Eva's Journal

CHAPTER ONE

 When the sun reached the top of the hills, the kingdom of Borealis awakened. The houses flooded with light and the villagers got up to start their days. Bakeries began to smell of sweet treats and delicious savouries; blacksmiths filled the air with the clanking of metal and the crackling of the fire. The large castle on the hill started stirring and the drawbridge lowered allowing the marketplace which was hidden inside its walls to spring into life. Voices of each stand blended into one and soon the whole kingdom was brimming with life.

Inside one tower on the far side of the castle overlooking the river was the princess's room. Eva, the princess's lady-in-waiting and best friend, knocked on the door several times with no answer.

"Princess, it's time to wake up now." There was no answer. "Anastasia, honestly we need to get you ready." I called through the door gazing out of the window onto the town. It will forever amaze me how the town rises and falls like the tide each day.

When a lapse of silence followed, I sighed and opened the door to find a very asleep Anna on the bed. I loudly slammed the door behind me and moved across the room opening the curtains and doors to the balcony hoping something would wake up the princess. I've known Anna since we were children and she would sleep in all day if she could. She was a heavy sleeper which worked in her favour as the castle was a noisy place.

I worked as a maid since I was old enough to walk until she chose me to become her lady-in-waiting when she turned 18. For the past two years, we have had the same routine of waking up, getting ready and meeting suitors. Anna believed strongly in love and hoped one of them would be her soulmate. I did not. It was customary for everyone to be born with a soulmate, hoping that each person they met was their true love, destined by some higher power to be theirs forever. I struggled for many years to truly understand my own feelings as I never had hope or love in my heart. Anna always did and she believed that one day I would have it too even if I couldn't believe it.

I walked through her wardrobe towards her bathroom, filling the hot water into the bath, with lavender and soft milky soap. Grabbing a second bucket, I filled it with the cold water that wasn't heated up.

"Eva! What in the hell did you do that for?" A soaking princess screamed as icy water fell across her. I laughed as her wet hair stuck to her face and shoulders. If someone walked in, they wouldn't tell the difference between Anna and a drowned rat. I smiled before realizing there would be something that would get her up quickly, even if it was a lie.

"I saw the suitor. He looks just like your type." She shot up and ran into the wardrobe across the room. I laughed, rolling my eyes and following close behind her. I flicked through the hundreds of dresses she owned as Anna bathed. Some were gold and luxurious for special events; some were light colours and light materials for a simple day. I picked out a light blue corset dress to match her eyes and flats as I knew she would want to walk around the gardens with the suitor.

I waited for a few moments in her room, looking out over the balcony into the forest that surrounded the castle. Her doors opened and I turned to look at her.

"How do I look?" She spun around, her long blonde hair spinning just a second behind her body. The jewels from the simple tiara, for she was a princess, glistened as the sunlight caught them as their angles changed.

"You look beautiful Anna, perfect to meet your soulmate." She smiled from ear to ear and giggled before linking arms with me. I opened her bedroom door and led her down the corridor into the main room. Her mother smiled at us before taking her from me and I bowed walking the other way. It was time for me to get everything done whilst Anna was upholding her royal duties.

I walked back up to her room, tidying the wardrobe and the bathroom before making the bed which had just dried. I laid her nightgown on the bed and closed the doors. Walking towards the window, I pushed the wall into the servants' corridor. A spiral stone staircase with doors to each floor filled the tower and allowed servants to move through the castle without disturbing the royals and their parties. The walls were lit with candelabras, the wax dripping onto trays. I walked down the staircase to the maids' rooms and entered my room. As a lady-in-waiting, I was fortunate to have my own room. It was big enough for me, with a bed in one corner. I had a simple wardrobe, by choice and much to Anna's distaste. She would get me dresses to wear at balls with her and I always attended, due to being her lady-in-waiting. We would always be seen together on those nights unless she was dancing with gentlemen. On the wall were a few bookshelves overflowing with multicoloured but faded books, in several different languages. They all shared one thing in common: my writing covering the pages. Notations, theories and translations laced these books filling them with twice as many words as when I opened them for the first time. Just as Anna's dream is love mine is knowledge. For a poor girl, I was well educated and hard working.

I changed from my simple frock into a tight top over my breasts and black tight trousers which were loose enough to move but tight to keep me in form. Covering my change of clothes, and added extras, I pulled my cloak over my head and walked through the maids' quarters to the servant staircase. Down the staircase to the bottom of the castle, there is a hidden passage that many believe is caved in. I pushed the dark brick and the wall slid open and I slipped inside.

On the other side of the hidden door was a world unlike any other found in the kingdom of Borealis. When you entered the room, there were rows of lockers, some covered in writing or pictures. The lights on the ceiling brought a glow to the place. But in all honesty, the first thing that hit you was the noise; young women were shouting and laughing, freely. Following the long corridor, the space split into several rooms. Some were classrooms with basic equipment, such as mesh bags filled with straw hanging from the ceiling for practising punching and kicking. Others were just training rooms, where maids in their free time practised alone or with others. One classroom was used to teach us to read and write, a basic skill many were not privileged to know. Towards the back were offices for Captain Hera and several lieutenants who were second-in-command to our fearless captain. We called this place our fighting sanctuary. We were the female warriors of the kingdom of Borealis.