The next morning, I was sitting on the bed in my change of clothes. A gold, and white dress with red flowers embroidered on the inner skirt and up the front of the bodice. It was a lot more my tone, and I felt more comfortable in it. I could tell that this was an expensive gown from the feel of the fabric, so soft that I couldn't even tell what it was. It was certainly more comfortable, and way cleaner than my old outfit, considering I had to hand wash everything myself and it was simply something I wasn't prepared for. A maid was sent in to help me with my hair at my request, I figured why not while I had the availability to ask. She did a bang up job too, braiding it into a flower at the back of my head with two lone braids wondering down the rest of the length of my hair. To top it off, she settled a chaplet of red and white flowers on my head; a sign of my never being married, apparently.
"What's the occasion?" I had asked her afterwords, "In England, we only wear these at Weddings or betrothals."
"Well haven't you heard? The Duke is having another night of festivities, in celebration of his sister- since he was unable to attend the last. This time, they both shall be there to celebrate her departure, even though she has never before shown herself to the court. In fact, she has been forbidden until now."
"So the Princess will be at the celebration?" I said with excitement. I knew all about Anne of Cleves from my studies back in college. I am a huge fan of hers, and would love the chance to hold even a small conversation with her, or just to see what she really looked like. She surely was not as ugly as Henry led on to her being. As for the whole smell issue, in these times everyone smelled terrible to tell you the truth, there was no beating around the bush to it. They barely bathed, especially the nobles and royals as they believed it opened you to diseases.
"Yes, she will be," she said, walking around me- undoubtedly admiring her handy work. I took this opportunity to think quietly to myself, my head spinning with emotions, hopes, and ideas.
I couldn't help but get excited at the thought of meeting the famous Princess, in my time she is renown for her kindness, and the tragic story of her life is enough to make anyone an admirer of hers. It would be an honor to be able to meet her, and see not only what she truly looked like but what she was actually like for myself. How lucky I am to be able to be here right now, if my families lives weren't in danger I would genuinely be happy right now.
Very seldom are people allowed to time travel as it's only existed for the last 50 years, so we know little about it other than the fact that as a general idea: Time travel would not be possible if there was no way to change the course of the future. Even someone existing in another time is enough to leave an imprint.The hypothesis is much like the ripples on the surface of water, only the immediate future will be impacted by changes to the past, and in all cases the splash can either be small or big. This made it hard to be able to predict the outcomes of certain changes.
"I believe that should be all miss, you look lovely. Is there anything else I can do for you before I take my leave?" the servant asked, jarring me from my daze. She turned to Kate who had just dressed herself, undoubtedly speaking to her instead of me.
"I'm great, no need to worry about me. I don't need help making myself respectable," Kate said from her place in front of the mirror. Her normal ponytail was left down for a change; her thick, blonde hair framing her round face, and stopping sharply just before her shoulders. An odd hairstyle to have in this era, but she insists on keeping it that length. She is so stubborn too, I doubt she wanted to admit she needed help fixing her hair, but it's fine either way. We aren't here to look pretty, although it certainly is nice to be clean and in nice clothes for a change.
"Of course, ma'am," she said as she turned to me, waiting for my response as well.
"That'll be all, thank you for your help," I said smiling at her, and receiving one back. She gave me a quick curtsy, and turned to leave the room. I listened for the door to close before I spoke to Kate.
"I think they're wanting us to stay for the celebration tonight, are you interested at all?" I said, looking at myself in the mirror.
"I don't, but I can tell that you want to. I am going to go ahead and take the sample back to the Inn and have it sent back, i'll join you at the celebration later," Kate said, knowing that I had spoken about the Princess on numerous occasions.
"That's fine, I don't know how I feel about going alone though," I said, an idea coming to mind. "Why don't you help me find a date today? The celebration doesn't start until sundown so we have about 5 hours until you'd need to leave."
She turned to look at me, her green eyes shaming me from across the room. "A date? Seriously?"
"Yeah, why not?" I said, trying to talk her into it. "What's it matter? Pretty sure we're going to be leaving in a few days anyway."
She seemed to consider this for a moment, even going so far as to bring her finger up to her chin. "Yeah, I guess, but I am telling you now don't be doing something that I wouldn't do. You don't want your first sexual experience to be with a man who hasn't had a bath in months, and believes women are objects."
"Yeah, I see your point there. Let's find me someone halfway decent at-least. Perhaps even someone gay?"
"Who are we going to find around here that's going to come out of the closet to you?"
"I guess, well, let's find me a handsome date then. Someone around court has got to be in need of some company to this shindig," I said opening the door to the bed chamber. I stepped through the threshold looking back at Kate to see if she was following.
After stalling for a moment she followed me, and I couldn't help but feel a bit of excitement. I probably wouldn't find anyone around court willing to go to this celebration with me last second, especially being who I am. This court was filled with nobility waiting to find a spouse, not some girl who claimed to be a low-class doctor. I wouldn't let that stop me from trying though, at the very least I get to explore the castle more and enjoy a royal celebration.
We walked down the familiar corridors until we reached the great hall where groups of people were speaking to one another in hushed tones. In the movies back home, this is where you'd expect people to be gossiping profusely. As we made our way deeper into the room, I realized this was exactly the case.
The Great Hall was a massive wooden room with high ceilings, and a massive stone fireplace along the center wall. Long tables stretched nearly the length of the room, with ladies and gentlemen sitting and standing about the room in their extravagant gowns of satin, silk, and damask- all of which came in an arrangement of colors. There were several large, woven rugs along the floors which felt soft under my new shoes. Paper flowers, lanterns, and stars decorated the remainder of the space- making it look festive.
I looked around at the faces of the people inside the room as Kate came to stand next to me. Some people continued to speak to one another without paying her so much as a glance in her direction. Others looked, not caring that I was noticing their staring while obviously turning to talk about me. In fact, one man caught my eye right off almost.
He was the only one in the room who offered the most attitude when I entered the room, and I was sure he would be a character to interact with. With shoulder length brown curls, he reminded me of Russel Brand from the 2000's. He was wearing a strange outfit too, oddly accessible for a man in these times, he had chosen a golden vest embroidered with intricate designs up the collar, and has chosen not to wear his doublet despite it being winter. The long sleeves of his white shirt underneath were frilled at the neck and wrist line, and I found that even his trousers were of the same fine fabric as his vest.
"You've been staring at that guy for close to 5 minutes Anne, what are you doing?" Kate suddenly asked. I must admit, I had forgotten she was even there.
"He's the one I want to interact with first, I think. I just don't know how to approach him."
"Just walk up to him and introduce yourself, he's probably just wondering who the hell you are. Remember word spreads quickly here at court, but whatever you do, remember our promise to be discreet, so don't actually tell him why you're here."
"Right, so we're not Doctors. We're ladies from English court, here to help the Princess before she leaves."
"Perfect, whatever gets you through this without us getting caught," Kate said rolling her eyes.
I walked over to where the man was talking to his friend, a normal looking fellow in a black and white outfit. "Hello, I don't think we've been introduced," I said, mustering up what confidence I had. I stuck my hand out as I said this as I had seen other ladies do.
"Ah, yes," he said, taking my hand in his, and bowing forward slightly, "I was just noticing you with your companion. I am the Duke of Liechtenstein, and this is my associate, Count Grafschaft."
"My name is Lady Aske, you may call me Anne though," I pulled my hand back and smiled flirtatiously at him, "I am to be a Lady to the Princess," I said proudly, holding my chin up a little further when I seen the look on his face.
"Yes, the Princess, have you met her yet?" the Duke asked, raising an eyebrow. No doubt he was as interested about her debut as everyone else was at the time.
"Not yet, but I am sure we will tonight," I said, "especially since we leave for English court soon, I am sure she will want to prepare herself for life there."
"Then we shall all get the honor of seeing the gracious Princess Anne's debut together," the Count said, breaking the silence from his place.
"It is all very exciting, is it not?" I asked with a smile, not entirely sure what I should talk about now that I was actually here in front of him.
"It is, for nobody has ever seen her before, apart from her old household, and her family," said the Count.
"The poor lady is probably frightened to death, I hope you will be of some comfort to her in the days to come," said the Duke.
"I would love nothing more than to be a comfort to the Princess Anne, perhaps one day I shall even have the honor to call her my friend," I said back to him, earning a genuine nod of approval.
"So tell me, Lady Anne, where is it exactly you are from?" The Duke asked, raising his wine glass to his lips and taking a drink.
"I come from Yorkshire," I said, "of distant relation to the King on his mothers side. Hence why I have given such a great honor."
"That is very interesting, Lady Anne," the Duke said, "and how are you finding Dusseldorf?"
"I find it to be a very enlightened country, with many interesting people, and cultures to explore."
"Then you haven't been here long enough," the Count said, laughing.
"Oh?" I said, wondering what he meant, "then you've been here a long time?"
"Yes, I was raised here as a matter of fact," said the Count.
"William, here, spent his childhood in the countryside before coming to the big city to attend college," the Duke began, "it was there that we met, and here we are 5 years later."
William raised his glass, "here's to friendship then," I watched as the Duke raised his as well, so reluctantly she gestured Kate to come over with her head.
"To friendship, gentlemen, and as a matter of fact I would like to introduce my friend, Lady Kate."
Kate walked up to us, before tipping her head slightly, "gentlemen," she greeted.
"Lady Kate," the Count greeted her with a smile and a slight bow, "it is an honor to make your acquaintance."
"An honor for me as well, my Lord," she said with a curtsy, growing a little shy at the attention. I suddenly realized why when I looked at the Count, he was flirting with Kate for sure, I could tell he was smitten just by the way he looked at her with such a stupid smile.
"I am Count Grafschaft, but you may call me William if it pleases you, sweet Lady," the Count said, causing me to choke on my wine. As I did, the three of them looked at me and I felt a sting of embarrassment.
"So are you going to the celebration alone tonight, Count William?" Kate said, taking me by surprise. I removed my handkerchief from the pocket of my gown, dabbing at my wine covered mouth.
"I am, would you happen to allow me to perhaps escort you there?" the Count said.
"I would love nothing more than the pleasure of getting to know you more, William," Kate said gently, completely taking me by surprise at her sudden gentleness with him. It was something I had not seen out of her since we had met. I was also happy for her though, maybe she was finally letting lose a bit knowing that we would be going home soon.
"I suppose that leaves us out then, doesn't it?" the Duke suddenly said, turning to me. "Would you like to attend the celebration with me as well? It wouldn't be as fun if we were to go alone, now would it?"
"I suppose not, I would love to go. What time may we be expecting you by our chambers?"
"We shall be there by sundown," Count William said.
"I suppose we had better go and get ready then, shouldn't we?" Kate said.
"Ah, yes, I suppose she's right. We were out exploring the castle trying to waste some time before the celebration, but it would appear that we are going to be running short on time if we don't hurry. It was an honor to meet you, Duke Liechtenstein."
"Please, my name is Otto, it is easier to say on the English tongue," Duke Otto said.
"Otto," I said, smiling, "thank you," we gave a quick curtsy and left the room, rushing back to our chambers and closing the door behind us.
Breathless from half jogging, half running, Kate and I leaned against the door as if we had been running from something. I looked over at her, and she seemed a little shook. I furrowed my brows and studied her as she ran a hand through her hair.
"You alright?"
"Yeah," she said, not looking at me, "he was just intense is all."
"Intense?"
"Yeah," she began, "those green eyes."
"Oh yeah?" I said, growing interested at her sudden change of character.
"Yeah," she said.
"I think you have a crush," I said with a smile, pulling myself up off the floor.
"Perhaps, but if I sleep with him i'm only going to do it once.. yanno, since we are going to be here only for a few more days... and plus I haven't been laid in a long time. I've got the itch, if you know what I mean."
"Gross, but yes, I think I know what you mean."
Suddenly she turned to me, her eyes intense and round. "You've gotta make me look beautiful, or better or something before sundown, Anne."
"Okay, okay, chill out. I can do that, but I don't think he's so worried about it. I think he likes you just the way you are or else he wouldn't have asked you to go with him immediately after meeting you. I mean seriously, I was still working my way into it and then boom- there you were and had it done in a matter of seconds. I am honestly impressed with you right now."
"Really? You think so?" she said, looking at herself in the mirror. "I think I still wanna get dressed up a bit more though."
"Okay, well lets get to work."
So for the next 4 hours, that's what I did, trying to hold off the excitement of meeting the Princess this evening. One thing was for sure, this was going to be a night to remember for the rest of our lives. We could feel it in our bones.