Livie's Story, Life of a royal Lady-in-Waiting
The richly furnished, ornate state carriage halted in front of the royal palace of Tortall in the capital of Corus. I stared out the window as I had for the past two weeks on the journey from Maren to Tortall.
"Lavinia, sit up strait. Fix your skirts, you don't want to appear rumbled when the Conte's come out to greet us," the heavy set, serious duchess who was the caretaker of the women in the delegation, told me. I did I as I was told, fixing my Tortallan style navy blue dress.
Lavinia of Terre Windecaine, the youngest royal lady-in-waiting to Princess Kinneret of Maren, that's me. Although I much prefer being called Livie, no one at court is improper enough to do so. One thing you should know, accompanying the nineteen-year-old princess to Tortall was not my idea. However, the other option was to marry a hideous man chosen by my parents. Actually, there was a third option, but I thought suicide would be too messy. Just kidding.
Kinneret grabbed my hand nervously. "Look! There's the king, and the queen, and Goddess! It's the prince! Prince Liam!"
Kinneret's face took on mixture of excitement and nervousness. "Do you think he'll like me? Goddess, he's young!"
I studied Kinneret as I pondered her question. Would Prince Liam like Kinneret? Find her an acceptable bride? She was two years older than him. And while she wasn't ugly, she wasn't beautiful either. Not in the classical way, everyone said. Yet there was something undeniable attractive about her modest features, freckled fair skin, pale blue eyes and thin blond hair. She did have a beautiful smile, that when she was truly happy lit her face. She had little education in anything but household duties. She could read tolerably, and do simple math, but she was the eighth daughter of her house, and never expected to be anything but a wife to a lesser prince and a mother. So I suppose in that field she would be good at it, however if Prince Liam wanted someone he could converse with on an equal level, I assumed he would find it difficult with Kinneret.
The carriage door opened, and the two other ladies and the duchess were handed out. I moved forward to have the footmen help me down. Too late I saw Prince Liam rush forward. He grabbed my hand to help me down, but taking me by surprise I toppled out of the carriage, falling to the ground and taking him with me. We landed the gravel and dirt path, my red silk dressed dirty and rumbled.
"Princess Kinneret, I'm so sorry!" he said remorsefully. Behind him I could hear what I assumed to be laughter.
"Umm, me? No, no, I'm not Kinneret."
Someone behind me cleared their throat. We turned.
"Prince Liam? I'm Princess Kinneret, pleased to meet you." The princess curtsied deeply. Liam looked from me to Kinneret. "This is my lady in waiting, Lady Lavinia of Terre Windecaine," she clarified.
"I was always one for a grand, if not graceful, entrance," I joked. Prince Liam smiled, though I could tell Kinneret did not understand what I had said.
King Jonathan came forward to bow and greet Kinneret. "Welcome to Tortall," he said. For a moment we stood in an awkward silence, neither the Tortallans nor we knowing what to do next.
"Might you show us to our rooms? I'm sure Lavinia would like to change," said Duchess Elmora of Coast Cliff, she eyed my dress huffily.
"Of course."
The wing provided to our delegation was petite but comfortable. I had a small room to myself, that was connected to Kinneret's large one. There was a ball tonight, to introduce Kinneret to court. While I was deciding whether I should go to the ball or fake sick, the other two ladies-in-waiting who had accompanied the princess entered my room. They were both in their mid-twenties, and had been purposely chose because they wouldn't draw any attention away from the princess. In other words, neither were very pretty or intelligent. Why the royal family was so insecure that they had to send the least attractive women they could, I have no idea. Me? I am not ugly or dumb. Wow, that sounds really conceited, doesn't it? What I mean is, if the queen and my mother weren't half-sisters, I would never have been chosen to go to Tortall.
Yes, Kinneret is my, umm, half-cousin? My mother and the queen have the same father, and my mother is the younger of the two. So is there such a thing as half cousin? Because if there is than that's what Kinneret is to me. Anyway, back to the present.
"Ooo, what are you wearing tonight?" crooned Lady Marika of Bell Cove. She was already garbed in a puke green Maren style dress. Lady Andreena of Quail Rise was similarly dressed in an orange dress. Their hair had been twisted and prodded into a lump of curls and braids, that I'm certain will not be the next trend at this court.
"How about this one?" Andreena may not be able to choose her own clothes, but the royal blue dress she picked up was exactly what I had in mind. "It matches your eyes," she commented. She was right; the color was a mirror of my eyes.
"And with your shiny blond tresses!" Marika exclaimed.
"This one it is," I agreed. It too was in Maren style. Unlike Tortallan style dresses, Maren style dresses have no sleeves, instead, umm, I really don't know how to describe it. A solid or lace band circles the top of the dress, above the chest, exposing the shoulders. The skirt is not as full and fluffy, just flows smoothly down to the floor. The top of this dress had delicate lace over the blue silk that tapered to a point at the waist.
"Want us to do your hair?" Andreena asked.
"No! I mean, uh, no thanks, I think I can handle it."
"Aarrgh!" I growled at the mirror. I had been standing in front of it for the past hour fussing endlessly with my hair. "Why won't you just look good!" I cried, exasperated. "You know what? Just forget it. I'm going to wear it down like I always do!"
"Oh, Lavinia, I'm so nervous!" Kinneret was practically bouncing off the walls with a huge smile on her face.
"Kinneret, please call me Livie!" I implored.
"How informal! I couldn't possibly."
"Ladies," the herald interrupted, "You are to be announced momentarily."
The court people in the ball room had ceased to talk, sensing the announcements were to be made now.
"Announcing Lady Marika of Bell Cove!" the herald boomed. Marika ascended the stairs gracefully, though her face was frozen in terror and apprehension.
"Announcing Lady Andreena of Quail Rise," the herald cried again.
Finally it was my turn. "Announcing Lady Lavinia of Terre Windecaine."
I reached the marble floor at the bottom of the sweeping steps without incident.
"Announcing Her Royal Highness Princess Kinneret Keely Keren of the kingdom of Maren."
Princess Kinneret's excited face had faded to a blank stare. When she reached the thrones of King Jonathan and Queen Thayet, with Prince Liam standing on his father's right, she was supposed to introduce herself and say something diplomatic about how glad she was that Maren and Tortall were allies, blah, blah, blah. Instead she stood frozen in fear, her mouth hanging open but not releasing words. I could tell there was no way Kinneret was going to be able to put words together into a comprehendible sentence. I moved up from where I stood with Marika and Andreena to stand next to the princess.
"Your Majesties, I think I speak for my lady and our delegation when I say how truly honored we are to be here, to make stronger ties and continue friendliness between our kingdoms," I curtsied deeply, nudging Kinneret to do the same. When she rose I actually thought she was going to say something.
"I..I..I.." she stuttered brokenly.
"My lady wishes to express how glad she is to be here and is looking forward to learning more about Tortallan culture and spending time with Prince Liam," I spoke again for the princess. This time she managed a weak smile and a nod.
"And we are glad to have you here, for we too wish for continued bonds and friendship. Let the ball begin," he waved to a group of minstrels who struck up cheerful music. The crowd of courtiers dispersed into small groups and chatted or into partners to dance. Marika and Andreena made a mad dash towards the tables piled with foods.
"Kinneret, are you okay?" I asked gently. She shakily nodded.
"Oh, Livie, I've made such a fool of myself! I just called you Livie!" she exclaimed.
"Thank you. I wish you'd call me Livie more often. And you did not make a fool of yourself," I lied.
"Yes I did! Did you see me just now? Prince Liam won't want to marry me now. First impressions are everything, you know? And his first impression of me is that I'm a retard!" Kinneret agonized.
"Prince Liam does not think you're a retard," I assured her, although he very well might.
"Lavin, I mean, Livie, will you find out for me?"
"What do you mean?"
"Ask Prince Liam what he thinks of me, tell him how great I am, you know, change his mind!"
Her pleading face looked so innocent and hopeful that I couldn't refuse.
"Alright," I conceded. "Where is he?"
"He's over there watching the dancing," she motioned her head.
"I'll be right back." I walked over to stand next to the prince. "Prince Liam?" I asked hesitantly. He looked at me and smiled. Okay, now what was I suppose to say? Hey, Kinneret isn't a retard and you should marry her? "Why aren't you dancing?" I decided was a good enough comment as any.
"Didn't have a partner. Until now." He led me onto the floor.
"I have to warn you, I'm not very good at the Tortallan dances."
"Good, because neither am I," he replied.
"So, what do you think of the princess?" I asked, why not just get to the point?
He shrugged. "Does it really matter what I think? I kind of don't have a choice. My father practically ordered me to marry her." He blushed. "I shouldn't be telling you that."
"I know exactly how you feel. The only reason I came to Tortall was to get away from this awful guy my parents picked for me."
"Really?"
"Yep."
"My brother Roald got lucky. My sister-in-law Shinkokami is a great girl."
"Kinneret really isn't bad at all."
"She seems, umm, shy," he commented. "Or do you always talk for her?"
"She was just nervous, and who could blame her? She really wants you to like her. In fact, she sent me over here to ask you what you thought of her."
"I can't say whether I like her or not. I've never talked to her. What is she like?"
"Do you want the truth, or what she wants me to tell you?"
"The truth."
"I thought so. Kinneret, she's really not very smart. I mean, in the serious things: politics, diplomacy, or anything outside the home. She'd make a good housewife and mother, but that's about it. So if that's what you're looking for, she's perfect, but if your looking for an equal conversation and companionship wise, she's not going to do it."
"Wow, I didn't think you were really going to tell the truth."
"Do you wish I hadn't?"
"Sort of. Ignorance is a happy place, know what I mean?"
"Sure. If I hadn't told you and you didn't have much contact with Kinneret, you could've believed that you and Kinneret were perfectly suited to each other until your wedding day."
"I might have. But I would have known it was a lie."
"Well, you may like Kinneret yet, like you said, you don't know her."
"I will try to like Kinneret, as you said, she will make a good wife and mother, and I suppose that's what she is needed for."
"You will still marry her, even if it makes you miserable?" I asked.
"Yes. It is what's expected of me. My brother did what was asked of him, so must I."
"You said your brother wanted to marry Shinkokami, didn't you?"
"Yes. But that doesn't change the fact that even if he hadn't, he still would have."
"I understand."
"Besides, it's not like there's anyone else to stop me from marrying Kinneret," he added.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I'm not, you know, in love with another girl or anything, because I think if I were it would make it harder to marry."
"I see."
We were still dancing as we talked. Now it seemed that the conversation had come to a point where neither of us knew what to say. That seems to be happening a lot. Mind you Common is not my native language, but I am still quite fluent in it.
"So, will you have to marry when you return to Maren?" he asked.
"Actually, I wasn't planning on going back to Maren for a while. I think Kinneret might need me around for a while. I don't want to leave her in a strange country alone, and I am avoiding going back because even if I don't have to marry the man my parents first picked, no doubt they will have found another."
"I don't blame you for not wanting to go back. Sounds like the best way to get out of a wedding."
Over Liam's shoulder I could see Kinneret looking at me, her face a picture of anticipation and anxiousness. The dance ended, and I excuse myself.
"So? What did he say?" she jumped on me as soon as I walked over to her.
"He said a lot of things," I said simply.
"Lavinia! Livie! What did you tell him about me? What did he say?" she demanded.
"I told him the truth."
"What? Why on earth would you do that?"
"Because he asked. I told him that you would make a great wife and mother, but that's it."
"What did he say?"
"He said he was going to marry you, because it was his duty and that he was sure you were very nice and he would try to like you."
"Livie, what am I going to do? I don't want him to just marry me because he has to! I want him to really want to marry me," she despaired. Suddenly, she brightened. "I've got an idea!"
"Uh oh," I said quietly.
"You can help me! You're smart, you always know what to say, so you can tell me! You can teach me about stuff, and you can tell me what I should say to the Prince! It's perfect!" she hugged me and skipped off. Somehow I couldn't believe this would work out perfectly.