His Princess Mate

8 - New Office

დRoseდ

I could not stop thinking about two very important things, two things that had made quite an impact on my life currently. One is my mother and two being a handsome man named Henry. On top of that, I had been officially announced as Princess and my duties were like a mountain to face. Although I had gone through extensive training for this exact purpose, I was still feeling somewhat terrified. I glanced at my appearance in the floor-length mirror and sighed. I had chosen a soft blue corset and a navy-blue gown that filled out quite beautifully. I did a slow twirl and watched the satin material glister in the sunlight that shone through my bedchamber window. I took one last look at myself, making sure that my hair was perfectly in place and not a single tendril hanging loosely. Finally satisfied with how I looked, I left my bedchamber and headed downstairs to the dining room to attend breakfast. I immediately spotted my father sitting in his usual seat as he read the paper and sipped on his coffee. He didn’t look up as I approached, and I breathed in deeply before greeting him.

“Good morning, Father,” I said as I made my way down the long dining room table, to take a seat at the opposite end.

“Ai, good morning, Rose,” he greeted without tearing his eyes away from the paper. I was rather curious as to what this morning's headlines would be but before I could even think about it, Viviane appeared by my side with a teacup and a fresh pot of tea.

“Thank you, Viviane,” I whispered as I watched her fill up the cup. I nodded as she left and added a dollop of cream and a cube of sugar before gently stirring. “What is in the news this morning, Father?” I questioned as I brought the cup to my lips.

“Nothing that should be discussed during breakfast,” he said as he snapped the paper closed and laid it alongside his empty plate. My father frowned as he glanced up from the plate to the door. “Are we not being served this morning?” I heard his question and I hid my smile as I took another sip of the deliciously sweet tea. Although he had not spoken loudly, another servant hurried through the door with an apologetic smile plastered on her thin lips.

“My apologies, your majesty. Breakfast will be served shortly,” she said with a quick curtsy before rushing back the way she had come. My father sighed as he finally looked down the table at me. I smiled softly before putting down my cup.

“What say you, Rose?” he questioned. My breath caught in my throat as I thought about my mother and Henry. “What plans do you have today?” he questioned further, and I sighed before I threw him a confident smile.

“I am meeting with Lady Adeline,” I informed him proudly. Lady Adeline was the lady in charge of the Kingdom’s events. As rare as they may be, it was one of the duties as a Princess that I had to endure. He smiled as he nodded slowly. “I will also be meeting with the servants this afternoon to discuss the castle’s upkeep,” I added. He nodded, lost in thought as I watched four servants coming out of the kitchen carrying our breakfast. Two-headed in my direction and the other two went to my father. I gazed down at the plate that was set before me and breathed in the delicious smells that made my mouth water in anticipation. Our signature beef sausage, braised mushrooms with onion, a side of scrambled eggs, and two strips of honey glazed crispy bacon. The second plate, somewhat smaller, held two slices of toast, a pipping hot vanilla muffin that had clearly just come out of the oven, and two side dishes, one with homemade strawberry jam and the other with butter. I nodded politely as I picked up my knife and fork and started to eat. Compliments to the chef, I mused as I chewed on the piece of sausage. The flavors burst along my tongue, and I signed in delight. It was warm, well-seasoned and the outer skin was somewhat crispy without the sausage itself being too dry. I quite enjoyed my meal as I ignored my father huffing and puffing from the other side of the table. At one point I caught him glaring at the open paper and shook my head as I continued to eat. He was getting all worked up about whatever was written in the paper, and I made a note to steal a peak later. However, as I finished off my meal, Viviane came over to my left side.

“Madam, I do not want to rush you, however, I felt it may be necessary to point out that your appointment with Lady Adeline will be rather soon,” she whispered softly. I nodded as I placed my knife and fork down.

“Is everything ready?” I questioned her as I glanced over at my father, who was now finishing off his meal.

“Everything is prepared, Madam,” she confirmed before she stood back. I nodded as I gently pushed myself up and away from the table. I was surprised to see my father look in my direction.

“Excuse me, Father, my appointment with Lady Adeline is coming up and she should be arriving here shortly,” I explained as two servants came over to clear up my side of the table.

“Of course,” he muttered before returning his attention to both his food and the paper. I sighed softly before I left the dining room and headed to the office my father had given me. I had yet to change anything, and it was rather empty as I entered. Viviane had made sure that the room was clean and cozy, but it felt rather impersonal.

“Viviane!” I yelled out, rather un-lady-like, but I wasn’t too worried as I let my eyes gaze around the room. It was not too small, in fact, it was quite large with three large windows that gave me a perfect view of the front of the castle. The stone walls and floors were clean and although I spotted one or two cracks, it only added to the character of the room. The dark purple drapes hang to one aside, allowing the sunlight to pour into the room and I smiled at that. The large mahogany desk stood proudly in the center of the room, with it facing toward the door and its back toward one of the three windows. The chairs, both behind the one side and the two in front were beautifully covered in the same dark purple material and I slowly entered the room to take in more details. The bookcase was empty, yet it shone from the polish I was sure Viviane had given it, the desk also shone although it too, was bare. Across the room was a seating area that I frowned at. Two loveseat sofas’ stood facing each other with a coffee table that oddly looked like a smaller version of the desk. Two dark red carpets graced the floor, and I pulled my nose up at it.

“Madam?” Viviane asked as she entered the room slowly.

“Ah! Thank you for making sure this place was clean,” I said quietly, remembering that praise was always appreciated. Viviane blushed as she bowed her head slightly. “However, I must say, it is rather bare,” I added as I turned, once again to look around the room.

“Indeed, do you have something in mind that you would like to change or add?” she questioned as she came further into the room. I nodded as I thought about what I wanted.

“Those two carpets, do we not have anything in the same dark purple as the drapes?” I questioned.

“I believe so, but they are round, Madam,”

“Hmm, it does not matter to me if they are round or square. Remove those two and replace them with the purple carpets,” I instructed as I went over to the sitting area. “Could you please get someone in here to move this,” I said. Viviane quickly left the room, and I went over to the desk and sat down in the chair. It was cozy and warm from the sunlight. I leaned back slightly and closed my eyes. Henry’s face flashed before my eyes, and I sighed loudly as I quickly sat up straight and opened my eyes. Three young men came into the room, bowing politely in my direction before the furniture was moved around so that the two carpets could be rolled up. Two of them left whilst the third stood by, waiting for further instruction. “I want those moved,” I said as I stood up, pointing over at the two sofas’. Viviane and another servant entered the room to clean the floor where the carpets had laid. It wasn’t dirty, but it had not received any polish. The young boy moved the sofa’s around the way that I wanted them, and I smiled. “Perfect,” I said to him. His cheeks went a soft shade of pink and I hid my smile as I turned to see the other two boys coming back with the dark purple carpets. I pointed out how I wanted them laid out and I was rather pleased to see the room slowly come together. Viviane and the other servant stood by as we waited for the boys to finish. I dismissed them and turned to the two ladies. “I want three boutiques of finessed roses we have. To be replaced as soon as they start to lose their color. One to grace the coffee table and my desk and the other one for the bookcase,” they nodded before they hurried out and I went back over to the desk and sat down. I pulled open the drawers and found a large notebook, a calendar diary, and a long box that held pencils. I nodded as I slowly took out the items and placed them on top of the desk. Lady Adeline would be arriving shortly, and I had already wasted time by concerning myself with my office. I picked up the notebook and box of pencils and headed over to the sitting area. As I sat waiting for things to get to a point. I thought about my mother. She had made it clear that she would return and the next time she did so, she would use the front door. That made me believe that she would be allowing everyone to know that she was back. For how long? Why? What had she been up to all these years? The questions clouded my mind and I tried to sort through the emotions I felt about her sudden reappearance in my life. I didn’t want to think about Henry or why I felt so drawn to him. One problem at a time, I decided as I smiled when I saw that the roses had been placed down in front of me. a beautiful white porcelain vase with an intricate design that ran around the center in gold and purple. I reached out and touched one of the petals as I took in the arrangement of freshly picked roses. The smell alone was quite intoxicating, and I took in a deep breath just Viviane re-entered with who I had to assume was Lady Adeline. I gracefully stood up to greet her and although no one had uttered a word, a feeling of dread swept over me as I eyed the older woman. Something didn’t feel right, and the meeting had not even begun.