Chapter 50

Chapter 50
Queen Jasmine pondered on what color of outfit to wear to the Tree Park. She wanted to wear what she felt would add to her confidence. She thought of purple, as she loved putting on purple colored dresses on rare occasions. Whenever she wanted to look daring and audacious. Coming to a conclusion on what to wear, she called out to Cara who was already making her way out of the room.

“Please, get me my purple colored dress” Queen Jasmine said to Cara as she left the room.

“Okay, your highness” Cara called back as she shut the door.

“Hmmm, purple, I wonder what the occasion is, '' Cara thought out while walking down to the maidens’ room.

A thought came across her mind and Cara thought long and hard as she hurried back to her room. On getting to the maidens' room, she stopped just by her room door. She looked up at the wall clock just above her head, to check what the time was and saw that it was past 10. It was way too early for anyone to go to the park. Could the Queen really be planning on going there by this time? No, it couldn't be, why would Queen Jasmine wish to go early knowing that she could get caught. Everyone in this park knows that they are not to go to the Tree Park by this time. Asides the risk of being caught, there's the danger of the Tree Park; being prone to fake witches, prophecies and soothsayers. Cara thought as she opened the door to her room. Getting in, she saw that her roommate was yet to get dressed.

Her roommate had dozed off on the couch, underdressed. She quickly walked to her and tapped her impatiently.

“Huh? What?” Her roommate replied groggily from underneath her blanket. She still needed to get some sleep as she was awake all night preparing some meals for Becca and Rose.
She was really tired and here was Cara trying to wake her up.

“Really? By this time!” Cara chided her. “What exactly do you think you're doing? I shouldn't always be the one to wake you up!" Cara said, pointing at her in anger.

“You are aware you work in the palace and because of that, you should know better than to still be in bed this long, like you would if you were in your parent's house” Cara kept on. She had had about enough with her roommate. Every morning she would have to be her roommate's personal time keeper and alarm. Cara wondered how one could have worked in a place for more than 3 years and still not get used to the system of operation.

Her roommate remained unmoved even upon her warning.

“The Queen intends to go out and we are to get her purple colored dress ready” Cara said, hoping her roommate would get up at the mention of the Queen.

Her roommate only transited her sleeping position from sitting to lying on the bed. She stretched out on the bed and quickly adjusted her pillows with her eyes closed and turned to the other side before replying.

“The purple colored dress. Is it not that long flowing dress that has a flare at the end?” she asked drowsily. Curving her body and squeezing the blanket tighter as she spoke.

“Yes, that one” Cara replied, as a matter of fact.

“Just check, I think that one should be ready. I had picked some clothes and prepared them in case of any possible outing this morning” Her roommate said.

“Okay" Cara replied and left her roommate to go check. She slides from one cloth to another, hoping to find it in that particular wardrobe.

Unable to find it, she walked back to her roommate. “I can't find it, are you sure you prepared that particular dress?”

“It's supposed to be there, I did a purple…” She paused to think. “Oh! It was the other one I prepared, the knee length dress.” Groaning, she added, "You could just give her that one, after all she didn't specify. Or did she? They are both purple”

Cara shook her head, knowing she couldn't possibly give the Queen that one.

The Queen had a purple colored knee length dress but she doesn't fancy it or wear it anymore. She only wore it once for an event and both her and the King had returned to the palace, looking unhappy, especially the King. The Queen was on the King's suit jacket and as Cara had looked on, she noticed that the dress had now developed a new split at the back, along the seam. The split ran from the bottom to the top, just above her thighs, underneath her butt. Queen Jasmine had walked hastily with her head lowered. She was feeling embarrassed and the King had walked slowly behind her, anything to help cover her shame.
As soon as they had gotten to the King's room, they had discussed for a while before bursting into laughter. The laughter kept on for another 20 minutes in between small talks and probably jokes, before the King ordered that a new set of clothes be brought to the Queen.


Cara, on remembering how the slit had happened, soon began laughing. It was definitely a funny one.

“ It was when I and the King were dancing that it happened. The king wanted us to do a particular dance and wow the audience, since the spotlight was on us. He said it was just ‘pure entertainment', what would give the crowd a laugh and I obliged.” Queen Jasmine gave a short mocking laughter before continuing. “Although, I equally warned him against it before we started but he didn't listen. Just two minutes into the dance and guess what?! It slit open, in front of everyone!” She said, shaking her head in shame and disbelief.

“It was the most crazy moment on a dance floor," Queen Jasmine continued. " The only good thing was that the King's hand was below my waist in the course of the dance. That's what stopped it from splitting all the way up.” She said, wincing as she tried to imagine what would have become of her if it had gotten to that point and if the King had decided not to go to the dance floor with his suit jacket.
At the end of Queen Jasmine's story, they had both burst into laughter. It was indeed a funny one.

Recollecting herself, Cara went one more time to her roommate and tapped her again. This time, she meant business. “Get up!" She ordered.

On hearing the tone of Cara's voice, her roommate turned on the bed, grunting.

Looking at Cara, she murmured. “Can't you just get the other maids, must I be the one to work with you?"

Cara didn't see the need to reply to this. She only shot her a death stare. Her roommate is quite aware that only the four of them get to work on the Queen's dresses. One was in the kitchen and the other was taking orders from the King. Yet, her roommate still felt the need to ask her silly questions.

Seeing the look Cara gave her, she immediately pushed the blanket off and made to get up. She could sense that Cara was no longer joking and if she didn't get up at that moment, she would be reported to the King and also be in a serious problem with the Queen for not getting her outfit ready. Getting up from the bed reluctantly, she blinked her eyes open and she stretched, yawning sleepily. As soon as her two legs touched the rug, she stood up and checked the clockwatch just beside her bed and hissed. “It was just 10:30!” She was quite aware that Queen Jasmine never goes out by this time.
What's the hurry? She wondered.
Wearing a long frown and staggered to the bathroom to sprinkle some water on her face.

Returning, she went straight to the wardrobe and tried looking for the cloth herself. “Why are you not here?” she said to no one in particular.

I haven't even gotten enough rest, I was just busy cooking this one and that one, like there was going to be a big party. Look at how quiet this palace is this morning, no occasion. Yet, they made me stay up all night. I wonder if it's that they can't cook or they just wanted to punish me. I just wish the food that they kept under their bed would just topple over. They couldn't even ask politely, just ordering someone around. That's why I prefer the Queen to the two of them. I even thought Becca was better but between her and Rose there was no difference! She thought, enraged. She went on and on, fuming and fuming.

Cara stood shocked by her roommate's confession. She wondered if her roommate knew how loud she was.

Cara couldn't wrap her head around the cooking part. She couldn't think of the right reason Becca and Rose would have asked that a meal be prepared and then be hidden under their beds? That makes no sense.

Returning her attention to her roommate, who was still going on and on and getting more red by the moment. Cara cleared her throat noisily in order to help the girl not to explode with anger and to equally make her hasten up.

Her roommate quickly remembered that she had limited time and hurried to the next wardrobe, she finally saw it and heaved a sigh of relief. “Finally” she muttered.

She took the dress to Cara and they both took their time ironing the dress, while chatting and laughing. In the next thirty minutes the dress should be ready. They wanted to add some pedals and stones to the dress as well as extra attachments at the waist area and neck area. They still needed to work on her shoes as well as the accessories she'd wear. They had to be done in the next thirty to forty minutes.