The Last Princess [EDITED]

Chapter 30

DAISY was a scullery maid as well.

The scullery and kitchen maids awoke the earliest, leaving the luckier ones to sleep on the floor.

The dawn cold bit at my skin. The uniform we'd been given was thin, not enough to keep us warm.

Vanilla and Lotus had shaken us awake, and we'd seen Daisy in one of the groups of maids. She'd seen us too, and smiled. She walked over to us as we went up the stairs as a group.

"You got in," she whispered.

"So did you," Maple said, smiling.

Only a few of the maids carried on the conversation, while most, including me, were still trying to blink sleep out of their eyes.

We stuck close to Vanilla and Lotus, who led us to the kitchens — huge rooms with pots and pans, all of which would need to be cleaned, by us.

There, we were told to light the fireplaces, while the kitchen maids started preparing for the morning meal.

"Keep your heads down and don't talk back," Lotus whispered as the cooks came in. "That's the head cook," she said, gesturing discreetly to a plump woman, "She's alright, but some of the others are quite harsh."

"Now!" The head cook said, stepping forward. All of us stopped what we were doing and turned to her. "I want everyone to work fast today — aside from the usual, several lords are dining with the Queen today! I expect you to all work hard."

There was an accepting murmur, and we got back to our work.

First was the servants' breakfast, which the kitchen maids served in the servants' dining quarters. We served and then sat in the large hall, where long benches ran from one end to the other, and fires burned in the walls.

We sat next to Sakura and the others, eating quickly. We'd been allowed one piece of dry bread, hot porridge and a cup of milk each, but she passed me an extra slice of bread under the table.

Maple and I tried to look inconspicuous while looking for Aster in the large hall.

"There," Maple whispered, pointing at the far corner.

We walked over to her quickly, before the cooks called us back. She spotted us coming and stood up, walking to the corner.

"We're scullery maids," I said quickly, looking around.

"Laundress," she said dryly, "I never thought this day would come."

"You and Pecan got through safely?" Maple asked anxiously.

Aster gave us a sharp nod. "Yes. You should get back now. Nalvia be with you."

We echoed the wish and went to the cooks, who were ready with a long list of duties.

There were a variety of duties for us to do — cleaning the servants' chamber pots, washing dishes, cleaning the kitchen, scullery, pantries — I had new respect for Maple by the time we were allowed to have the afternoon meal.

"My knees ache," I groaned, sitting down, "How do you do this?"

Lotus chuckled. "You'll get used to it."

"What do you do?" I asked Sakura, scooping up a bit of stew.

She held her palms up. They were dry and cracked and calloused. "Laundress." I grimaced slightly, giving her a sympathetic look. "It's not that bad," she said, "The pay is good."

"Are you saving for something?" Maple asked curiously.

Sakura smiled wistfully, "I have five younger siblings to provide for, in my village. I send home my salary."