The Queen's Handmaiden

Mischief Managed

The queen coughed as all the attention went from the dysfunctional couple in the middle of the ballroom to herself. Jane-Anne saw the looks she was receiving and recoiled from the Prince's arms like he had burned her.

Without any delay, the royal guard announced loudly, “Our Majesty, the Queen has an announcement to be made.”

As the Queen took a deep breath, Jane-Anne took the opportunity to make her way out of the ballroom. The action caught a certain Duke's eye, who winked at her as she hustled past him.

The Queen spoke gracefully, “Good evening and Welcome, guests of the kingdom. Your King and I are pleased to receive you all, like every year. I hope everyone has been enjoying the night as it is now time for the official announcement that everyone has been waiting for.”

Richard made his way to stand by his father's side, who did not even glance at him, making his heart sink at the thought of the consequences of his actions, especially on the handmaiden. The queen gave a tiny formal smile and announced, “Ladies, Princesses, and Gentlemen of this kingdom and the guests, with this midnight clock, the annual Seasonal Festival has begun and will continue over the next week, in hopes of all the bachelors finding suitable partners for life. This year I proudly announce that my only son, Prince Richard Petyr Tyrell, heir of the Kingdom of Soubara, second of his name, will also be looking for a wife and the future Queen of Soubara Kingdom.”

There was an excited hush at the information as Richard felt all eyes on him. This announcement was the reason why he didn't want to dance with anyone yet. He thought again of Jane-Anne and the trouble he had put her in selfishly.

The Queen ended the announcement with, “The chaperones with their eligibles will get the instructions for the days to come before breakfast tomorrow. Rest for the night, Good night.” Everyone in the ballroom bowed as the King and Queen left, followed by the prince.

Jane-Anne paced around her small cot, the maid whom she had called mother since she lost her real one, slept peacefully in the small room next to hers. Jane couldn't bring herself to wake Martha up and tell her about the blunder that had happened. The worst part was that it had felt amazing. To be held like that and treated like a china doll, was every common girl's dream and she lived it.

But now she had no idea about what was headed her way. The thought of any possible punishment after so many years spent well, gave her goosebumps, and not in a positive way.

That is when she heard some guards' armor coming near. Knowing well whom they were coming for, she quickly and quietly went outside to meet them halfway, to not wake the old head-maid up. The pair of guards surprisingly hadn't come to escort her to the dungeons, instead, they had been sent to bring her to the queen's chambers. Jane silently went with them, for whatever headed her way was her own doing.

It must've started with that conversation in the garden. Her sixth sense had been nagging her to not befriend the Prince, but he had come back a different man from the academy and she had liked it. Now she wasn't so sure if she liked the change. She had no idea what type of man he had become now and she had allowed him to bring her to a very unwanted spotlight on a very important occasion.

The guards stopped outside as Jane was told to enter alone. She took a deep breath and entered the chamber, only to overhear the prince begging the queen for something, “Mother, please!”

What was he pleading for? She didn't catch it because the King, Queen, and Prince quietened down as soon as her presence was made known. She bowed deeply and did not dare raise her head.

The queen spoke to her husband and son, “It's time for me to go to bed, we shall discuss the rest over breakfast.” The king got up to go to the bath chambers attached to the bedroom, where a man-servant awaited to help him through his nightly routine.

Richard sighed as he looked at Jane-Anne who still wore the dress from the ball. He tried one last time, “Mother dear-”

Without glancing at him, the queen bid, “Good night, Richie. See you in the morning.”

He knew the discussion was over. He walked over to Jane and stopped for a second before his mother coughed as an indication for him to keep going, so he quietly left after a little, “Good night, Mother.”

Jane-Anne could hear her heart beating in her chest, she felt like either she would explode or the vein in her temple would. She stood still with her head bowed, eyes fixed on her shoes as the silence almost became fatal. The queen finally spoke, “Anne, how long do you intend to stand there? I can barely breathe in this corset and you know it!”

Jane's eyes shot up as she saw the glimpse of a tiny, almost negligible smile at the corner of the queen's otherwise bare face.

The queen turned around to allow Jane to undo the lace tied at her back, “Well?”

Jane snapped herself out of the shock, “Yes, Your Highness!” and rushed over to do the daily nightly routine that she had been going over with the queen since she was sixteen. For a second of silence, Jane had so many thoughts about the reaction to her dance. Was this the last thing she did before being killed off secretly or had the queen become overly generous and forgiven and forgotten her blunder already? She got her answer when the queen spoke next.

“So what do you think about the princess from Kingdom Brocia?” Jane stopped for a second to rethink if she was seriously not going to talk about the elephant in the room. But the queen genuinely seemed to want to know about Princess Clarissa Campbell.

"The princess was nicer than most ladies at the ball."

Jane took a deep breath and began her observations as she helped the queen into her sleeping robes.

Once the water sound from the bath stopped, indicating that the king was done and would be soon out, the Queen finally faced Jane and began very seriously, “Jane-Anne, I still remember the day we were first introduced.”

Jane held her breath, this was what she had been waiting for, the inevitable. She was expecting any form of punishment but not what the queen said next, “Thank you for reminding Richard of that. He told me what you made him realize tonight in the rose garden.”

Jane's eyes got wider, so the garden endeavor was also known, which meant the punishment would be harder. But she couldn't fathom why the queen was thanking her so seriously.

“You reconciled my son with me. We finally know what the little hindrance was that wouldn't let us become a happy family. Once again, you brought happiness in our lives in the most unexpected way and time.”

The words were genuine and so was the gentle smile that adorned the aging queen's face. Jane blinked at the turn of events and bowed, returning the queen's smile, “There is nothing to thank Your Majesty. It was my duty.”

“Very well, off you go before the king comes out and sees you still here.”

Jane hesitated, she wasn't sure if everything was as fine as the queen made it out to be. Were they only pretending to be upset in front of the guests? If so, what was the prince pleading for? Why wouldn't the queen hear him? So many questions and she could ask none, so she quickly bowed and turned to leave. Maybe she could get away so easily, but just as she reached the chamber doors, the Queen called with a smile in her tone,

“We know why he pulled the stunt that he did with you tonight. It doesn't mean that we are okay with it.”

Jane's heart skipped a beat, she turned around and bowed her head, “Your Highness, I didn't-”

“The King will need a bit more persuasion than I did for everything to go back to how it was. Until then, try to stay away from Richard, will you?”

To say Jane was surprised would be an understatement, but she was extremely glad to be let off so easily. She nodded quickly and turned around to leave with, “Of course, Your Highness. Good night!”

“Oh, and one last thing dear.” The Queen called again, making Jane stop and face her once more, “Keep observing and reporting to me about the ladies and princesses. You will be joining us at the introductions brunch in the morning.”

Jane could do nothing but curtsy and nod, “Yes, your highness!”

After which she was finally allowed to leave and rest for the night. Jane-Anne left the Queen's chambers with a light heart. Instead of a punishment that she was expecting, she had received a thank you, with the only condition of staying away from the Prince, whom she had no intention of staying in the vicinity anyway.

That last part, though, was going to prove difficult when Jane saw the Prince himself blocking her only path towards her maid's cottage, with a three-candled candelabra in hand and no one else in sight.