June 1, 2012

In Which Mona Is Occupied for Now

January 15, 1179

Mona had a newfound appreciation for Anna's work.

She liked her maid well enough, but she'd always dismissed the position as more of a formality than anything else; after all, it wasn't as if she was incapable of dressing herself. Mona had a maid because she was a princess and princesses had maids, and not because they needed them.

It wasn't all fabrics and hairpins, she knew now--and even if it had been, it was more tasking than she would have guessed, all those laces and ties and braids, the way certain cloths required certain folds and how combing and brushing weren't quite interchangeable. A maid was also the mistress of her lady's chambers. She directed the workflow throughout the day, making sure that the room was tidied and straightened and lit to her lady's liking. It wasn't hard labor, but it was certainly more than she'd bargained for; at least it kept her occupied.

For now. While she supposed it beat the unwanted betrothal, it was a temporary thing. She would not be happy doing Anna's job forever.

She'd figure something out--find work on one of the ships or something. Anna could be Queen of Carvallon for all Mona cared, but she would have to find a new maid. Mona needed either excitement or comfort, and being a maid provided insufficient levels of both.

Or maybe she was just being a spoiled brat. Not that she could have expected to be much more, not with her parents. God damn. Wouldn't her mother be proud.

Well, not that proud.

NEXT CHAPTER:

6 comments:

Van said...

Bah. Sorry about this one. Today was kind of a Kafka-esque blur.

Ann said...

Oh dear! Kafka-esque is rarely pleasant! I hope you life will be more normal again soon!

Anonymous said...

So Mona has plans. Or is in the process of getting plans. So she would just leave Anna in the lurch? Yeesh, that's really selfish. If -- no, sorry, when -- somebody is able to find out that Adrius has married the maid, Anna would be blamed entirely. NOBODY would believe that the switcheroo had been Mona's idea. And if Mona isn't around ... they might well accuse Anna of murder.

*shudders* This has got to come out, one way or another, before Mona takes off. Otherwise, Anna could be in for much more than anybody bargained for.

(Also, I love how Roderick spent most of his second marriage despising Geneva ... and now he's got a daughter, in many ways, just like her. Go figure!)

Van said...

Ann: Thanks. I barely remember normal right now :S

Morgaine: Luckily, I think Anna has the sense not to let Mona out of her sight until something is sorted out. But yeah, Mona is hardly thinking of anyone else here :S

Ha! Yeah, I guess personality-wise, Mona does have a few things in common with Geneva XD

Penelope said...

LOL! I loved that last paragraph. Oh man. Brilliant.

I worry what will become of Anna if Mona disappears into the night and it's found out that Anna isn't Mona. Ay ay ay. Devidra and Adrius might not be scary but Ietrin is. And he's the sort of slime ball that will backseat drive when he has no real power.

Van said...

Anna would be in a rough spot if Mona suddenly disappeared. With Mona around, at least there's the potential for some sort of damage control (not any kind that wouldn't be damaging in itself, but certainly better than someone finding just Anna there).