The Girl: Part 4
Nicolette finally gets to see the castle and residence of the king, queen, and their two sons. But will she meet the prince? If she does, will she even like him?
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"Lord Thomas! How nice to see you again! You are back quite early. Did you choose?" a young man called out to them as they entered the castle. Before anybody saw Nicolette, he sent her off with 2 maids to be bathed and done up so she looked presentable.
"Indeed I did your highness! She is quite… unique. I think you will like my choice," he cried out in joy. He approached the man and bowed. The man was Prince Peter.
"Where is she?" Peter asked puzzled.
"Getting ready for presentation. You know that she isn’t to be seen until the presentation dinner! And she must look absolutely dazzling to be in your highness’s presence," Lord Thomas said teasingly.
"Ah. Yes. I suppose I did get a little impatient," the prince said mockingly knocking his head.
"Completely normal. Can’t blame you. She will be your wife and queen after all should she accept your proposal. But why wouldn’t she accept your proposal?" the Lord said with a chuckle. Peter thought very highly of himself indeed. Therefore, the Lord had to be constantly complementing him.
Peter smiled and nodded. He glanced at himself in a nearby mirror.
"So tell me about her. Is she the most beautiful creation you’ve ever seen? Does she have luxurious blonde hair and porcelain skin? Is she witty and very intelligent? Is she herself a princess?" he said dreaming up the woman he imagined her to be.
Thomas bit his lip and looked around nervously. He hadn’t really spent much time learning exactly who she was but by the way she looked at first, she was no princess and her education was probably very limited. In fact, he didn’t even know if her looks would reach the bar that the prince was setting for her.
"Erm, well. You will have to find out later. I can’t give any of the juicy details away yet," he said quickly finding an excuse as to why he wasn’t answering all his questions.
"Please, sire, just give me a hint. Something," he pleaded to the man.
"Um, okay, well. She has fierce olive eyes. But that is all I’m willing to spill alright? Now stop pressing me for information. It wouldn’t be right for me to spoil your surprise," he said thinking of something he remembered from her. The prince looked satisfied with this small amount of information and quit talking all together. The Lord Thomas took this pause to escape and check on the Girl.
Nicolette's POV:
"Are you decent?" a voice called through the thick wooden door. Nicolette was then very nervous.
"It’s me. Lord Thomas," the voice called again. Nicolette exhaled thankful and chose her answer carefully.
"Um, I suppose. Come in," she said gracefully. The door opened slowly and the Lord walked in.
Nicolette was wearing a royal purple dress with fox lining on the edges. Down the front of the dress, thick embroidery ran down elegantly. The sleeves were also very elegant and had beading around the edges and seams. The sleeves nearly touched the ground, they were so long. Her hair was curled and pinned up like a princess might have hers done.
"You look marvelous. Are you ready to meet the prince, your possible suitor?" he said smiling at her. She smiled and nodded slowly. She slipped on her nice new shoes and followed after Thomas slowly. The maids behind her tended to her train.
She glanced at herself in the mirror as she passed by. Wow. She had never looked this pretty in all her life. For once, she was happy with herself. But still, she wondered why she was chosen to be this Girl thing.
The Lord told her to wait behind two doors while he made her introduction. She pressed herself to the door and tried to listen to what he was saying about her. The maids pulled her back and told her it would be a while.
She nodded and glanced around for a chair. The maids shook their heads and nodded towards her clean, unwrinkled dress. She sighed, uncomfortable. She never thought she would, but she wished for her old rags that bent to fit her needs rather than this high-maintenance dress that she had to bend to fit its needs.
"Ah! Princess Christiana! How nice to see you! … Countess Mirabelle, you look lovely, as always … Princess Katia! Красивейше (should be Russian characters for beautiful)… Duchess Emeline. Your kingdom is growing I see. … Count Borin, you absolutely MUST meet the Girl. …" she heard Thomas exclaim through the thick doors. He must have been a loud talker. As loud as Aucassin. Aucassin.
She wondered where he was and what he was doing. She smirked when she realized he must be boiling in jealousy as she rose in the ranks of court.
The maids interrupted her train of thought by ruffling her train a bit. She could hear the Lord making her formal introductions. The door swung open by the guards. She stood there looking a bit frazzled. She cleaned up her expression and put on a humble smile.
"I present, The Girl, Madam Nicolette Codman!" Lord Thomas cried out enthusiastically. The long tables of nobles clapped respectfully to Nicolette.
Many of the men were dazzled by her current beauty. However, she couldn’t tell which ones were the princes of Tyrain. She placed her bet on one with long brown hair and one with the same long brown hair but with stubble growing on his large jaw. However, one with long brown hair and clean face rose up and strutted over.
"Hello my betrothed," he said smoothly and kissing her hand. She was flattered but surprised.
"Are you the prince I’m supposed to marry?" she said a little bit too enthusiastically.
"Indeed I am. I’m Prince Peter of Tyrain. My bother, I mean brother Prince Olive is supposed to be up here as well though we don’t know where he went. He pulls stunts like these often though so you probably won’t be able to meet him tonight," he said with a roll of his eyes.
He quickly disregarded his brother and looked over at the two empty spots at the head of the table where she assumed they were supposed to sit. She nodded and let him lead the way through the lesser tables to the large, marble table with numerous empty platters, plates, cups, and saucers on it.
He pulled out the chair that she was to sit in and she gratefully accepted the cushioned spot. He then pushed her in and sat in his own spot with the aid of a maid.
Nicolette noticed 3 pairs of eyes watching her carefully. One pair was black, cold and belonged to a gorgeous girl wearing an emerald dress. Another pair was icy blue and belonged to a woman with sharp complexities and a lack of warmth. The last pair seemed a bit kinder though still very serious. They were chocolate brown with age and eyeliner just lining the edges.
Nicolette broke the eye connection with each pair and focused on her possible husband. Drop the possible.
He was going to be her husband. Who wouldn’t want to marry a mature hunk with humorous brown eyes and muscles that would make a knight jealous? She leaned against the table with her head in her hand and studied him. When he noticed her looking, she sat up and tried to hide her rosy blush peeking out from under her olive skin and thick dark bangs.
"I hope you will be greatly pleased with tonight’s dinner selection," he said proudly. He winked at her secretly.
"I’m sure I will. Especially if someone like you chose it," she said hoping that it would suffice for enough witticisms. She waited patiently as the prince socialized and the food was prepared.
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Sorry to leave you on a bit of an awkward note there. The rest of that specific part exceeded the 2500 word limit.
Next part should be coming in a while.
Depending on the verdict of the argument with myself.
Feel free to answer the poll and comment.
Thank you,
Julie
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