The moment Lucy left the room, Serena came scurrying out of her chamber and almost immediately got to work. She picked the vase off the bedside table and slowly dusted it.
As a maid, her meticulousness was predictable, but with such elegance and grace. It seemed unnatural.
"Why'd you choose to be a maid?" Ash asked, breaking the silence "Why not anything else?"
She placed the vase back down and turned to face him "I had no choice your highness" she said, playing with the hem of her apron and refusing to make eye-contact "There were no other options left and I was desperate for money so....." her voice trailed off.
"What about your family? Your siblings, your parents ?" Ash pressed on.
"I'm an only child your highness" she gulped "And my parents are no more"
"Oh" was the only thing Ash could say. Later he added a "I'm really sorry to hear that" and then left the atmosphere with an awkward silence.
Serena quickly turned back to the vase and had just lifted the rag cloth when Ash said "It's just very confusing you know; It's the way you carry yourself. You look more like you belong to a castle. Like a princess or something."
It didn't take long to process what he had just said.
Giving himself a mental note to stop talking, he returned to his desk and got back to work; trying his best to forget his flaming cheeks.
"Actually your highness, my family used to belong to nobility"
Ash looked up. He actually hadn't expected her to reply after what he had said.
"But then something horrible happened and we lost all our wealth" she continued "It was only years later that my parents had passed away."
Serena was still facing away from Ash and he could even see her hands trembling, but her words didn't lack any bit of confidence. It was as if she had let go of that horrible past and she was proud to say that she had moved on.
Ash smiled. It wasn't everyday came across people like that, moreover someone who came to work as his maid. But then his eyes shifted to her hands. "Why are you shaking so much?"
She didn't reply.
Then it hit him. "Oh yeah....about that" he hesitated "Just..just pretend it never happened. I mean I'm not saying you're not like a princess, but..but..You are pretty...umm..I"
When he saw Serena, still standing with her back faced to him and just nervously wiping the same spot on the table over and over again, he mumbled a quiet "Never mind" to himself and spun back to face his reports.
What was wrong with him? He was never this flustered around anybody and he hadn't stammered since he was 10. If this continued on this way, it would be very hard to have conversations with her.
But then a voice rang through this head. Like it was picked up from his memories and had been replayed exactly as he had heard it.
"That wasn't a very good start, but I really really want to be friends with you. So let's start from the beginning. Let's pretend like this never happened, 'kay?"
Ash took a deep breathe and with a firm voice he said "Serena, I want you to face me."
She slowly turned around, her eyes downcast and her face, a bright shade of red. "Okay, now look me in the eye" Ash said, standing up and going to her.
Serena unclasped her palms. As if by magic, she threw all her fear of embarrassment, she balled her fists in confidence. She didn't hesitate like last time, instead she quickly threw a firm look at Ash.
"That wasn't a very good start, your highness" she said, smiling at him "But I really want us to get along very well, you know, be friends ".
This took Ash by surprise. It was as if this girl had sensed what he was planning to do and that wasn't very common, because nobody understood Ash, nobody bothered to.
"So let's start from the beginning." he continued, earning a smile from Serena "Let's pretend like this never happened, 'kay"
She nodded "I am Serena" she said, taking a step forward "I work as the personal maid for the prince of the Kingdom of Kanto. I am 18 years old"
"Nice to meet you Serena, I am Ash" he spoke "I'm the second prince of the Kingdom of Kanto and I'm 18 years old"
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, your highness"
Ash shook his head "Don't call me your highness" he corrected "We're friends now right, so I want you to call me Ash"
A/N--------------------------------------
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Everything's Fair in Love and War - An Amourshipping story
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