Rose heard the sound of the portcullis lifting as they approached the castle, followed by the sound of the draw bridge dropping to allow the carriage through but Rose kept her head down. Not once had she looked up since she got into the carriage. She could hear sounds and people's voices as the carriage passed through the town, but Rose remained stiff and unmoving.
The sound of gravel was the next thing she heard as they went through the castle gates. Rose felt her stomach knot even more. She was really here. The ride from the gates to the front of the castle felt both too long and too short. When the carriage finally came to a halt, Rose was both mentally and physically exhausted.
The door was thrown open, and a trumpet was blown. "His Royal Highness, Prince Caius Ravenor, Heir to the Throne of Velmount!"
Caius stepped out of the carriage, and a high-ranking servant quickly undid his cape and stepped to the side.
"Welcome back, Your Royal Highness," the steward said with a bow. Turning to Prince Rylen, he said, "Welcome back, Prince Rylen."
"It's good to be back, Henry," Prince Rylen replied.
"Right this way, Your Highness. Your mother has retired to her chambers for the night, but I shall inform her of your presence."
"There is no need for that. I'd rather not see my mother until I have to. Don't bother her."
"Yes, Your Highness. Your father is—"
"I have something in my carriage. I'd like you to take care of it for me and bring it to my chambers after dinner. You know what to do," Caius interrupted.
"Ah, of course, Your Highness. Your dinner will be ready very soon," Henry said as they went up the stairs leading to the castle doors.
Rose sat in the carriage, twisting her hands. She had heard what the crown prince said, which meant she was not to leave the carriage until someone told her to. Somehow, she preferred it this way. She didn't think she could stand the stares that came with being by the crown prince's side.
She sat away from the windows as she waited, fearing even to peek. She was really here; it was a lot to take in. She winced as she remembered the latter part of the crown prince's words. He expected her in his chambers. Was she really going to lay with him?
Two knocks, and then the carriage door was opened. Rose squinted her eyes as a lamp was shoved into the carriage and right in front of her face. "What's your name?" a voice asked.
Rose blinked against the light. She couldn't see their face, but they sounded like a woman. She couldn't gauge if they were older or younger. "Rose," she whispered.
The woman took a step back. "You can call me Edith, Mistress Edith. I am in charge of the maids in the castle."
Rose nodded and started to get out of the carriage. She dropped to the ground and saw Edith wasn't alone; there were four maids behind her. They looked to be girls around her age or a little younger.
I
"Good evenin'," Rose said with a bow but got no response. She also noticed the girls looked at her with contempt, and one of them covered their mouth with their hand to hide a laugh.
Rose looked around. They were still in front of the castle. Guards were patrolling the area, but that wasn't what had Rose's attention. It was the space—she couldn't see the fence surrounding the castle from where she was standing. She would have sworn the castle was as big as the whole of Edenville.
"Did you hear me?" Edith's voice, filled with irritation, reached her ears.
Rose tore her eyes from the scenery. "Nay, ma'am."
Edith narrowed her eyes and then handed the lamp to one of the girls. "Come," she simply stated.
Rose followed after her, and they went past the front of the castle and all the way to the side. At the end was a door, significantly smaller than the main entrance. It was clear only servants used this door.
Edith pushed the door open, and they were in a kitchen. Rose thought the kitchen looked smaller than she expected. There was a hearth, a few plates and pots, and tables arranged in the center of the room. Rose counted three, each lined up with benches on both sides.
"Martha," Edith said as she dropped the light on the table. "I am sure there is something left to eat. If there isn't any, give her some dry bread and water."
"Yes, Mistress Edith," the one called Martha replied. She looked a little older with makeup on her face. The powder gave her a startling look at first glance but it was ignorable.
"When she is done eating, clean her up and dress her for His Highness," Edith paused dramatically and looked at Rose from the top of her head to her feet and then back up. "She must be in his chambers before his dinner is over."
Rose shuffled on her feet. It was hard to tell if Edith approved of what she saw or not but at least she didn't say anything reproachful.
"What?" one of the girls said, sounding like she couldn't believe her ears.
"What are you sounding so surprised about, Edna? Do as I asked."
"Yes, Mistress," the girls said in unison.
"Good, you better not be a moment late." With that, she was gone, leaving Rose with the four girls.
Martha tossed a plate on a table. It had soup and some lumps of—Rose wasn't sure if it was potatoes or something else. She nodded and approached the table. Sitting down, she picked up the bowl. There wasn't any spoon, and she brought it to her lips.
"Where are you from?" It was Edna who asked. Edna was the shortest of the girls with hair tied up in a short bun.
Rose swallowed first before she spoke. "Edenville," she replied.
"That's far out. I've never been to any town other than the capital. What is it like there? I hear you both sleep and—"
"Edna!" Martha yelled. "Don't chit-chat. You, finish your food."
It was clear Martha was the oldest in the group and the one in charge when Edith wasn't there.
"We are the Queen's attendants. I don't see why we have to attend to some peasant from some backwater town."
Rose choked on the soup at the words of one of the girls. She knew she shouldn't be surprised, but their blatant dislike was still startling.
"We have direct orders from the steward, right from the crown prince, His Royal Highness. You know better than to go against his orders." As soon as Martha said those words, she marched to Rose, pulled the plate out of her hands even though it was clear she wasn't done eating, and said, "Stand up."