"What are you talking about, Caspian?" Farah asked as she strode through the halls of the palace, her maids uniform gracefully swaying to her rhythmic strides. She hoisted her straw basket on her hip, which held heaps of clean clothing, and looked back at the Prince with a confused expression.
Ever since the day in the ballroom Farah had been somewhat avoiding the Prince. She would talk to him, of course, but not as much as she usually had. Things almost felt awkward between the two due to the connection they shared that day, seeing as they both were trying to deny it.
Farah remembered that night she had seen Caspian storm past the maids chambers in a sudden rage. She had followed him out, asking him what was bothering him to much; but Caspian wouldn't respond. Farah eventually let him be, and came to the conclusion that he would tell her when he was ready.
Now, though, he suddenly seemed extremely ready. Of course, Farah had thought, he decides to tell me when I'm working. But soon enough she had become interested in this talk, soaking in the details like a wet sponge in water. The Prince had told her all about how his mother had ordered him to propose to Amara at the ball, and how she wanted the whole town to know about the engagement. Farah had furrowed her brow. Caspian's mother usually didn't act like this, so why the sudden outburst?
Nevertheless, the Prince just kept talking, and as she listened, Farah just kept walking and collecting dirty clothing. She made sure that Caspian knew he had her attention, but also made sure to keep herself busy on the job. She entered Amara's empty room, where Caspian kept talking about how his mother didn't understand anything he was going through. Thankfully, the Princess wasn't there, for she most certainly would've had an outburst if she saw them walking together. She quickly grabbed the Princess' clothing and exited, heading for the other rooms.
"Caspian," Farah spoke up for the second time that evening. "You have no proof that your mother didn't go through this, I mean maybe-"
"No, she couldn't have. If she had gone through this torment then she would've just called off the wedding, not encouraged it!" Caspian exclaimed, making Farah spin around to face him. She held the basket in her left arm, her right at her side.
"But what if she's trying to protect you, Cas? What if she's trying to make sure you don't get attached to anyone else? What if she's trying to keep you safe so you don't suffer heartbreak like she did?" Farah asked, glaring at him, trying to get him to see her side of the argument. Caspian paused, his lips parting for a moment as if he wanted to say something. The two stood in awkward silence for a moment before Caspian finally spoke.
"Well then, she's too late," he then proceeded to walk on, leaving Farah to soak in his words. When she did, she was glad she wasn't facing him, for her face lit up a bright red. Could he mean her? No, that would be impossible.
But then she remembered the day in the ballroom, the scene playing in her mind as if she was reading it in a book for the first time. The image stuck in her brain for a moment, but Farah shook her head, washing it out. She breathed in deeply, before turning to follow Caspian, who was a few feet away from her, waiting.
As the two walked down the hallway, Farah didn't mention what Caspian had said just a few moments before, though her mind had other ideas. Millions of hopes and prompts ran through the maid's thoughts. What if he had meant her? Was that good? Or bad? How would she even react if he-
"Farah?" Caspian said, looking down at her. The maid jumped for a moment, looking up at him, his voice dragging her away from her thoughts. "There you are, I think you zoned out, I called your name five times already." Farah blushed lightly and Caspian chuckled, as if what he had said before was put past him.
"What were you saying?" She asked, holding the basket much firmer now.
"Oh, right, well..... I-"
"Caspian!" A voice called from down the hallway. They both turned, and there was Amara, sauntering down the halls. "I've been looking for you for hours! Where were you?" Amara asked with a huff of ignorance. Caspian opened his mouth to explain but she cut him off once more. "You know what? I don't really want to know, now come my fiancee. We are wanted in the ballroom." She gave Caspian a forced smile, at which the Prince gave a nod. He then started towards the ballroom. When he noticed Amara wasn't following, Caspian stopped. He turned to the Princess, who shooed him off, telling him she wanted to speak to the maid. Caspian reluctantly obliged, walking down the royal hallways at a slow pace.
Farah wished she were with him now, because the moment he was out of sight, Amara started snapping at her. "Now you listen here, little maid. That man there is my fiancee, and I don't want anything going on between you two, got it? If I find out you're messing with his handsome little mind, I'm going to make sure that the royals kick you out of this place and leave you on the streets with no money due to a horrible felony, alright?" Amara snarled with a cruel smile, watching as Farah's eyes narrowed.
"You wouldn't dare, my mother-"
"Oh, your mother? You mean the one who the royals loved oh so much? Isn't she dead? Ah, yes, she is, which means there will be nothing preventing you from getting kicked out of this lovely palace, because one thing's for sure—the royals don't like you. The only one who does is Caspian, and he only likes you as a friend. Oh how terrible, I must've just broken the poor maid's heart." Amara sneered at Farah, who tried to contain her anger as she stared back.
"Don't you dare talk about my mother that way, she wasn't just some pawn that you can play with. And as for Caspian, who are you to make decisions for him? This is not your kingdom, you are not in full control, not yet. I promise you, Caspian can make all his decisions on his own." Farah spoke through gritted teeth, anger and heartbreak glistening in her eyes. "And don't even think of hurting him or anyone else, because if you do-"
"If I do? Oh, what will you, a poor maid, do? I don't think you understand, I am the heir to this throne, a future Queen, if you may. That makes me an everybody. And who are you? Just some little maid who nobody even knows exists. I advise you to not go around threatening me, for next time, you may get into a lot more trouble, maidservant." She spat out before turning on her heel and walking away, her fawn colored hair trailing behind like a snake trailing behind its master.
Farah glared at Amara as she walked off, keeping all of her emotions locked up right. Once she disappeared, however, Farah crumbled to the ground, tears pouring out of her green eyes. Anger, yet sadness swelled within the maiden. How could the princess say such a rude things about her mother? About Caspian? It wasn't any fair.
After a few moments of tears, Farah scolded herself for crying. With that, she forced herself to be strong, and so she stood, her head spinning. Without thinking, the maid headed to the stables, and there she saw Atlas. Watching the stallion greet her, she smiled, hugging him through pain filled sobs. Atlas seemed to hug her back, putting his head on her back. She smiled, her eyes a puffy red color.
"You silly, you're going to ruin my maids dress." Farah sniffled, and Atlas snorted, making Farah laugh. She climbed into the stallion's stall, where he lay down next to her as she rested her body against his large stomach. The heat coming from the stallion's body warmed Farah, and so she stayed there until it was dark outside.
Although it was night, and she knew she should head in, Farah stroked Atlas' mane, calming herself as his silky hair touched her rough, worked fingertips. Farah eventually fell asleep there, with Atlas keeping her company.
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"Ahem," a gruff, deep voice boomed.
Farah opened her eyes lazily, but at seeing who had just spoken, gasped, her eyes widening.
There stood a palace guard, looking down at her. His metal clothing shining as the morning sun's light bounced off of it, his deep brown eyes looking down at her with confusion. The man raised an eyebrow at Farah and she jumped up.
"Oh my, please forgive me, I-" she began, but just resorted to bowing at the guard. He chuckled, making the maid look upright at him. His eyes, which were once stern, now bore kind crinkles as he smiled. When Farah observed the man with a sharper eye, she noticed he could be no older than twenty-one, which was 5 years older than her. "Sir?" Farah was now the one in confusion. Why was he smiling at her?
"You do get in trouble a lot, don't you?" The guard asked with a wide grin. Farah paused for a moment, feeling her cheeks heat up as she was slightly embarrassed by his remark.
"Well yes I.... I suppose I'm almost always in the wrong place at the wrong time," she replied softly. The guard nodded, understanding filling his generous eyes.
"You are wanted in the throne room, along with the other maids. I am to escort you. You seem to be hard to catch, ay?"
Farah smiled softly, "I guess you could say that."
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The two walked in silence for most of the time, though they occasionally talked.
"So," The guard, whose name was James, started. "How do you know the Prince? You guys seem to be like best buddies," he chuckled.
"Oh, Caspian? Him and I have always been there for each other, I've known him since I was five- no, seven. Or was it five?" The guard chuckled at Farah's answer before adding another remark.
"Ah, I see, best friends then, I suppose?"
"Yes, very."
James and Farah walked in an awkward silence, neither knowing what to say to strike up a conversation. As they neared the throne room, Farah fiddled with her maid's dress, making sure it was smoothed out and fairly clean. James must've seen her nervousness, because he patted her on the back.
"Look, the royals aren't too mad, alright? You look like you're about to go get hanged in front of the whole kingdom! Calm down a bit, relax."
Farah nodded, taking in a deep breath. She held in the air for a moment before she released it. She moved a strand of curly black hair out of her face, and stared at the doors. James' hand reached the knob, and after making sure she was ready to enter, he pushed it open.
As the door made way Farah watched in humiliation as all of the maids turned to look at her as she entered. It seemed they all appeared to be wondering why she was so late. Without waiting another second, James walked Farah forwards to where the royals sat and bowed to them. Farah copying his movements. "Your Majesties," he said, standing from the bow.
The royals nodded to him, then to Farah. Until then she hadn't noticed their guest, but when she did her eyes widened, for there stood the town's sorcerer. She had heard many things about him, but had never seen him before. He looked oddly familiar, with his long gray beard and balded head. Small glasses lined his crooked nose, and he smiled when he saw her. He stepped forwards, giving her a nod as he spoke first,
"Ah, Farah, it's so lovely to meet you."
