The Maid: His Little Secret

Chapter 1

1

I tried to keep up with the man in front of me, but I quickly became lost. The palace was so big, and the corridors so long. One wrong turn could cause hours of roaming in hopes of getting back on the correct path-hours that I could not afford on my first night. There were too many 'basics' to cover, or so I'd been told.

I spun in a complete circle, but I didn't know which direction he'd went in. He was walking so fast and I was so amazed by the decor that my focus had shifted to all the wrong places already. The portraits that filled the walls were all so historical. Each painting depicted one of Anaheim's previous rulers to the current.

"You must learn to keep up," the advisor said, appearing from around one of the endless corners.

"Yes sir," I said, with my head low.

"You will be starting immediately. For the most part, you do whatever the royal family asks along with your daily chores. Refrain from keeping them waiting long whenever they tell you to do something. Always be prepared for them to summon you and I strongly suggest you try to learn your way around the palace as quickly as possible. It will make walking everywhere much easier," he started walking again but turned around as he remembered something else. "Another thing, never go to the king, queen, or prince's chambers unless you are asked to do so," he said. "Which you most likely won't."

"Okay," I replied simply, overlooking his somewhat insulting, but true, statement.

"No," he said sternly. His stone cold eyes ripped through my flesh. "It's your grace, your majesty, your highness or simply nod. That disrespectful behavior will get you beheaded before the night's end," he snarled at me in disgust.

I just stared at him daringly. At home I was pretty outspoken so how would I be able to survive here? One wrong word could get you beheaded? It was a little extreme in my opinion, but then again, my views didn't matter. I was no one here.

"Rebecca," he called out.

In less than a few seconds, another maid walked over to us. She couldn't be more than a few years older than me, nineteen maybe, but she looked extremely tired. She had bags under her eyes and walked with a slight limp. Was the palace to blame for this? Even her hair seemed extremely dull compared to mine that was a bright, fiery copper.

"Teach Charlotte the rest of the basics of being a servant here," he demanded.

She nodded and he walked away.

She started walking and I stumbled to catch up to her.

"Where are we going?" I asked curiously.

"The Dining Hall," she replied emotionlessly. "It's time for supper."

She didn't seem too social, so I refrained from asking anymore questions for the time being. If all the maids were like Rebecca, this would be a lonely lifetime.

We walked into the massive Dining Hall and stood on the sides near the towering windows. They stretched from the ceiling to the floor and you could see almost the entire front lawn until the large forest that shielded the palace walls. It was all so beautiful. The never-ending white rose gardens, the brilliant blue sky, I would miss it all. I had a feeling I wouldn't be seeing the outside world again for a long while.

All of the maids stood in one perfect line. There were about fourteen of us here in the Dining Hall, but I was definitely the youngest considering I was only sixteen. Though Rebecca couldn't be much older than me, when she stood next to the other women, she too looked just as aged. They were all at least in their forties and above.

I guess no other families sent their sixteen year old daughters off to become maids this year. I wondered why. Maybe it was because they wanted to give their girls a chance at living, a chance at getting married and having children of their own before signing their lives away to serve the 'royal' family. What made them so much better than everyone else anyway? I bet they were entirely too stuck up.

I quietly tried to conjure up an escape plan, but ended up with nothing. I wouldn't be able to stay here, and even if I had to live my life on the run, it wouldn't be any worse than living here right?

I looked over at the grand table. Food and wine blinded me as I remembered my parents hadn't fed me for nearly three whole days before sending me away. The little money my father made had to go to baby Liza, their newborn. There hadn't been enough for me.

The enticing aroma filled my nostrils as my stomach grumbled. I became lightheaded and my vision was a little fuzzy.

"Does any of that go to us?" I whispered to Rebecca, nearly about to pass out at the sight.

She shook her head, but kept her eyes forward.

"Well why not? Don't we get to eat?!" I asked getting a little worked up. I'd been running around this stupid palace on fumes all day!

"Shh!" She urged as the doors soon opened again.

I turned my head forward and watched as the royal family walked through the intricately decorated double doors. They were all so regal and elegant. I'd only ever seen pictures of the King and Queen.

All of the maids bowed and I quickly did the same. I seriously had a lot of rules to learn if I wanted to stay out of trouble, but there were so many. So many formalities that I wasn't accustomed to.

After a few seconds, we rose and the family made their way to their designated seats. If the chairs weren't placed at a supper table, I would've thought that they were thrones!

We just stood there as they ate and I took this opportunity to really take in the Royal Family's appearance.

The King, King Henry, was an incredibly stubby man. He had a huge belly, which probably came from all the food he ate and wine he drank, and a grown out beard. His eyes were a light green and I could imagine him being extremely good looking when he was younger. Even from where I stood, I could see the lines on his face that undeniably indicated he was aging, being a clear reminder to all of Anaheim that his rule would soon come go an end.

Next to him was Queen Aubrey who had much poise while she ate. She only spoke when the King spoke to her and that wasn't often. Even so, she looked and behaved elegantly. Her wavy, jet black hair fell just past her shoulders and the dress she wore, brought out the radiance in her baby blue eyes.

Finally, I saw their son, Prince Alexander. His thick, black hair was slicked back and he was almost an exact copy of his mother, but younger of course. His hazel eyes shone beautifully as the evening sun pierced into the windows and I could bet he had many admirers.

"You're not supposed to look directly at them," Rebecca mumbled.

I turned to face her. "Why?" I asked.

"Hey!" A deep voice rumbled, banging their fist against the table. The voice caused a chain of rattling commotion and nearly made a few of the maids jump in terror. My head snapped towards the table and I saw that it was King Henry who'd had the sudden outburst.

"You," he said, pointing directly at me.