Charlotte sat upright on the small stool the maid, Grace, had her seated upon within her room. The maid towered over her as she placed each individual strand of dirty blonde hair accordingly. The princess's head was tugged back every now and then, silently watching the maid in the mirror as she pulled and twirled each section into the elegant hairstyle she adored so much.
The maid was a tall, frail woman. She was much too skinny in Charlotte's opinion, but it seemed the middle aged woman would not gain weight. The maid possessed a peachy skin tone and medium lengthed hair wrapped into a messy bun. Hidden within her Sienna brown hair were silver sections that stood out like a sore thumb. She possessed wrinkles that surrounded her forest green eyes, but that did not remove her cheerfulness or her childish actions every so often. Age and maturity was something Grace paid absolutely no attention to. She wore the usual maid outfit, a short sleeved beige dress and a white apron; Something comfortable that does not make her or the other maids and servants stand out.
The Sienna haired maid was seen as a second mom by the princess. After the death of the Queen, Charlotte no longer had a female companion within the palace. No one to talk to, to be friends with, no one. She has never actually spoken to the residents of the Ero Kingdom, she had only answered questions or rejected marriage proposals by men much too old for her liking. They were not people she could be herself with, so she did not consider them her friends. Coping with the premature death of her mother had been hard enough on the young girl. The moment her mother had stopped breathing, her world had crumpled down for quite a while. It was the first time she had actually witness someone die right in front of her icy blue eyes. It burned within her brain. It traumatized the dirty blonde haired girl; but with the help of the kind maid, she blossomed back to her old self in no time.
With one final tug and twirl, the maid placed the tiara of the princess on top of her head. The dazzling tiara sparkled with the small amount of sunlight that beamed within the room. Charlotte smiled, the crown befitting her head almost naturally.
A gentle knock on the door echoed within her room, Charlotte turned to the door, speaking in her usual soft voice.
"You may enter."
A young servant appearing to be around his mid twenties opened the door, just enough to poke his head in.
"Forgive me for my intrusion, but the King wishes to speak with the princess."
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Charlotte's head was bowed, her eyes looking to the floor as she fought back the tears. Her father was worse than ever before, it was obvious he was already half way deep into his grave. The dreaded time was coming. The King knew this, the servants and maids knew this, even Charlotte knew this. There was nothing she could do to prevent this, only medicine and time could bring the King back or put him to permanent rest. Her mind suddenly flashed back to the words of her father as he lied within his glamorous, throne like bed.
"For you to be my successor..You must wed to a noble man... He will be the one who will take charge...and you will rule by his side..."
The young princess almost began to argue at the words, but the King had silenced her and demanded she find a husband before his passing. Her father wanted her to fall into a loveless marriage with some foolish man who only wished for the King's crown instead of her hand. Charlotte ran two slender hands through her hair, the stress of the situation causing her fingers to sink within her hair in a tight grip. How could she possible find a man to rule the Kingdom of Ero in what could be, a short amount of time?