Reviews please :D sorry this chapter took so long
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"Your… your personal assistant, Your Majesty? But she is to be the new…, scullery maid." Lucy stuttered, spitting out 'scullery maid' with a wrinkled nose, as if it was a dirty word.
"She is young and new to the palace ways; I plan to let this fresh rose blossom assist me around the place." the princess spoke gracefully. "Libby, take the girl to Madam N'Opilion, she needs some make up job on her face." she said, nodding at a stiff-faced old lady by the door.
"Please, Your Majesty, no!" Jasmine cried out hastily, leaving the princess looking puzzled and Libby scandalised. How she hated the disgusting paste on her face and lips, and besides, she was allergic to the stuff! Libby gave her a ferocious glare.
"How there you, little scum!" hissed the old hag, her own face quite plastered with the ghastly pale paste. "Her Royal Highness has just offered you a privilige you little filth had never dreamt of before! You should be grateful for an eternity! You should be kissing her feet in thankfulness! You should b-"
"That's enough, Libby." cut Princess Kirstin, though not sharply. With a swish of ice-blue silk, she turned and spoke to Jasmine, "You may choose to do what you prefer."
"Thank you, my lady." Jasmine said rather meekly, though a smile crept to her face at the scandalised look on Libby's face. The princess and her escort were so much different from each other! she thought. Just as Prince James opened his mouth to break the awkward silence, there was a loud rap on the door and a thin man appeared. He had slick jet black hair plastered to his skull and a neat well-combed goatee that he kept twirling around his index finger.
"Your Highnesses! What a pleasant surprise! How lovely to see you here in Siglass!" cried the man, bowing at the prince but his attention completely on the princess, his voice even oilier than his hair. Anyone can see right through that lie, Jasmine snorted. It's totally obvious that he's faking it, and my two-year-old sister Mary-Rose could do it better than that! But (miraculously) she managed to keep her mouth shut.
"Excuse me Your Majesty but could you spare a moment for us?" the princess asked, sending the prince a coy smile that made her angelic face even more perfect. She glided out of the chamber followed by the greasy guy.
"So… Who might the Oil Oozer be?" Jasmine asked, grinning.
"Duke of Fulgerita." the prince answered, returning the same grin. Luce looked anguished. Clearing her throat louder than necessary the brown eyed girl said,
"Please Your Majesty, your subjects await you." she obviously meant the banquet in the hall, Jasmine thought with a smirk.
"Oh yes. Thank you." the prince said, giving Lucy a small smile. Lucy turned, her eyes bright and cheeks. Jasmine cocked her head slightly, puzzled.
"I shall see you again some other time I hope, Jasmine." Prince James said to me and the gleam in the light brown haired girl's eyes faded rapidly, leaving an empty, rather miserable stare behind. Jasmine felt sorry for her so she left the room hastily.
One week later
Jasmine, carrying a basket of freshly laundered linen for Princess Kirstin, turned the corner, only to be confronted by a group of livid girls. Uh-oh. The blond girl groaned inwardly. The prince's female admirers hissed at her.
"So you're the new maid. You're the one with the big mouth who's been panting after him like you have any right to! You filthy, loathsome scumbag!" a girl with wild red hair screeched, closing on to me.
"The new maid made this cake, isn't it divine? The new maid likes this painting, the one with that knight! The new maid, the new maid, the new maid!" another girl, a piggish one with beady black eyes growled.
What on earth are they talking about? Jasmine thought, confused.
"Last week was the first and only time I've ever talked to him, my lady! I've always hated paintings with knights! And how should he know which painting I like?" I yelled back, getting very uncomfortable beneath the itchy wool. "It might have been another maid, er, my lady!"
"You're the only new maid in the palace right now and you know it!" another girl shrieked.
"You little – Oh, Your Highness!" she squealed, her voice tone and her face changing so abruptly that it was unnerving. She batted her eyelashes suggestively. "How absolutely enchanting to see you here!"
"Same goes for you, Lady Andrea, Countess de Senilla, Lady Anastasia, Duchess of High Waters." the prince replied.
After the girls had walked away gossiping ("Did you see the way he held my gaze?" "I told you the new bath oil recipe would work!"), Jasmine asked rather fiercely,
"Did you say all those stuff about me liking that weird knight painting in the hallway? How dare you, er, Your Highness!" Tacking the 'Your Highness' on the end of her outburst made her flush even more with awkwardness.
The prince grinned and said apologetically,
"I'm sorry. But that was the only thing I could come up with to make them jealous. I didn't really think of the consequences that you might have to suffer though. I really didn't mean it!" the black haired boy said, faking a guilty look.
"All right then. But those female admirers of yours doesn't seem to know much about you and Princess Kirstin, right?" I asked slyly.
"Oh, I'm sure they do. They're just hoping the same thing would happen again." the prince said confidently.
"What same thing?" I asked, glancing at him curiously.
"My great grandfather, King Lewis II, was supposed to marry Princess Veronica of Nelvgayle, you see, but then he fell in love with Lady Clarice, a kind hearted but quite poor and lowly lady, and married her. Southern Nelvgayle is our ally now but northern won't let it go. No matter how much gold we present them with, they stay as stubborn as a mule." he said sombrely.
"Oh." Jasmine said. "Maybe it isn't about jewels and gold this time, but about – you know, apologizing and accepting." I shouldn't have to explain this to a five-year-old, had they not been raised to get whatever they want, thought Jasmine rather huffily. She was still mad at the Prince for getting her in trouble with the girls.
"Maybe…" the prince looked rather surprised.
