Chapter 2

Rosalie held the silver tray in both hands, donned an emotionless visage, straightened her neck, and walked stiffly into the castle dining room to present the queen and royal children with their mid-afternoon meal. She lowered her silver tray onto the expertly carved, freshly shined, long oak table, directly in front of the queen, for inspection, and the queen immediately glanced up at the unfamiliar face before her. "And who are you?" the queen demanded to know, staring into Rosalie's deep brown eyes. Rosie quickly remembered her manners, lowered her eyes to the floor, and dropped into a curtsy before the royal consort, before nervously stammering, "Rosalie Parker, Ma'am, recently promoted from housemaid to the humble servant standing before you." Queen Alyssandra ran her eyes up and down the unfamiliar server, before standing and lifting the girl's chin with her index finger, until Rosie's gaze once again met her own. "Hmm, it's a shame they've kept you hidden until now. My staff knows I like to keep the pretty ones out for display, lest my guests think I rule a kingdom of hideous beasts." The queen chuckled to herself. "You shall attend my teatime from now on child, along with serving at all public banquets and royal functions henceforth. I'll inform the tailor to measure you and begin making a formal uniform for you, and once it's made, you'll serve me personally at public functions and events. I'd like to show you off a bit to make Queen Portia of Romanesca jealous."

The queen then waved her fingers at Rosalie, indicating that she was dismissed for the moment. Rosalie took several steps backward and pushed her spine against the cold stone wall, waiting to attend to any needs the family might have during their meal. Princess Charlotte squinted her eyes and glared at Rosalie with rage, clearly resenting the compliment given to the lowly serving girl just moments before.

The queen placed one of each type of sandwich on Charlotte's plate and her own, and slid a salad next to each of the women's platters. She then grabbed two of the fruit- and nut-filled rolls, placed them on a smaller dish, and handed them to a gray-haired butler to give to the young prince playing with toy soldiers on the imported carpet next to them. The boy picked up the sweet snack, and began nibbling on it as he continued to play.

Princess Charlotte picked up Rosalie's sandwich off her plate, and pulled off a sizable chunk with her teeth. The delicacy had no sooner hit her tongue than she promptly shot her food back onto the plate before her. "A vegetable sandwich?!?" she roared. "Cook knows I hate vegetables! How dare she serve this filth to a royal princess of the house of Monterrey!"

Charlotte's mother gracefully lifted her own cucumber sandwich to her lips, took a mouse-sized bite, and tossed it around her mouth for a few seconds to formulate an opinion. She placed the sandwich back down on her plate, flattened her palms against the smooth tablecloth, and stated, "Well, I think it's delicious." She then looked up at Rosalie, and directed, "Girl, please give my compliments to Cook for a dish well made. We shall have more of this in the future." Rosie issued another curtsy to her monarch, as she fought to suppress a smile.

Princess Charlotte then grabbed her food-laden china plate, and hurled it at the wall no more than an inch from Rosie's head. Rosie's eyes widened in terror, and she immediately knelt to begin gathering the pieces of food and shards of broken china in her apron. Charlotte stared at her mother, eyes burning with fury, and screamed, "I said no more vegetables!" Her mother stared away from the tantruming princess, and without an ounce of emotion, informed her, "If all you eat are meats and sweets all day, you'll grow rounder than the hog sliced into sandwiches before you, and it will be impossible to find you an advantageous match. You owe it to your brother to create an alliance which will guarantee his reign for decades to come, and you will never achive that if you stuff your face with fatty foods and act like a rabid animal at the dining table." Charlotte violently rose from her chair, kicked it over precipitously close to the young prince's body, and stormed out of the dining hall. Queen Alyssandra rubbed her temples with her thumb and forefinger, sighed loudly, and arose herself. "The princess has given me a headache. Please have that mage of ours make me a tincture for my nerves. I'll take it in my rooms as I rest my eyes."

Both Rosie and the elderly butler nodded in obedience, as the queen briskly strode towards the stairwell, and a terrified nursemaid gathered the prince's toys in her arms.