Heidi found herself overcome with emotion and trembling.
She watched Rosemarie present the prestigious handkerchief to the victor of the Imperial Bout from a short distance away, her heart going positively wild.
Rosemarie stood at the top of the long flight of stairs leading down to the arena, so nervous her face was drained of its color. Regardless, she kept her back straight and stood with dignity.
(I know the princess can be self-deprecating, but...)
Her big green eyes were trembling with insecurity, her tiny pink lips were all pursed up, and her nose was a little on the flat side. But as far as her overall impression, she reminded Heidi of a small animal—the kind that makes you want to protect and nurture it. Together with her head of red hair, she looked as lovely as a wild rose.
And the person who had taken to one knee before said lovely princess was the lion-headed prince with a shiny silver mane. The black armor that adorned his firm body only served to accentuate his manly demeanor.
A wild beast being attached to a fair and defenseless maiden—it was like something out of a play or story. Devoid of any realism, it was pure fantasy. From a spectator’s point of view, it was the ultimate spectacle.
(Princess, you only have a little bit more to go, so just hang in there, please!)
Although she had no idea whether Claudio being the victor was intentional or not, it was likely a fortunate outcome for Rosemarie. Standing in front of an unfamiliar person was a laborious task for her mistress.
Heidi watched with bated breath as Claudio pressed the handkerchief against his chest, and proceeded to kiss the hem of Rosemarie’s dress and her tiny slender hand.
✦ ✦ ✦
But the whispered conversations from the maids standing right beside her were making her scowl.
“I will say, he is nice to look at from a distance, but I would hate to have that person as my husband. It also doesn’t, well, help matters that he fell in love at first sight the way he did.”
“Entirely agree. That head of his is dreadful. I believe His Highness himself is a fine individual, but I wouldn’t feel so inclined to take up with him. That said, he is the perfect match for that dense barnyard princess.”
Occasionally, conversations like this filled with fear and vitriol were shared among the maids.
She was a dense princess who came from the countryside, and a pitiful princess who happily wedded a prince who fell in love with her on first sight, despite his head being that of a literal beast.
She couldn’t bear to tell Rosemarie what was being said about her, nor did she want to let the girl get anywhere near the source. After all, Rosemarie had the misfortune to literally see the animosity of others. Heidi wanted to shield her from that as much as possible.
They probably didn’t even know that Heidi was a maid from Volland that followed Rosemarie here. While those maids were having their lively little chat without so much as looking her way, Heidi was biting her lip, trying to contain herself.
(Should I just go ahead and tell them? But if I do and the princess catches word, things will get ugly—literally and figuratively.)
Heidi contained her irritation so that it wouldn’t show on her face and turned her back to the chatty maids. It was just about time for Rosemarie to come back from the arena, so she had no time to stand around listening to nonsensical chit-chat.
“Excuse me, might you be the maid attending to Her Royal Highness?” A voice called out to Heidi as if in hot pursuit from behind her, to which Heidi forced a broad smile and turned around. There she saw a girl with a calm demeanor, clad in a maid outfit, standing apologetically in front of her.
“Yes, that I am. Can I help you?”
“On behalf of those girls, I apologize. You were selected by His Highness personally, yet all that terrible gossip...”
“No worries. We have to learn to put the past behind us, after all.” She coerced her with her broad smile. There wasn’t really anything she could do with a misguided apology, because the one they should be apologizing to wasn’t Heidi.
She curtsied to the other maid, now sadly standing silent and stock-still, before turning on her heel.
(Oh, for heaven’s sake, I need to hurry and get to the princess!)
Rosemarie was surely frozen in tension and fear. She had to get to her side quickly and console her in any way she could.
Heidi trotted down the corridor like a woman possessed, picturing her poor mistress heading toward the arena, her face pale and her shoulders shivering in fear from the ordeal.