"You'll look beautiful on your wedding day princess Alienor." Stated one of the maids setting a clean towel next to my bath, "You'll be in the eyes of both Alderis and Highmayne." She nodded solemnly, "You must be so excited."
I sighed softly, dropping my robes into the floor and feeling the bath water with my toes. The water was perfect. I slowly walked down the stairs, getting used to the heat and submerged myself up to my nose inside the steaming hot water. It was plain water, no herbs or oils, just as I had requested. I needed to soak away my anxieties before being married off to a neighboring kingdom.
Weeks ago, I had received a note from my father, the king of Alderis, telling me that I was to be wed this week, and to prepare myself for the upcoming marriage. Today was the day. I had no idea what to say or feel. I liked to consider myself a strong and independent woman, but today, I felt only inches tall. Vivian Belridge had asked my hand and never once did we meet. Who was he? What was he like? Was he mean? Nice? The questions had flooded my mind for weeks and I could not stop the thought of being separated from my family at a mere 21 years old. I had turned down plenty of marriage proposals in the past and not once did my father say a word about it, but this one was a proposal I could not turn down. Did they pay my father to do this? What was the reasoning?
My long brown hair floated on top of the water, slowly submerging itself with the rest of my body as my thoughts raced through my mind. The maid began to comb water through my hair gently. I loved to get my hair combed, it was the only thing that was able to break my concentration on the terrible thoughts that were soaring through my imagination at that time.
"Princess you have such lovely hair." Stated my maid, continuing to comb. She began to comb soap through my hair, being sure to clean it thoroughly, and then rinsed. "I wish I had hair as soft as yours."
The maids in the castle of Alderis were not given such luxuries. While paid well, they purchased their own things and did not sleep inside the castle. Instead, they were housed outside of the Macchius castle and on their own properties, maintained by the king's men. My parents did not believe in having commoners housed inside the castle. Typically maids of the castle were family members of commoners who had earned favor from working with noble families.
I did not speak to the maid, it was improper to do such. Regardless if she was my handmaiden or not. She was to prepare me for my wedding, nothing more.
"The Elder instructed me to prepare you for your wedding." She started to speak again, "I will do my best. You will look beautiful in front of the prince, my lady." She finished up washing my hair and allowed me to sit in the bath for long while without speaking.
There was a very long silence for what seemed like an eternity before the maid again broke the silence, "Princess, we do not have much more time. I must ask respectfully that you please get out of the bath so I can prepare you for your wedding."
There it was, my cue. I sighed and raised myself out of the water, snatching the towel and walking out of the bath water silently into the open. I patted my face dry, squeezed the water out of my hair into the bath, and then I dried the rest of myself off.
The maid was already gathering my undergarments and my clothing. She wasted no time handing me my underwear. It was not my usual plain cloth underwear, but instead a silk bra and panties. I put them on and she handed me a white slip. After I put on the slip, she put a white silk robe on me that covered my arms fully to my wrists and tied it closed. It had an open collar that exposed my neck, showing off some cleavage. After putting on the robe, the maid put a red dress on me over the robe, closing the robe and covering my chest. The dress flattered my curves. It had a slit that ran straight up the front of the dress, exposing the white gown underneath. After putting the red dress on me, she then put a red corset on me, and began to lace it up tightly.
"I know this must be hot and uncomfortable," stated the maid quietly, "But all eyes will be on you, so you must look presentable for your wedding." She pulled the strings tightly, nearly squeezing the life out of me. I coughed and she pulled again. The corset was extremely uncomfortable. "I am going to do something simple for your hair, but it will be elegant."
By the time the maid finished putting my dress together, my hair was completely dry. She began to brush it again, and put together my hair. I could not see what she was doing. She was done with my hair faster than I had expected her to be. After she finished, she placed my tiara on top of my head and allowed me to sit down in a chair by the bath.
After finishing, the maid bid me goodbye and hurried outside of the door, allowing Elder Brisin to enter. She stopped in her tracks when she saw me. "Princess Alienor, you look beautiful. Your father himself picked your gown. How do you feel, are you comfortable?"
"I'm as comfortable as I can be despite how horrible this corset feels." I grumbled.
"Understandable." She stated, "I see that your makeup was not done." She hobbled forward and grabbed my face, looking into my eyes, "This will have to do. We are nearly out of time."
I stood from my chair and walked towards the mirror to look at my reflection. I looked elegant. The dress framed my figure perfectly, and my hair was pinned back, perfectly framing my face. While looking into the mirror I wondered silently what the prince would be like. I hoped he would be nice.