The number of bodies in the room made Eva sweat. She could hear heartbeats and the sound of blood rushing through veins. These were things she had gotten used to in the last hundred and fifty years but the acoustics in the Grand Hall made everything echo. She stood to the side of the large room with two petite girls, one on either side of her. The other men and women of the court that sat behind them whispered and giggled comfortably to themselves. Eva was out of her element, which was a thing she didn’t like to admit. She knew she didn’t blend in.

 

The girls of the court were innocent and all smiles. They were meant to entertain and to eventually marry the wealthy men of court. It was a tradition that had held for hundreds of years and Eva was tasked with infiltrating it. She knew that she wasn’t like the other girls in court but she was going to use that to her advantage. She was tall with high cheekbones that brought attention to her icy blue eyes unlike the baby-faced girls that stood next to her. One blonde and the other brunette had their hair pulled back into a low bun and covered with an intricate beaded caul. Eva’s auburn hair was untamable under the mask of gold pins and braids requiring her to constantly push aside a stubborn ringlet that fell in front of her eyes. The two girls’ dresses were almost identical in design except their different shade of pastel. Eva’s dress was a simple but heavy fabric in a blue the color of the night sky that clashed immediately with the sweet flush of color on either side.

 

“Lady Eva, it’s a pleasure to see you again.” Eva squinted her eyes but smiled sweetly, allowing herself to enter the room. She could hear his heart beating up into his neck.

“Likewise, I was told Daniel needed to see me.”

“Yes, he is on his way. Until then I suppose you’ll have to make do with me.” Joe smiled.

“Oh I’ll make do with you, trust me.” Eva was used to playful banter. They spent the rest of the evening laughing and going back and forth as friends would. I haven’t met someone like this in a long time. She tried to remember her most recent love and realized it had been almost fifty years.

She let herself enjoy the time with Joe as well as her new job. She found that she enjoyed interacting with the clergymen and businessmen that had dealings with Daniel and thanked the Queen silently for not instructing her braid hair or lace skirts all day.