The Palace Maid { Slow Updates}

Encounter

Time had fast passed by. Joanna's busy routine hardly gave  her time for herself. She was either doing laundry, emptying chamber pots or hauling water. No one ever had free time but today was her lucky day, Mrs. Lockwood had thought it wise to allow her to take a break, she said she saw how hard she had been working so she decided to give her a twenty minutes break. Rayala was not pleased to know Joanna was given a break, she kept on mumbling insults to anyone who cared to listen. Joanna, on the other hand, did not understand why Rayala was always irritated every time she walked into the building or when her name was mentioned but as always, she made it her mission to mind her own business. 

Birds were chirping as they flew from tree to tree, Joanna sat at the riverside, completely lost in the book she was reading.

The sudden rustling of the bush and heavy footsteps switched Joanna's attention. Startled, she stood and watched the direction where the movement was coming from. Hiding behind the boulder, Joanna noticed a male figure coming out of the bush.

In silence, Joanna glared at the figure before her eyes. The man emanated beauty that Joanna had never had the privilege to see before. Yes, she had seen men before, but the one before her was different. Not only was he tall, but he also had beautiful green eyes and his masculine body was hard to ignore. His hair was unruly black and his skin was tanned due to sunlight exposure and his clothes were ordinary, cheap and wrinkled. For a minute, Joanna was completely dumfounded, there was something churning inside of her, something she has never felt in the presence of a man.

At a blink of an eye, the man had disappeared. Joanna was temporarily baffled, she couldn't tell whether it was because there was a strange man on the palace grounds or because of the charm he beheld. She was definitely not in the right state of mind, so she grabbed her book and walked back to the castle.

While laying on her bed, Joanna's mind wandered to the strange man she had seen earlier. The thought of him made her heart palpitate faster than usual. The thought of his rare but beautiful eyes drew her to an unfamiliar place, a place she wouldn't mind spending an eternity. "What is wrong with you Joanna, why are you behaving like this?" She audibly questioned herself. 

Suddenly, the doors of the chamber flew open with a bang, causing Joanna to jump out of the bed. A petite dark skinned girl stood at the door, staring at Joanna. Her lips slightly trembling as tears slowly gathered in her eyes and before Joanna could utter a word, the girl burst out with laughter as she held on tightly to her stomach. With uttermost disbelief, Joanna watched as Maya publicly broke her bones.

"I do not find an ounce of humor in your un-lady like act. "Joanna stated with her head held high.

"How, I...I...wish, you...you would have seen the look on your face." Maya managed to say in between laughs.

"If you don't mind, I would like to go back and rest, I have a busy day tomorrow. "Joanna said as she went back to bed.

"Come on now. I didn't mean to scare you. At the matter of fact, there's something I want to tell you." Maya said as she sat beside Joanna.

"Why am I not surprised." Joanna teased.

Folding her hands, Maya threw daggers that could instantly wound at Joanna.   
Colour suddenly disappeared from her face and one could tell she was  no longer in the mood to pour out whatever she had in mind.

"Surely you know a joke when you hear one, don't you?" Joanna asked.
"Of course I do, but you should know that there's a time for everything under the sun and now is no time to jest around." Maya firmly stated.

"The prince of Riverwood will be in the palace by dawn, I should let you know that I am greatly troubled. Everything you've heard about the prince are far from being rumours uttered by his enemies." Maya continued.

Joanna had nothing to say. She was not one to quickly judge a person but she new every rumour carried some truth and the prince of RiverGreen had no good reputation. Everyone trembled at the mention of his name, people said that his cruelty exceeded that one of an angry wizard and the thought of facing his cruelty sent shivers down Joanna's spine.

She had successfully managed to avoid getting herself in trouble, and her only prayer was trouble wouldn't come looking for her.

********************
The prince's arrival was nothing like what Joanna had perceived. Instead of  the Palace servants spending the better part of the day preparing and making sure everything was in order, the servants were all locked up in the quarters, ordered to refrain from making any kind of sound.

The entire compound was dominated by silence, nature also obeyed but Joanna's beating heart found it extremely hard to follow simple instructions. Unlike Maya who enjoyed the comfort of her bed, Joanna kept on pacing back and fourth as she bite her fingers. Anxiety and fear had suddenly washed over her, she hated being in the dark, she always wanted to know what's going on around her, especially in situations that affected her in some way; and the arrival of the prince in the palace did affect her for she desperately wanted to know what was going on outside the four walls and most importantly, she wanted to see the prince!