Jewels of the Crown

♛ 3 ♛

Warning: Sexual References.

I flop down onto my bed, staring at the ceiling, contemplating, and trying to wrap my head around everything that has already happened today. I've already cried all my tears that I can over the situation, so I am left here, staring, pondering what to do. I hear the door to my bedroom open, and I turn my head to see one of the maids walking in with a jug of water in her arms. When she sees me she curtseys, before walking further into the room, putting the water down.

"Could you help me up?" I ask, extending my arms. I feel her clutch onto my hands, and after some manoeuvring from both of us, as a result of the corset not bending, I am up on my feet.
I walk to the window overlooking the town below the castle, and wonder whether this is a good idea, and if I should do it. After the meeting with the advisors, the idea of going down into town to get to know the people of the kingdom more, has been playing on my mind.

I'll be alone, with no protection, for the first time, and I'm not going lie, some small part of me is excited at the prospect of not being judged or known. I will hopefully go unnoticed, and finally experience what life is like outside of the castle walls as someone who is normal, and isn't watched with every step they take. I decide to stop thinking about it, and just dive in, Robert's words from earlier helping me to 'live life to the fullest'. I'll try it once, and then I never have to do it again if it goes badly. Before I can even leave the castle, I need to be sure that I won't be recognised, and that means not wearing an extravagant dress.

"Cindy is your name, is it not?" I ask the maid who is moving through the room, continuing on whatever her task is. She stops, and turns, her head bowed slightly.

"Yes, ma'am." I don't say anything for a couple of seconds, trying to work out the best way to broach the subject, so that it doesn't sound bizarre and she won't go and tell anyone of my plans. I look her over, noting how her figure doesn't differ much from mine. She's a bit younger than me and dressed in the normal outfit of a maid of the castle: a plain, long sleeved, black dress with a white pinafore over the top. Her hair is enclosed by what looks to be a cloth. Her face is makeup-free and youthful looking.

"I have decided that I want to venture out into the kingdom," I say, thinking over every word as I say it, to try and sound as sure and authoritative as possible.

"Yes, ma'am, I'll go and let..."

"No, thank you, I'll be going by myself. Tonight." She looks like she is torn as to whether she should ask what she's thinking as it could potentially sound like she's being unprofessional and stepping over a line. She's probably been told to keep quiet and go along with whatever she is ordered to do. Eventually her curiosity wins out, and she asks her burning question.

"May I ask what your intentions are... ma'am?" she says quickly adding on the polite address, trying not to sound too rude.

"To experience life. If it is alright with you, I would like you to go down to the kitchens and tell them that I will be having my dinner in here tonight. You will bring the food up, and if you can find one, a spare maid's outfit. You can have my dinner and will stay here until I return. You are not to tell anyone. and if anyone is to come up here and ask after me, you are to say that I am not in a state to accept visitors. If I have not returned by midnight, and have reason to believe that something has happened, you are to go straight to the closest guard and tell them of everything," I say, covering all my bases. If I don't go down for dinner, they will come looking for me, and in the event of something going wrong and me not being able to return, the maid can raise the alarm. I'll just have to be sure to keep an eye on the time.

Cindy's eyes widen at my invitation to have my dinner and stay in my rooms. She would have been into the kitchens before, having had her food in there, and would have seen the food being prepared for me and my family. She would have possibly only dreamed of having food that luxurious, and I always feel guilty of that fact. It's the same kitchens, so why is the food prepared differently depending on the person? Why are we more deserving of luxury food? I've just been born into the right family at the right time, there's nothing else that is different about us. We're both made of the same stuff, so we both need the same things fundamentally.