"Lady Damia? Lady Damia?! Good grief milady! Please wake up, before the King beheads the both of us for your tardiness."
Adi was on the verge of hysterics while trying to awaken Damia. Of all the days to sleep in, she had to pick the day of the King's birthday.
"Lady Damia, if you don't wake up now, we won't have enough time to complete all the tasks the King demanded be done before his guests arrive."
Damia turned over in the bed, towards the direction of Adi's voice, which rousted her of the terrible dream.
Why did she keep dreaming of this Xerxes person? And why was she having this dream at all? True she was born a shifter, but her powers were among the weakest of her class. She could barely hold a form for 5 minutes, and even then, she could only transform a part of her body to look like something else, but she couldn't channel the power that would coincide with the transformation.
"I'm sorry Adi. I was having that dream again. It was so dark. I couldn't find a way out, but as always, your sweet voice brought me back to the light." She laced the last part with sickly, sweet sarcasm.
She couldn't stand being woken up. But Adi was the only one she didn't try to kill whenever it happened. She and Adi were born at the same time, and brought up together. Adi was also her sole companion after her mother passed away and the King stopped seeing her as his daughter, for some unstated reason. No, it wouldn't do to rid herself of Adi. After all, a weak person such as her couldn't survive alone.
Adi moved towards the dresser and pulled out a maid's uniform for Damia to wear, laying it on her bed. "Here, hurry and put this on so we can start working. After that, you'll need to rush over here so the other maids can dress you for the ball." Adi turned as Damia stood out of the bed, the sheets draped around her, and quickly turned back around. "Ugh, look at your hair. Did you not comb it before bed last night? A bird's nest would be neater." Adi didn't like seeing Damia fully naked, claiming it was unfitting for a princess to be seen by anyone but her betrothed.
This was a rather peculiar statement, as generally, a princess would not dress herself, but be dressed by her staff, but Damia never questioned Adi. And as head servant, Adi could assign the task to other maids.
As currently, Damia was also responsible for maid tasks, she had to dress herself. The King forbade anyone from treating her as the princess on normal occasions, so the other maids would not come to her chambers until just before the royal ball. Were it not for the training Damia had received while her mother was still alive, the King would not have allowed even that much, for fear that she would make a mockery out of him in front of the royal court. But masks were a requirement for these events, so no one would recognize her as a maid if they had seen her previously, and Damia's older brother had convinced the King that it was unwise to keep Damia hidden, as that would mean that the King could have no say in terms of Damia's mating because she would have no ties to him at court.
Damia took the clothes Adi laid out for her and walked behind the partition to change. Looking at the silver mirror standing next to the partition, she quickly combed through her hair with her fingers.
"Why do you exaggerate so much, Adi. It's not that bad. And besides, it will just go up like this with the humidity while working. Stop pestering me so much." She walked out from behind the partition and smiled in Adi's direction, then turned back to the mirror. Raising her right hand to her hair, she focused on channeling a nymph's water control to moisten it. Water control was so basic of an ability, that infant nymphs learned it within a few hours after birth. As long as she didn't try to take a nymph's form, channeling this small power was possible, even with her lack of skill. Next, she channeled a wind fairy's power to dry her hair and smooth out her tresses.
Underneath the soot and shabby garbs, Damia was a fair skinned beauty, with gorgeous, dark brown hair, that flowed down to the center of her back in smooth, soft waves, and a delicate figure, with soft features. She was easily the most beautiful female at court, inheriting her beauty from her mother. Were it not for the King's demands to keep her identity hidden, she would have been mated after her eighteenth birthday, likely, to the ruler of another nation. This was the one thing for which she was grateful to the King. Being kept away from royal proceedings also meant she could keep her freedom; however bleak it might be.
With a satisfied smile and arms akimbo, she turned to Adi. "See? Nothing to concern yourself over."
Adi turned to face her. "Mhmm, sure milady. I'll be fortunate enough to keep my head intact another day thanks to your swift action. But perhaps next time you could save us both the time and do it when I tell you. We're late enough as it is, let's go."
And with that, Adi turned and walked about the room, with Damia in tow.