Chapter Three -- Part One

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 Chapter Three – Part One

(Elle)

  “Yes ma’am?” I say nervously, twirling a stray piece of hair around my finger.

   “We have an…issue,” Mrs. Cooper says.

   “Ma’am?”

   “I was planning on having you work in the kitchens tomorrow night at Princess Maria’s birthday celebration, but we have a shortage of staff. You’ll be waiting tables tomorrow. I know you don’t have experience with that but—”

  I exhale. She didn’t know about the boy! I wasn’t going to be fired, thank God. “Mrs. Cooper, it’s truly fine. I don’t mind. I mean, how hard could it be?”

   “Oh, thank goodness!” Mrs. Cooper exclaims. “You’ve really helped me, thank you so much, Miss Meridal!”

   “It’s fine,” I say, smiling slightly.

   “Well, I’ve best be going to finish other preparations for the celebrations. Have a good day, Miss Meridal.” She hurries off before I could say another word.

The rest of the day passes by quickly, and the next evening, I walk into the ballroom. The ballroom was huge, probably the biggest room I’d ever been in. The walls were a simple white, but the high ceiling was almost gold, and a bronze chandelier was hanging. Large, rectangular windows lined the walls, showing the dark night sky. Navy blue curtains covered the windows partially.

    The tables were surrounding the dance floor, though barely anyone was sitting at them. Almost everyone was dancing. They were mostly in couples, with brightly colored ensembles I envied. My dress was gray and plain, nothing special. I doubted any of the other girls would envy me.

   I’d, sadly, be working tonight, serving food to the guests all evening.

   “Ah, Miss Meridal, there you are!” Mrs. Cooper exclaims, walking up to me briskly. “Will you please get the orders from that table over there?” She points to a table bigger than the others, closer to the front, seating the Royal Family themselves.

   “Mrs. Cooper, shouldn’t someone else be working that table?” I ask nervously. “I don’t th—”

   “Nonsense,” she interrupts, giving me a hard stare. “Don’t be a child, Miss Meridal. Besides, we don’t want to keep them waiting, do we?”

   “I suppose not,” I sigh, begrudgingly taking my notepad over to them.

   Maria was sitting next to a regal-looking woman with angular features. I assumed it was Queen Kayleigh, her mother, and that the heavyset man with the beard was her father, King Robert.

   The boy sitting next to Maria, however, was someone I recognized. It was the boy whose bedroom I’d walked into yesterday.

   He was the prince, Prince Will! I just had to walk into the prince of Maris’s bedroom while he was making out with some girl. Just my luck. Oh, and I was rude to him too! I might as well pack up tonight, I think bitterly. No point in me hanging around. I’ll obviously be fired once he tells his parents about my temper.

   He smirked, clearly remembering who I was. I blush, but regain my confidence and say, “Good evening, Your Highnesses.” I curtsy to them all, looking down slightly as a sign of respect.

   “Mother,” Maria turned to Kayleigh, “this is my new maid, Elle Meridal.”

    “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Meridal,” Kayleigh says.

    Robert nods. “We’ve heard much about you.”

    “Ah, yes,” Kayleigh adds. “Maria has taken quite a liking to you.”

    Maria smiles sheepishly, and I say, “I’ve taken a liking to her too. She’s really a wonderful young lady.”

   “I would hope so,” Robert says seriously, though he smiles at Maria.

   “I am!” Maria says playfully. “Oh, and Elle— I mean, Miss Meridal, that’s my brother, Will.” She looks over at the boy.

   “A pleasure to meet you again, Miss Meridal,” he says wryly. His blue eyes stare into my mine, looking as if he knew a secret about me. Which, in a way, he did.

   “Again?” Maria questions.

   “Yes,” Will says. “She, ah, accidentally walked into the wrong yesterday.”

   “I’d like to apologize for that again, Your Highness,” I say as respectfully as I could, as if we were two old friends.

   “Don’t worry, Miss Meridal. It was only an accident,” he says, the corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly.

   “If there’s anything I can do, Your Highness…”

  “I’ll be sure to let you know,” he smiles. I wondered why he was being so nice to me now. After yesterday, and just now for that matter, I thought I’d be out of a job. It seemed odd. I mean, why keep me around? Wouldn’t it just be better to fire me and find some other poor, eager girl? It made sense, even to me.

   But coming back to the real world, I say, “May I have your orders, Your Highnesses?” They give them to me, and I hurry off to the kitchens, eager to leave the Royal Family. Especially Prince Will.

Hey, everybody! This is the end of Chapter Three -- Part One. I hoped you liked it, especially with Will being the guy whose bedroom Elle walked into. That was so much fun to write, lol. Anyways, the next part of chapter three should be from Will's perspective.

Thanks for reading, and please comment! :)

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