The Whispering Flowers

Daffodil Part 1

The sun shines through the windows into my eyes waking me up. I hate the mornings, there is so much to do. I grunt and pull the covers off of my body. I slump over to the windows in my bedroom and open them, letting the fresh air in. As I am opening the shutters, the bruise on my wrist aches. "Stupid books." I say to myself.

I walk to the bathroom and quickly undress. On the floor is a basin of hot water that I suspect the maids had filled just moments before I woke. I pour the hot water into the tub to my right and slip in. Humming to myself, I quickly wash my body before the water has a chance to get cold, and grabbing my towel, I climb out of the tub. I pull on a wine-colored suit and use the towel to dry my messy black hair. I try to comb it, but as usual, it is no use, and it always curls up again and becomes messy.

I hear a knock on the bathroom door and say, "Who is it?" "It's Abitha. Peter, sir, I am here with your breakfast. Afterward, the king wants to see you as soon as possible." says the soft voice of my servant. I smile to myself and open the door, looking down at the small girl. "Thank you Abitha, just place it on the dining table." I say waving my hand over to my small living space. She blushes and runs over to the dining table with the silver tray of tea and eggs.

The room is very bright and organized with a small dining table with two chairs and a small sofa. Abitha places the plate and tea onto the table and smiles. She is quite plump, with brown shoulder-length hair and brown eyes but her smile did light up the room. "Thank you Abitha, would you care to join me for breakfast?" I say pulling out my chair. "Oh... of course!" she said smiling and sitting down across from me. She looks about 11, which isn't young for a servant, but I do feel bad for her. Primrose is about her age and she doesn't have half the troubles as Abitha. I try to be as kind to her as possible, for I know the king doesn't treat his servants very well.

I bite into the very well made eggs and pour myself a cup of tea. "This is very delicious. Did you make it yourself?" I say cutting the eggs with my knife. "Oh yes sir, the chefs were working on the breakfast for the family, and I didn't want to wait for them to be done sir, so I made it myself." she says, her face turning very pink. "That's why it is so amazing," I say, "how have you been this last week?"

Abitha fidgets with her fingers and says, "Very hard sir, they have been overworking us so that everything is pristine for the Prince of Primpit. I have barely had two hours of sleep," she says, and I just now realize the tired look on her face and the bags under her eyes. "Oh dear, that's not good. Abitha, if you need somewhere to sleep, you are always welcome here. I will gladly sleep on the couch so that you get some rest." I say sternly. She smiles weakly and sighs, "I would love to sir, but if they didn't see me working, I could get fired, and then I would be on the streets. If I do ever need a break, I will find you sir." she says. She looks so tired.

"Actually Abitha, sleep now. I'll tell the king what a wonderful job you have been doing and that you deserve a break, okay?" I say standing up from the table. "Oh no sir, I cannot accept." she says looking down at her hands. "I demand you sleep Abitha." I say sternly. I know that she wants to say no but her body tells her to stay so she gets up and walks over to my bedroom door. "Thank you Peter sir, I don't know how to thank you." she says smiling. I wave to her to go to my room and I finish breakfast. After I am done I walk over to the front door. I feel accomplished helping Abitha, and I know today is going to be good. I walk out of my little home on the edge of the king's grounds and stride through the gardens towards the main palace. I see Alexander running with Primrose in the garden even though it is very early, but they do this every day. Primrose runs up to me and starts to walk alongside me. "Hello Peter, I see you're up early." she says in a deep voice and she giggles to herself. "And you're also up early, as usual." I say looking down at her in her nightgown, her messy wavy blonde hair covering most of her face. Then Alexander runs up and tackles Primrose to the ground. I laugh and continue on my way to the castle.