Aurora woke up in the morning and she did the same routine that she always did but this time she added extra measures and steps to it and made sure she was dressed to perfection.
She was starting her new work today so nothing could go wrong, she would make sure of it. She got on her bicycle and was on her way to the palace.
When she got to the palace gates she showed her badge and was let in, she went and parked her bicycle in its usual spot and went into the servant's quarters kitchen.
She headed straight to the front to get her cup of tea and roll, she said her name and she was ticked off role call.
She scanned the room and saw that Lucy was already waiving at her to come over, she made her way through the tables and she could hear blatant gossip about how she had bribed to get the position that she was in.
The irony of all this is that they failed to say it to her face, so they whispered it amongst themselves in low tones but loud enough for her to hear it.
She ignored them all and didn't react so they wouldn't get the satisfaction that they were hoping for, when Aurora made it to her friends she sat down.
"You are quite the topic for today." Agnes was the first to say to her.
"I know, I just walked through the line of fire."
"Magret was the one that started it all, I don't even know how she found out," Lucy added.
"She is always the first one to know most things, makes one wonder if she is always listening in other people's conversations?" Ida added,
"You know she adds on to the story, she loves to add salt, but just not a pinch the whole bucket." Said Evelyn.
They all burst out laughing,
"Don't mind them Aurora you will do amazing," Agnes added after.
"Thank you guys, I can always count on you ladies no matter what."
And Aurora was truly grateful for them, she could not ask for a better bunch of friends than them and she would not change anything about them.
They finished drinking their tea and they all had their duties to carry out, so they dispensed to them. Aurora went to the laundry room to fetch the clothes that she had sent out for washing the previous day.
She got there and found them doing the finishing touches to them, she waited. When they were down she carried the laundry to the room that she would be cleaning.
When she got inside the chambers, it was empty but the mess that was inside was shocking. Clothes were strewn everywhere,
The bedsheets were on the floor, they were dirty dishes, whoever slept in here was definitely a dirty slob.
She rolled up her sleeves, turned the hourglass, and started to get to work. This time she had a few minutes to spare, but she was happy with the result.
She carried out the dirty dishes and laundry, she decided to first head to the laundry room and dropped off the clothes.
Then she went to the kitchen and placed the dirty dishes in the sink.
"Aurora, I see you have some time to spare could you help with the dirty dishes?" The head of the kitchen asked.
Aurora could not refuse her and that would be a sign of disrespect, "Of course."
"Thank you, darling."
Aurora went back to the sink and started to help out with the dishes and it was a long grueling task. How many plates, pots, and cutlery did they use?
When she was done it was time for lunch and she headed to the kitchen in the servant's quarters, she took her meal and went to her friends.
"You look beat," Barbara remarked.
"I thought your workload would lessen?" Evelyn added.
"It did but I was asked to help out in the kitchen."
"Lucky you, did you taste any delicacies?" Agnes asked.
"It's not the way you think, I was on cleaning duty."
"That sucks Aurora, you should have refused." This time it was Ida.
"I couldn't, it was the head of the kitchen that asked, so I had to comply.""It is bad that we have to comply with rules of the palace, but it is worse than we have to also comply with the higher-ups here, if we don't we get punished for it in many ways," Ella added.
"True, no one wants to be in their bad books which suck for us," Agnes remarked.
Lunch was finished and it was time for tea, she went to the kitchen and collected the tea-pot, and snacks for her chambers that she was serving.
Aurora walked carefully as she did not want to spill anything on her plate, and Madam would be disappointed in her.
When she finally got to the chambers, the door was closed but she could hear voices inside, she wondered what she should do?
Should she come back later? No, she had to knock as she would not want to walk in a situation that is bad.
Aurora balanced the tray in one hand and she knocked softly, there was no answer so she decided to knock louder this time.
"Come in." The voice boomed from the inside of the room.
Aurora carefully opened the door, and leaned in with her back so that it would not close, she had to put her back into it as the door was very heavy.
With that out of the way, she walked towards the two gentlemen who were now staring at her so intently.
She should not crack under pressure, she needed to get used to it as she would be doing this very often.
"Your afternoon tea My Lord's."
She placed the tray carefully in front of them. When she was done with her head bowed, "I shall take my leave."
"Wait." The one-man called out.
Aurora wondered if she had done something wrong? Her heart hammered in her chest, she did not want to already mess this up on her second day.
"Yes, My Lord."
"Look up." The man carried on,
Aurora did just that and she clutched her hands to together to keep her from shaking non-stop. With her head raised, she still averted their gazes.
"Are you new?" The man asked.
"No, My Lord."
"You may look at me when you answer, your name?"
She looked at him timidly, and she must say he was truly a royal, such a beautiful chiseled face, semi-long black hair, and deep brown eyes.
He was truly favored by the gods and she must say Apollo himself,
"Aurora My Lord."
"Aurora." He said testing out her name and she liked the way it rolled off his tongue,
"So you are the one that is taking over the other maids' duties?"
"Yes, My Lord."
"I think I bumped into you yesterday and you seemed to run away from me."
"I apologize, my Lord, I must not have heard you."
"I was pretty loud don't you think?"
"I must have made a mistake as I thought you were talking to someone else."
"Why would I yell at them to wait when he is in front of me?"
Aurora felt her cheeks reddening, was he the type to hold grudges for so long, just over her not answering yesterday?
She did not know what to say,
"I apologize My Lord."
"Stop playing with the poor girl Caspian she looks terrified."
"Is it bad just to play with her a little Douglas?"
So these were their names, and what did he mean to play with her? So he was enjoying himself by making her squirm.This was going to be a very long road, she hoped she would not have many encounters with them and specifically Caspian.They were so many activities to do, so why should he waste his time on her and his own very precious time."How old are you Aurora?" Caspian asked."Eighteen My Lord.""Interesting," Caspian replied."If that's all My Lord, could I take my leave?"Caspian was surprised at her question, it was clear that this girl wanted to be anywhere but here. She had rich red hair and her eyes were striking green, they were like emeralds.He had never taken any interest in girls till now, there was something behind her beauty that he was getting drawn into."Not yet." He blurted out.She seemed surprised at his response and rightfully so, he had just instinctively replied to her but he did not know what more he wanted to say to her.She seemed to be trembling for fear,
Aurora went to the laundry room and she was relieved she had managed to dodge a bullet, she thought should be frequenting his bed but when he said he does not force women, she felt the relief course through her body and so profound at that.When she had dropped off the clothes, Aurora was glad that today she had no dishes in the kitchen which meant she could get out of cleaning in there.She had never taken a stroll in the palace and now was her chance to do so, she walked through the pathway, which on either side had long tall trees.The breeze was amazing and she inhaled it, and for once she felt free, stress-free from the daily burdens that she needed to carry.She was a bit sad that this position was not hers forever, not that she wanted Constance to stay ill forever.Maybe one day she would have enough money to build herself a small little cottage where she could live and have no one to bother her.Currently, she could not save much as she had to buy candles, and sometimes the fo
Caspian lay awake in his chambers as he remembered Aurora's eyes, from the encounter that they had.Her surprised at him being so close to her and blushing when he had touched her face fascinated him more and drew her more to him.He didn't know what he wanted from her as her eyes had made his mind go blank and he had gotten lost in them.He had been with beauties before but the way she was so reserved made him want to crush her resilience all the more.He would have his way with her, it was a matter of time before she succumbed to his charm, she was already flustered with a bit of attention from him.The previous maid was more than happy to be in his bed the minute he had set his eyes on her. She frequented his bed when he was willing to entertain her.Yet Aurora had not made a move or given him fake doe eyes or tried to start a conversation, or seduce him at that.This was the first time a girl had not come willingly to him, he could chase her a bit not that he needed to do much.A
Aurora made her way inside, she did her normal balancing and went up to the table and placed the tray there."Your tea My Lord."Her head was bowed as per usual and she started to turn away,"I didn't dismiss you Aurora."She stood very still at his words and hoped she had not offended him in any way with her actions, she stood there anxiously waiting for his next words or command."Is there something wrong with being in my presence?""I apologize, My Lord, I did not mean to insult you.""Talk freely Aurora and set aside rankings.""I could never do such My Lord.""It's an order."Aurora nodded, she was afraid that one wrong word and this would all end badly for her."Lift up your head."Aurora did so immediately, she didn't want to disobey him as she could decipher what he was thinking."Why do you look so worried Aurora?""I am not My......I mean I am not."It felt strange to not address him the way they were taught,"Look at me."Aurora forced her gaze on him, he was really good-lo
Caspian sat in front of his tea, Aurora was definitely something new to him. He wanted to break all her barriers.She fascinated him and he was thinking about her a lot even though he was frequenting other women who were willing to bare it all for him and that was a lot of girls willing to do so.This was a new challenge to him but Douglas was often a very accurate teller, he had said two weeks and he always set a challenge to himself to break the record and he had excelled in it.Most girls would act coy and then during the night, they would come to his room on their own after hours.He thought he had cracked Aurora and as he sat in his bed chambers, she had not come back and that surprised him, he thought she had run away the first time as she was too embarrassed to approach him but even when he did approach her, she had her guard up.He had thought she must have had a suitor or someone who is interested in her and they shared mutual feelings but those suspicions were on the low for
Weeks go by and Aurora is getting used to her morning routines but they had changed a bit, Caspian was never there when she was in his chambers.She had not seen him for a while and was happy that he wasn't accosting her anymore, he probably saw it was a lost cause to try and pursue her.There was no news from Constance, and the last time she had heard about her was from rumors speculating that she was not getting better by the day.All the maids were extra cautious as they did not want to catch it.They were called by Madam Beatrice and they all stood there,"I called you all here as this weekend we will be hosting a banquet, as you know uniforms are going to be provided for you all. Let me revise the rules..............."After two hours they were finally done and dismissed, all the maids were chatting amongst themselves and there was so much excitement in the air.She was also excited, it meant they would be eating well as there would be lots of food, and there would be extra pay,
Caspian had to prepare for the upcoming banquet for Princess Nadia, she was a known beauty so that would not be a problem on his part. He had to take lessons daily on how to host her and his parents wanted him to make an impression on her. They would not be attending the banquet this time. Weeks went by as he attended his daily classes and how to host a banquet for the first time, he had to show that he had authority and leadership. His father often said he should have enough authority that everyone wanted to impress him. The day of the banquet came and he spent the whole day in baths and being scrubbed. He put on his attire and his hair was brushed, when he walked out he could see that all the women were fawning over him and the man in awe."If I were also a woman I would be falling at your feet." Douglas joked and Caspian pushed his best friend. He waited as Princess Nadia was bought in as they needed to go in together to the banquet, Caspian saw her maids and she emerged in betw
Aurora finally made it back to her place and could not forget about the whole incident that had happened.She got into bed and her feet ached from all the hours of attending to Caspian and Nadia, the music she had heard and the food she got to taste was all worth it.Even though she had only tasted a fraction of it, she wanted to recall all of it but she was way too tired.Aurora was glad that she could sleep in as she was told to come in the afternoon in time for tea. Prince Caspian was sleeping in so she would clean then.When she got to the palace the next morning during lunch, the servant's quarters were booming with chatters about what had happened last.She went and got her meal, as she passed by the tables she could hear that she was now the center of attention.Before she could sit down her friends were already bombarding her with so many questions,"So you serve the Prince?" said Agnes."Apollo was a prince after all." Said Evelyn."I only found out last night at the same tim