"Hahhh" The girl faked a yawn, waving her hand delicately in front of her mouth as she stopped midway in the huge and wide hall of the castle.
The two maids who had been following her, immediately came to a halt as they noticed her stationary form ahead of them.
"Is something the matter, your highness?" One of the maids asked in a low voice.
The girl tilted her head slightly towards the back, enough to let the maids have a glimpse of her face and then she said.
"I sense weariness in my limbs and would like to rest for a while." She informed them and began walking away towards her bower.
The maids behind, passed each other a questioning look as if not sure if it was true and started following her as well.
The girl took slow lazy steps pretending to appear fatigued, putting up a show for the maids tailing her. She yearned to get away from them and for that she was supposed to make certain they bought her act.
When the three of them, the girl and the two maids reached her chamber, she stopped and turned around.
With a thankful smile on her face, she said, "I would like to be left alone now. Tell mama, I am taking a short nap in my room." She informed them and the maids bowed their heads in response. They were relieved they wouldn't have to tend to her needs all day.
The girl then pushed the doors to her chamber open and stepped inside. Pushing the doors close and after being certain that the maids had eventually left, she finally sighed in relief.
She rushed to a section of her bedroom which was built in for changing and storing clothes and other dressing articles. It was a small room inside her bedroom. She then shrugged out of the unnecessarily heavy gown she had been walking around in and threw it onto the floor. She hated the way women of her Kingdom used to dress in all those fancy gowns, it was nuisance and way too suffocating for her.
Pulling a black full sleeved shirt over her head, she pushed her feet inside matching black slacks. Wearing a skirt to cover her waistline, she then pushed her arms through a vest and buttoned it up. Her platinum blonde hair were straight and fell back to her waist. She grabbed them and twisted them, securing them properly so they won't fall off easily.
The princess then rushed outside and nearly jogged towards her window in a hurry.
Selene Cromwell, the youngest princess of the Cromwell dynasty, looked down at the ground to find her elder brothers waiting up for her. They waved upon seeing their youngest sister.
"Brother Callisto!" She shouted, putting her feet on the window ledge. "Catch me!"
And then she fearlessly and thoughtlessly jumped out of the window waiting to be caught by her eldest brother.
Callisto Cromwell, the eldest prince and the forthcoming heir of the Cromwell dynasty, caught her smoothly in his strong iron-like arms.
Selene giggled childishly and Callisto placed her lean frame carefully on the ground.
"There you go!" He spoke softly to her youngest sister as he let her go.
"Thank you brother Callisto!" She thanked him and then stretched her arms and legs.
"Don't you think you are a little too reckless for a princess?" Came the words from Tethys Cromwell's mouth. He was an year older than Selene and was the fourth child of their parents.
"I agree!" Oberon Cromwell, two years younger than Prince Callisto, coughed as he agreed with his younger brother Tethys's words.
"I am a hunter before being a princess." Selene declared proudly.
Callisto and Oberon smiled contently in response to her words while Tethys just shrugged his shoulders.
What brothers say to tease their sisters has nothing to do with what they really think of them. Callisto, Oberon and Tethys were elder to Selene and had a habit of poking fun at her momentarily with inside jokes but they dearly loved her and cared for her.
For them she was a priceless possession just like she was to her parents and it was their job to protect and guard their sister from any harm coming in her way. Not that Selene was hunted or chased by someone, but they would never hesitate to tear someone down into shreds if someone ever even thinks about laying a finger on her.
"Let us hurry brothers! If mama is to find me here with you she will drag me all the way back and lock me in my room." Selene said as she took a quick look at her window and then turned to her brothers who were suppressing their laughs at her words.
"Yes let's move." Callisto instructed and all of them then headed to the castle gates.
The guards at the gates bowed their heads on the arrival of the royal children and greeted them.
"Good morning, your majesty!" The guards spoke in unison.
"Good morning!" Callisto greeted them back but before they could pass he noticed the guards eyeing Selene, their faces held an expression of dilemma.
"Is something the matter? I see your gazes fixed elsewhere." He questioned them.
*****
Why were the guards eyeing Selene? What could be the matter? Any ideas feel free to share you thoughts in the comments section.
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