15 Budgets

I showed up the next day to the Lady Refference's room with my partners, meeting up with them along the way. Unfortunately, Tina wasn't a part of my group. I was instead placed with Abby and Jeff, both of which were kind and took the opportunity to introduce themselves to me. After a short round of introductions, we decided to meet our assigned Lady.

I knocked on the door politely, hearing a "come in" from the other side. We all walked in and bowed/curtsied to the Lady.

"Hello, Lady Refference, we are the staff assigned to assist you in planning your date with the King. I'm Jeffery Kinsley. This is Abby Elmer, and this is Eleana Allenvure," He said. Lady Refference looked over from where she sat, drinking tea at one of the side tables. We got one of the ladies in purple judging by the size and room.

"Nice to meet you all," she said. Although her face didn't reflect her statement well.

"Just so you all know," she started, getting up from her chair, "I do not plan to be humiliated by being turned into a mere servant. I am the daughter of a Marquis, and I intend to either keep that status or marry into a higher one, both of which require me to pass this round. So if any of you ruin this for me, I will destroy your so-called peaceful life. Do you understand?" She threatened.

"Yes, M'Lady." We echoed.

"Good," she said.

We spent the afternoon listening to her ramble about everything that she wanted for her date. It was quite tiresome. She wanted it outdoors, in the south garden, and with any type of orderve you could possibly think of. It was too much to remember at once, and she apparently hadn't thought to write any of her thoughts down. She justified every decoration with the excuse that her date had to stand out from the others. By the time she was done, it was already breakfast, so she had to leave. We immediately went to the staff supplies area and got some paper and pencils, writing down every single thing we could remember while she ate. We looked at the ever growing list and sighed.

"There's no way the budget for this is going to get approved," Jeff said. Abby and I nodded our heads in agreement.

"We could probably convince her to reduce the amount of food. There's only so much that they can eat while talking," I suggested.

"Maybe we can get her to switch to a 4-5 course meal instead," Abby continued.

"I don't know. She doesn't seem like the type to take suggestions," Jeff argued.

"We can always just do the plan, turn it in, and have it rejected. She'd have no choice but to change something then," Abby said.

"True, but it would save so much time if she did it beforehand. It'll take ages to create proper budget estimates with so many different decorations and things we'll be ordering," I added.

"Let's just write down everything she wants for today, and then see where we're at for all of her demands. We still haven't heard her plans for her outfit or entertainment," Jeff said. We all agreed and went back to the Lady's room, waiting for her to finish breakfast.

Apparently, she wanted to continue to socialize after breakfast, so we ended up waiting until after lunch to have a chance to speak to her again. She came in and looked at us in slight distaste.

"Did you already finish everything I told you to?" She asked.

"We were hoping to discuss your desired attire and choice of entertainment for the date. We were also hoping to address-"

"Oh! The dress! That's right, I completely forgot. Thank you for reminding me," she smiled. She seemingly glided over to a chair and sat down.

"Get me some paper will you?" She asked.

I went over and handed her some extra from our meeting.

"Good, now for the dress I would like it all in blue. Recently arm drapes are in style, so I'll have a sheer one of those. It's a dinner date, so a ball gown would be uncalled for. The jewelry will just have to be fancier instead. Get a suitable sapphire or amethyst set of Jewelry. Everything custom made, of course," she said.

I held my tongue. Jeff stepped forward, about to say something but was stopped by Abby.

"Yes, M'lady," I said, taking the paper from her once she gave it back.

Custom made? We only have a week to get a budget accepted and have everything prepared and she wants a custom made dress?

"May we be excused to get started on your orders?" I asked. She waved us away and we walked outside.

"Is this lady crazy?" He whispered once outside.

"She thinks a custom made dress is something that's whipped up overnight?"

"The castle seamstresses did it for the ball, so she's under the impression they can do it again," I stated, sighing.

"That was with the entire department dedicated to it. The king brought in almost all of the surrounding tailors in the entire capital," Jeff said.

"I don't think we're going to convince her to change any of her demands," Abby noted.

"Hmmm, we should at least give it a try. We still haven't had a chance to properly tell her our concerns. Mrs. Bellings said that we should only support and give her the resources they need, so let's get together some estimates and options with what we have and consult her again. During our presentation will probably be the best time to convince her otherwise," I said.

"We can show her that the budget will be too expensive and she'll see that she'll have to cut it down somewhere. Let's have some suggestions ready with the numbers already figured out. I think she'll be more convinced that way," Abby continued.

Jeff seemed to sigh and let go of his frustration, "Alright, let's go. We'll probably have to go into town to talk to some store owners to get accurate estimates. How do you want to split the work?"

"I know the market the best, so I'd prefer to work on the food. I'll discuss some things with the kitchen too," Abby said.

"Then I'll focus on decorations and entertainment," Jeff said.

"Then I guess that leaves me with the dress and jewelry," I said.

"Remember, we're just finding options and presenting them to Lady Refference. All the decisions and actual planning are to be done by her," Jeff reminded. Abby and I nodded.

"Good luck."

We all split off going our perspective ways. I walked down the hallway, trying to come up with a plan.

I'll have to come up with options of boutiques and their estimates. The Lady might also have a boutique in mind. Jewelry might be hard since it's just simply which one looks better. They might have catalogues… Maybe I should've done food. I'm a commoner; I've never even been to a boutique. For one, Sophia was the one who designed my dress. Wait, the palace seamstresses would know the most about the capitals boutiques.

I rushed to the other side of the palace and searched for the sewing room. Eventually, I found it and walked inside to a bustling work room. Someone saw me walk in and held their hand out as if to stop me from coming in.

"No!" They said, "We cannot accept any more requests for dresses, not a chance. Leave. No."

"I'm not here to request a dress," I clarified.

"Then why are you here? We are extremely busy," She interrogated quickly.

"I was hoping to ask if you knew of any boutiques in the capital that might be willing to custom make a dress within a week. Also, if you had some recommendations in general," I explained.

"Jasmine's Boutique, Diamond's and Dresses, and Harold's Sewing shop. That's all, now go," She quickly shooed me. I curtsied and thanked them quickly before leaving.

I guess a lot of people are requesting dresses from the castle's department itself.

I wrote down the names of the boutiques quickly so I wouldn't forget.

I guess I'll have to go into town and see about others and some… wait...town?

I paused in the hallway.

Am I even allowed to go into town? Wait a minute, I was excused from the ball.

A grin broke out on my face as my face immediately squeezed in excitement.

I'm allowed to go into town!

I fastened my pace and to get to my room, going across through one of the main hallways. I sped around a corner but suddenly had to come to a stop, seeing the king walking down the same hallway. I barely kept my balance from the momentum, but managed to halt without falling over. I quickly stepped to the side, against the wall, and bowed while I waited for him to pass.

"Somebody's in a rush," the King noted as he got closer.

"My apologies, Your Majesty," I said. The King stopped in front of me. I could only see his overly polished shoes that sparkled even in the shade.

"Rise," He said. I stood up, lifting my face, but not looking at him.

"Where are you rushing to?" He asked.

"My room, Your Majesty. I'm preparing to take a trip into town," I said, smiling slightly at the thought again.

"Into town? What for?" He asked.

"I'm preparing a list of boutiques and estimates for Lady Refference, so she can make her final decisions of the budget," I said.

"Even when we have an entire sewing department in the palace?" He said.

"They are quite busy with the demands of the other candidates," I informed. He hummed for a moment.

"Then have you prepared an escort?" He asked. My face dropped.

"An escort?" I asked, my eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

"You planned on going without one?" He asked.

"Is that not allowed?" I asked.

He seemed to pause for a moment.

"Yes, you need an escort to leave," He said, almost decisively.

"Even the maids?"

"Even the maids," He said.

"I've never heard anyone mention anything of the sort," I noted.

"They must have forgotten. Most of the maids are nobles, so it's only natural they are accompanied by at least one guard," He said.

"Oh, it's for nobles," I said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I'm just a commoner, so it'll be fine."

"They'll assume you're a noble if you're wearing the palace maid uniform," he said.

"I planned to switch into my other clothes anyways. That's why I was making my way to my room," I explained.

"Why wouldn't you want an escort? It's not like there's a downside to having one," He questioned.

"There is," I said.

"Enlighten me."

"I'd have to find a guard willing to escort me last minute. I don't have time. I need to have everything completed by tomorrow for M'lady. Plus, due to Your Majesty's wonderful leadership, the capital is a notoriously safe place. I can't imagine anything would happen," I said, using the best card I had. I smiled, handing it off to the prince to try and counter. The King smirked as well.

"Rules are still rules, Eleana. You can't leave without an escort, no matter how safe my capital is," he said. I pouted a little, trying to keep it to a minimum so I wouldn't get in trouble.

"... As you wish, Your Majesty."

"Good. Enjoy your trip into town, Lady Eleana," He said, teasing me with "lady", knowing exactly how I felt about it.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Have a good day as well," I returned, tsking internally.

With that, he left and walked down the corridor. I continued down the hallway and sighed.

Where am I supposed to get an escort?