Running from the Throne

"Princess Armenia, the Queen is asking for you," The servant announced from the arch of her doorway.

"What does she want now?" The Princess groaned from her large canopy bed that could fit 7 people in it, not including her. She was splayed out cross the thick red velvet blanket, her curly brown hair a tangled mess, and her snowy white nightgown entangled around her.

"I do not know, Your Highness," The servant answered, "She did not tell me."

"Well tell my Mother that I'm not dressed yet," Princess Armenia ordered the servant. Her voice was bitter. "So if she wants to talk to me, she can get off that throne and come up here herself."

"Her Majesty would not like that, Your Highness," The servant politely argued. "I do think she would be most displeased in your behavior."

"I don't give a damn about what 'Her Majesty' thinks of my behavior, Lina!" The Princess snapped and slid off the bed and into a sitting position on the floor.

Lina gasped. Princess, Proper Ladies, Queens, and all proper females weren't supposed to swear. "Your Highness--you said--" She stuttered, her green eyes wide.

"Yes, I said damn, Lina!" Princess Armenia snarled. "Get over it!"

"But it's against the r-rules, Your Highness," Lina stammered, lightly protesting.

"Do you think I care about the rules?" Princess Armenia threw her arms up in the air in a gesture of exasperation. "Of all people, do you think I would care about those stupid rules!?"

"N-no, your Highness," Lina gulped and fiddled nervously with her faded red servant's gown. It was patched in several places and ragged. Most Princesses, Queens, and Proper Ladies would despise it, or look at it with an expression of disgust, but not Princess Armenia. She would much rather wear a servant's gown instead of the tight, uncomfortable, and hard-to-manuever-in, dresses and gowns she was forced to wear.

"Good. I'm glad you finally understand that. Now go, and tell my Mother that if she wants to speak with me, then she will have to come up here!" She waved Lina away with her arm.

Lina didn't budge. "Your Highness, you know Her Majesty will not come up here. Instead, she will send guards to come and drag you down to the Throne Room. That would be humiliating, wouldn't it?"

Princess Armenia sighed and stood up. "Fine, I'll go." She started to walk to the door, still dressed in her nightgown, and her hair still uncombed and tangled.

"Your Highness, it would be much better if I at least combed your hair, and possibly change out of your nightgown?'

Princess Armenia paused, then sighed again and turned back around. "I suppose so, Lina." She walked back to the vanity and sat down in the cushioned chair in front of it. Lina walked over and grabbed the brush on the smooth oak surface of the vanity, and began gently raking it through the Princess's hair.

Once the tangles were all gone, Lina pulled it into a delicate bun. "There, Your Highness. Would you like me to pick out a gown for you?"

"No, no, I'll do it," Princess Armenia decided and rushed over to her wardrobe before Lina could protest. She opened up the dark wooden doors and shifted through the many gowns and dresses, until she came to a loose red gown. She pulled it off of its hanger and went behind the curtains that blocked her dressing area from the rest of her large room.

"Do you want me to lace up your corset, Your Highness?" Lina questioned from beside the vanity.

"No. There will be no corset," Princess Armenia responded curtly. She stepped out into the open a few seconds later. The red gown clung to her in a beautiful, elegant way, but Princess Armenia's mother wouldn't approve. The sleeves went down a bit past her elbows, and then tightened. The waist was tucked in by a golden rope belt, and the gown stopped a little past halfway between her knees and feet. It had grown a bitt small over the years, but it remained Princess Armenia's favorite gown, and she wore it frequently.

"You look marvelous, Your Highness," Lina remarked with a kind smile.

"Thank you, Lina," She thanked the servant, and then frowned. "Now, if only my Mother thought that..."

"Well, it's best we get going, now," Lina informed the Princess, and then gestured towards the open door that led into the corridor. Princess Armenia groaned and slipped on her deer skin and rabbit fur slippers, and then shuffled reluctantly out the door and down the corridor.

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After several flights of stairs and a few more corridors, Princess Armenia and Lina were in the corridor that led straight to the Throne Room. "Here we go," The Princess muttered under her breath as she came within ten feet of the large, grand dark oak doors that were the entrance to the Throne Room.

"Good luck, Your Highness," Lina whispered with a good-natured smile, and stepped back to let Princess Armenia enter alone.

The Princess reached out and grasped the shiny gold handle in one hand. She paused and looked at Lina. "Please, Lina, call me Armenia."

"Okay...Armenia," Lina beamed. It was a real priviledge to get to call the queen or Princess by their real name, not 'Her Majesty', 'Your Highness', or 'Your Majesty'.

"And you will be my Lady In Waiting, as of now."

"Yes, Armenia!" Lina could barely contain her excitement.

"Now...to enter Hell," Armenia snarled under her breath and pulled open the door.

Will be continued in the next chapter! Hope you like it!