Dreams and a Prince

Chapter 2- Laura/Lenora

“My lady, don’t frown like that you will ruin your face with horrible lines and you will cause us to make a mess of your makeup. Do you want the Duchess to scold or even worse she might punish us.” said Meera while trying to perfect the coat of makeup she had just applied to Laura’s face.

‘Celia,’ Laura called out softly ‘Who am I, and where am I?’

Both servants giggled again, till Celia, whom Laura calculated to be the maid in charge let out a long sigh and said “My, my, young mistress you seem to not be yourself today, I will, remind you now and anytime you ever forget, as I am always proud to. You are Lady Lenora, second born and only Daughter to the Duke and Duchess of the River lands. Also, hopefully the future Queen of our Kingdom of Athlonia, that is, if My Lady can allow us to do our jobs and turn her beauty into a masterpiece that Prince Algerone will not be able to resist.

Saying she was confused was an understatement for the river of thoughts flowing through Laura’s mind in that present moment. Lenora of the Riverlands in the Kingdom of Athlonia was a far cry from Laura Compton from New Jersey. Her mind was racing, she had no idea what her next step would be. The two maids probably already thought she was crazy and delusional or that she was just acting like a spoilt brat.

 Lenora of the Riverlands seemed to live a perfectly pampered life. She had to calculate her next steps and do so fast in order to come to a conclusion. Laura decided to pretend to be Lenora, pick it up as she goes, till she could figure out where she was and her purpose for being there or at least figure out how to get back home. If it was any consolation prize, this reality seemed to be way better than the one waiting for her back in her true reality. Besides, what harm would come from living in a fantasy?

After what seemed like hours and more maids coming in and out with dresses and different products for Lenora to try on, she was finally ready and famished. They wouldn’t let her eat anything for fear that it would ruin her perfect makeup and her beautiful dress. She was directed to a wide, floor length mirror covering one a portion of one of the walls of her room, surrounded by an intricately designed frame made of pure gold. It was long enough for her to see her whole body in. She stared in disbelief at the goddess that stared back at her. Somehow she had thought that just her consciousness was teleported to another world but was shocked to see that the person that stared back at her was a more beautiful version of Laura. Her usual long , length curly brown hair was not just longer, just past her butt, it was also shinier and looked thicker. Her big green eyes were a far cry from the red, tired looking ones that she saw the last time she looked at herself in the mirror. Tearstained cheeks were replaced by flawless olive skin and her lips highlighted by the perfect shade of pink. She had chosen a long red colored one shouldered dress which perfectly accented her slim figure all the way to her waist and then flowed Grecian style to the ground with just the perfect amount of class that made her look flawless. Her only accessories we a gold trinket covered in diamonds and rubies on the forearm of her bare hand, intricately designed diamond and gold earrings and a ruby hairclip that held her hair in place while it flowed freely down her back. She had learnt while picking her dress that red was a symbol of fertility in their kingdom and it was custom for prospective brides to wear red when being introduced to prospective husbands while for their weddings only pure white was permitted as a symbol of purity.

“My Lady, its time..”, she turned to look at Celia and Meera, visibly scared and trying her best to mask it, but her maids could see it, Meera was the first to speak up,

“All will be well My Lady, please do not be afraid, we will be with you all the way and guide you through it.”

Laura nodded her head and smiled faintly. She made the unconscious decision to tuck away Laura for the time being and confidently be Lenora so she took a deep breath and allowed them to lead her out to her destiny in this world. She could only pray for the best and that no one realized that she was an imposter. The maids had not realized by now so she figured that she was probably doing a good job by keeping quiet and being oblivious to what was going on around her.

As the maids led her out of the huge double doors making up the entrance to her chambers and down the two fights of perfectly marbled stairs she felt her nerves well up. Be confident, be confident, she chanted to herself as she always did when she needed to master up the courage to face something that overwhelmed her. The maids led her to a room where the Duke and Duchess waited to inspect their daughter before the Royals arrived.

As they opened the door, Lenora felt her pulse quicken and her eyes well up at the site she saw before her. It had been four years since her parents passed away, hit by a drunk driver on their way to pick her up from Lillian’s house, and yet here they stood in front of her, in the flesh. It took all the inner strength she could master to keep her from running up to hug them and cry her eyes out. The maids felt her tense up beside them and both looked at her reassuringly. Celia was sure her Lady was nervous as this was the most important day in her life and would determine her future. She had been groomed for this and the maid could understand her nerves perfectly. As much as she refused to admit, she too was nervous, she was so sure that her Lady Lenora would be chosen by the Prince but the process was just agony and torture. She prayed for her lady’s sake that this would be over soon.

The Duchess was the first to meet Lenora, she looked at her lovingly, just the way she remembered. She silently thought that maybe this would not be as bad as she had expected, besides she was reunited with her parents whom she missed so much. Both maids curtseyed in reverence to the Duke and Duchess. Laura bowed slightly as she had been instructed to do.

“Daughter, you look beautiful.” the Duchess said, lightly holding up her chin and still keeping that smile.

“Whatever happens today, just remember that you are still the most beautiful and well groomed young lady in the Kingdom. Taught by the best teachers our Kingdom has to offer, your intelligence is unmatched. You are a young Duchess, from the most important Duchy in the Kingdom, anyone would be lucky to marry you, especially a prince’’

“Your mother is right” the Duke added, walking towards them, we raised you to be the woman you are today so don’t let anyone take that away from you, just be yourself, don’t let today determine who you are, but it would be a spectacle to have my daughter as the future Queen of Athlonia, wouldn’t it?” he added with a laugh.

“I bet you have been dying to see your brother Caspian too, he wrote back to tell us he will be riding with the Royal entourage as he has been pardoned from his training to accompany the Prince on this momentous occasion.”

Lenora could tell that her parents were on edge, the whole Castle seemed to be a nervous wreck. Everyone was downplaying the importance of this union in order to hide their nerves and she was determined to find out what was going on, but for now she would play along. At that moment, what looked to be a messenger burst into the room heading straight to the Duke to relay a message. Just one look was all the sign the Duchess needed and she hastily walked towards Lenora holding a red lace veil that complimented her dress. Gently she held Lenora’s face and as the maid lifted the veil to cover her, the Duchess whispered,

“It is time my love.”