With everything accounted for, Sierra proceeded to enter the castle. A castle maid was assigned to help her familiarise herself with the castle. She was in complete awe of its decor and size.
"Is this your first time in Vargos Castle, Princess?" the maid asked cheerfully.
She smiled, "Yes, it is. This castle is a lot bigger than the one back home."
Up ahead, Sierra noticed a group of young women was walking towards them. They get closer and closer to Sierra and the castle maid. It was as if they wanted to bump into her. Just before they were about to bump into each other, Sierra grabbed hold of the castle maid she was with and together they dodged the group of young women.
With her swift moves, they successfully avoided the group of young women. However, one of them still fell to the ground,
"Princess Agnes, are you alright?" one of the young women cried as she bent forward to help the woman who had fallen, back up on her feet.
Princess Agnes, the woman who fell, looked up in Sierra's direction. Her face was contorted in pain and anger. Sierra did not even turn around to acknowledge or check on what had happened. She simply continued to walk down the hallway with the castle maid.
"You there! You tripped me!" Princess Agnes yelled as she pointed her finger at Sierra.
"I...I saw it!" another of the young women who were with Princess Agnes added, "She pushed you, Your Highness!"
She too was pointing in Sierra's direction. But all they could see was her back view as she walked further and further away from them. The castle maid who was with Sierra could not help but glance over her shoulder. She could see the young women fuming mad.
The castle maid curled her hand into a fist. She wanted to stand up for Sierra and say something. Sierra noticed her looking over in her direction. She gave her a smile and shook her head.
She brought her finger to her lips and said, "Don't say a word."
The castle maid nodded obediently and continued on their way, taking a left turn at the junction. Princess Agnes was livid. Sierra did not even acknowledge her presence. She wanted to give chase but she was too angry to do anything else.
When she got back on her feet, she stomped the ground in anger.
"Just you wait! I'll make you pay!" she cursed.
Once the coast was clear, the castle maid could not hold it in any longer. She had to know.
"Your Highness, why didn't you defend yourself?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, the castle maid covered her mouth with both of her hands. She had completely forgotten her manners. She should not have spoken to Sierra in such a manner. She should not have spoken to a princess as an equal.
Sierra did not even have time to reply. When she stopped in her tracks to look over to the castle maid, she was already on her knees with her head bowed.
"I'm so sorry for speaking out of turn, Your Highness! Please forgive me!"
"What?" she quickly help the maid up to her feet and asked for her name.
The maid gulped. She wondered if she was done for, perhaps Sierra was going to report her for her rude behavior. But that was not her intention.
"My... my name is Ida," she stuttered.
Sierra placed both of her hands reassuringly on Ida's shoulders, "Ida, there's no need to apologize so there's nothing to forgive. To answer your question, I did not defend myself because there was no need."
"But they accused you of something you did not do."
"Indeed they did. But they were triggering me to respond."
If she responded to them, they would most certainly use it to retaliate. Should things escalate, it would bring Sierra more harm than good. As such, it was better for her to simply ignore it.
"Ignoring them was the best option, and it seemed to work did it not? They did not come after us," Sierra added.
Ida was amazed. The princess before her was different from the rest she had served and helped in the past. Most of them only cared about themselves and treated all the maids and servants like dirt. Yet Sierra treated her like an equal.
She truly was different from the rest of them.
"It was nice meeting you, Ida," Sierra said with a smile, offering her hand out for a handshake.
Ida was confused for a moment, unfamiliar with the princess's actions. She simply bowed respectfully and left the room. Sierra let out a sigh as she laid down on the bed. Staring up at the canopy ceiling she placed her arm over her eyes.
This was going to be her new home.
"I guess I better get used to it," she muttered to herself.
On her first night in the castle, Sierra was informed that she was to attend a ball hosted by the Queen. It was a Welcome Ball for all the princess candidates to mingle and get to know one another. Ida returned with Sierra's belongings, which consisted of three chests.
"Is that all that you brought with you, Your Highness?" Ida asked in confusion.
Most of the other princesses had ten trunks or more. She was shocked to find out that Sierra only had three. At first, she thought some of her baggage might have been stolen or were lost.