Holly: I'm~ back!
Cassy: No one missed you lately...
Holly: Aw. I'm hurt :'(. Anyway check out this! [ document/d/1WbMvXYWl9rAqkVKcRKZHvf8t7WzBwIVIHyW7qyLpxqI/view#] It's not fan fiction, so I didn't post it. Of course, it's still in progress. Happy readings!
Cassy: Don't forget about me either! Check out The Adventures of Cassy: Rebel Princess!
Holly: Do your thing, Disclaimer Dude!
Disclaimer Dude: Holly is not Shakespeare.
Holly: Sooo...
Disclaimer Dude: Doesn't own Romeo and Juliet.
LUCIA
The day was still the same. Wake up, scrape up some grains of rice, and make some gruel for our camp.
Sighing, I reach up to brush my bangs from my eyes, dried mud flaking off in bits from my face. It may not seem special, I told myself, but today, we might be chosen to work at the castle. Then we can actually earn money!
I scrape out the last of the contents, spoon them into the bowl, and hand it to the last person in the line.
"Thank you Lucia." The woman -Ruby- said throatily.
"No big deal." I smile brightly, even though I felt like I would collapse any second. I haven't eaten in... who knows how long?
I push the thought away. I bet people were always fed in the palace. I swatted at a fly. It'll always be clean there too.
The clang of a pot bellowed across the camping grounds. Time to "dress up". If we were to be chosen, we had to be presentable, because none other than the prince was visiting to choose the new palace servants. Stupid rich snobs. Get what they want without the work we need to do. Humph.
The prince was only a toddler when the Montague family attacked the Capulet, who had been ruling for many centuries. The Montague state the Capulet family had been heavily taxing the commoners, causing the majority of the "poor people" camp, because no one had enough money to pay. I was 5 years old then, but I don't remember a thing.
I walk to the back of the foresty mountain, where a warm mist floated around a hot spring. I scatter some lilacs and lavender petals into the steaming lake. I dip one toe into the water. Perfect. Steam rose around me caressing my bare skin. For a moment, I become nostalgic. Do I really want to leave this place? There are so much people I would leave here... No. Palace life will be much better. Better than this stupid place.
Sighing, I drip water to the stone where my only presentable clothe is. It's a tight faded blue dress that was my mom's before our house burned down. It could barely fit me now. I also brought her amethyst necklace. The amethyst was her birthstone and mine as well. It's the final thing she gave me before she left the world. I slip on the dress (a bit more like squeezed into) and clipped on the amethyst necklace. The tiny violet stone brushed against my neck like a feather. I released a breath and almost decided to continue with my grooming session, but I didn't feel like moving around too much.
I sat down on a white-washed rock, letting the sun dry my hair. My chestnut hair curled back into my usual flowing waves. I hadn't had a chance to take a bath for a long time, especially since everyone was always busy. Nostalgia hit me when a light wind rustled past. I could still feel the same ivory comb going through my hair, brushing away the knots. The leaves settled onto the sun-dappled ground and the wave of longing receded, back into my ocean of memories.
I look deep into the forest, as if I could look at where it went. Then my eye caught on something. It was a smooth golden orb, several of them, clustered in the forest. A persimmon tree! That meant I was going to eat something that wasn't tasteless mush. I sprinted into the forest, and lifted my dress skirt up so it wasn't getting dragged in the dirt and tangled with my legs. I scaled the tree in a few seconds and reached..! My hand wrapped around the plump orange fruit just as my foot slipped.
Ahh! I tumbled downward, landing on abnormally soft ground.
"Ow..." A voice said below me.
"Ack!" Swiveling, I get up and dust off my dress. "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!"
A man in a guards uniforms stared at me. "What's a lady doing up in a tree?"
Heh. Funny. A lady? "I am no lady," I stated simply. "I'm from the camp."
He blinked. "The camp?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"I'm the guard escorting His Highness to you people." He smirked. "I'm guessing it's nearby?"
"No duh." Why am I giving him sass? Eh...
"You should lead us there." He thought for a moment. "I'll be sure to put in a word or two to the prince. If you lead us there, of course."
He moved away a branch of unidentified undergrowth away. A gleaming cream-colored carriage lined and edged with gold sculpted in floral swirls sat on the gravel road. It did not seem right in such a place.
"You're for real, right?" He looked at me quizzically. "The prince is in there?"
"You think I'd be able to afford carriage with my earnings?"
"Um, no." I watched as the guard climb on the horse's back. "Isn't that job for the coachman?"
"Well, the prince didn't feel that well, and felt really uncomfortable toward me for some reason, so I switched jobs with him temporarily."
"That doesn't happen often, does it?"
"More than you know."
Later... LUCIA
We were back at the camp. The "campers" were lined up in rows and columns, in two groups: male and female, in age order. I was somewhere near the back, In between two besties.
"Omg, have you seen the prince?" This girl had fiery hair, and was way too thin to be attractive. I sighed. All of us weren't much to look at. Myself included, even though I lie to myself. I was practically skin and bones.
"Yes." This girl giggled. Her olive skin made her look sickly instead of tanned, results of the sickness that swept through once. At least she survived. Her almond eyes curved upward, showing, not to be rude and stereotypical, this girl was Asian.
They gushed to one another how handsome and charming he was. Puh-lease. I bet he's a chubby freak from being overfed.
"Do you think, I might have a chance with him?"
I almost burst out laughing. Love sure is weird huh? Makes you think servants have chances with people like the prince. Even if he did love her, I thought, his father wouldn't allow it. His mother would probably say, "Whatever you want, dearie." She would never defy the king, even as his wife.
A clap silenced all of us. We all stared at our feet. Boots slowly climbed out of the carriage and walked by all of us slowly.
This is it...
WILHELM
I strolled down lanes of people for a long time selecting a few in my head. I told the guard which ones the palace might need and slowly inched to the back female group.
Immediately, I noticed something. Something glinted on the ground. A pale purple gemstone wrapped in ribbons of silver attached to a thin delicate chain, not broken chains, but detached from each other on one end.
Well, Mother's Birthday is in a fortnight, so I suppose... No. These people here are poor. I will have to order one myself. The jeweler downtown does some great metalwork... I glanced at the small amethyst.
The crystal glinted innocently.
I'll hold onto it for awhile... I'll give it back at the end... I guess...
LUCIA
Finally, he left, and I let out a sigh of relief. I never liked when people judged me...
Hey look. It's that loser.
Oh my, are you going to go cry to your mommy? Oh wait, she died! Haha~
Boohoo, I'm a rich spoiled brat! I can get whatever I want!
And there was always came up, the one phase that hurt me the most:
Maybe it's your problem. I can't help you with... this. Maybe you should just change.
That was how my first love walked away from me. Squeezing my eyes tight, refusing to let tears out, I clenched my hands hard, tightening into fists. My breath was shallow, so I gulped in a few deeper breaths.
"The king will choose the final results. As for the chosen now... you must be dressed."
It was the guards voice.
"The chosen will follow back. You must be dressed properly, of course, so you will stay one day in the palace in the servants quarters."
"But wait!" A senior spoke up, back bent with age. "What about the us?"
The guard glared at him. "What about you?"
"If the young ones are gone, how will we-"
"You will have to manage." A voice ringing deep with authority had cut in. The princey dude, oh course. "I'm sorry, but the palace needs helpers for the care of the sovereign. You cannot be selfish, no?"
"But, that's exactly what you're doing!" He cried. "You in the palace live in luxury, have plenty of food and space, and provide none to us! We work hard, only eat one meal a day, and sleep 3 hours!"
"I'm sorry, I have said." The prince continued calmly. "If you have any objections, you may ask audience with the king."
And with that, he stalked off into his carriage.
The guard cleared his throat, and all attention swiveled back to him, except for the old man fuming in the corner.
"The people are..."
He slowly named a list of 30 or so people, me included.
A hand rose in the air, and the guard rolled his eyes. "Yes? And by the way, I am not a teacher, so don't do that."
"Are we supposed to walk there?" It was a young girl around my age, blonde haired. Her hopeful blue eyes gleamed.
"Yes."
"What? That is-" Her eyes widened.
"Nothing. It's nothing. You have been doing work at this camp, right? So you will be able to handle it."
I heard of a saying once. It's this: "A journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet."
Why did the person say nothing of how tiring that journey would be?
Holly: Yes, I know already...
Lucia: That your writing is terrible?
Holly: Funny. I'm laughing very hard right now. What I was going to say is that this chapter ended very quickly.
Lucia: Oh yeah... You owe me more screening time!
Holly: O...kay... maybe next time?
Lucia: There better be one.
Holly: What do you think? Of course there is! -_- Happy Belated New Year everyone!