Lucy walked nervously down the wide corridor. This was it...the day her fate could be decided for her. She was preparing to meet Princess Anna, and nothing in all of her mother's teaching could have prepared her for the significance of this encounter. If she made a poor first impression, or if for any reason the Princess did not favor her, then she might as well turn right around, return home, and accept whatever high-status, loveless marriage her parents would certainly force upon her.

She knew she should have presented herself sooner, ideally the moment she arrived to the royal court. But her journey had been such that she had arrived at a later hour than was generally considered proper for visiting, and she certainly did not wish to commit a potentially fatal (to her hopes, anyway) offense on her very first night at the palace. Then the following day had been the magnificent gala upon the barge, and so the entire day had been devoted to intricate preparations for the night's festivities, and Lucy had had no chance to even attempt to approach either of the royal siblings. She had made an effort while aboard the barge itself (or the effort had been made for her; she had not actually intended to put herself forward in the presence of all the other courtiers), but by the time she had been shoved forward through the crowd, the Princess had already disappeared, presumably to prepare for her performance with the dancers. And what a performance that had been! Lucy was still in awe. She would never have that kind of courage, to show off so much of herself before a crowd of strangers...the very thought of anyone, even a husband, seeing her in that way caused a deep flush to spread over her face. And then the fireworks! Lucy had never seen anything so wondrous in her life as those balls of fire that exploded into dazzlingly bright streams of color in the heavens far above them. And for one foolish moment, she had allowed herself to imagine that they were all for her, welcoming her to court. She had known, of course, that they were nothing of the sort - especially given that neither the King nor the Princess had even known of her existence at that point in time - but it had been amusing to just pretend.

Yes, last night had been spectacular beyond belief, but now the new day had dawned, and it was time for her to return to the reality of her situation. Truth be told, the new day had actually come into existence several hours past, but after the extended hours of the previous night's merriment, Lucy supposed that many of her fellow courtiers would be making up for the hours lost to dancing and splendor, by not greeting the new day until it was at least half spent. So she had waited until the time for the midday meal had passed, and then had returned to her chambers to prepare for this important meeting. Now she strode along the corridor, which she noticed was becoming more and more luxurious with every step she took. She knew that this meant she was nearing Princess Anna's chambers, and her heart pounded anxiously against her ribs at the thought.

She had nearly reached the intricately carved door which surely indicated the Princess's residence, when she passed a mirror hung on the wall. She paused before it, wishing to ensure that her appearance was everything it should be. She had once again donned her best white gown with silver embroidery; though she had just worn it the previous night on the barge, her other red gown seemed too plain for meeting the Princess. Her maid, Anne, had carefully combed through her dark blonde waves and pinned them securely into place; Lucy winced inwardly at the pins pricking her scalp, but it was a small price to pay. The final touch was her delicate silver chain, fastened carefully around her neck as always - ever since it had been given to her secretly, just before her departure, she had never allowed herself to be seen without it.

Satisfied that her appearance was as as proper and poised as she could make it, Lucy turned away from the mirror and slowly approached the door. After standing in front of it for a moment, she smoothed her skirts one last time, took a deep breath, and knocked.

OOC: I am SO sorry love for leaving this for this long... I have no excuse x.x just sheer laziness on my part... and a lack of muse, lol.

IC: Only moments after Lucy's knock, the great double doors swung inward to reveal a rather merrily chaotic scene. Ladies-in-waiting of the princess moved here and there, gossiping, embroidering, playing musical instruments, dealing cards, or reading to each other. Even a few men mingled with the crowd, all hoping to be noticed by Her Highness. Thinking, perhaps, she would want to be distracted on that day... and one of them might be able to oblige her wishes. The princess herself was nowhere to be seen amidst the swirl of gowns and fluttering fans, though due to the sheer amount of activity within the chamber, one could assume that she was there. Somewhere.

"Good day, my lady," the servant girl that had opened the door murmured, dropping a quick curtsy to the newcomer as she ushered Lucy into the room. She had very plain features and was dressed in the royal livery, the light blue embroidered crest at the shoulder marking her for a servant of the princess and not of His Majesty. "If you will follow me...?" With a weak smile, the girl then hurried forwards through the press of people, maneuvering around the ripple of silk and damask, the shush of satin. The other women within the room sent the pair curious glances from underneath thick lashes, their eyes all gleaming with curiosity though they tried to appear dispassionate with the arrival of the new female.

Over the general hum and buzz of the room tinkled the tell-tale laugh of Her Highness and the servant girl made towards it like a moth towards a flame. "Oh, you really are too much, Sir Royham!" As the servant and Lady Lucy broke free from the masses, a scene not visible from the doorway spread before them. There was the princess, surrounded by a few of her favorites, seated close to an open window. The breeze stirred the curtains gently and the party laughed at something a particular Sir Royham - presumably the dark gentleman at the princess's right - had said only moments before.

Anna herself was as beautiful as had always been said of her. Dressed in a gown of pale pink that contrasted nicely with her fiery locks, the princess was a rather striking figure - a rope of heavy pearls at her neck, gold upon her fingers, a goblet of wine in her hand. "Your Highness," the servant girl murmured with a deep curtsy before melting back into the crowd, leaving Lady Lucy all alone with the eyes of the princess's court all turned towards her as every courtier within the chamber leaned forward to listen to what would pass between the two women, even as they continued with their own conversations. "Ah," Anna said brightly as her piercingly blue eyes latched onto the form of the other. There was something very familiar about her. "Yes, yes, you may approach me."

(OOC: Don't even worry about it, I know the feeling lol...and you do too have an excuse, I know how much time it takes to keep a board running smoothly!)

IC: Lucy had never felt so intimidated in her life. She wasn't sure exactly how she had envisioned this first meeting taking place; but it certainly had never included an audience of what looked to her like the entire female population of courtiers, with a few of the males thrown in for good measure. The way they were all staring at her, judging her...Is this woman good enough to be admitted into our number?

She certainly didn't feel good enough at this moment...in fact, she had a very strong momentary urge to turn and flee, flee from this room, from the palace, from this life. But she knew that this would only result in more harm than good, particularly as far as her future was concerned; if she were to return home, now, and her parents found out about her manner of leaving, as she had no doubt they would, she was certain that her subsequent freedom would last only as long as the time it took before the first marginally suitable offer of marriage was made to her parents on her behalf. Which would likely actually be quite some time, given the arrogance of both mother and father, and their impossibly high standards as to who would be considered "marginally suitable" - but she would not put it past them to disregard even that long-held prejudice for the sake of punishing her.

No, the time for flight was long past. Lucy braced herself mentally and followed the servant deeper into the chamber, barely noticing (or trying not to notice, rather) just how many courtiers filled the room, all engaged in various pastimes though many of them had suspended their endeavors for the sake of peering with interest at Lucy. But every thought of the others in the room vanished as she caught sight of the princess.

Lucy had not been able to get a very close look at the princess on the previous night; she had been too far back in the crowd during the dancing, all of the males having crowded to the front to come as close as possible to the perfection which was Princess Anna. But now, seeing her in close proximity, Lucy recognized that Her Highness was even more beautiful than she had realized. True, her pink gown was stunning, her gold and pearl jewelry exquisite, but it was more than that...there was a natural beauty about her face, a subtle sheen to her flaming hair, and most importantly a kindness in her incredible blue eyes which gave Lucy the feeling that perhaps her coming to Court might not be the end of the world she had first thought it.

Princess Anna gave Lucy permission to approach her, and Lucy did so slowly, hesitating just in front of where she was seated. She was unsure of the proper protocol here; by allowing her to approach, was the princess also giving her permission to speak? Or ought she still to wait for Her Highness to ask before introducing herself? The last thing Lucy wanted was to commit a breach of etiquette, especially here and now. So she compromised.

Murmuring simply, "Your Highness," Lucy swept the princess a deep, effortlessly graceful curtsey. She had always possessed the body and natural grace of a dancer; indeed, aside from her musical ability which she had inherited from her mother, dancing had always been the one ladylike art which had come easily to her, the one area in which her mother had never been able to fault her, even with her lofty standards. Lucy had never been more grateful for that ability than at this very moment. Rising from her curtsey, but keeping her eyes lowered modestly, she waited courteously for Princess Anna to speak again.