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Weeks go by and Aurora is getting used to her morning routines but they had changed a bit, Caspian was never there when she was in his chambers.

She had not seen him for a while and was happy that he wasn't accosting her anymore, he probably saw it was a lost cause to try and pursue her.

There was no news from Constance, and the last time she had heard about her was from rumors speculating that she was not getting better by the day.

All the maids were extra cautious as they did not want to catch it.

They were called by Madam Beatrice and they all stood there,

"I called you all here as this weekend we will be hosting a banquet, as you know uniforms are going to be provided for you all. Let me revise the rules..............."

After two hours they were finally done and dismissed, all the maids were chatting amongst themselves and there was so much excitement in the air.

She was also excited, it meant they would be eating well as there would be lots of food, and there would be extra pay, she was running out of candles.

"We get to eat well, the heavens finally heard our prayers." Said Agnes.

"We get to bath and wear decent clothes." Evelyn chimed in excitedly.

"Hallelujah to that," Lucy added.

"We get to listen to good music and performances," Ella added.

"Maybe we could find ourselves, rich suitors." Barbara joked.

They all laughed as they knew the prospects of that happening were not even in their wildest dreams as maidens from prospective families would be there.

"We will finally get to see this Apollo you serve," Ida remarked.

"Finally!" They all replied excitedly.

This banquet was very important as it was hosted for the Prince to meet his future bride and it would bring the two kingdoms together and nothing could go wrong.

The day of the banquet came and the palace courts where it was taking place were marred with flowers and decorations, food was being prepared and the air of excitement could not be contained.

When it was four in the afternoon all the maids went to the special place that was assigned to them to scrub and get dressed.

They were all so happy when they found special soap and rose scents for them. It took an hour for all of them to be dressed in the same uniform, the air was tied and they were ready to serve.

Aurora and the other few maids were called over by Madam Beatrice,

"I called you all over as you will be tending to the tables and elites that you assigned to with your everyday duties."

"Don't let me down." Madam Beatrice was stern.

"Yes, Madam." They all responded.

Aurora would be seeing Caspian soon, she went to the kitchen and saw the table assigned to her and there were so many jugs but she had memorized it all and was ready.

They all stood to one side, hands clasped together and heads bowed when introductions were being called out and the royals took their place on their assigned seats.

It was taking so long and her neck was hurting so much,

"Oh hail the magnificent and pristine Prince Caspian and his maiden guest Princess Nadia from Gloucester."

Aurora felt as if someone had thrown a bucket of cold ice bucket of water on her, Caspian the Caspian she served as in the prince.

How had she not known this? Why had Madam Beatrice not told her? This was not known knowledge as to who the Prince was and it was only a few who knew.

It was all her fault for not doing research as to who he was, Aurora had of course known that he held an important position but not that high.

To make it worse she had to serve the Princess too, and one mistake and death would be her punishment.

She stopped herself from trembling, pull it together she thought. They were all called over to begin serving,

Aurora took her jug and went over to Caspian's table her heartbeat was wild, she was sure it would pop out of her chest.

She carefully got up there and filled Caspian's cup and then Nadia's cup. They were in conversation and they seemed to be enamored with each other.

Caspian did not even spare a glance towards her, his eyes were glued on his future bride and she could see why.

Long rich black hair, and blue eyes, and her face was pure perfection. She had never seen such a beauty in her life before.

She went back and blended in with the other maids and workers, once in a while she and her friends would spare each other glances.

Aurora tried not to stare but there were so many people and the music was very loud, she could see Caspian flashing his biggest smile and knew he was not faking it, he definitely was smitten with her.

She had made a few rounds to their table, replenished their glasses with wine, and served some platters.

Pork, beef, venison, grapes, chicken everything was on the menu, toasts were made on behalf of Caspian and Nadia's union.

Hours had passed and she took the tray with sweet delicacies and went up to their table, she placed the platter down, and as she was going back upright something went past her head swiftly.

She froze and when she looked up it was a dagger that had been planted on the wooden wall above her,

Her hair cascaded all over her and heard claps and whistles and hollering, she realized that the dagger had cut off her hair tie that was holding her hair.

"Brilliant Richard you certainly have an sharp eye site to be so precise."

Aurora was surprised as to how they could just callously play with her life so easily. She was just the unlucky one to serve them and they obviously wanted to impress Caspian.

Her hair was now out of control,

"Here."

Aurora turned to Prince Caspian as he held her hair tie for her to take. Aurora did not know if she was imagining it but it seemed as if Caspian was looking at her, really looking at her. It was the first time he had noticed her. She took the hair tie,

"Thank you, My Lord."

Aurora went to the bathroom that was assigned to them today she clutched her chest and her heart was beating wildly.

That had definitely frightened her, she pulled her hair back and tied it up. She took deep breaths and slipped back into the banquet unnoticed and stood by the shadows once more.

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