ILLICIT AFFAIR | mileven

two

losing her mother at sixteen shaped her into the person she is now - whether that's taken to be positive or negative.

her mother was the only parental figure in her life since she never got to meet her father. he passed away before she was born.

to this day, she admires her mother with all her being. even though she was suffering from the loss of her husband while carrying their child in her stomach, she never ceased to shower her girl in nothing but love.

instead of putting distance in their relationship, she embraced her daughter even more - even tighter.

el was the reason she found strength to get up everyday, everything she did was to provide a better life for her.

until she died from a sickly disease and left her all alone in this big, cold world. she was lucky enough that the queen showed compassion towards her and accepted her into the castle.

she doesn't take it for granted, she's aware of how lucky she is in comparison to the other dozens of people who struggle with finding food on the daily.

she always shows her best behavior, always gives more than she's being asked for, always wants to leave the royal family satisfied.

but with him, she knows that she's walking on thin ice - thin, sharp and slippery. one wrong movement and she knows the surface will break and cut her skin deep enough to leave life-long scars behind.

she knows that she doesn't deserve him. she doesn't deserve this charming, gentle and kindhearted prince. because, that's right, he's a prince while she was merely a maid.

who was she for him to choose her?

"you look distraught, is everything alright?" lilian nudged her shoulder against el's to catch her attention.

el's eyes widened when she noticed how she dozed off, her eyebrows furrowed for a second before she shot lilian a tight smile over. "oh, yes. i'm alright, thank you for your concern."

the blonde whispered a "if you say so" under her breath before averting her eyes back to the silk bedding that they were neatly folding.

they were in the prince's room after they had a big laundry day of washing the expensive and soft bedclothes.

much to their (un)luck, margaret wasn't present that day - so all the responsibility fell back on the two young maids.

"say, eleanor." lilian asked while suppressing a knowing grin. "have you heard of the latest gossip?"

el sighed, "you know that i don't keep up with that."

the lively blonde scooted a little closer, they were alone in the room but she still lowered her voice. "well, i've been told that new dresses have been delivered." she paused while biting down her bottom lip. "seemingly for us maids."

el looked at her dumbfounded before shaking her head. "you must have misheard, the maids never get dresses delivered. we're wearing the same one for years now."

"hugo told me." she said while turning back to folding. "you know that he has to check all deliveries before allowing them into the castle. he's certain that they are for us."

"huh?" confusion was all over her face as she knitted her brows. "that's unusual, don't you think? us maids usually get the short end of the stick."

"maybe they finally noticed how nothing would work in the castle if it weren't for us." lilian said in a jokingly smug tone while throwing her braided her over her shoulders.

both of them erupted into a fit of giggles as they continued their tasks.

**