Rose awoke early the next morning to the coo of the bird beside her. She had, through a covert series of channels, procured a small cage with a bar for the bird to rest on for the night.
The little darling had been good company for her restless spirit, and its soft noises were what had finally convinced her to sleep.
"Good Morn, little one," Rose purred in response. She looked at the little table beside her and placed some nuts between the bars. The grey-feathered fowl pecked at the new treat and bobbed its head.
After adding a bit of water to the creature's tiny bowl, Rose sighed. The easy part of the day was out of the way. The rest would likely be an uphill climb.
'Surely father is up by now.' Despite the princess's hope, Rhodri had not awoken the night before for dinner. The doctor's draught was either very potent, or the king had just been that tired.
"What do I tell him first?" She asked the tiny messenger. "There is so much to say!"
The bird tilted its head and went back to eating.
"I should start with Ethyn, otherwise it will look like I am trying to hide him when nothing could be further from the truth."
Rose scrunched her nose.
"But Borit will surely try to bring in his soldiers first thing. And I do think I should at least be there and give my reasoning, right?"
When she got no answer from her new friend, Rose could not help but continue.
"And then there is the note you brought. Do international relations trump the other two? I've no idea!" Rose started up at the ceiling. "If only all of this had happened on separate days…"
There was no use lamenting. The sooner she got it over with, the better. Her mind in disarray, Rose tried to make herself as presentable as possible before Caitlyn came in. As the sun had just barely risen, the activity would keep the princess busy until a more reasonable hour.
Or maybe Rose could send a servant to see if the king was able to receive her now. The princess reached behind her mirror towards a set of ropes hanging from the wall.
Each called a separate part of the castle from the kitchen to the servants quarters. A series of pulleys rang bells to alert the right person that the princess was in need of assistance.
Because of Caitlyn's flawless expertise, Rose seldom needed to call anyone herself, so she had to study the cords for a moment before selecting the proper one.
The bell rung, Rose took to untangling her hair as she waited. The golden hair was gorgeous but tangled terribly even if she slept with her hair braided.
'Caitlyn is a saint,' Rose sighed. 'She never complains about such menial tasks…'
Something rustled in Rose's wardrobe. The door to the large closet was closed, which meant the sound must actually be much louder.
'Too loud for moths. Please don't tell me the rats are back again! I cannot handle another problem today!' Setting down her jeweled comb, Rose crept toward her closet. She threw open the door to surprise the vermin into fleeing her home.
"Got you!"
Rose was met with a startled squeal.
"Your Highness! Isn't it a little early to go scaring people?" Caitlyn looked poised to attack the princess with the corset in her hand. It was not a formidable weapon, but thankfully the princess was not a real threat.
Rose winced at the reproach. "I thought you were a rat," she admitted sheepishly.
"An actual rat?" Caitlyn looked disgusted before relaxing. "Well I was being as quiet as a mouse so as not to wake you."
"I was already up. What are you doing in here?" The princess was quite confused by the early raid of her closet. She hadn't even seen the lady-in-waiting enter.
Reading her thoughts, Caitlyn motioned to the back where the stone wall was almost pulled shut. "I woke up far too early, and so I came through the hideaway to organize your outfit for today."
"Do you do that often?" Rose realized that her clothes were often neatly pressed and ready to go yet Rose rarely saw the lady-in-waiting go in the wardrobe without her. The princess had just assumed a servant came in while she was away, but that logic made little sense when she thought about it.
"Only when I cannot sleep," Caitlyn answered vaguely.
"You really are a saint, you know that?" Rose suddenly felt very guilty.
Caitlyn flushed at the unexpected compliment. "Don't you forget it!" She winked to try and lighten the mood.
"I will make sure Sir Ashton knows what a treasure he is getting." The princess would tell everyone how wonderful her friend was, starting with the man she loved.
"Oh, he probably knows. Up until recently, my Ashton served a master too, you know." Caitlyn held out two choices for Rose to wear, and the princess selected the pink day gown which made her seem particularly rosy. Hopefully people would think her actual blushes due to Sir Ethyn were merely a trick of the dress.
There was a knock at the far door. It was so faint that the ladies almost had not heard it at all through the sitting area and bedroom.
"It is far too early for visitors," Caitlyn puffed a stray strand of hair out of her face.
"It isn't a visitor. I rang the bell for someone." Rose spoke over her shoulder as Caitlyn tightened the stays of the underdress.
The lady-in-waiting slipped on her mistress's sheer outermost layer and tied the sash in the front. "I guess you must be as eager as I am to have this mess over with."
Rose looked in the mirror and nodded. "I will feel much better when I am able to pass all of this over to father. It doesn't help that I still don't know what agreement Borit and King Willric came to. If I accuse the Commander falsely, father will discount anything else I may say about him, including the murder of my parents."
Sighing at the lack of evidence, Rose made her way to the waiting servant. It was far easier to convey her wishes than to send her message through Caitlyn, especially now that she was dressed.
But when the princess opened the door, not one, but two servants stood there waiting patiently. Their purple and gold livery told her that both were royal errand boys.
'Maybe one is in training,' Rose reasoned.
"I need to know if the King is ready to receive visitors," she told the closer one.
He bowed and began to scurry down the stairs. The second servant did not follow. Instead he cleared his throat.
"His Majesty is available, Your Highness," the other servant informed the princess.
The first servant paused on the third step of the landing and turned, equally as confused as the princess. Rose realized they were not together after all.
"Oh?" The blonde plastered on a pleasant smile towards the young man. "And how do you already have this information. I only asked the other gentleman a moment ago."
The servant dipped his dark mop of hair solemnly. "Because I have just come from His Majesty's chambers. Princess Rose, you have officially been summoned to appear before the king."