The lady who walked in was a tall, beautiful older woman with graying hair. She was dressed in long robes of lime green with dark red jewellery. Her expression was stern and regal as she strolled into the room. Two guards also entered and took their place by the large door.
"Ladies," her voice was clear and authoritative, "I am here on behalf of the ruling queen, her majesty the unyielding."
There was stillness and silence in the room that Cassandra had never been a part of before, but she could understand it. Suddenly, she felt like she was close to every lady on her side of the room where they stood in fear of their queen.
The older woman had also paused as though to let the magnitude of her words sink in. Why she had bothered to bring in the guards, Cassandra did not know. No one would dare to speak what they pleased or defy this older woman even a little after what she had declared.
The reigning queen was a ruthless and harsh woman who had a volatile mind and did whatever she pleased with no questions asked. It was often said that the people closest to her lived between life and death every second. They were given the most luxurious gifts and houses but when their favour would turn was unknown to them.
Cassandra watched as the older woman slowly walked closer to the waiting group of women.
Why did her father want to be in such a suffocating and scary place, Cassandra wondered. But she had no doubt he would survive and thrive here. Duke Heartrianne was a terrifying man himself and calculated every opportunity without any effort. He was truly one of the most intelligent and savvy men Cassandra knew and it ached that this call to the queen's palace was the only chance she would ever have to make him look at her with anything other than contempt and the look he reserved for people he saw as stupid and worthless.
Cassandra met the eyes of the older woman who was scanning each young woman with critical, quick eyes.
Slowly bowing her head to show she was subservient, Cassandra held perfect eye contact to show that she knew she was worth being there. She had seen her father do this among the palace courtiers many times and it had always impressed them.
The older woman in the green robes and the graying hair stared at her for a few more moments before a corner of her lips raised ever so slightly.
She looked away quickly and addressed the room of beautiful ladies in a loud tone, "You have all been summoned to the palace by our ever-gracious queen for a reason."
The women made no movement as the older lady spoke.
"It is our esteemed queen's insistence that we create for her a breeding of the most intelligent, polish and elegant ladies of the higher noble circles, a group of ladies-in-waiting that will walk with her day and night."
She looked at each girl with a hard gaze as the girls stared back at her with wide eyes.
"I will conduct a ten-day examination of you all for which time, you will stay here at the palace. A watchful eye will be placed on you day and night to see if your breeding is up to par with the excellence necessary to become ladies-in-waiting to the queen herself."
A chill was in the room, but Cassandra could not feel it. There was a bubbling in her chest that she could not ignore.
What was being presented to her was the opportunity of a lifetime.
Cassandra swallowed hard as doubts began to creep into her mind rather strongly.
This was a huge opportunity given to the twenty women in the room and Cassandra knew every girl was very aware of this.
A lady-in-waiting to the queen was no small position.
No peasant could enter the presence of the queen and so the queen's servants were usually women of prominent families. This was a big position since they were required to stay by the queen's side day and night. This allowed most of them to have quite an influence on the decisions of the queen and thereby even have influence over the kingdom itself.
It was a dangerous position given the ruthless and rather careless attitude of the queen to those close to her but the rewards, Cassandra knew, were far greater than any man or woman in the kingdom could imagine.
For Cassandra, however, the riches that she would be able to get if she were the queen's lady-in-waiting was not as tempting as getting what she had always dreamed. Her father's nod of approval.
Duke Heartrianne, Cassandra's father, was the most efficient person she knew. He handled many matters of importance with calculation and improved their family every year. The one thing he was never able to have was political influence in the court and he craved it with all of his heart.
A year ago, his youngest daughter by a mistress of his, had become a lover to the crown prince. This had excited him beyond belief, but the sad truth was that this did not immediately give him access to the queen's presence.
Vella was probably working on getting her father admitted to the court, but it would probably take more years and Vella's charms before Duke Heartrianne could ever be as close to the queen as he desired.
Cassandra had not even had a smile from him since that day when Vella had written to their father to tell him of her new position and chambers in the royal palace.
Cassandra had found herself unworthy of the father she looked up to and loved since that day when it was clear that her younger sister had triumphed over her in the way that pleased their father best.
Cassandra bit her lip now as she watched the older woman slowly pace the floor before them.
"You will be given chambers for now in a wing far away from the main throne room," the older lady's voice was clear. "My name is Dame Agatha and I will be the overseer. I will inspect your conduct and the way you behave every day for ten days. There are twenty ladies present here but I do not want such a crowd around her majesty."