The Haunting Tale

Chapter 11: The Preparation

"Okay people! Gather up!" Ward hollered as every single household in the castle marched and stood in lines in front of him. Ward trotted around the lines as if he were a Sargent in an army group. "Today is a very special day. It's Noah's birthday. And we're going to work very hard, because this is a very special boy. It's who Diana loves. I know, I know, we have sworn not to do any cleanings and parties anymore because we're sick of it. But it's been 200 years, don't you miss a bit. And besides, this is for the young couple. So we must work, bake, and clean our asses off!"

"So," said Lilly, "for short, let's make the best birthday party Noah has ever had. So have fun."

All the brooms, cloths, water buckets, mops, and duster cleaners cleaned the floors, the walls, and the ceilings. The feathery dust cleaners got all the dust off the tables, chairs, shelves, and apparently anything that was dusty. The cloths polished everything that the dust cleaners had cleaned, making things even glossier.

Figar hopped pass the brooms swiping the floor, the dust flew on him, making him sneeze and cough. He then walked to the kitchen, where he met other cleaners and a giant stove. He looked at his left, Lilly was marching to the kitchen sink, about sixteen teacups were behind her. She tried to turn the faucet on, filling the sink. All the silverware, cups, bowls and plates jumped into it, washing themselves. They hopped out of it and the cloths dried them out. Lilly was the last one to come out. As she was dried, Figar was amazed how the teapot looked new. At first, Lilly was a chipped teapot with nasty grey color and tea stains, and then she transformed into stainless with ivory color. The purple flowery decoration appeared on her.

"You look magnificent!" said Figar.

"Have you drunk?" asked Lilly.

"No madam, I just couldn't believe that you are... you!"

"Well I want to see you you, Figar. Hop in!"

Figar didn't hesitate jumping into the sink (but before that, he had to take his candles off). When he was dried and polished, Figar couldn't do anything but embracing himself. He remembered the gold color on him. The dust was gone, the scratches were nearly faded, and the gold glamored.

"Not too shabby," a voice came. Diana walked inside and looked for the chef. "Chef Henry. How's the cake?"

Henry was a giant stove, he had bad temper, but he was funny and sassy. He was reading the instructions of how to bake a birthday cake, telling the cooking equipment to do what he wanted.

"It's going great... I guess," said the stove with disbelief.

"Don't worry, I bet the cake will look fantastic," said Diana, smiling at him.

"I know, I haven't cooked or baked for a special occasion for two centuries," he said with a chuckle, then he talked to himself. "Come on, you can do this, Henry..."

"Where's Noah?" asked Lilly.

"In his room. He said he was cold again," said Diana. "That would distract him -"

Diana was interrupted by the knocks at the window. She went to the door and opened it. She saw two princesses standing behind the sill. The girl with blue sparks was Allie, and the other girl had small red ribbon. She was about fourteen, her skin was as white as snow, her lips were as red as blood, and hair was as black as ebony. She was Snow White, but she liked to be called Snowy.

"Hey guys, what are you doing here?" Diana asked casually.

"You've been in this castle for two hours! We have been worried, we thought that something happened to you," Allie said protectively.

"I'm alright. I'm just, you know, getting ready for a special party."

"A party?" Snowy raised her eyebrows. "I've sworn that you and everyone else in your castle vowed not to celebrate anymore because you're sick of it."

"Yeah, I was there," said Allie, then she smugly smiled at Diana. "Is it for Noah?"

"Noah? Who is he?" Snowy was confused.

"Yes, indeed. It's his birthday today! He's turning thirty today," Diana enthusiastically jumped up and down.

"Calm down! Where did you get that childish vibe?" Snowy queried.

"Probably from Noah..." Allie said with romantic voice.

"Okay, who in the Unholy Forest is Noah?"

"A dreamy guy whom Diana is in love with," Allie explained.

"He's perfect, sweet, kind, funny, and smart. He has everything I need," Diana began daydreaming. "Awkward, sometimes silly, a bit overprotective -"

"Um, those last three things weren't so perfect," said Snowy.

"That's what makes him perfect to me, he's flaw, but cutely flaw."

"I am really glad that you've finally have someone you truly love," Allie smiled. "Hey, maybe we can help you with the birthday party."

"That's great! I'm grateful," Diana hugged the princesses, then released them. "Get to the front gate and go inside."

"Sure, sure. But first, I have to call my friends," Snowy winked and then she sang melodically. All the animals, such as birds, deer, rabbits, squirrels, immediately arrived. "Follow me," Snowy and Allie went inside the castle, the animals were behind them.

The animals lifted the carpets up and tossed them into a big wooden bucket of water, washing them.

The brooms and mops cleaned the floors, the birds flew to the ceiling and dusted off with their feathers and wings.

The deer, bunnies, and squirrels tried to scrapped the dirty-looking dust and stains - and sometimes unidentified nasty grey - off the walls. Then Allie and Snowy repainted the walls, mostly maroon and blue.

Diana walked up to the stairs and enjoyed the view: busy objects and princesses working with all their hearts for Noah... and for her. They all cared about the couple, they adored Noah for being the true material of being a prince, or maybe even a king of Unholy: smart, adventurous, and kind. HE also stood up for himself (remember the time Lilly pretended to be a jerk and interrupted Noah's talking? He said he didn't tolerate her action, which was brave despite being a coward).

Diana took a deep breath and walked to the West Wing.

The hall was cleaned, but the eerie silence still hadn't calmed Diana. She walked to her ex-husband's room: it was empty and ruined, his torn portraits were everywhere. It was as scary as the baby room, which apparently looked like a room in a haunted house. No, more like an asylum.

She looked around the room without going inside. She remembered the time she was with the Prince, she was naive. She was so lost, the Prince had used her. Then, after they got married, the table was turned. They fought, argued, and the Prince cheated on her. He looked like a perfect person, but he was rotten inside. He killed animals as a hobby, and despite Diana's protest, he still did it. Diana once heard a rumor that Ginnifer, one of Diana's friend, was abused by her ex. God, she hoped it wasn't true.

She remembered what Noah told her: move on and forget the painful past. What happened stays what it is.

She took a match and lit it on fire, mumbling, "I have to move on..."