Chapter 3
1632 Words
IN THE PALACE OF AVILAH
Queen Anne woke up very early the next morning and glanced at the time, it was a quarter after five. She looked at the king who was fast asleep. A smile spread across her face to see him sleeping soundly because the issue of their childlessness has deprived him of sleep for months.
She sat on the bed and started thinking of her trip to Suvata, a small town in Avilah where her mother lives and also her birthplace. It was a few miles from Cabil which is the capital city of Avilah, where the king's palace is located and where she lives with the king.
She had earlier told the valets to check the wagon to make sure that the vehicle is in order as well as the horse. She rose up to go to her chamber and get prepared for her journey.
She thought of waking the king to tell him she wants to leave for her mother's place but seeing how peaceful the king slept, she changed her mind and decided not to disturb his sleep.
She moved closer to the King and kissed him lightly on his lips then she gently rose from the bed and slipped on her footwear. Then she walked gently towards the door, opened it, and stepped onto the hallway. She slowly closed the door behind her.
"Good morning, Your Majesty, My Queen," two of the king's bodyguards greeted her in unison with a head bow.
Both of them were standing at each side of the door. The one on the right is the Esquire of the royal household and the personal attendant of the king. His name is Thomas.
Thomas is a tall young man. He has an average body built with broad shoulders, fair-skinned with a thin line of a mustache.
The one on the left side is the favorite among the king's bodyguards and he was heavily armed with a sword and a shield. His name is Benjamin, but everyone calls him Ben which he prefers.
"Good morning, Thomas and Ben," she answered back and started walking down the hallway.
The hallway was broad and has many rooms on both sides. Some for the male servants, maids, butler, housekeeper, bodyguards, and every member of the household.
The king's room was at the end of the hallway and the queen's room was next to his own. Followed by a couple of empty rooms before the ones occupied by other members of the household.
Queen Anne walk past her room and stopped in front of a door.
She knocked on it once and immediately the door swung open.
"Good morning, Your Majesty, My Queen," a young fair handsome man greeted her. His name is Steven and he is the queen's bodyguard.
"Good Morning, Steven. I hope you checked on the wagon I will be taken to Suvata as I instructed you yesterday?" she asked.
"Yes, I did, Your Majesty, My Queen," he replied.
"Okay, we will leave in an hour, so, get prepared and check on the carriage again as well as the horse. I don't want the wagon to develop any fault on the way," the queen said.
"I will do just that, Your Majesty, My Queen," Steven replied with a head bow.
Queen Anne turned back and headed for her room. She got to her door and opened it.
She entered and closed the door behind her. As she walked towards her wardrobe, a young maid came out of the bathroom. Her name is Mary.
Mary was the queen's maid who attends to all her needs. She was a pretty 18-year-old girl. She was slim and has black glossy hair. She was wearing a brown floor-length dress.
"Good morning, Your Majesty, My Queen" she greeted her with a curtsy.
"Good morning, Mary. Have you prepared my bath?" the Queen asked.
"Yes, I have," she replied.
"Okay. You can go to your room now and get prepared and come back as soon as possible to help me with my hair and makeup. We will be leaving for Suvata in an hour," the queen said.
"Alright, Your Majesty, My Queen," Mary replied with a curtsy and walked out of the room.
Queen Anne looked around her fancy-looking room and smiled with pleasure.
There was a large bed with five pillows close to the walk. On the bed was a bed sheet embroidered with red roses all over it. The wall was painted white which is the color of most parts of the palace including the outside of the building.
There was a large wardrobe and a large standing mirror beside the bed and different valuable artifacts decorated all the sides of the room making it look a bit like a museum. But that is just the way she likes it.
Although, she was a good queen, she was very vain. She could easily be enticed by material things as long as they are beautiful and has value. But of course, they must also be expensive as she abhors cheap things.
She sat on the bed for a moment as she thought of her almost perfect life. She is beautiful, elegant, wealthy with servants at her beck and calls no matter what time of day it is. To crown it all, she is married to the King of Avilah and she is the Queen of Avilah. Although, she doesn't have the constitutional power in the affairs of the kingdom for only the King does, but she is highly respected and revered which she is content with, even though she wished she has the power to make decisions in the kingdom.
"I am Queen Anne of Avilah and the world is at my feet as I can get almost everything I want courtesy of my husband, the king," she muttered with a smile as she became full of pride.
Suddenly, her countenance changed and she became sad as she remembered that the only thing that she seemed to lack is a child of her own.
"My ancestor, when will I have a child?" she muttered sadly and sighed heavily.
Anyway, the quest for a child is the reason she is going to Suvata to see her mother. Hopefully, her journey would be fruitful and she will eventually have a child of her own, she thought.
She got up from the bed and walked to her wardrobe. She opened it and gazed at her clothes. There were a lot of beautiful and expensive-looking clothes that only the rich could afford. The elegant colourful clothes were hanging on a rack in the wardrobe.
"As the Queen of Avila, I deserve all these lovely clothes and much more. I wish my husband, the king will buy me more clothes and jewelry," she muttered.
Perhaps, when she gets back from her trip, she would tell the king to buy her more clothes and jewelry. The irony was that she knew that she didn't need more clothes or jewelry because she has not worn many of her clothes but she derives pleasure from seeing a lot of expensive clothes in her wardrobe.
She flipped through her clothes as she searched for the one to wear for her trip, and after some seconds, she picked a pink satin ball gown embroidered with lilac flowers.
She carefully laid the gown on the bed and stared at it for a couple of seconds, then, she smiled broadly as she was pleased with her choice.
She stripped off her clothes and walked to the bathroom to take her bath.
After taking her bath, she walked back into the room and put on her undergarment.
Just then, there was a knock on her door.
"Who is that?" she asked.
"It is Mary, Your Majesty, My Queen," she replied behind the closed door.
"Come in," the Queen said.
The door opened and Mary walked in. She has freshened up. She was wearing an orange plain dress with flat shoes. Even though she was ordinary looking without make up, her beauty was captivating.
"Mary, come and see to my appearance at once. Make me look as beautiful and elegant as the Queen that I am," she said with a smile as she sat on the bed clad in only her undergarment.
"Alright, Your Majesty, My Queen," Mary said as she walked briskly to meet her.
For the next thirty minutes, she was busy dressing the queen which includes helping her put on her dress and shoes. She also did her makeup and styled her hair.
After she was done, the queen got up and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Instantly, she smiled as she was pleased with her looks.
"Thank you, Mary. I know that I can always count on you as regards my appearance for any occasion."
She glanced at the time, it was five minutes after six.
"Mary, I am set to leave. Let's be on our way. I want to get to Suvata as soon as possible," the queen said as she walked elegantly to the door.
Mary picked up the keys to the room from the table in front of the bed and followed the queen.
They both left the room and Mary locked the door behind her and ran after the queen who was almost out of the palace.
They both got outside the palace and walked to the horse-drawn carriage where Steven was already seated in front of the carriage just behind a horse.
On seeing the Queen, he quickly got down and opened the carriage door for the queen who entered and Mary also entered and sat beside her.
Steven returned to his seat and put the carriage in motion as they started on their journey.
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