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T-Shirt Gremlin
Moon
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2024
Silvia grew more restless with each passing moment. Her eyes flew to the great clock every few minutes or so, as if in her endless boredom she tried to reassure herself that, yes, time hadn't stopped.
Mother clamped a bony hand over her knee, startling her. She hadn't even realized she was shaking her leg.
"Sorry." Silvia whispered, avoiding the other woman's disapproving gaze.
Mother hated when she couldn't sit still and never missed an opportunity to scold her. She did it the exact same way as when Silvia was a child. Like it was so easy for anyone, adult or child, to sit perfectly still and silent while listening to the high nobility have the blandest conversations imaginable.
They all knew what the weather was like - the windows were right there. And all of them knew Fiona was getting married to a duke… and what kind of flower arrangements she wanted at the wedding…and which tailor was making the wedding dress…
How could they not, when she wouldn't shut up about it?
At least Sylvia didn't need to demonstrate her needlework anymore. It came out crooked more times than not and even when it looked fine nobody was impressed. So, she supposed sitting still was preferable. At least her neck didn't hurt as much and her fingers didn't cramp. And of course, she had no risk of stabbing herself with a needle.
Two girls, about Silvia's age, stood up from their seats on the opposite side of the room.
The first one was unusually tall and pretty, though she held herself with a grace of a stable boy. Her dress was very yellow and didn't suit her sharp features at all. The second one, in contrast, was chubby and graceful. She also dressed much better, though her hair was questionable. The tight curls framing her round face made her look silly, like one of Grand Duchess's pampered lap dogs. Despite this, Silvia thought her pretty too.
Then again, Silvia thought all the girls were pretty... If she were a man, she had no doubt that any of them could trick her into marriage, despite how small their dowry was or how annoying she found them.
The girls excused themselves discretely, or at least tried to, and left the room. Of course, all the women in the room were so bored that this minor event drew everyone's attention.
The Grand Duchess turned to her companion, her pale face glistening with sweat in the bright, afternoon sun. Silvia heard her ask about the two girls who just left.
Silvia had seen them around, but didn't really know much about them, other than the two of them were always together. And she knew they left company so often because they wanted to gossip about all the other girls in the washroom. Silvia overheard them more than once, though, luckily for them, they weren't gossiping about her.
She was not opposed to tattling, when it suited her. The last thing she needed was for some mean girls spreading rumors about her and ruining her reputation.
Not that Silvia had much of a good reputation… but she liked to keep a low profile.
So what if she gaped like a fish at the governess every time she brought out the Duchess's little brats for public inspections? It wasn't anyone else's business but her own. It wasn't like there were better things to look at. When the most beautiful woman in the world comes into the room, Silvia might as well look at her for a bit. Nothing wrong with that.
At least she wasn't as obvious about it as the Grand Duke, who practically salivated as soon as he saw her. It was embarrassing, really. That poor woman should be compensated for having to deal with that dullard.
Mother clamped a bony hand over her knee, startling her. She hadn't even realized she was shaking her leg.
"Sorry." Silvia whispered, avoiding the other woman's disapproving gaze.
Mother hated when she couldn't sit still and never missed an opportunity to scold her. She did it the exact same way as when Silvia was a child. Like it was so easy for anyone, adult or child, to sit perfectly still and silent while listening to the high nobility have the blandest conversations imaginable.
They all knew what the weather was like - the windows were right there. And all of them knew Fiona was getting married to a duke… and what kind of flower arrangements she wanted at the wedding…and which tailor was making the wedding dress…
How could they not, when she wouldn't shut up about it?
At least Sylvia didn't need to demonstrate her needlework anymore. It came out crooked more times than not and even when it looked fine nobody was impressed. So, she supposed sitting still was preferable. At least her neck didn't hurt as much and her fingers didn't cramp. And of course, she had no risk of stabbing herself with a needle.
Two girls, about Silvia's age, stood up from their seats on the opposite side of the room.
The first one was unusually tall and pretty, though she held herself with a grace of a stable boy. Her dress was very yellow and didn't suit her sharp features at all. The second one, in contrast, was chubby and graceful. She also dressed much better, though her hair was questionable. The tight curls framing her round face made her look silly, like one of Grand Duchess's pampered lap dogs. Despite this, Silvia thought her pretty too.
Then again, Silvia thought all the girls were pretty... If she were a man, she had no doubt that any of them could trick her into marriage, despite how small their dowry was or how annoying she found them.
The girls excused themselves discretely, or at least tried to, and left the room. Of course, all the women in the room were so bored that this minor event drew everyone's attention.
The Grand Duchess turned to her companion, her pale face glistening with sweat in the bright, afternoon sun. Silvia heard her ask about the two girls who just left.
Silvia had seen them around, but didn't really know much about them, other than the two of them were always together. And she knew they left company so often because they wanted to gossip about all the other girls in the washroom. Silvia overheard them more than once, though, luckily for them, they weren't gossiping about her.
She was not opposed to tattling, when it suited her. The last thing she needed was for some mean girls spreading rumors about her and ruining her reputation.
Not that Silvia had much of a good reputation… but she liked to keep a low profile.
So what if she gaped like a fish at the governess every time she brought out the Duchess's little brats for public inspections? It wasn't anyone else's business but her own. It wasn't like there were better things to look at. When the most beautiful woman in the world comes into the room, Silvia might as well look at her for a bit. Nothing wrong with that.
At least she wasn't as obvious about it as the Grand Duke, who practically salivated as soon as he saw her. It was embarrassing, really. That poor woman should be compensated for having to deal with that dullard.