The Lost Royal

Crossing paths yet again

I was truly, truly enthusiastic to be a part of this evening's ball. Palace servants are not usually in attendance at these events; we are usually behind the curtains, not present in any one's lines of vision. It almost sounds like we're an abomination, really, but we are as important as anyone in the hierarchy of palace workers otherwise how will the kingdom lead itself?  We may be working in the kitchen preparing for the food, though. Palace maids, however, have a status. They can serve and receive the guests directly bringing in hors d'oeuvres and expensive wines. 

Now that I'm palace maid, I am very pleased to hear that I am going to be up close and personal in observing the heat of the ballroom and it's most anticipated and respectable guests. I can't wait to tell Esa! She will be delighted to listen to my latest gossip not through the rumor mill but through primarily by the evidence of my eyes. She's going to be so jealous, I can't wait to catch her expression!

"Missus, what are you doing standing there? The plants need watering!" A palace maid called out. I awake from dreamy train of thoughts; how can they be so off-track? "Of course," I raise my voice in reply. I'm always immersed into my work, I scold myself mentally.

I think the less miserable part of being at this level is the simplicity of the work. I don't have to tirelessly make sure that the places I focus on are not so spick-and-span clean. It just needs a little dusting here and there with solely my powerful touch, and voila it's classy again. No that's not it, it's only because my work load is within a certain parameter, and that I only have to clean the Prince's chambers, so it's usually spotless and elegant-looking anyway. Well, I think, it's my reward for the three years I've been in the staff for me to transition in here. I walk out of the palace's entrance and I am met with fresh air. 

A breeze hits me in the face, and I relax. The day was exhausting, and the gentle wind catches me off guard, alleviating the stress I've been accumulating all day. I can feel the tension in my head, and I grasp my hair tightly into a fist. Slowly, I unwind the bun that has been holding my hair hostage. It springs free uncurling in layers, breaking free of the knotted strands. I exhale in relief. I'm not allowed to undress my bun when I'm in uniform. But who cares? I'm so human to want to enjoy the day.

The gardens of the palace are breathtaking. From the crystal and stone fountains where there are birds modeling to the briar rose tree stationed in the East Lake, it's a sight for the sore eyes. 

"Ow!" I suddenly feel a sharp sensation on my scalp. I rub the area, and turn around to find a shadowy figure preventing the sunlight from basking in my face. 

"I was trying to grab your attention," says the shadowy figure with a haughty demeanor, a voice resounding with a familiarity that I recognized.

On his hand, one of my hairs was dangling on his finger, "so you think the way to go is plucking my hair off like a chicken!"

"Not my intention at all, like I said, I wanted your focus to be on me." He rubs the hair between his fingers, and that causes me to anger, "how can you be such an idiot!" I burst in outrage. "Don't you know you can't mess with a women's hair? I like it very much! Why did you touch mine?" I rant in tangents. I want him to know that my head is my temple, untouchable. He seems flabbergasted at my outburst. Like he didn't see it coming, pfft.

"oh sorr-y. Do you want it back?" He hands it back like a peace-offering. Men could be so stupid. "No?!" I give him an incredulous once over. "What's your name, by the way?" 

"Why do you have a crush on me already?"He smirks. "As if! I want to ask you to leave because you're presence is a mere disturbance actually it's going to be a problem."

He completely ignores my statement, "why were you dazing out anyway? the garden, i must say, also renders me speechless every time I pass by."

I sigh, "how come you can walk by here so freely as you're suggesting? Are you a gardener by any chance?" I was wondering what line of work he took upon. His dress attire was so tasteful and polished, but with that unbelievable look he threw me made me rethink that. 

He took out a shiny material; it was bejeweled with a floral design with a print of a blossoming lily. Oh a mask! Could it be perhaps for the evening? The material was probably clay or leather, and absolutely mysterious as well as modestly attractive.

But the remarkable part was that he was handing it to me! "wait what are you doing? stop!" He laughs, i must  low key say it was kind of unsettling, "I'm giving it you. No, I'm sure it's not going to burn you."

"Is it yours? Did you steal it from one of the guests!" I ask in alarm, "you have to give it back! You're going to get us both in trouble!"

"Does it look like it's for men? No, I actually borrowed it from a friend. I'm giving it you for keepsakes." I eyed his supposed keepsake skeptically, "why? we're not friends? do I just have to hold it for you until you get back?" 

"Why would you want to do that? I believe there are better uses for that..."

"Oh! You can't possibly mean for me to attend the masquerade! That's...that's ridiculous! I can't be a fraud!"

His eyes twinkle in a way that makes me inhale, it was an unpredictable stormy gray swirl in his blue eyes. I thought that the temperature of his eyes meld well with his personality. I blink out of my obtrusive thoughts as he replies with, "and that's precisely what I was talking about!"

I shake my head in bewilderment. "You're fallible! I'm a palace maid. It wouldn't be appropriate." But his absurd idea had already made bells in my head ringing off in a new direction. 

"Why," he looks straight into my eyes, shifting closer to me that I swallow infinitesimally, "can't palace maids have a little fun too?"

His face only a breath away, I don't think he realized our positions, I said, "but I don't have a costume to go with it," my voice shaking the entire time. I wasn't sure this time if it was because I was excited/nervous about the prospect of attending a ball in a disguise or if it was due to distance between him and me.