THREAD: The City of Amber
Ari felt strange getting a carriage to go anywhere. Granted, it was, at least in some ways, like the local equivalent of a taxi, but it just felt so posh and ostentatious, and made her feel self conscious. While not growing up in a castle, her childhood was better, at least financially, than most people. Many of her fellow students back in school were at least close to her level, but when she was college and especially in Los Angeles she had met many who were poor or even destitute growing up.
It made her a bit embarrassed by her father's (well, perhaps more her mother's) wealthy life.
In fact, she might have gotten more famous faster, but she purposefully allowed other she felt were more deserving than she was to take better jobs. They just seemed more desperate for the work.