A Bouquet for a Princess (I)

The days of festivities were briefly over, and it was time for the mundane palace play to resume but with a few new characters included. At least that was the way that Kamaria thought of it as she gently pulled the thread of her embroidery project.

There were many young ladies in the room which included all her sisters and two young women from the Vilaro family. They each had an attendant, and all sat in their seats, busy with needle and thread.

Most of them were merely taking part in the activity since it was considered as something a good noblewoman should be able to do. A servant with such skills was also highly revered and eligible for a good position in the household. 

Any good servant had to show some sort of talent in something otherwise what kind of use would they be to a talented master?

The instructor walked between them, glancing at their work. He occasionally stopped and surveyed the works closer, lightly brushing his hand over the threads, and nodding slightly. 

Raisa and Lili organised the spools of thread as Kamaria worked on the design and tried to stifle the yawn threatening to surface.

The instructor finally stopped to look at her work. The man narrowed his eyes and tilted his head as he looked at the floral design. Seeing the design in a draft had made him think the flowers were unusual but seeing them in thread made him realise that they indeed were unusual blooms.

"Princess, what type of flower is in this design?" 

"Oh, this? It's just one of the flowers Consort Mother keeps in her garden. I think she said it was brought over from a far north-eastern region.

The instructor nodded, agreeing with himself that he wouldn't be very knowledgeable of flowers from so far.

Among them, Kamaria's design had to be the simplest and could have easily lost its charm using such an unusual subject but under her hand, she turned it into a fine work.

He dared not comment this out loud and walked to the next young lady. 

Just when Kamaria thought she was about to be suddenly overcome by a dizzy spell that would force to be bedridden, an older lady silently made her way into the room.

Her dress set was very lightly embellished making it simple but elegant. 

They would have guessed she was a noble, but the hair and body accessories made her out to be a palace attendant, more specifically a high ranked steward.

There were several hundred servants in the palace and when Kamaria thought about it only one person could have a steward of that age.

"Instructor Soler, might I have a word?"

The man looked up from the work of one his students, having not noticed the older woman entering the room. Kamaria couldn't blame him; her steps were too quiet. The young women started speaking in hushed whispers as their instructor conversed with the lady.

"Cousin, are there now servants daring enough to disrupt your lessons?" asked one of the Vilaro girls with a certain air of disdain. 

Velia started thinking about it as well. They knew most of the attendants of the emperor's wives. They knew all their stewards as well, but this woman could not be one of them.

The instructor came back to the group and clapped to make an announcement.

"It seems this is where our lesson will end for today. The princesses, please hand over their works to the steward sent by the Grand Lady Dowager."

There was a collective shock among the group. So that was who the mature steward served.

"Do not be alarmed, your Highnesses. The Grand Lady is simply restless at her age and wishes to have a few beautiful things to look at from the family's young ones," said the steward with a smile.

The grand lady dowager lived a very quiet life in her wing of the palace estate. She saw the grandchildren only a few times a year and travelled when she felt like it. Her family was still quite prominent, so she had no shortage of people and old friends to visit.

Even though she was regent for a few years before the current emperor could be completely independent, the Lady mostly kept out of country and palace politics.

She was also still afforded the respect of being one of the late emperor's wives and while having no children herself, raising both the emperor and commander.

A younger maid walked forward and received the work of each princess on a tray before curtseying and standing next to the steward.

"Thank you for the time your Highnesses," said the steward with a curtsey.

After which she left the room with the maid following her.

Seeing as the lesson was over, the instructor's apprentice picked up some of the draft designs and tools left out and put them into the leather bag. Then she left behind her master after he had bid his goodbye to the class.

She always avoided looking directly at any of the nobles in the palace, but she couldn't help but glance at Kamaria as she walked out.

She wondered if the princess knew the meaning of the flowers she had used in her design or if she had chosen them just because they looked exotic and interesting.

Kamaria stood with the intention of finally going to her residence.

"Oh, little Seventh," called a familiar voice and she rolled her eyes before fixing her face and turning around.

"Yes, your Highness."

The cousins giggled at her responding to the silly nickname. The youngest princess was too simple but even they had to admit that they couldn't find fault in her impeccable manners.

"In a few days, I'm inviting all the princesses to admire the new blooms with me while enjoying some delicacies brought over from other kingdoms. A few other guests will also join us."

Kamaria could almost imagine picking up the biggest boulder at that moment and finding a few uses for it. Her schedule had to be interrupted because her sister wanted to admire blooms as she put it.

This was obviously a pretence to show off whatever the minister had acquired from his travels and gifts sent to him.

The three oldest princesses, which included Thyra and Yrsa the twin daughters of Lady Alva, and Lady Fara's daughter Ruwa, usually avoided situations that involved Velia. This time they didn't refuse the invitation seeing as Kamaria would also be in attendance.

"Just bring yourself, I'll make sure everything is ready," insisted Velia as she adjusted her multi-layered gold bracelet.

"If your Highness insists. I'm grateful for the invitation," Kamaria blankly replied.

She could only wonder what the plan for the meeting was seeing as it was unusual for them to invited out of the blue. Velia on the other hand was smiling, satisfied with her work.

She had the reputation of being a gracious humble beauty to upkeep, so this was a good opportunity.