Of course, the location and some of the characters belong to Tamora
Pierce.
At the meeting a conclusion was reached. This was that it was going to be difficult to find the sort of princess they were looking for. After a great deal of argument over whether or not it would be suitable to invite some duchesses or baronesses a solution of a kind was reached. A large number of Princesses names would be placed in a hat and Kadar would draw a name from the hat each time it was decided that a new princess was needed. No one noticed the strange new servant during the meeting because everyone was too busy debating, therefore no one could notice that he left Carthak that afternoon, therefore no one could note that this was unusual and suspicious.
Kadar sighed resignedly before he obediently stuck his hand in the hat and pulled out a name. He swallowed once and then read the name aloud. "Princess Katrina". He didn't recognize the name which meant that he probably hadn't pulled her hair as a child. At least he was off to a better start.
Hoping Katrina wouldn't be paranoid, he arranged for a stone to be placed under her mattress.
................................
Kadar was plastered to the throne, gritting his teeth with agonizing trepidation. Hachel was seated calmly nearby, smiling faintly in anticipation of the night's entertainment and opportunities for sarcasm. Then, as with the previous princess's, the herald announced the presence of Princess Katrina.
This princess was attended by a large entourage and it was nearly half an hour before Kadar actually caught a glimpse of her. She was a tall, elegant-looking redhead, a hair to freckly to be a beauty but rather charming all the same. She seemed very self-conscious as she walked awkwardly up to the throne and Kadar was about to discover why.
Katrina moved to curtsy before Kadar and promptly fell flat on her face. Kadar bit the inside of his lip until it bled and winced (partly in sympathy: it was a marble floor). None of the ladies-in-waiting seemed at all shocked that their princess had fallen. Katrina appeared quite unhurt; within seconds she had picked herself up and apologized for her lack of grace.
Kadar regally accepted her apology and proceeded to invite her to dinner. She accepted and was escorted to the guest chambers; she tripped three times on the way out.
"You're just not having much luck are you?" Hachel murmured. Kadar, who really should have considered an anger management class, lost control. Hachel, who was ordinarily a graceful individual, found himself face down on the floor. He had a sudden rush of sympathy for Katrina.
"Touchy, touchy," Hachel drawled at the glaring Kadar, before leaving his friend to brood.
A few hours later Kadar greeted Katrina at the entrance to the great hall. His first act was to help her to regain balance after she slipped in one of her dainty embroidered slippers. Fortunately, he managed to get her to the table without further incident. Getting her seated, however, was another matter. She ended up knocking the chair over four times and putting a scratches on the floor and the furniture, both expensive.
She was a sweet and witty, if awkward, conversationalist but Kadar felt that dining with her was taking a great toll on his patience and on the supply of glassware (she had broken two wine goblets by the time the third course was served.) The linen ware also suffered casualties; the princess spilled red wine on over a dozen white napkins and a beautiful snow-white table cloth.
After dinner came the dancing. Kadar found it an act of enormous will to keep from bursting into tears and demanding a new partner (actually it might have worked, the older counselors were accustomed to giving in to temper tantrums.) He pleaded a headache and escaped to his room when his toes became so bruised that walking was an excruciatingly painful act. He spent the night resting his feet on a pillow and hoping the princess knocked the stone out of the bed and didn't notice it.
Kadar arrived at breakfast yawning and bleary eyed. There, he discovered Katrina buttering a roll. She leaped up to great him and managed to knock over her chair, pull the tablecloth askew, yank down a pitcher of fruit juice, and throw her roll into Hachel's forehead ( he had agreed to meet Kadar there to provide moral support.) She apologized for the mess and thanked Kadar profusely for the pretty stone.
Luckily for Kadar, Katrina possessed only ordinary powers of perception, and after a week of detecting progressively smaller objects she failed to detect a glass bead. Kadar was relieved to see her go. He spent a week in his room recovering from dancing with the princess.
Sign # 7 that you are a bookworm: All of your passwords are the names of your favorite characters.
Thank you for reading and please review.
At the meeting a conclusion was reached. This was that it was going to be difficult to find the sort of princess they were looking for. After a great deal of argument over whether or not it would be suitable to invite some duchesses or baronesses a solution of a kind was reached. A large number of Princesses names would be placed in a hat and Kadar would draw a name from the hat each time it was decided that a new princess was needed. No one noticed the strange new servant during the meeting because everyone was too busy debating, therefore no one could notice that he left Carthak that afternoon, therefore no one could note that this was unusual and suspicious.
Kadar sighed resignedly before he obediently stuck his hand in the hat and pulled out a name. He swallowed once and then read the name aloud. "Princess Katrina". He didn't recognize the name which meant that he probably hadn't pulled her hair as a child. At least he was off to a better start.
Hoping Katrina wouldn't be paranoid, he arranged for a stone to be placed under her mattress.
................................
Kadar was plastered to the throne, gritting his teeth with agonizing trepidation. Hachel was seated calmly nearby, smiling faintly in anticipation of the night's entertainment and opportunities for sarcasm. Then, as with the previous princess's, the herald announced the presence of Princess Katrina.
This princess was attended by a large entourage and it was nearly half an hour before Kadar actually caught a glimpse of her. She was a tall, elegant-looking redhead, a hair to freckly to be a beauty but rather charming all the same. She seemed very self-conscious as she walked awkwardly up to the throne and Kadar was about to discover why.
Katrina moved to curtsy before Kadar and promptly fell flat on her face. Kadar bit the inside of his lip until it bled and winced (partly in sympathy: it was a marble floor). None of the ladies-in-waiting seemed at all shocked that their princess had fallen. Katrina appeared quite unhurt; within seconds she had picked herself up and apologized for her lack of grace.
Kadar regally accepted her apology and proceeded to invite her to dinner. She accepted and was escorted to the guest chambers; she tripped three times on the way out.
"You're just not having much luck are you?" Hachel murmured. Kadar, who really should have considered an anger management class, lost control. Hachel, who was ordinarily a graceful individual, found himself face down on the floor. He had a sudden rush of sympathy for Katrina.
"Touchy, touchy," Hachel drawled at the glaring Kadar, before leaving his friend to brood.
A few hours later Kadar greeted Katrina at the entrance to the great hall. His first act was to help her to regain balance after she slipped in one of her dainty embroidered slippers. Fortunately, he managed to get her to the table without further incident. Getting her seated, however, was another matter. She ended up knocking the chair over four times and putting a scratches on the floor and the furniture, both expensive.
She was a sweet and witty, if awkward, conversationalist but Kadar felt that dining with her was taking a great toll on his patience and on the supply of glassware (she had broken two wine goblets by the time the third course was served.) The linen ware also suffered casualties; the princess spilled red wine on over a dozen white napkins and a beautiful snow-white table cloth.
After dinner came the dancing. Kadar found it an act of enormous will to keep from bursting into tears and demanding a new partner (actually it might have worked, the older counselors were accustomed to giving in to temper tantrums.) He pleaded a headache and escaped to his room when his toes became so bruised that walking was an excruciatingly painful act. He spent the night resting his feet on a pillow and hoping the princess knocked the stone out of the bed and didn't notice it.
Kadar arrived at breakfast yawning and bleary eyed. There, he discovered Katrina buttering a roll. She leaped up to great him and managed to knock over her chair, pull the tablecloth askew, yank down a pitcher of fruit juice, and throw her roll into Hachel's forehead ( he had agreed to meet Kadar there to provide moral support.) She apologized for the mess and thanked Kadar profusely for the pretty stone.
Luckily for Kadar, Katrina possessed only ordinary powers of perception, and after a week of detecting progressively smaller objects she failed to detect a glass bead. Kadar was relieved to see her go. He spent a week in his room recovering from dancing with the princess.
Sign # 7 that you are a bookworm: All of your passwords are the names of your favorite characters.
Thank you for reading and please review.