Princess Ashkyla stood at her window staring through the early dawn light. She was watching Kady, the First Chef's daughter, as she rushed about arranging the food carts into an orderly delivery line across the side bridge. A smile touched her watcher's lips as Kady discreetly pocketed an apple. It was funny to think all of it would all become a feast in a matter of hours. She followed the line of carts back to the outer gate with her eyes, wishing the gate was just a few feet lower so she could see the city from her window. To her, the city was a veiled mystery as were the people inside it. She had seen some of it before, but her view had been blocked by the guards riding on horses between them and royal etiquette keeping her from doing anything more than smiling and waving. The princess frowned at the wall as if she could bore a hole through it with her eyes before looking back down at the closer happenings beneath her window.
Kady had walked out of sight behind a cart, and the light from the rising sun finished lighting the sky. You could never properly watch the sunrise from within those walls. Ashkyla sighed, forlorn, turning around slowly so no one would know that they had been watched… and noticed the notebook on the small desk next to her bed at the same time as the door shut quietly. Ashkyla smiled briefly and picked it up. It was covered in purple cloth, and as she opened it a small, simple note fell out.
The princess's smile widened reading the quick, neat handwriting of her maid, wishing her a happy birthday. The journal wasn't fancy, but a fancy journal was impossible to write in. She took out her ink and quill, opened the blank book, and began to write. She wrote for a long while, barely pausing to refill her quill or carefully let a page dry before turning it. When she was finished, she put down the feather, stretched out her hand, and let a look of great relief break through her mask for a moment before she stood up.
She looked out her window again. By now the sun was completely up, and Kady had gone back inside, leaving the remaining few carts to slowly trundle in and out of the kitchen. Ashkyla turned to once again see her maid, Para, open the door, but this time holding a morning gown.
"Do you always come in when my back is turned?" Ashkyla greeted her elderly maid happily, a joke in her voice. Para had been her maid since she was born and had always been her silent supporter.
"Happy Birthday my lady! Sixteen already? I hope you liked your present, but there are many more waiting for you downstairs. We'd better get you dressed if you are to start this busy day. The king of Nirdan is here already, arrived last night. What wonderful weather for such a joyous day. Crown Princess and the Royal Ring already, I can't believe it, I simply can't believe it. It seems like just yesterday you were…" And so on, Para barely stopping for breath.
Her short stature and kind face made her seem small and meek at first glance, but underneath she was full of energy and a loud character, always bustling around and the first to welcome a new member of the castle staff. She was a chatter box, content to fill other's silence with her own words until they ran out, which often took awhile. More often than not her voice could be heard ringing through the halls of the castle as she gossiped merrily with the laundry maids or laughed at the always tardy message boy's latest excuse.
Ashkyla smiled and began to remove her nightdress as Para slipped the elegant summer gown over her head. She sat and Para brushed out her hair, slipping on a marbled lapis lazuli clip, but left it down otherwise, saving the ornate hair styles for the ball later. And Ashkyla left the room, walking down the hall with careful steps, her grin suddenly turning into a slight, happy-go-lucky expression as she prepared to meet the rest of the household.