"I Am sure you have heard that the King will be back for the Winter Festival."Said the queen to Myrtle.
"Yes, I am aware." She replied.
"That's good," The queen sounded relieved, "The peasant girl will be introduced to the king...You should be well aware of that as well, and that might not be very favorable for you." Her voice was deep. "Make sure that she makes a fool of herself in front of the King… That way it will be easy for us to kick her out of the Palace."
Myrtle nodded silently, "I will be making necessary preparations for the winter festival, I will take my leave for now."
"Hmm… "She nodded, she walked out of the doors and her personal maids followed. The guards closed the doors behind them, Myrtle continued to walk until she was sure that there was no one around them except for her maids. She looked around and spoke to her most trusted maid.
"Call Madam Charlotte," she spoke in a secretive manner. Her maid May suddenly looked surprised,
"Madam Charlotte? But didn't the queen just…"
"Shh… do as I say. Call her and don't let others find out." Then Myrtle moved her eyes towards the other maid. "You take the invitations sent for Miss. Annabelle to her room. Don't let the Queen find out...and also ask her to make time. She has to go personally to get her dresses designed; she can't wear informal clothes in the Palace."
Though not many people were aware that Syrus had brought in another woman, some were quick to find out and they knew that if they were on good terms with the mistress they would automatically earn the favor of Syrus. Thus they were invited to tea parties for Anna to get to know her. The queen deliberately hid them from her.
The maid seemed uneasy but she couldn't go against her master's orders.
"Do let me know the time she suggests, I will accompany her personally." Myrtle ended her words with these words.
.........…..
'I can't believe this! I am sitting beside the princess!!' Anna held her breath. She thought that the maid was just making things up when she told her that the princess was going to join her for the shopping but it really was true. In the back seats of the car, Anna was sitting just a few inches away from Myrtle, she was looking out of the window, while Anna stole a quick glance from her. No matter how she saw Myrtle she couldn't find anything bad about her. She was so graceful and elegant. Anna almost felt her heart beating fast.
"Have you seen enough?" Myrtle spoke, her eyes were still on the window but she could feel Anna's stare.
"Huh?" Anna was dumbfounded. "No, I...I didn't mean to stare at you, It's just…"
"No need to explain," Myrtle replied.
Anna bit her lower lip and turned her head around to look at the shops at the side of the road. The Palace was built on a hill just outside the peaceful town away from the city's crowd. It was lively down there. Anna noticed that Myrtle wasn't taking off her eyes from the sideways. Though she wasn't showing many expressions her eyes looked like they were alive.
"It sure is nice once you are out of the Palace." Anna chuckled.
"Hmm... " Myrtle made a small sound. Her neatly clasped hands shook and she tightened her grip around them.
"I was never able to thank you properly for all the times you had helped me," Anna tried to break the ice.
"It's okay…"
"No! I Want to buy you a gift as thanks," Anna replied.
"What could you possibly give me?" Myrtle asked. "I already have everything."
"There is something I am sure you haven't tried," Anna spoke excitedly. Myrtle's eyebrows twitched. Anna looked out of the window and tried to spot something eagerly.
"Can we stop here?" She poked her head through the partition in the seats and directly spoke to the driver. Myrtle's eyes widened because the behavior Anna was showing was very improper. She grabbed Anna's shoulder and pulled her back to the seat.
"Stop here," And then she gave her command. Anna was red because of embarrassment.
"YOu are the choice of the PRince, DOn't do something that might stain his name," she said in a soft tone trying not to be harsh on her.
"I still can't get used to this environment." Anna fidgeted her fingers.
"It's okay, But you have to learn… " Myrtle moved her hand from her shoulder and asked. "What were you going to give me?" She asked.
"There! A food stall." Anna grinned. Myrtle looked through the window and saw a crowd, people were staring at the lavish cars with awe. Because of security reasons the royalty had to be escorted by multiple guards that followed them in many cars, making it hard to get unnoticed.
"We can't go there like this," Myrtle said and asked the driver to move. Anna's lips formed onto a line, she was disappointed. They drove a few blocks down the road and the cars stopped. The door of the front co-pilot seat opened and a guard handed over a few bags to the guard beside the driver. Anna was confused. Suddenly the doors of the back seats opened and the guards bowed.
"Get off."She said and walked out of the car and into the small hotel they had parked in front of. Anna silently followed. The guards escorted them inside and gave them both room cards.
"What is this for?" Anna asked,
Myrtle took the bag from the guard and handed it over to Anna. "Get dressed."
"Huh?" Her eyes widened with shock.
"Why? Are you not going to buy me a thank you gift anymore?" Myrtle asked.
Anna smiled ear to ear and jumped at Myrtle and hugged her tightly. "Thank you so much!!!" Myrtle stood still as Anna choked the life out of her with a tight hug, "Ops! I got a little carried away." Anna suddenly pulled herself back,
"Get dressed, "Myrtle repeated and entered the adjacent room with a bag as well.