[Canada!verse]
“Nice skirt, wench,” Aragon said while passing by her old lady in waiting in one of the theater hallways.
“Thanks,” Bessie called over her shoulder, “I was thinking about you and your dresses when I picked it out!”
She missed Aragon’s scowl and how the queen pivoted for a moment, as if to charge back over and punch her in the throat, but thought against it. They both kept walking- ignoring and enduring is the best thing Bessie knows how to do.
“Why do you let her treat you like that?” Joan once asked after hearing a few not very nice comments from Aragon.
“Kill ‘em with kindness,” Bessie had replied with a shrug.
“I would just kill her.” Maggie muttered to herself.
Bessie has learned to draw as little attention to herself as possible. She got enough spotlight in her past life, so she rather enjoyed being in the background for the show. She could pursue her love for music without being stared at by prying eyes.
However, try as she might, lingering looks always found her. Hungry eyes of men would practically eat her up with their gaze. Disgusted expressions from other women, whispering, “What a slut” when they thought she was out of earshot. Wide eyed children who couldn’t possibly know what she has done, yet her brain makes her worry. And, of course, Aragon and the queens.
Don’t get Bessie wrong, she thinks the queens are very talented, but talent and likeness were two different things. Bessie wanted the queens to like her, she really did, but she was sure they sided with Aragon in everything.
Even the other ladies in waiting seemed to be on the wire with her. Maria and Maggie tended to teeter towards the queen’s side, as Aragon’s scars from Bessie’s wrongdoings were supposedly more apparent than Bessie’s scars. Joan did her best to make Bessie feel invited and loved, but even she couldn’t deny the uncomfortable feeling that washed over her when the bassist comes around.
The theater, the queen house, the lady in waiting residence- Bessie felt unwanted everywhere.
Still, she put on a smile, rocked out during shows, and acted like everything they said about her went over her head.
What else could she do?
