Emperor's Maidens
The Emperor's Maidens are a group of orphan girls, aged between twelve and eighteen, brought to the Imperial Court of Christ Pantocrator from the orphanages of Pantocratoria. Orphanages are written to annually by the Mistress of the Emperor's Maidens, asking that they send "any virgin of at least twelve years but no more than fourteen who meets His Majesty's criteria", which includes "that she be a baptised Catholic, that she be pious in her devotions, that she be humble in her demeanour, that she be possessed of a pleasing character, that she be fluent in the French tongue and literate in that language, that she be beautiful and possessed of no physical flaw which mars a girl's appearance, and that she be possessed of a sweet voice". The letter has been written to the same form since the late eighteenth century. Candidates who meet the criteria in the letter are interviewed by the Mistress of the Emperor's Maidens (a part-time office which carries an annual pension of ∂94,212 and which is only ever awarded to ladies of quality at court), who selects enough candidates such that at any given time, there are thirty six Emperor's Maidens.
Once selected, Emperor's Maidens live at the Imperial Court of Christ Pantocrator in New Rome until the age of eighteen, performing light servant girl work, and occasionally being called upon to take part in processions. If one sees a girl walking in front of the Emperor, sprinkling his way with rose petals from a basket, a girl serving the Emperor and his guests fruit in the gardens, or a girl forming part of a procession at a fête, the girl is probably one of the Emperor's Maidens. Very few of the Emperor's Maidens are actually "working" at any given time - they complete a normal school schedule and have a good deal more free time than the Emperor's own daughters, with whom they are explicitly forbidden from mingling. While working, they are typically dressed in a knee-length silk dress in summer, vaguely classical in style, or a more traditional gown in the New Rome Court Fashion in winter.
On her eighteenth birthday, an Emperor's Maiden leaves her adopted sisters and the care of the Mistress of the Emperor's Maidens with a dowry from the Emperor of sufficient size to ensure her marriage to a man of quality. In times past, such a marriage would've been arranged for her, but the practice of arranging marriages for the Emperor's Maidens was abandoned by Empress Theodora II Comnena. Former Emperor's Maidens are highly sought after as brides for young gentlemen, or for the second sons of minor noble families.
The code of behaviour for Emperor's Maidens is strict, and is especially preoccupied with the matter of a maiden's virtue, which is a prerequisite to remaining in His Majesty's service. The Mistress of the Emperor's Maidens is charged with defending the virtue of her charges, and she is fined ∂1,248 from her pension for each Emperor's Maiden who is dismissed on these grounds, a fine which is doubled if the virtue-less maiden is reported by somebody other than the Mistress of the Emperor's Maidens. An Emperor's Maiden dismissed on such grounds still receives a substantial dowry from the Emperor, but is sent back to the orphanage from which she came at once. Any person other than a nobleman or a prince discovered in a compromising position with an Emperor's Maiden is charged with Consensual Rape (or actual Rape if the act was non-consensual). Any man discovered in such a position, even a nobleman or a prince, is obliged to remunerate the Emperor for her dowry.
