For Her They'd Do Anything

chapter 3

Chapter 3: Constance

Rose, my caretaker, has finally found me. She came upon Adrian and I skipping stones in the pond. We had been playing for hours, so when Rose said I had to come with her to get ready for the dinner, I went without a fuss. I had gotten my time to myself, and decided that I wasn't going to argue or run away anymore. It was time to do what I needed to do, and get ready for dinner. I follow Rose up to my room to get ready. The dress is huge and ugly. There are ruffles and frills everywhere. I am going to look ridiculous. It isn't Roses fault, of course, my mom has really bad taste in evening attire. Well, clothes in general, when it comes to me and Giles, anyway. I wish she would just let me choose what I want to wear. Maybe I will talk to her about it later. I put the dress on, only muttering my disgust a couple of times, all of which Rose agreed with me and apologized about making me wear this atrocity. I explain to her that it isn't her fault at all, she didn't pick it out for me. I ask her what the dinner is for.

"I'm not sure miss, your father has General Andrew Lacy here, along with his son, whom you have already met. Maybe there is something happening that he needs to meet with them?" She said as she tried to pin some of the ruffles away from my feet. The dress is too long, she doesn't want me to trip.

"Maybe, or maybe its just to catch up. They haven't been here for a while." Rose finished with my dress and it actually looked a little better. I thank her and head towards the dinning room. When I get there, my mom gets a big, bright smile on her face.

"Oh Connie, you look amazing in that! Don't you just love how the ruffles flow while you walk? I want to keep this image in my mind forever!" My mom, gets up from where she sits, and walks over to me. She grabs me in a tight hug.

"Mom, this dress is too much, there are way too many ruffles and frills on this thing. I feel like I'm a walking circus freak. Next time, can I please pick out the dresses? I really don't like them with too many ruffles."

"Oh, I thought you'd like them. You've never complained about them before."

"Well, I didn't want to hurt your feelings, Mom, but I like dresses that are easier to run around in and play in."

"They are gowns, sweetheart, you aren't supposed to run around and play in them. That is what your everyday clothes are for. These are for special occasions, and are to be worn with care."

"Mom, I still look like a complete fool in this thing, whether its for play or for dinner. I don't want to look like some doll who hardly gets taken off the shelf. I want to look nice, but not lost in the dress."

"Okay, maybe next time, you can come with me and show me what kind of dresses you like then? Will that make you feel better?"

"Yes Mom, that would make me feel better. And maybe we can come to an agreement on a limit of ruffles? Some would be ok, but this thing has about a hundred at least. There's so many, Rose had to pin some up."

"Okay, well let's just get through tonight with it, and then we will go to the seamstress in the morning, okay?" Mom grabs my hand and holds it gently in front of her, hoping I will agree to this and not make any more fuss.

"Alright Mom, that sounds like a grand idea. We can go together tomorrow, I will wear this one tonight. And then you will know what kinds of dresses I like and not get me these ones, right?"

"Right. I will stick to ones that you like from now on, and maybe you will get ready in a timely manner and not fight with Rose about them then?"

"I didn't really fight with her, I just ran away from her. Then I went and played with a boy at the pond. He showed me how to skip rocks properly, and we also fed the birds there. One of the ducklings ended up following him around and attached to his behind. It was hilarious."

"Oh?" She asked, raising her brow, "which boy would that be now?"

"His name is Adrian, he said he's the General's son. He's really nice, Mom. You should have seen him with the babies, he took such good care of them. He made sure each one was held and fed some of the crumbs. He even named a few of them haha."

"He sounds nice, dear. Is it the boy sitting next to the General?"

I look across the room at the table, he is indeed the boy sitting there. He is joking around with his father, about what, I cannot tell. He looks over at me and smiles and waves. I smile and wave back. "Yeah, Mom, he is the boy beside General Andrew. Doesn't he look like a nice boy?"

"I suppose, I wonder what your father will think of this development. Knowing him, he's probably making arrangements of some sort with the boys father. What did you say his name is again? I am just terrible with names hun."

"Haha, his name is Adrian, Mom. Heck, you even forget my name sometimes, and you chose it!"

"It isn't that I forget your name, sweetheart, it's that I have so many names running through my head, it's sometimes a little hard to keep track of who I am talking to at the moment. I try to keep track of everyone's names, from the workers in the castle, to at least all of the elderly and adult people in the kingdom. The children, they are a little harder to keep track of. Most of them look the same to me, though, I am not quite sure why, honestly."

"Maybe because you focus on the people you interact with the most? You talk to the adults and elderly people on a daily basis, helping them when they need it and just checking up on them when they come by. I mean, we do have thousands of subjects, and I know you keep track of them pretty good. But still, to call me Giles, well that's just ridiculous, Mom. He isn't even talking yet."

"I don't know, maybe its a Mom thing. My mom would get me mixed up with my siblings too. I couldn't tell you how many times she has called me your Aunt Vallerie's name. And she has red curly hair, whereas mine is blonde." She tugs at her golden locks, that are up in a fancy style, while she looks over at her husband at the head of the table. "Oh, maybe we should go sit dear, your father is gesturing for us to join them."

I follow my mom to the table. It is a huge table, that can seat at least 30 people, 40 if we squish them in. I sit down at my normal seat, next to Giles. He smiles at me and blubbers while holding out his hand filled with peas. He goes to wipe it on my dress, and I almost let him. Then I remember that Mom expects me to act like a lady, and so I grab his hand and place it back on his plate. He grins at me again and I coo at him. I just love my baby brother, he is so sweet. Maybe I will take him for a walk later on.

My father clears his throat. "Connie, I saw you playing with young Adrian here, at the pond earlier. Did you two have fun?"

We both glance at each other and nod our heads at the same time. "Yes, father, we skipped rocks and fed the birds. We also took a little swim in the pond. Is that ok?"

"Yes honey, that is quite fine. You two seem to have hit it off, so I invited Adrian to come over as often as he likes and keep you from terrorizing the staff. General Andrew, here, thinks it's a marvelous idea and has agreed to bring him as often as he can. Shame we didn't start this years ago, but we honestly didn't think about it."

"Oh, that will be fun, Dad! I can show him my room and what I do throughout the castle!"

"Okay, but no annoying the staff, got it? No pranks, no pestering, and no fighting, okay?"

"Oh, I suppose, though you just took about half of my favorite things to do off the list. It's funny when they get all flustered."

"Yeah, see? That's why you need to stop."

"Fine, as long as Adrian is here, I won't bother them."

"You should probably stop even if Adrian isn't here, dear." My Mom chimes in, with a grin on her face.

"Nah, they'd get bored and lonely if I didn't bother them. Honestly, I am pretty sure most of them like it when I come visit. Also, I do help them when I can, and I like learning about their lives and what they do. They are so interesting."

"Oh, now see, I just thought you were torturing them with pranks all the time, I will ask the staff to see if what you said is the truth or not." Dad nods his head in agreement, and goes back to talking to the General. They are basically whispering, so I can't really tell what they are discussing. Adrian nudges my foot from under the table. I smile back at him, and he drops his spoon onto the floor.

"Oh, let me help you get that Adrian," I say as I duck under the table.

"Oi, I thought he was going to yell at us for playing around the pond, I didn't think he'd actually like us interacting with each other."

"Yeah, he's actually pretty mild with me. He doesn't really care what I do as long as I behave and get my duties done. In my free time, I can do whatever I want most of the time. I am surprised he invited you over a good bit, though."

"Yeah, me too. I think it's a cool idea though, I get to come here and have fun with you. Beats being bored at home or doing chores all day just to keep from falling asleep."

"Yeah, I guess." I say as I grab his spoon and hand it to him.

My mom pokes her head under the table, "You two about done under here, you've been down here for about fifteen minutes!"

I pull myself up from under the table, blushing a little because of how we lost track of time, "Sorry Mom, we were just discussing what we were going to do next time Adrian comes over." Adrian, who's hair is puffed up from the table cloth, causing me to flatten mine, nods his head in agreement. I signal for him to flatten his hair down, and he does so with no problems.

After dinner, I head to my room to get ready for bed. It didn't last too long, I suppose. I was finally free of that gown by 10 pm. Thank god, that thing was horrible. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, not that I have any.