Chapter 7: The Crafty Lord Kenric
The morning sunlight entered the room through the open window along with the nice morning breeze that made Annalise pull the covers closer to her body.
She slowly opened her eyes when she heard someone knocking on the door and as her eyes settled on her surroundings, she realized where she was. It was no longer her bedroom in the Grand Duke’s mansion. Instead, it was her new bedroom in the Cursed Castle.
Removing the covers, she sat up on the bed and hurriedly fixed her clothes and hair before standing up and moving towards the door to open it. The knocking stopped the very moment she opened her eyes and as she peered outside the door, she found no one there.
Her confused eyes searched the hallway and the staircase but there was no one except the usual darkness that was filling the entire castle. Letting out a small sigh, she walked down the stairs to the ground floor in search of some water to freshen up.
The castle was almost as dark as it was during the night and it made things harder for her as she had no idea where she was supposed to head. She was standing at the foot of the staircase when the front door of the castle opened, bringing a huge amount of sunlight inside the castle.
"Your Highness." Sera was immediately by Annalise’s side followed by two other maids who were carrying buckets of water. All three stopped a few feet in front of the Princess before bowing in greeting.
Annalise smiled softly as she looked at Sera before she spoke in a serious tone, "Don’t address me with the royal title anymore. I’m now married to the Lords. You all have to keep this in mind."
"Yes, my Lady." The three maids replied with another bow before they all followed behind Annalise to her room.
Sera helped Annalise in washing up and getting ready along with the other two maids who made a second trip to bring the trunks that were carrying clothes and jewelry.
Sera chose a simple but beautiful baby pink colored dress with fine needlework on the hem and cuffs of the dress. Sera next helped in adjusting the shoulder veil that made the dress look a hundred times more beautiful.
She styled Annalise’s long platinum blue hair in a simple braid with a few loose strands left that caressed her cheeks. Inserting a few pearl hairpins in the braid, she completed the look.
Annalise wasn’t a fan of heavy makeup, so she only allowed Sera to apply the moisturizing solution on her face and a light pink lipstick. Finalizing the look with a pair of simple pearl earrings and matching rings, she was ready to meet her husbands and the servants and guards from the Grand Duke’s mansion.