"What are you doing with those old clothes, Juli?"
Julia smiled at her grandmother's question; both women having left the house a minute ago. The elderly lady had moved in with them after grandfather passed away a couple of years back; in his sleep thankfully. But she was getting old, her hair getting greyer every year.
After the string of robberies against homes of elderly folk, Julia's mother was not comfortable letting the elder live on her own anymore.
But her grandmother was not the idle sort. She worked as a seamstress in her youth, but her fingers were far too fragile and hands too shaky for that kind of labor anymore. So Julia's grandmother gave herself a new job, one more suited for her age. She watched over the young children of the brothel workers when they were away.
She didn't charge the workers anything. Said it wasn't right to ask for money from women who were already in dire straights.
"A girl at the palace has a little girl who just had a growth spurt and all her old clothes are too small." Julia held up the small bundle of children's clothes snugly held to her chest, "I offered some of my old clothes until she gets a chance to buy something new."
Her grandmother hummed at her response. "Whose kid is it? Was it the bunny-girl's?"
"It's a new girl, just hired a fortnight ago," Julia answered, doing her best to avoid the oncoming morning crowds milling about the main street. "And grandmother, no bunny-warrior works at the Palace."
"Really? Could have sworn you introduced me to that sweet girl some time ago. The one with the black hair.."
"Grandmother, that was Reenes; she's a wolfkin."
Her grandmother mulled over the response. "Her ears seemed a tad tall for a wolfkin."
"Reenes says it's from her father's side," Julia joked.
They walked a bit more together before going their separate ways.
When her grandmother was out of sight, Julia sighed in relief.
'A girl's child? Ughh what was I thinking?' Julia mentally kicked herself, clutching the collection of clothes closer to her chest as she passed through the servants entrance to the palace; a small alcove on the edge of the districts. 'Just hope grandmother doesn't ask more about the 'child;.'
Changing into her maid attire, Julia traversed the byzantine labyrinth of tunnels and walkways beneath the palace itself, doing her best not to trip over herself as she rushed through.
After a few minutes in torchlight, she ascended a stairwell into the palace proper; still clutching her collection of old clothes.
Despite some questioning looks from the other servants as she passed, she ran into no issues.
Across more hallways and up more flights of stairs she reached her destination.
With a deep breath she curtly knocked on the door. They stared at the collection of clothes in her arms.
A moment later, the door opened.
"Good morning Julia," Princess Tanya greeted her. The young girl quickly noticed the bundle of clothes in her arms. "Is that it?"
"This is the best I can do on such short notice, your Highness," the maid quickly pardoned herself as she passed the girl and dumped the clothes on the nearby couch.
The princess closed the door and rushed over. She carefully inspected the articles one by one. With a satisfied nod, she looked back to Julia.
"This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you Julia," Princess Tanya thanked Julia as she took several articles and walked behind a dressing screen to try them on.
When Julia first heard the princess's plan to sneak out of the palace and blend in with the crowds, she wanted to ask her Highness which story book she had been reading. A princess sneaking out of their castle in peasants clothes to walk anonymously amongst the commoners? Sounded like something out of a children's tale.
It was actually kind of cute. Her Highness had always acted mature for her age. Seems that even she had that ever so common childish trait of impulsiveness.
Julia had tried to explain that there was no need for that; but her Highness shared with the maid her reasoning.
The princess was tired of living in the 'bubble' that was the Imperial District. She told Julia of how she wanted to simply walk the city streets. Not the streets of the nobility, but the streets walked by the common people. To get a sense of the state of Sadara beyond the gilded confines of Palace grounds.
She remembers her Highness taking Julia by the hand to the window of her room and pointing out to the city. From here, you could see all of Sadara. All districts and landmarks; from the gleaming marble of the temple to the gods, to the sprawling length of the Red Light District. The Princess told her that for her whole life, she has seen the city from her window, and now she wants to see it in person. To meet her people.
What she said next truly touched Julia.
"What kind of princess can I say I am if I've never even walked the streets of my home?"
When the nobles and lords walked around Sadara, it was usually either to leave or enter the Imperial District. The city beyond Sadara Hill and the halls of the Senate were irrelevant to them. They never 'walked' the streets; either they were in a carriage or sat upon a great elevated throne that was held up and moved by a number of slaves. Julia remembers seeing one heavy set lord on her way to the Palace once; the sneer he gave her as his slaves carried him away struck a chord in her. As if the mere concept of sharing the same air as the lower classes offended him.
Yet here was a princess, the progeny of two powerful houses, bearing the name of the Emperor's own house, wishing to do just that.
Her Highness has always been of the softer sort; with an innocent demeanor and caring nature that seemed at odds with everything a royal should be. This was a well known fact amongst the servants of the Palace. She asked the servants and slaves how their days were. How they were. Were they happy? Were there any problems they wished addressed?
She even remembered and referred to them by their names. When she needed Julia, she didn't say "girl" or "maid" as her brothers and sister had, she called her name. Julia. Or when she wanted Reenes, she didn't call for the "mutt" or the "slave girl", she asked for Reenes.
Where the staff would feign their 'joy' and smiles when they served the royals and their noble guests such expressions were genuine for her Highness.
While Julia did have some reservations about enabling her Highness to wander around the city unattended, she was at least confident enough to know that her Highness was smart enough to not wander too far.
If she were to be honest, Julia's biggest concern was not her Highness doing something foolish, but someone picking up her accent. Like all the nobility and lords of the Empire, the Princess had a distinct high born accent. The result of tutors teaching Tanya how to speak 'properly' no doubt.
The princess emerged from behind the changing screen.
Gone was the cute princess, what emerged looked like a young boy; with her Highnesses short hair and her dismissal of overtly feminine clothing. Her Highness had insisted on trousers and a shirt rather than a dress like Julia initially offered. The coat she wore hid any of the daintiness of her young body. The shoes were a tad big on her, but overall, the outfit worked well with her Highness. She didn't look like a plebian or a beggar, more like a store owner's daughter than a princess.
"How do I look?" Princess Tanya asked.
"Like a bo- beautiful girl," Julia caught herself. She knows no girl her age wants to be compared to a boy.
The princess nodded. "Excellent, then everything is set for tomorrow."
Ah yes, her Highness had no lessons tomorrow. A perfect chance to 'sneak out' as her Lady put it.
Tanya nodded and quickly undressed and returned to her proper clothes.
"Thank you again for helping me Julia," her Highness thanked her. "I don't think I could have done this without your help."
Julia bowed. "It's of no concern your Highness. I have no doubt that even if I was unable to assist you, another would have readily stepped forth to offer you aid." And Julia meant it, word had quickly spread amongst her Lady's most frequent servants of her Highness's plan. Julia was simply the first to make it to her room to offer her assistance. She was happy to say she beat out Reenes by a solid minute; the wolfkin rushed to the room to offer her own support as Julia was leaving.
Though she was still a bit apprehensive about her plan.
The Princess planned to use the servant's tunnels in the lower levels to bypass the district outright and emerge in the city proper. Her Highness told her that the guards stationed there were also aware of her planned 'excursion' and would let her back in when she returned later in the day.
The last piece of her plan was up to the maid staff themselves. They would have to give the impression that her Highness was still in the palace for the duration of her 'travels'. That meant deceiving her praetorians. A simple 'the princess is resting after a long day of studies' should suffice for that.
If all goes according to the plan, no one would be the wiser to her Highnesses excursion.