As you all may have noticed, I have decided to make the other chapter my prologue. This will now be the official chapter one.
Ran into alot of glitches on FF. Had to rewrite alot of the story because of it. Grammar issues are my own idioticness (heh, that is a word!), not my darling Beta's.
Special thanks to Backroads, Frostypoop, and Viola Alfiere for being the first to review!
The Story Hands
Chapter 1
Morning. The worst time of day.
Adele shoved herself up from her tiny bed. The structure was made of wood on the bottom, the top being several ragged blankets thrown together for comfort.
Her body was agonizingly stiff after another long night of miserable sleep. She glanced quickly towards the wooden window in her tiny bedroom. The sun was preparing to begin it's daily voyage.
It is almost light out. I'm late. Again.
She sighed, and shoved herself towards her closet. Throwing on her torn maid's dress, she began her day.
Adele made her way down to the kitchen, a long task, for the castle was a massive place. Her room was in the servant's quarters, on the top level, so she had to walk five stair cases down, follow many different hallway routes, and sometimes slip through hidden passages just to reach the level that the kitchen was on.
I remember how confusing this castle used to be...
That day was so long ago, though, it had seemed as if she had been living a different life. As though she had never been the confused orphan girl that she once was. Though, I still am an orphan…
But Adele despised thinking of these things. She much preferred doing her daily tasks with the mindlessness that all people have when working. When she drained her mind of anything besides work, things went much more smoothly.
Upon her entry to the kitchen, a voice cried out at her, "Adele! Late again, I see." Mildred, the head chef, eyed Adele with a frustrated glance."What would you do without this job?"
Not caring to listen to the lecture, Adele grabbed one of the plates of food waiting to be served and headed towards the kitchen's exit. "I wouldn't have to put up with your mouth, that's for sure," she called as she abandoned the room.
Her own stomach grumbled hungrily, but she ignored the pains.
What would I do without my job?
She shuddered at the thought of being cold and alone on the streets. Again.
Her legs were weary with the effort of walking by the time she reached the princess' room. It was a lot of exercise to travel around the castle, especially on an empty stomach.
With a gentle push to the door, Adele entered the room.
Light had already begun to shower into the bedroom, a fact that Adele hoped nobody would notice. She tip-toed to the side of the massive, intricately decorated bed.
Four poles carved into beautiful flowers shot up to the ceiling. Curtains draped and wrapped themselves majestically around the bed, creating a tent-like atmosphere. Carefully pushing the curtains aside, Adele peered into the large space.
"Ah, so you finally decided to show up." A voice murmured from the depthsof the bed.
"Well, I figured it would be a nice idea to pay you a visit sometime."Cocking her head to the side, Adele added, "Come now, you can't still be depressed over the earl's behavior, can you?"
Suddenly, mountains of large, soft sheets flew upward. Adele sprang aside to protect the plate of food in her hands. From this eruption emerged the princess.
As beautiful as ever, curse her.
She had hair as gloriously golden as the sunlight that bathed the land, pulled back in a pony tail that had the appearance of a rippling water as it fell majestically down to her hips. Her skin was a beautiful creamy white, and her eyes a velvet green. She had just the right amount of hips and chest.
Curse her!
Adele always did feel average, but this feeling was nothing compared to when she was around the beautiful princess. She felt as invisible as the air itself, like a droplet of water in the ocean. Nothing extraordinary, nothing worth a thought.
Considering that I'm her lady's maid, I'm almost always around her.
Adele's own body was far too skinny to be considered beautiful. She was much too tanned, freckly, and her hair was a common and ugly brown. Her eyes shared the same qualities.
The young royalty's voice called Adele back into the current world. "That earl is such an imbecile, the nastiest of men! Of course I won't be marrying him, what a fool!"
"Oh, stop it." Adele always spoke openly to the young lady, "I thought you were smart enough to know that all men are fools. Now, eat your breakfast…Or shall I have to feed you like a baby?"
Claudia, the princess, sighed and removed the plate from Adele's hands."You need to get me ready for today. I plan to wear my green dress with the purple bows. Also, get my purple hair ties. And I want my hair up in a -"
Adele crossed her arms, a scowl across her face, "Would you stop putting on false airs? I mean, who died and made you Queen?"
Claudia snorted, "So my mother hasn't passed. But, she says I need to learn to command servants better. You could at least make things easier for me."
"Now, where's the fun in that?" Adele walked over to the massive closet, larger than my bedroom, she thought wistfully, and fished out the desired dress.
After Claudia finished her breakfast, the dressing began. Clothes were slipped on, and then they moved on to the hair part. Adele had become quite the stylist in her years with the princess and could easily create beautiful fashions with the princess' hair. All the while, Claudia would talk about all of the activities of the kingdom. Adele always felt a great sense of sadness when her friend spoke of these events, knowing that a lowly servant like herself would never witness these extravagances.
"I hear that the Duchess of Wilolws has finally recovered from her husband's death. It took her long enough."
"People are just so much more foolish than you, o glorious princess. They're all too stupid to understand that they shouldn't mourn over deaths of their partners. Only if a horrific, but extremely handsome, Earl wishes to wed you, can you be upset."
Claudia sighed. "Someone is in a sarcastic mood today."
"How can I help it? All you do is gossip about fools, and their foolish business. What are the chances I'll ever meet them? Why should I care?"
"Because you work for me!" Claudia's voice rose impatiently, "And whatever I speak about, you must listen to!"
Pausing her work on the golden hair, Adele did an overly extravagant curtsy and announced, "I apologize greatly for trying to instill a sense of selfworth onto you. I'm sure there are no greater people than yourself, and that the world revolves around you."
"Oh, shut up."
"How very noble of you to say such a thing." Adele, examining the lookingglass, noticed Claudia roll her eyes.
I really am testing her patience.
There was a moment of silence between the two, finally forcing Adele to give in, "Alright, alright. I'll listen to you talk of your foolish poppycock wordlessly."
"No, never mind that. We may speak of something far more interesting." She still sounded a tad bit bitter, but Adele was sure she would loose her rage soon enough.
"Talking about growing grass would be more interesting than what the Duchess of whatever is doing."
"You said you would listen!" Claudia snapped in frustration, "I suppose I shouldn't expect you to keep your promises! How many days have you been late now?"
Adele shrugged. "What was the 'interesting' thing you wished to speak of?"
Claudia's tone lightened instantly, "The witch! She has finally been captured!"
Adele's fluent fingers paused, "Witch?"
"Oh! I never told you?" Claudia laughed, "This freaky old woman had been living in the peasant village near here! She had… Oh, what color were her eyes? …Violet...? Lavender? I'm not sure. But, they say it is a sure sign of being a witch."
Adele could sense something suspicious about the idea, "Who's they?"
"Oh, I don't know…" Claudia shrugged, but was quick to continue, "Anyway, she has been captured! It was a long chase though. She managed to imprison the minds of several of our soldiers and some of the peasants. They are still lost in the trance she put them in."
"Why is this all so… Unbelievable?"
Claudia shook her head defiantly, disrupting the work on her hair, "No! It is all completely true!"
"I know, as well as you do, how foolish peasants can be. They all want to be able to have a glimpse of the Monarch, so they make up ridiculous stories. Just so they can get a peek of you!"
"You cannot possibly mean to say that it's my fault this woman is a witch, can you?"
"I can say anything I want." Adele sniffed, "But, no, I'm not saying that. I believe that there is more to this… Someone should find out."
"Why?" Confusion and annoyance echoed in Claudia's voice.
"What if the villagers are lying! Eye color doesn't describe being a witch or not!" Adele's voice rose with passion, her eyes flaring with disgust. "People are far too judgemental these days!"
"Oh, who cares?" Upon that statement, Claudia's hair was finished. Along withthe dressing routine. "As usual, my maid, you have done a brilliant job!"
Adele's response was flat, "Thank you, your highness. I'm humbled by your flattering gratitude."
Ignoring Adele's sarcasm, Claudia bolted upward. "I have to go! Your late antics will make me late! My father is probabaly expecting me!" She turned to glance at Adele, "I'm giving you the rest of today off! Well, except for tonight. I'll need you to undress me and such." She paused, deciding to add something, "And please don't go anywhere near that witch. You're a little too interested in her. You understand?" Without waiting for a reply, she hurried to her bedroom door, "Have fun!"
Adele was left staring after the beautiful princess. The witch was captured. Something tells me that the villagers were too quick to judge. I think I'll just pay a visit to the prisons today. Certainly not to get the woman's side of the matters, though.
I love a character with a strong sense of sarcasm! Fun to write, fun to read… Heh… Anyway, I'm sure they are also fun to review! Go on, find out!
Also, I have a new Beta for this chapter… The lovely… Viola Alfiere! Her words can sting a bit, but in the end she is EXCELLENT at making chapters better. And she explains stuff… Really great at making people better writers!