Once Upon

Two

Celeste wasn't sure how she'd managed to finish all her chores today, but she took it as a sign of fate because the sun was setting just as she'd finished feeding the chickens. Looking out at the country side, it was hard to imagine that anything bad had ever happened to her, or the land she called home. 

The view of the golden fields were both a blessing and a curse. She loved the feel of the long grass brushing up against her legs as she played with Gus, an old, sweet dog she'd rescued years ago. But when the days were less sunny, the landscape reminded her of that dreaded day. Would that day ever ben any less vivid? 

But before she could get too lost in thought, the lady of the house, her aunt Amelia, called her in. 

"Are we to starve tonight?" aunt Amelia asked rhetorically. 

"My apologies madam, I was just feeding the chi..." 

"If I had a shilling for every time you gave an excuse...." aunt Amelia interrupted. 

Celeste felt for the woman. She wasn't the only one living under this roof with a broken heart. 

Though she knew she didn't deserve to be spoken to in such a way, she'd given up anger long ago. Anger got her nowhere. Anger only caused headaches and sadness. She'd simply done what her father and mother had always taught her to, look out for and take care of others. After a while she realized taking care of the household was much easier than trying to understand why the fire had happened all this years ago. Tending to the animals was much easier than trying to understand Amelia's misplaced anger. 

"Dinner will be ready shortly," she simply responded. 

"We're starving, why hasn't it been served already?!" cried Agatha. 

Agatha was only a few years younger than Celeste, so she wasn't sure why more wasn't expected of her "cousin." 

Then again, that was one more thing Celeste didn't have the energy to try and understand. 

"Apologies, there was a lot to do around the estate today," Celeste responded humbly. 

Suddenly, she heard aunt Amelia let out a huff. 

"Once upon a time, we had a household staff. Once upon a time, I was a lady. Once upon a time, I could show my face in society. My apologies if our meager lifestyle is not to your liking, Princess," spitting out the end of her sentence. 

"That's not what I was implying madam, my sincerest apologies," Celeste attempted to reconcile, but it was no use. She knew there was no use. There wasn't an ounce of kindness in the lady's heart, much less any to be spared for Celeste. 

Amelia and Agatha sat in the drawing room as Celeste continued rummaging around the rather large kitchen. Though the estate was large, the supplies were dreary. She made do with some potatoes, salt, lemon and herbs for a warm stew. 

Once she served dinner, it was as if Celeste wasn't even at the table. Agatha and Amelia spoke only to each other. Truth be told, Celeste didn't mind. It was her chance to sit, relax, and let her feet rest after a long day of work. 

As dinner came to an end, the two women excused themselves. Though it was futile, Celeste always held out hope that one of these days one of them would offer to help cleaning up. Sadly, today was not the day. 

So Celeste cleaned the kitchen alone. To her surprise and pleasure, she could hear the faint sound of rain outside. Amelia and Agatha detested the rain, they said it always led to Celeste tracking in mud after her chores. Celeste, however, never felt more at peace than when the rain came pouring down. Was it the sound? Was it the smell of the air? Or was it because she knew rain meant there could be no fire, at least for the moment.