A melody travels through the room whispering affably while the toon dances off the walls. Each key blended in a distinct form of perfection. An upbeat symphony curated for its sole purpose to please, however, one with true prowess of composition would say "This piece lacks emotion". It was opaque and one couldn't determine the meaning behind the hymn, wistfully searching for its own significance.
It goes... "Hmm" Hum" "Hmmm" "Hum"
The euphony from the piano waned as the final key entertained the bystanders. People who are fascinated by the common piano are soothed from the soft but strong ballads it produces. Yet those standing there couldn't care less if it had any effect in there lives, they knew why they stood there.
To appease a princess...
It was modest just for a moment before being accompanied by small praises and clapping from the maids.
Elise's small hands hovered above the piano as her fingers unhurriedly crunched into balled fists. Surrounded by a small crowd of vexing women staring at her like she was a lion trapped in a cage, no-, maybe she was the meat instead. Elise wondered what made others so despondent to be used by her mother. The pitch-black glossy wooden stool she sat under radiated with warmth from her bottom.
She had been sitting there for a good four minutes serenading her needy maids, or at least she thought they were. It's almost as if they were begging for attention, -" I'm clapping louder than she is", "I'm smiling wider than she is". Antiques that women will attempt to play never get old, Elise finds it quite amusing once in a while. Although, today she was preoccupied and seriously trying to practice her piano piece for the upcoming banquet today.
"That was truly lovely Princess Elise!" A woman with dark brown raucous waves and pallid white skin spoke with haste. Elise's red orbs of rubies queried the woman's physique. She was not too tall, around the height of a lanky standing lamp, it was noticeable that the woman was malnourished from her tiny wrists and hideously pale skin. Her thin pinkish lips, dry, she had a light dash of rose lipstick applied with caution. It was plausible that the woman was going for a look of freshness.
She failed
"Yes...obviously" Elise replied in a lazy tone, unsure if her mother sent a malnourished maid to test her or someone else planted a spy. Either way, this young princess didn't have time to entertain her mother or the possible power-hungry government official that wanted to do his bidding.
Elise eyed her head maid Julia, the woman who was her wet nurse since birth and the only person she valued in this place. Directing her attention back to the unhealthy lady, - "What is your name maid?" Elise inquired as Julia came to her side to help her get up from the stool with respite.
The poor woman's eyes beamed with joy "Its Eumis Princess Elise!"
It seemed that she was the only one who didn't get the memo. The other maids around her stared with pity, arrogance, and pride. They knew what the princess was about to do, and what she always did whenever a new maid appeared out of nowhere.
Elise stood there enveloped in an ocean blue gown, ruffled thickly at the bottom and inebriated with small bows at the hems. Her silvery-white hair was pinned up in a ponytail, exposing her gorgeous features gifted from the empress and the emperor. Those same ruby red eyes that eyed Eumis down glared in her direction with disgust.
"Well then, Eumis, it's time for you to go, looking at you makes me want to vomit" Elise smiled malevolently watching the look on her face deteriorate with sorrow.
"P-Princess? Did I do something wrong?" Eumis struggled to speak, the maids behind her roughly snagged at her frail arms ready to throw her out.
"I don't need to explain myself once more do I?" The Princess, fluffed her dress, not minding Eumis swallowing her saliva nervously. "Please! Don't send me back! I'll do better!" Eumis began to struggle against the women, but their grip on her unstable bones was too strong. She winced in pain slightly while ogling at Elise frantic.
She wondered what she was looking for in the young girl's eyes, how self-degrading was it to be begging a child for forgiveness? Never in this maids life has she ever had to stoop so low in order to save her own life. Elise couldn't care, she wouldn't care, raised to prey on those who had no status, this wasn't new.
"Well what are you fiends waiting for?! Take her out of my sight NOW!" Elises' pale skin blushed red from her anger.
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Eleanora massaged her cheeks, her slender fingertips glided across the smooth skin she hadn't felt in years. Stripped away from her youth in the past from, poison, stress, and torture. Never in her life, well past life, would she appreciate the short-lived feeling of smoothness on her face.
Fuji held a soft-bristled wooden brush that slipped between Eleanora's long wavy chestnut brown curls. Taking care of her hair was essentially quite soothing to Fuji, especially since there was no struggle involved.
Alison had come into the room with several other maids with racks of dresses and jewelry. Allison adjusted the appearance of a cherry red and golden yellow dress. It was commonly tight around the waist area and very inflated underneath. "These were gifted from the Empress My Lady" Allison spoke going through the rack attentively. The maids placed the jewelry on a clean pure white oak wood dresser.
Eleanora's fruity lime green eyes shifted in the direction of the dresser occupied by the expensive jewelry from the Empress.
"Did she send these just to me?" Her eyes veered to Alison.
"No, she also sent some to Noble Wife Aliya as well My Lady" Allison responded
Fuji halted brushing Eleanora's elegant locks of hair momentarily to look in the direction of the dresses "They are quite beautiful Lady Eleanora! Do you plan on wearing one?" Fuji asked excitedly, Allison waved the other maids to leave the room. They curtsied lightly and exited one by one, going ever so slowly in order to divulge in the gossip that was about to occur in that big bedroom.
Allison's gaze was pierced on the common oak entrance, she scanned it cautiously ensuring that it was shut all the way. Her golden yellow silky hair wafted at the slightest movement of her head. After being relieved of any potential espionage, Allison proceeded to manage the racks of dresses.
"Do I plan on wearing a dress gifted by the Empress? Of course not...I know better not to do something silly like that" Eleanora's gaze was back on the mirror, her hand gradually left her cheek.
"Wouldn't that make it even more of a problem if you don't wear any of the dresses? She would obviously take this as a threat" Allison conversed albeit taking steps towards Eleanora steadily.
Allison had always been quick-witted, past, present, and future apparently. That part of her always helped Eleanora out in sticky situations involving the harem, so evidently, the Noble Wife was more thankful than anything.
"The other ladies will surely target me, and I will become nothing but a pawn to the Empress, isn't it adequately to dress plainly instead?" Eleanora replied to Allison who still was skeptical of what she had in mind. Fuji's hand trembled with her grip still tight on the brush.
"W-W-What! Plain!? This is a banquet prepared just for you and Noble Wife Aliya you can't dress plain!" ('°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥ω°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥`)
Eleanora's lips curled into a genuine smile after watching Fuji make a childish tantrum in the vanity mirror, her bubbly amber orbs and medium-length olive green hair fit her youthful behavior. Allison could do nothing but sigh at her young colleague.
"Dressing plain is a stretch, but I'm sure that the other women will get the memo" Eleanora communicated as her hands reached for the harmful foundation powder left there on her vanity for some time now. She'd never used makeup, hardly any of the Emperor's wives needed it anyway. Although, she found out very quickly how dangerous such products were to women, and what it could to do you.
Allison's thin eyebrows furrowed a bit and her pink lips parted to speak, -
"Throw this out for me please, I won't need it" Eleanora held the round compact jeweled powder jar, her hand was raised up slightly in front of the stunned Allison. "Trust me..." Eleanora said lastly to the two. Allison stared at her hand and picked up the jar holding in her visible frustrations.
Fuji's bit the inside of her cheek nervously.
Eleanora knew they didn't trust her judgment one bit after all she had just arrived in the palace not too long ago. This was the best route, less attention, no picking sides of the harem, and played off as nothing but an object. Something she wanted so bad that she would die once again just to get it.
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Just as Eleanora suggested to her unsure maids, she dressed in a simple dress. She chose a tightly fitted long sleeve Carolina blue dress, it hugged her torso pleasingly. The collar wrapped around her sleek neck with a slight open hole cut on top of her sternum. Underneath the dress was thick and downy, but the outer appearance was dewy and bounced effortlessly. The bottom of the gown was decorated with white pearly beads with lace wrapping around the whole foot of the dress.
Her hair was abstracted in a messy bun, tied up with a white ribbon to coordinate with the one color she was stuck on keeping. Eleanora dressed so fancily in the past that most would mistake her for standing above the Empress as far as status. This got her into trouble of course, which is the exact reason why she is taking so many cautious steps now.
Well, purposefully bumping into the youngest princess before the banquet is not exactly going with her new personality change.
'Yes! Jump into danger like a fool'
Is what she would've done pardoning her gentle nature in a heartbeat. Rather than that, - walking these lonely paths in the palace meant you are purposefully, setting yourself up as a target, no? I'm sure we already clarified how Eleanora's plans included searching and dear God, wishing at this point to bump into the child. Her subconscious pushed her to go after getting bothered by Fuji's chattering about how lovely she looked, and Allison lecturing about palace etiquette.
Eleanora's mind couldn't really take all of that in right now, she had to remember important details about the banquet including how she has to navigate her way back from this gloomy route. Nostalgia picked at her brain as the medium shrubs cut and lined along the path flawlessly reminded her of the beginning days she was here. The sun was lingeringly going to sleep, the night would arrive and the moon would keep her company.
"I guess I was a bit too hopefully" She stopped at the end of the path that resembled a shrub maze, and a large fountain came into perspective. Water splashed loudly, rumbling from pressure as it's forced to release. Her footsteps halted, maybe she was blessed, once more the child she was searching for appeared. Not in the form or fashion that Eleanora would've preferred because in front of her Marie Paule was crying silently on her knees.
The child's hands were clamped together tightly holding whatever was inside with dear life. She was praying, praying with a hopeless wish. Eleanora wondered why she could hear something so devastating come out of her mouth, she almost wished that the sounds of the splashing water were stronger.
"God, please, please send someone to love me, I promise I will do better, so, please...I don't want to be alone"
Marie-Paule's eyes sealed shut as if the more she kept them closed, the stronger her prayer would be. The reaction Eleanora had stood still, every negative tragic feeling poured into her soul.
"When should a child ever pray to have that?"
A part of her knew each child was miserable, all of them were searching for something they could not find on their own. Eleanora wasn't going to let her fear torment her, she was going to move forward in every way possible to reach out.
She strode forth so fast the wind couldn't keep up with the weight of her dress. Eleanora got down on her knees with Marie-Paule who's eyes that we're sealed tight, unlocked instantly at the feel of her presence.
"What are you doing!" Marie's face was flushed from her continuous rampant of tears. She backed away slightly rubbing some of the dry dirt stuck onto the cobblestone onto her dress. Eleanora couldn't hold back her sadness either, as soon as her knees hit the surface it was game over.
"Marie-Paule, you don't have to cry anymore I promise It'll be okay" Eleanora's left hand reached out to wipe away the neverending tears from Marie's eyes.
Marie-Paule stood still shivering not because she was cold, but because she was in shock.
"I don't know you! I...I..I know I'll always be alone so I don't..need those words of empty hope.." Marie spoke with downcast eyes on the ground. Such horrendous words, cracking the surface of the heart that is most delicate of all.
"Marie the days that life has blessed us and cursed us with determine our fate...You are so much more than they made you believe you weren't. I won't let you spend your days alone any longer, if you just trust me, everything will be okay" Eleanora pulled Marie into a hug ever so gently.
The quivering lip Marie had been making for the longest but shortest amount of time was accompanied by quite cries from the child. Her muffled shrieks of misery and anguish stained Eleanora's gown.
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