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Maud sits down on her new bed with a blank look on her face.

Outside, the sun is setting, despite the fact that it was morning when they arrived. Her feet are sore and blistered, her high heeled shoes having pressed down on her toes all day. She has first now come to her room, after a whole day spent walking around the palace under the disguise of it being a 'tour'. She doesn't know what to say or think, completely overwhelmed by the silence around her. All day it's been nothing but noise and noise and noise. The tour of the palace took up half of her lifespan. No matter how many hours she spends on walking through the palace, she can never see all of it in one day. The tour was just the first step of her royal life and yet it has eaten her alive.

First it was together with the king and the rest of the royal family, some officials trailing along, but Maud knew it wouldn't last long. With those weak and sick knees, the king barely lasted one hour. He coughed and mumbled as he spoke, forgot key things about the palace decor and had to stop every ten minutes to wheeze out a few breaths. But somehow, they managed to get through the first part of the tour without him suffering a heart attack or stroke.

He showed her the throne room, which was a huge open hall in the middle of the palace. The walls were more like huge stone poles with thin walls in between, sculptured holes in them to make the air pass through. The king's throne and the door was the most impressive part of the room, according to the king himself. Maud didn't pay much attention. She won't be entering this room much after all, this is where the king and his officials gather to make important decisions, so it's not a place for a woman. Maud doesn't like places like that. Places that are restricted from people like her. Either way, she managed to zone out through the boring details and smiled whenever the king looked at her. After that they toured two huge ballrooms, one slightly smaller one and one main one. They had a similar design to the throne room, but one of them had a huge fountain in the middle, so that was quite awe-worthy.

After that it was Adelio who led the tour, as the king had to retire to his chambers to rest. Maud searched for pity or sadness in Adelio's expression as the old man left. What son wouldn't feel sad for their dying father? Kings and their heirs are often very close. But she found nothing. No sadness, no pity, no care. Adelio barely gave his father a glance as he left, and Maud swore that she saw an eye roll fall over the crown prince's face. Adelio led the tour with much less enthusiasm than his father had, but he still kept an arm around Maud's waist, making her feel all embarrassed and jittery throughout.

Adelio showed her the dining hall, a beautiful blue and white stone hall with three long tables in the middle, and low chairs with fancy pillows on them all around. There was no fireplace set against the wall like in Blue Knight, no instead Maud was awed by the huge opening to a lovely green garden and fountain area that was attached to the dining hall. She marveled at the beauty of the murals on the walls and the fine white statues in the garden, but couldn't take her mind off an important thing. This is going to be a place where she would eventually have to host banquets. At first she'll be helped by the head princess, which Maud is extremely thankful for since she doesn't have any experience or talent in hosting. But after she is crowned queen, she'll have to take on a much bigger role. For the first time, Maud is sure of how she feels about her new father-in-law. She wants him to live and stay as king for as long as possible. The longer she can drag this out, the better. The absolute terror of having to take on royal duties overshadowed the beautiful dining hall.

After that they've moved on to a few more ballrooms and the inner courtyard garden, the one right in the middle of the main palace. It was beautiful, but Maud didn't get much of a chance to see it properly. Adelio was called to royal duties before he could even begin to explain the odd statue of an animal with eagle wings and a lion's body, and he disappeared quickly after that. As a crown prince, he must have many royal tasks to do. Maud knows that she'll be stuck doing similar duties for the rest of her life, so for now she tries to enjoy as much as possible of her more simple and easy life.

Alisiah, Adelio's eldest sister, naturally took over the tour. They went to the palace theater and even to the servant chambers, to the kitchens. Male members of the royal family never go down to the servants quarters. The maids, cooks and other servants have corridors, rooms and halls completely separate from the rest of the palace. That's where they have the washing rooms, rooms for building and fixing, knitting and sewing, cooking and cleaning and gardening and tending to the animals. Maud was led down hallway after hallway, from one room to another, the cold stone servant chambers similar looking to a labyrinth of catacomb. Maud could never find her way in there by herself, but that's something that she needs to learn. As the wife of the future king, she's going to be the next woman of the house. The one who controls everything in the household and therefore the palace. Right now Alisiah is partially tending to that role with the help of her sisters, but eventually she'll be married off too, and Maud will be left all alone with this huge palace to tend to.

So rather than feeling calm, Maud felt quite nervous when she returned to her own chambers. After shortly touring the servant hallways they had to go back to the eastern princess wing as fast as possible. It's better for them to stay there, especially when evening falls. Having spent all day going through formalities, packing up her things and receiving gifts from dozens of different royal and noble women, eating foreign food and getting to know her own servants and sisters-in-law, it was already evening by the time she was done. By the time she's allowed to retire to her own room, quietly and calmly, to finally sleep and rest her ears and limbs.

Is every day going to be like this? Maud thinks about it as she lays with her back against the mattress, still dressed in her stuffy pink dress. What would be better, to be busy enough to forget her troubles every day, or be locked up in this room until she dies of boredom? Maud knows that it'll probably be one or the other. As princess, she will live a life partially filled with nothing, hours and hours of nothing to do and orders to stay inside her chambers. But as queen, she'll probably never find time to stay inside and sulk. Everything from running the household to attending royal events and performing her duties, Maud can't even imagine herself doing it all alone. She has barely had a few weeks of training. Not to mention how terribly busy she'll be when she eventually births sons and daughters. Taking care of children, with the help of maids or not, is a whole other job to add to her list.

Maud sighs at the thought and sits up slowly, looking around her own room properly for the first time. Light yellow stone walls that rise up to the high ceiling, rounding at the corners. An open balcony opposite of her bed, and a small pool-like fountain in the middle of her room. Maud has never had a balcony or fountain in her room before, but somehow she's not surprised. The climate of this country practically demands it, at least for a princess. The fountain is white with carvings of dolphins on the outside of it, and the edge of it is wide enough to make a good place to sit. There is no fireplace or chandelier in the room, but for the night Maud can see many candles standing around on beautifully carved, small wooden tables.

She leans back down onto her bed. It's much bigger than the one she had in Blue Knight. It's roundish in shape, with a rosy red silk covering perfectly stretched over the soft, yet firm, mattress. At the edge of it Maud can see a huge variety of pillows, ranging from round to square, covered in either velvet or silk. The pillows are dark red, wine red and even purple. Above her bedding structure there is a see through fabric, a protective layer against the many bugs that might fly around at night.

There is more to her chambers than just this room. Here all she has is a bed and that decorative balcony and fountain. There isn't much else. But in the six other rooms that she now owns, she has her own changing room, huge personal closet, bathing room, living room for taking in guests and lounge room for eating and just spending time in. The last room is for her personal maids, as she now has four that live with her, and twenty that are assigned to her name. The four closest ones live in the same room, and the one who leads them is her head maid Penny. Other than Penny, Maud remembers three new names, Rana, Kaia and Suri.

Penny fit right in with her new friends, despite not really speaking their language. Maud is happy for her, and she's lucky to have so many servants to look out for her. Not only these maids, but also the ten guards that always rotate around her chambers and work for her personally. The life of a princess requires protection and extra help, but Maud knows that a majority of her servants are here because this kingdom is rich and she gets to live in the utmost luxury. Despite feeling scared and hopeless all the time, Maud makes sure to feel lucky and thankful too. She knows how luxurious her life is now compared to the one she lived before, so truly this must be a gift of god.

How could she dare to deny such a thing?

"Your highness"

The voice of Penny echoes through the wide, golden double doors. Maud scrambles up from her bed with much difficulty, her dress restricting most movement. Outside the palace, darkness has already fallen over the capital and royal quarters. The moon is shaped into a beautiful crescent, and the stars shine brighter than she has ever seen them before. Maud should see this as a good sign. A clear sky on her first night. She would've felt much worse if it had been a stormy evening instead.

"Your maids are here with a change of clothes"

Maud finally gets up from her wide bed and pats down her dress and hair, somehow still nervous despite knowing that it's only her maids standing outside her door. She clears her throat lightly before thinking of an appropriate answer.

"Come in"

The doors open before she can even blink. Three of her maids burst through, walking with their heads lowered and hands in front of their stomachs. Even Penny does so, she is quick at learning the new customs. Their dresses are much slimmer here, and completely white with an added white apron on top. They wear their hair in slicked buns and wear brown sandals on their feet. Penny leads the group of three, the other two girls behind her. One of them has stark red hair, while the other is more similar to Penny with her dark hair and eyes. The red haired girl must originally be from another country. Maids often apply to royal families in other countries if they don't qualify in their own kingdoms. But she seems very qualified. She's just a little taller than Maud herself, just like Penny and the other maid, and walks and talks in a very disciplined manner.

If Maud remembers correctly, her name is Kaia. The other black haired girl is called Rana. Maids often have four letter names, either shortened versions of their own names or purposefully given new names, so that they don't overshadow the nobility and royalty that have long and complex and beautiful names. Penny is not a four letter name, but it's a simple one, and it's definitely not her real name. That's how it works. Maids are servants, they can't expect anything more than to be constantly belittled by the rich and royal that they serve. Maud wishes that she knew their real names. She knows that they might have longer ones. Personally she doesn't, the name Maud was given to her for the same reason as it was given to them. Poor girls deserve short names. A four letter name, which is a shortened version of her real one. But now she's Margaret again, a complex character with a rich name. That's the only thing that actually separates her from these women. Her ability to use her real, long name.

"Greetings, your highness"

They stop right in front of her to bow, and Maud forces herself not to react awkwardly. Penny is definitely aware of her humble past, but these two maids, and her seven other maids, can't know. She needs to keep up the perfect act with them. Or is it even an act at this point? Maud just keeps her face cold and disciplined, as she nods to acknowledge their bow and lets them lead her to her changing room.

Later in the evening, she sits on a chair with a red velvet cushion, while Penny softly and calmly brushes through her hair. It's the only thing that allows her to relax these days. Penny hums a soft tune as she works, something which Maud has always enjoyed to hear, since she has such a good voice. While the stars shine above them, Maud can lull her head against the motions of the brush in her maid's hands, and focus solely on the melody upon Penny's tongue.

"When do you think Adelio will call me to his bed?"

To be completely honest, this day has been the busiest day of her life. But she still finds herself thinking about her husband whenever she gets the chance. What does he want from her now? Are they going to have children now? Is he going to get any mistresses during their marriage? Is he happy with her as his wife? Those kinds of thoughts have been circling around in her head for a while now. It's only her first night, but she already feels oddly out of place when sleeping alone. She's a married woman after all, shouldn't she be sleeping next to her husband? It's odd how her thoughts have already gone in this direction, despite the fact that she feared him only a month before.

"His highness might be very busy, but surely he will want you soon enough"

Still, it's sad to think that he probably doesn't feel the same way.

"I'll visit him tomorrow, in his office. If he has something to say, he'll say it then"

If only she knew what that would mean to the vulnerable man, or woman, she would soon be seeing again...

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