Masquerade [BANG CHAN FF]

1. New teacher

A very warm late-August sun shone through the tall windows of the large room decorated in white and golden tones, the colors that dominated the rest of the castle. The walls of the study were covered with tall full-wood shelves filled with books, the sun shining on them from the opposite windows. The rich smell of the books couldn't cover the tension that could be felt in the warm air of the room.

Suddenly, the tall wooden door opened, breaking the tense silence, and the royal family of five came into the large study, dressed elegantly for the meeting they just arrived at. Five tall chairs were put on a few-step tall pedestal, which the family stepped on, making their view just a bit higher than the line of females who were standing in front of them, waiting over 15 minutes for their arrival.

The women bowed at the sight of royals, straightening up only when all five of them sat in their tall red velvet chairs. The king sat first and then the rest followed, the daughter on her mother's side and the sons on their father's side. Annoyance and boredom could easily be read on the faces of the younger royals as they clearly didn't want to be present, having other plans in mind.

Ten women that stood before them were all dressed similarly, which made the young princess mock a gag, pointing to her gaped mouth. Lined women wore either a wool or a cardigan sweater over a white blouse and a long skirt, their hair put in a tight bun on top of their heads. Most of them wore glasses and the overall sight of them made the princess sigh in disappointment and lean in her chair.

"They all look so boring..." young Princess Hannah uttered under her breath, not being able to contain her feelings for dull fashion sense, but her words were loud enough for her mother to hear and nudge her to mind her language and sit up straight. Hannah turned her head away from her mother to roll her eyes and let out another sigh.

An old man, with barely any hair on his head, wearing glasses and a black tailored suit, came into the room right after the family, bowed to them, and then turned to the lined-up women, pushing up the half-rim glasses on his old face, introducing himself.

"Good day, ladies. My name is William Adler, the royal family advisor," the older man smiled, the wrinkles on his face deepening, "As you are familiar, you all received an invitation to this meeting where the royal family will choose one of you as the next royal tutor," Mr. Adler explained and the women nodded, some of them biting their lips in nervousness.

The advisor nodded as well and stood next to the first woman, opening his notebook to read her personal information - full name, place and date of birth, her parents' names and their status/education, as well as her education and teaching experience.

The royals listened and observed the women but without taking any interest or sharing any comments on the ones that the advisor introduced so far. The eldest son, Prince Christopher, yawned when the advisor finished introducing the fourth woman. His yawn and the obvious boredom made the women more nervous, some were even scared, averting their eyes when they were met with his piercing gaze under the long lashes and half-lowered eyelids.

The old advisor approached the sixth woman and she straightened her posture, pushing her shoulders as far back as she could.

"Miss Madeline Simmons," the older man announced and the young princess stood up from her seat.

"Oh, mother, I like her green sweater!" Princess Hannah pointed at the young woman, "At least she's dressed in my favorite color... unlike the rest..." the princess grimaced, looking at other women dressed in either pink, blue, or beige in the hope that the happy, bright, or natural colors would make the children like them.

"I like her, too!" young Prince Lucas announced, agreeing with his older sister, "I like her glasses," he giggled.

Madeline wore similar eyeglasses to most women in the group and they were not unique or captivating - they were round, a little oversized, with a wire frame instead of wooden. They were cheap, just like her clothes, so she didn't understand why the two young ones even made comments about her. In her opinion, she was the one who was dressed rather boringly.