Who Is She

There are rumors that there's a cursed child in the Pennington family...

Emmeranne awoke from her slumber and stretched her arms. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she looked around her room and saw that her maids had taken her jewelry again. This wasn't the first time they had taken it, but it still annoyed her. She knew better than to keep much on her person--the maids always took her jewelry and sometimes her money.

She sighed; this was just another example of the maids looking down on her as if she was less than them. But Emmeranne knew she was a better person. The maids only wanted the best for their positions in the castle, while she had to take care of her own needs. They knew better than to disobey or speak to her, though. Emmeranne was a woman of importance and would be treated as such. So, she waited patiently for her maids to arrive.

She would let them think they had won this round. She had more tricks up her sleeve than they realized. She may be young but she knew what they truly thought of her. She would be the richest woman in the kingdom, and they would have to serve her.

It took a long time but her maids, Eleanor and Ophelia, made their way into her room. "Good morning, My Lady." Eleanor mumbled. “Good morning,” Emmeranne said.

"How are you today, My Lady?" Ophelia said as she made her way towards Emmeranne’s closet. "I'm doing fine, thank you." Emmeranne replied.

Emmeranne could see the way her eyes practically shined at the sight of her dresses. They were Emmeranne’s favorite dresses. The long satin dresses with the cinched waistline, the skirts with the elaborate puffed sleeves, and the high necklines. They made her feel like a queen, like a princess. They made her feel beautiful, beautiful enough for a king.

Guinevere told her often that she had the beauty to be one when they played in the garden. Emmeranne never believed her. She was beautiful, she knew that, but not to the extent that Guinevere was. She used to ask Guinevere what she would change if she could, but she never got an answer.

Emmeranne's maid, Ophelia, had excellent taste in clothes. She found a stunning red dress for her employer to wear - a deep, rich wine color that would look amazing with Emmeranne's black hair. That was one of the things Emmeranne liked best about her maids. Ophelia might be greedy, but she always chose the most beautiful dresses for Emmeranne. "Thank you for picking this out for me, Ophelia," she said, walking towards her maid. "Of course, My Lady," Ophelia replied.

The ten-year-old girl was dressed in Eleanor's clothes and Ophelia styled her hair into a lady's hairstyle. They walked with her to the large dining room where her mother and father were already seated. The walls were painted a deep red color and the table had a large white cloth on top of it. 10 large chairs were placed around the table, 4 on each side, 1 for the head of the family, and 1 at the back. Emmeranne’s mother looked up from her plate and her older sister, Guinevere, smiled at her. Her father didn’t seem to notice.

“You’re late,” their mother announced.

“I’m sorry,” Emmeranne lied.

“Sit down,” her mother demanded.

Emmeranne complied and Eleanor placed a plate of food in front of her. She stared down at it and her stomach growled.

“Eat,” her father said.

Emmeranne looked up at him and then back down at her plate. She slowly started to eat. She could feel her sister’s eyes on her.

“What?” she mouthed.

“Your dress is beautiful,” Guinevere mouthed back.

Emmeranne smiled and continued to eat. When she was finished, she pushed her plate away and leaned back in her chair.

“Are you finished?” her mother asked.

“Yes,” Emmeranne replied.

“Good,” her mother said. “You can go to your room now.”

Emmeranne got up from her chair and walked out of the room. When she got to her room, she dismissed her maids. She went to her bed and laid down. She stared up at the ceiling and thought about her life. She hated it. She hated being a lady. She hated wearing dresses. She hated not being able to do anything she wanted. She wished she could just run away and never come back.

But she couldn't do that to Guinevere. If Guinevere had found out she ran away, she would be devastated. "Ophelia," She called out.

The young lady quickly came into her room. "Yes, my lady?" She forced a smile onto her face. "I want some sweets. Get them quickly, not like last week when you took 15 minutes in getting them." Emmeranne turned to her side. "Yes, my lady." Ophelia muttered before she left the room.

Soon it would be time for Emmeranne to have tea with Guinevere. They had planned this tea party for months, just the two of them. Guinevere had told her that she had a truely funny story to tell. A smile creeped up to her face. She couldn't wait.