A Sleeping Beauty

What is the first thought that comes to your mind when you imagine the life of a princess?

Beautiful dresses?

Lavish balls?

Elegant tea parties?

Exquisite food?

Servants at your beck and call?

Luxury and wealth?

Power and status?

They are all correct.

Each of these things are practically inseparable from the life of a royal, especially a princess.

That is, if she is the princess of a thriving kingdom.

During the age of war, a time when bloodshed and death filled the land, a time when the smell of smoke and rotting bodies filled the air and the battles cries and wails for the fallen reached the skies.

Many kingdoms were reduced to nothing but large graveyards with crumbling structures from the raging war that seemed like it would never end and when it eventually did, it was not without a cost.

Following the war, many more kingdom were brought to ruins by the famine and scarcity that swept through the land as all that was left in that the war left in its wake was remnants of destruction.

It was during such a time that the ruling King of their kingdom, Obelle decided to take a gamble with the fertile lands of their tiny kingdom that had somehow managed to escape the ravages of the war.

He gave food to the kingdoms that had been devastated by hunger and in exchange took the then worthless gold and riches they'd acquired from war.

So began Obelle's journey of establishing its presence throughout the Solork Continent and growing from a small unknown kingdom to become the powerful kingdom it is today.

One lacking neither wealth nor power.

Will the princess of such a kingdom lack any of the things a princess should ideally have?

The answer is obvious.

No, she won't.

From hosting and attending lavish balls to wearing only the most expensive dresses and jewellery, their princess lives a life others look at and envy. But there's something that's missing.

There's a part of this wonderfully glamorous life that most people never get to see.

The point before all the radiance and extravagance. The life of a princess when she doesn't look like one, when she's still within the walls of her palace.

It's a side of the royal life that only the servants who help make the transformation happen are privy to, servants like Adelaide.

Adelaide has been working in the royal palace ever since she was little, and has been serving in the princess's palace from the moment she arrived. From a simple cleaning maid, she's now become the princess's personal maid and as someone who serves so closely to the princess, she's no stranger to what goes on in the life of a princess behind closed doors.

It's not as blissful as it looks.

She always finds it a little funny when she sees noble ladies from the countryside or young ladies who are making their debut in high society awe struck each time the princess makes an appearance.

Dazzled by the sheer luxury and extravagance their eyes sparkle and for those who haven't learnt to conceal their emotions their mouths at times hangs open.

They watch in admiration, wanting to be like her without knowing the amount of time and effort put into making her into the version they see.

The efforts of the maids who are never recognized, appreciated, or thought of.

Her effort.

Just like young ladies making their debut, new servants working in the palace are left awestruck as well and there's a particular question they always ask.

Perhaps out of curiosity or maybe to satisfy their fantasies but it's more or less the same each time.

What's the hardest part about serving a princess and making her look like one?

When she came newly to the palace and was just an ignorant bystander in the process, Adelaide would always think that the hardest part was picking a dress or choosing accessories or applying makeup like most people tend to believe.

It was the blissfulness of ignorance.

Now, she's a vital part of the entire process with years of experience to show for it and the hardest part of the process in her very experienced opinion, is getting a princess to leave her bed.

And today she's once again faced with the arduous task.

Adelaide walks down the wide hall with light but quick footsteps, as if she's about to start running, and she probably would if it weren't forbidden to do so.

There's a thin layer of sweat on her forehead right at the point where her brown hair stops and the smooth pale skin underneath continues. She doesn't bother trying to wipe it, all she can think about now is reaching her destination and completing the task given to her.

She weaves her way through the lavishly decorated halls with ease, her footsteps slowing down only when she nears a large mahogany door where two maids are currently standing in front of, and staring at, with helpless expressions on their faces. One of them- the shorter of the two- looks like she's on the verge of tears.

They turn to face her as she approaches, and their initially dull eyes is filled with light, like they've just laid eyes on their savior.

They're young maybe thirteen or fourteen and as they rush up to Adelaide with hope filled eyes, she can immediately tell from they're unfamiliar faces that they're one of the new additions to the princess's palace, a rare occurrence.

Adelaide looks between the two of them then glances at the closed door they were standing in front of and instantly understands what's going even without them saying anything. The older maids probably left the task of waking the princess up to the new maids again.

'Are they trying to get these girls killed?'

Once they're standing in front of her, they bow. "Good morning, Miss Adelaide."

Adelaide nods in response and as if she doesn't know what's going on asks, "Why are both of you here?"

They glance at each other before the shorter one sniffles, tears still glistening in her eyes as she says, "We were told to come and wake the princess by Miss Vera but we've been knocking on the door for a long time but there's been no answer."

"And we don't dare to enter without permission." The other girl adds.

'Vera, you crazy girl.' she sighs inwardly.

Adelaide smiles at them, "You've worked hard, I'll take over from here."

Their faces immediately brighten at her words. "Thank you, Miss Adelaide!"

"While I wake the princess both of you will go and draw the bath. You've been taught how to do it properly, right?"

They nod their heads vigorously in response to which she says, "Do it quickly, and knock on the door once it's ready."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Adelaide watches them leave while listening for any sign of movement from the other side of the door and isn't surprised when she hears none.

When the two maids are no longer in sight, she lifts her hand to knock on the door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Milady"

Silence.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Milady"

Silence.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Milady"

Silence.

There's no change in Adelaide's expression despite the repeated silence, after all it was just for formality.

She lifts her hand to knock again and this time she pushes the door open and walks in without waiting for a response she knows won't come.

"Please excuse me." she closes the door gently behind her.

Darkness greets Adelaide once she enters the room, her eyes take some time to adjust from the sudden transition between the brightly lit hall to the dimly lit room.

The lights in the room are turned off, the only source of light being the little rays of sunlight that slip through the closed curtain giving the otherwise pitch-dark room some light. Although it's minuscule, it's enough for Adelaide to navigate her way through the familiar room.

The poor lighting in the room isn't able to hide how large and grand the room is, in terms of space alone, it's far larger than the entire servant's quarters. A faint fragrance of flowers lingers in the air giving off a soothing scent.

From the furniture down to the lush carpet on the floor everything is masterfully crafted and of the best quality, a necessary requirement to be in the room of the kingdom's only princess.

Adelaide makes her way through the room using her memory to guide her in places where the light can't, her destination is the large bed positioned right in the middle of the room. She walks quickly towards it, but ends up slowing to a stop at the sight of the mess in the room.

She looks at the random items littered across the floor with knitted brows, all things that weren't there when she tidied up the room after the incident last night.

'Did she have another outburst in the middle of the night?'

With a sigh, Adelaide bends down and starts picking them up. A pearl necklace here, a diamond ring there, a few dresses, hair ornaments, some mismatched pair of shoes, Adelaide makes sure she renders the floor free from anything that shouldn't have been there in the first place until she finally comes to a stop in front of the bed.

The bed is a large, curtained bed the best of its kind in existence among the nobility, made by the most skilled craftsman in the entire kingdom, draped with the most exquisite fabric and lying inside is the only princess of the kingdom and Adelaide's lady.

Her Highness Princess Josephine Lena De Obelle.