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I bump into a woman with at least half of her hair dyed platinum blonde. Every tight curl of her hair is dark brown hair woven together with blonde. The woman stumbles back and looks at me like I just threw up on her shoes. “Are you lost, dear?” she asks in a sickening fake sweet voice. “You must have made a wrong turn on the way to the slums. This is the royal quarter. You had better move along.”
“My pardons, Miss. This is Princess Elizabeth Dowry you’re addressing. She’s currently under disguise for political reasons. I hope you’ll excuse us,” he says, moving past the woman whose mouth is opening and closing like a fish out of the water as we leave her behind.
I grin, biting my lip. Maybe I don’t feel like I’ve earned the title of princess, but it was certainly fun to see it thrown in that snobby woman’s face. I could get used to this.
We move quickly through the streets, so quickly that I barely have time to take everything in from the wonderful smells to the people, who seem so similar but different in the smallest ways that they tug at my curiosity.
“Is this the only city in the Shrouded Kingdom?” I ask suddenly, just as Calian takes us through an inner gate deeper inside the city.
He laughs. “No. This is just the royal seat of the Burkewoods. It’s certainly one of the largest cities in the Shrouded Kingdoms, but by no means the only city.”
We step through the gate and I get my first full view of what must be the palace. It looks like what a medieval architect might have dreamed up if they had modern materials and all the tools of the modern world at his or her disposal. Brick accents the outer structure, but there are also smooth, clean lines of a sleek, smooth black material. I count at least thirty castle-style towers jutting up from the main structure, complete with spiraling windows that lead to the top of each and what looks to be a breathtaking penthouse style room at the top with huge floor-to-ceiling windows.
Calian doesn’t wait for me to gawk though, and before I know it, we’re stepping through two huge doors as Calian nods with familiarity to dozens of layers of security that watch us pass, deadly weapons strapped to their hips.
Inside, we’re immediately approached by three women in brown, surprisingly plain dresses that cover them from neck to toes. “Come with us,” says the woman in the center of the group. She has brown hair and big, eager eyes and a kind face. “I’m Marcella,” she says, “this is Kadene.” She nods to the woman at her left, who has black hair and mousy features. “And this is Niera,” she says, nodding to the woman at her right, her red hair is tied into a beautiful braid. Niera keeps her eyes on the floor as she curtsies to me.
“We are yours, and we have a lot of work to do,” says Kadene. She reaches out, touching my clothes and making a distasteful but sympathetic face. “When we’re done with you, the Prince will not be able to keep his hands off!”“Mine?” I ask. “I’m sorry--I don’t understand.”
“We’re your servants,” says Marcella. “We’ll take care of your every need and desire”
I frown. “Servants? Like slaves?”
Based on the body language of the three women, I realize I’ve just said something wrong.
“Please, I don’t mean offense. It’s just… Where I come from, people don’t have servants anymore.”
Marcella straightens her dress. “You do not need to apologize, princess. As I said, we are yours.”
I know I’ve made a terrible first impression, but I’m given no chance to smooth it over when the group of women surround me like butterflies, whisking me away and through the twisting hallways of the palace, up several flights of stairs, and finally up a spiral staircase that must lead to one of the tops of the towers I saw from outside. The stairs take us into a huge, open room. It’s circular and the walls are lined with windows that give a breathtaking view of the city below and the untouched hills beyond. The furniture is modern but with a touch of old world charm, which seems to be the trend here.
Once they have me upstairs, the three women circle me, fussing over my clothes for a few moments before they take the liberty of starting to pull at my dress and shoes, undressing me.
“W-wait,” I say quickly. “I can change myself.”
“Nonsense,” says Kadene. She has a bossy voice and even bossier hands, which are not shy about yanking the zipper open and tugging my dress down.
“Easy, Kadene. The princess is still adjusting to her new life” says Marcella, who moves in front of me and grips my shoulders gently, locking her big eyes on mine. “I know this is a lot to take in right now, but you must realize how fortunate you are. Every woman in the city would kill to be in your position right now. To be wed to Prince Titus?” she asks, looking to Kadene and Niera, who smirk suggestively back at her. “That is something to envy.”
