2 A Sleepless Night I

"Her highness is expected at the ballroom by 9 o'clock. His Majesty had sent strict orders for her to appear on time."

A middle-aged man dressed in a formal black attire was giving instructions to the maid who was standing between the door of a room and him as if trying to restrain him from peeking in. Her hand behind her back was firmly curled around the doorknob.

"Don't worry, Mr Fermin. Her highness is already taking her bath. She will be ready by that time." She informed the man with a curt node and a fake smile. It seemed like she was trying to convince herself more than the butler.

As the man left after giving her a warning look her deadly grip on the poor innocent doorknob lightened before hardening once again as this time she intended to open the door.

"What will we do now?"

She was met with a pair of panicked eyes which were looking at her expectantly.

"I don't know Lisa." The woman who was previously carrying her body straight and firm now slumped on the couch nearby with her head in her hands.

"Her highness is missing for eight hours. You should have told Mr Fermin the truth. God forbid, what if something happened to her?" Lisa gasped.

"If it was the first time this had happened, I would have already informed Mr Fermin." The other maid named Serena sighed.

"We just have half an hour left till 9 o'clock. Do you think she would make it on time? If no then what will we say to…" The maid's blabbering stopped as they heard a very specific knock on the window.

Both of their eyes met for a second before they ran towards the window and almost pounced on it.

"Hurry up, bring the rope!" Serena told Lisa who followed the command immediately.

After a little while of hustle, a figure could be seen climbing inside the room from the open window and then falling on the neatly made bed dramatically.

"You won't believe what happened today. I got to help an old man and then dodged a creepy looking pervert." The figure stood up and chirped excitedly as she removed the veil off her face. "It was just like those thrilling sh-" Her lips pressed together and her eyes narrowed as she took in the looks on the two maids in front of her.

"Who stepped on your tails?" She asked them followed by a chuckle.

"Your Highness, I beg your pardon but you were about to get our tails sliced." Lisa said but was immediately corrected by Serena.

"Not our tails, our heads." She added and the girl who was now sprawled on the bed let out a whole-hearted laugh.

The maids had the audacity to talk back to the Princess because she wasn't like the other Princesses of that Palace or they would have been kicked out of the Palace until now.

"I promised you I would be back on time. Have I ever broken my promise before?" She stood up from the bed now and slowly walked towards the mirror.

"We only have twenty-five minutes to get you ready for the ball." Serena informed her while both of the maids were now helping her in removing her signature attire she had especially custom made for sneaking out.

"Not again!" She groaned and bent over the table as the thought of wearing those heavy gowns with tight corsets had her out of breath already.

Even though she was a modern day princess and could choose to wear a simple elegant dress, her stepmother, the Queen, had a very old Victorian taste of fashion when it came to balls and parties. All of her sisters including her had to wear what their mother had chosen for them and it was far away from a simple plain dress. She was the only one who had an issue with that though.

"We have good news for you." Serena smiled at her and Lisa also had a tinge of amusement in her eyes.

"What is it?" She inquired curiously as she was hurriedly getting into the bathtub which was already prepared with warm water and vanilla scented bath bombs. She had almost forgotten about her 'thrilling escape' story.

"You will not have to wear those heavy clothes tonight. Her Majesty had chosen a very subtle dress for you this time." They informed her as one of them quickly washed her long blonde hair and the other helped her wash her body.

"Really?" Her eyes widened a bit at the piece of information.

She had never been on very good terms with the Queen as she wasn't her birth mother but she was the one who raised her hence she respected her. The respect however only remained respect and was never able to become affection from either side. She didn't expect much as she herself never gave her the place of her real mother.

"Maybe she is tired of seeing my annoyed face when she forces me to wear those tons weighed itchy clothes all the time." She assumed the reason for this sudden change herself and giggled at the thought.

After she was bathed and wrapped up in a robe, Serena brought the dress she was supposed to wear tonight.

"This is it?" She couldn't help but get shocked once again as her eyes took in the off-white dress.

It was a plain mermaid dress with a modest V-neck and puffy sleeves that added a bit of drama to its overall look but there wasn't even a hint of embellishments or embroidery on it. Not like she was mad about it, it was in fact the type of simple elegant dress she always wanted to wear but something didn't feel right and she didn't know what it was.

As the maids dried up her hair and did her makeup as hurriedly as possible, her mind was still trying to comprehend the fact that the Queen so easily gave in to her choice when she had always been the one to oppose everything she did or said. Low-key she blamed her for the strained relation she shared with her father.

"You look stunning, my Lady!" Lisa smiled at her reflection in the mirror.

She didn't have much time to see what the maids were admiring as the abrupt knock on the door announced that it was time they needed to get going.

"And here goes a sleepless wasted night again." She muttered under her breath while she threw one last longing glance at her cozy bed.

Little did she know, it was going to be sleepless but certainly not a wasted night..