"Princess Irulan!" echoed a scream in the great audition chamber of the
king, "Princess! Please, it is high time that you get ready!"
Stampa was all panic now. The guests were already arriving, and she had zillion other things to do and that devil of a girl was missing again! She halted and leaned on the wall. Her heart was beating like a wild boar on the run. "I am getting too old for this" she thought "this girl will be the end of me!"
"Princess Irulan! Please princess" she tried again. "Your father will be very angry with you!"
"I believe that is not as scary as it used to be, Stampa" a voice said right behind her. Stampa jumped and hastily turned. She would have knocked the princess over if the other had not gracefully moved a step back. "Princess! I have been looking everywhere for you!"
Although she was 20 years old now Irulan's face still had the girlish features of her youth. Her waist long her dark brown hair, brown eyes and olive complexion were rare among her own people. Indeed, both her sisters and her father were of fairer complexion and though her mother shared the same dark brown and wavy hair, she was bestowed with startling green eyes and a lighter shade of skin.
These features along with Irulan's rather unusual lack of interest in any romantic affairs had made her a girl sought after by many princes and the young men of the various houses. Irulan was beautiful, true, but not strikingly so. And yet the sheer fact that she cared not about it made her very attractive to many. She was even too slim and athletic for a beautiful woman. Women were considered beautiful when they were a bit rounder around the curves and when their feminine statue was obvious.
She did not care about the effect she had on others too much, though. She was and always had been far too curious both for her kind and her gender, and she did not find many to still this curiosity. Middle Earth, though yet unknown, was about to witness very grave yet unique events and it was still filled with many wonders such as dragons, giant spiders, orcs, dwarves, elves and hobbits - many of which were so long not heard of, that they only existed in story books now. Nevertheless, story book or not, Irulan was more taken by these myths and legends than she was with the real life that she found rather repetitive and dull - especially for a woman and more so for a princess.
She had friends, true, and some of those were also from higher circles. Yet her enthusiasm for life and the world beyond her kingdom was not shared by too many and she often found herself alone in the library, reading till late hours, trying to visualize the events and places she read about. Her family had always tried to bend her character towards more approved interests and often enough she was compared to her older sisters, who seemed to fit the standards just well enough. Yet the more she was tried to bent, the more Irulan found the strength and need to resist and remain forever different.
Eventually everyone gave up and just pretended to overlook some of her lesser drastic acts. They came to an unspoken agreement among themselves, according to which Irulan tried to accomplish the formal requirements expected from a princess as best as she could, and in turn everyone turned -or tried to turn- a blind eye to some of her intimidating and odd hobbies. Many guessed that she was probably up to much more than she revealed, but they dared not dig too deep in fear of what they might stumble upon and simply hoped that she grew out of it some day.
Irulan eyed Stampa with amusement. "You know" she said slowly "you don't need to scream anymore. I believe I can hear you just fine".
Stampa took two deep breaths and tried to calm herself. "Irulan. You will be the very end of me, I swear! The guests are arriving already and you are still..." she looked the princess up and down and her eyes widened when she realized that Irulan was dressed in cheap brown trousers and a light blue shirt half hanging over them right here in the palace where anyone could walk by and see her!
"What is the matter with you? Quick" She grabbed Irulan's arm and started hastily walking towards the northern part of the castle. "You walk around in that outfit and you know that your father almost died when he saw you like that last time!"
"Yes, yes..." sighed Irulan, "I know. Looks like I'm going to be the end of a lot of people indeed!"
Stampa was walking faster now... the corridors were becoming more and more crowded, but everyone was so busy running around and finishing the preparations for the guests, they hardly looked at the two women walking by. "You promised not to wear it again!" she hissed.
"No" said Irulan. She was trying to keep pace with Stampa but in moments like this Stampa had the curious gift of moving faster than anyone she knew - not to mention beyond any limitation that her age and her weight (Stampa was quite heavy) would normally allow. "I promised that he would never see me in these clothes again. And to that promise I hold"
They had arrived at Irulan's door. Stampa quickly took a look inside and then hastily dragged Irulan in after her. Only after she had closed and barred the door did she allow herself to slow down her pace. "I should step on your little snake head right now, but I guess it will be wiser to let your husband do that!" There! She knew that she had hit bulls eye; for if Irulan hated anything more than obeying rules, it was the talk about marriage and the tasks of a good wife. Stampa could swear that her face literally darkened.
Irulan hid her fists behind her back. She did not want to give Stampa the satisfaction of actually enraging her. Without being aware of it, she pushed her chin up and threw back her hair. "I guess I shall get ready now" her voice was a cool as ice "or a certain SOMEONE is going to explain our precious guests that the little venomous snake is unable to attend today!"
She turned swiftly, before Stampa could find an answer and starting undressing. Darn feast! Of all days, it had to be today! Just when the Obnox races were coming to an end for the season! "Well... we surely accomplished harder tasks now, did we not?" she thought to herself, "a little party can not really be that hard to escape from"
Stampa was all panic now. The guests were already arriving, and she had zillion other things to do and that devil of a girl was missing again! She halted and leaned on the wall. Her heart was beating like a wild boar on the run. "I am getting too old for this" she thought "this girl will be the end of me!"
"Princess Irulan! Please princess" she tried again. "Your father will be very angry with you!"
"I believe that is not as scary as it used to be, Stampa" a voice said right behind her. Stampa jumped and hastily turned. She would have knocked the princess over if the other had not gracefully moved a step back. "Princess! I have been looking everywhere for you!"
Although she was 20 years old now Irulan's face still had the girlish features of her youth. Her waist long her dark brown hair, brown eyes and olive complexion were rare among her own people. Indeed, both her sisters and her father were of fairer complexion and though her mother shared the same dark brown and wavy hair, she was bestowed with startling green eyes and a lighter shade of skin.
These features along with Irulan's rather unusual lack of interest in any romantic affairs had made her a girl sought after by many princes and the young men of the various houses. Irulan was beautiful, true, but not strikingly so. And yet the sheer fact that she cared not about it made her very attractive to many. She was even too slim and athletic for a beautiful woman. Women were considered beautiful when they were a bit rounder around the curves and when their feminine statue was obvious.
She did not care about the effect she had on others too much, though. She was and always had been far too curious both for her kind and her gender, and she did not find many to still this curiosity. Middle Earth, though yet unknown, was about to witness very grave yet unique events and it was still filled with many wonders such as dragons, giant spiders, orcs, dwarves, elves and hobbits - many of which were so long not heard of, that they only existed in story books now. Nevertheless, story book or not, Irulan was more taken by these myths and legends than she was with the real life that she found rather repetitive and dull - especially for a woman and more so for a princess.
She had friends, true, and some of those were also from higher circles. Yet her enthusiasm for life and the world beyond her kingdom was not shared by too many and she often found herself alone in the library, reading till late hours, trying to visualize the events and places she read about. Her family had always tried to bend her character towards more approved interests and often enough she was compared to her older sisters, who seemed to fit the standards just well enough. Yet the more she was tried to bent, the more Irulan found the strength and need to resist and remain forever different.
Eventually everyone gave up and just pretended to overlook some of her lesser drastic acts. They came to an unspoken agreement among themselves, according to which Irulan tried to accomplish the formal requirements expected from a princess as best as she could, and in turn everyone turned -or tried to turn- a blind eye to some of her intimidating and odd hobbies. Many guessed that she was probably up to much more than she revealed, but they dared not dig too deep in fear of what they might stumble upon and simply hoped that she grew out of it some day.
Irulan eyed Stampa with amusement. "You know" she said slowly "you don't need to scream anymore. I believe I can hear you just fine".
Stampa took two deep breaths and tried to calm herself. "Irulan. You will be the very end of me, I swear! The guests are arriving already and you are still..." she looked the princess up and down and her eyes widened when she realized that Irulan was dressed in cheap brown trousers and a light blue shirt half hanging over them right here in the palace where anyone could walk by and see her!
"What is the matter with you? Quick" She grabbed Irulan's arm and started hastily walking towards the northern part of the castle. "You walk around in that outfit and you know that your father almost died when he saw you like that last time!"
"Yes, yes..." sighed Irulan, "I know. Looks like I'm going to be the end of a lot of people indeed!"
Stampa was walking faster now... the corridors were becoming more and more crowded, but everyone was so busy running around and finishing the preparations for the guests, they hardly looked at the two women walking by. "You promised not to wear it again!" she hissed.
"No" said Irulan. She was trying to keep pace with Stampa but in moments like this Stampa had the curious gift of moving faster than anyone she knew - not to mention beyond any limitation that her age and her weight (Stampa was quite heavy) would normally allow. "I promised that he would never see me in these clothes again. And to that promise I hold"
They had arrived at Irulan's door. Stampa quickly took a look inside and then hastily dragged Irulan in after her. Only after she had closed and barred the door did she allow herself to slow down her pace. "I should step on your little snake head right now, but I guess it will be wiser to let your husband do that!" There! She knew that she had hit bulls eye; for if Irulan hated anything more than obeying rules, it was the talk about marriage and the tasks of a good wife. Stampa could swear that her face literally darkened.
Irulan hid her fists behind her back. She did not want to give Stampa the satisfaction of actually enraging her. Without being aware of it, she pushed her chin up and threw back her hair. "I guess I shall get ready now" her voice was a cool as ice "or a certain SOMEONE is going to explain our precious guests that the little venomous snake is unable to attend today!"
She turned swiftly, before Stampa could find an answer and starting undressing. Darn feast! Of all days, it had to be today! Just when the Obnox races were coming to an end for the season! "Well... we surely accomplished harder tasks now, did we not?" she thought to herself, "a little party can not really be that hard to escape from"