was never in it, once in her life. She was never out of her home, where the butler would care about fetching food from the market. She was never in need to go there. I went there only to find peace in the world out side of the balls and the bowings. It was rather nice to find some place more… kind.
The door to the carriage opened, and people were running toward it, asking us to buy their merchandise, maybe spare them a pound?
I left the carriage and headed to the fish merchants. They were selling fish of all kinds, though rather dirty and possibly not very fresh, but I didn't mind. It was ravishing to see my people manage their own business, like I always wanted to do but never did. Maria didn't seem to agree. She was frowning upon the villagers asking her to buy apples, and just continued walking, to the cloth merchants, when I tripped, from an unseen reason.
When I opened my eyes and stood up, I saw it was a young lady, who kneeled to pick up a carpet she had dropped, while another young woman urged her to stand up and carry it already. The lady rose to her feet and apologized. It was only then when I noticed how beautiful she was, though, unlike Maria and my sisters; she was wearing simply a cheap, tattered, grey dress. She was definitely a villager.
"I am so, so, so sorry, your majesty," She said, bowing. "No need to bow, Miss…" I asked her her name. She was gorgeous. Her chestnut hair flew and curled on her chest, and her beautiful face looked as if it was sculpted by angels, those full lips, those green, enchanting eyes…
"Miss Simon. Susannah Simon."