First Day

A sharp knock came from the door, forcing my eyes open. Sophia, got up before me, putting on a shawl over her nightgown before opening the door.

"I'm here to retrieve Miss Allenvure," The voice announced from the door. My tiredness flew away at the mention of my name. I got up and went to the door. A fairly old lady stood there, a neutral expression held on her face.

"Mrs.Bellings," I addressed, recognizing her features. A small smile graced her lips, "Miss Allenvure."

"I heard that you are to be a maid starting today. I, for one, am glad to have received such a hard worker," she remarked.

"Oh, you flatter. I am the one who should be glad, since I get to work for such a great lady."

She chuckled, "Thank you. I hope you continue to have that attitude as we move forward from now on."

I smiled, "Absolutely."

I turned to Sophia and gave her a hug.

"I'll miss you," She said.

"Don't worry. We'll probably see each other soon," I replied with a smile. I left and followed Mrs.Bellings until we reached what looked to be a small office.

"Go ahead and take a seat Miss Allenvure," She spoke, walking behind her desk. I stepped over to the sofa and took a seat.

"Let me guide you through what your job is going to look like from here on out. Frankly speaking, the place we need workers the most is the preparation staff for the queen-candidacy ball," She said. My heart sunk.

So much for being a laundry maid.

"With all the maids being placed for the candidates in Gold, along with the massive preparation and cleaning involved with every test, we can't really afford to spare any available workers. Plus, with having previously worked with you, and you being familiar with the fellow preparation staff, it's the best case scenario," She explained. She seemed to be a little bit worn from the tired tone of her voice. I couldn't bring myself to say I didn't want to be placed there, especially since she's my direct superior. Not to mention, it was fun working with the preparation staff the last time.

"Alright, no problem, Mrs.Bellings," I smiled.

She returned the smile, obviously glad to hear my compliance.

"Also, if you worry about the other maids and servants changing their attitude about you due to your social status then you can be at ease. The other servants were quite happy to hear that you would be joining the Silver Palace. It seems you've made a decent first impression," She stated. I blinked in surprise.

For the next while, she talked over different palace rules and simple maid etiquette to remember. Lastly, she gave me my maid uniform to change into, and let me switch clothes before moving out of the office and to my new bedroom. She opened the door, letting me see the inside. The furniture was overall plain, nothing standing out among each other.

Finally, a normal room.

"As much as I would like to let you settle in for the rest of the day, I unfortunately need to put you right to work," She said, closing the door to the worker unit.

"That's perfectly fine, Mrs.Belling. I would have had nothing better to do anyways."

We both giggled softly before moving onto where I would be working.

"Your willingness is always refreshing Miss Allenvure. The king will be announcing the next test, so you can imagine how anxious the preparation staff is," she said.

"The preparation staff isn't told ahead of time?" I asked.

"We were with all the other tests. However with the recent rebel attack, the topic of the ball was put on hold for the participants as well as the staff. Everyone, including the administration will be hearing from the king what he plans to do for the remainder of the ball."

We turned a corner and walked into a loud and bustling kitchen.

"That said, we have to prepare for the first meal the participants will have with the king since the celebratory ball," She said, sighing at the chaos.

Yikes.

"You'll be at the dish station. I know it doesn't sound like the best, but until the situation calms, it's all we got. Plus, you won't have the chance to make a mistake with the food or with serving the guests."

"That's fine. I'll go ahead and start, if that's alright," I said, rolling up the sleeves of my dress.

"Absolutely. If you have any questions, just ask anyone around you," she said before departing. I wormed my way over to the set of sinks, greeting the fellow maids. Since I wasn't yet aware of where all the dishes go, I switched with one of the dish washers so that I could wash and they could focus on drying and putting away.

Once food was actually brought out, the amount of plates piled up in mountains, and it took the entire next course of the meal to finish them, only to pile in once again. By the end of the meal, I didn't even want to look at my hands due to how pruny they were. Thankfully, the maids in charge of dishwashing are changed out for every meal.

Mrs.Bellings told everyone to help clean out the dining hall while she went with the candidate group to hear the announcement about the next test, so I went with the others and helped wipe down all the chairs and tables. It wasn't till an hour-ish later that she came back out of breath and clearly in a bad mood.

"I thought His Highness would at least have the slightest bit of courtesy towards the preparation staff, but apparently I have been proven wrong. A date with every single candidate he says? And they choose what it is? Who knows what those aristocrats are going to try and come up with. And what about the cost?! Did he even consider the budget? Especially after he decided to have that extra ball?" She continued, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Now that I think about it. This whole thing must have cost a fortune. I didn't even think about how much all the gowns for each of the participants must have cost, let alone all the food they've used to feed everyone on a constant basis…

"Everyone, may I have your attention?" Mrs.Bellings projected. Everyone turned to face her, a few people peek through the doors of the hallways they were in.

"Tonight after dinner, all of the preparation staff will have a meeting. After I have given it some thought, I will give everyone a run down of how we will handle the King's announcement. For now, focus on lunch and dinner. I will be in my office if anyone needs anything," She spoke with a sigh at the end. I could feel her stress all the way from the other side of the room, making me want to scold the King a little. However, I like my head attached to my neck.

I got back to work as soon as she left and worked on the table, wiping furiously at the polished wood.

"Eleana!" I heard someone call. I turned to face Tina, her flaming red hair always drawing attention to her.

"Tina!" I returned. She squished me with a hug.

"I'm so happy you became part of the preparation staff. I thought that after the ball, I wouldn't be able to work with you again," she said.

"I know. You have no clue how worried I was when I realized all the staff wasn't at the ball. I thought the rebels did something to you guys."

"No, luckily they thought we were innocent and didn't kill us. They just tied us up and locked us in the pantry. I was scared out of my wits but nothing ending up happening," She explained. "You were more unsafe than I was. Are you sure you're okay with seeing everything that happened."

"Of course, I'm fine. Plus, I got to become a maid, so I guess it wasn't all that bad."

"I guess so. I for one am looking to partnering with you again," She said.

I smiled, "Me too."

I remembered the time we worked during the Ball preparation. We bonded immediately over our shared interest in needlework and crafting. When I told her about the flower chain incident when I first came here, she burst out laughing, something most noble women can't bring themselves to do.

"If you need anything just let me know. And if anyone gives you grief over your social status, just tell me and I'll teach a lesson. I may not look like it but I'm a Count's daughter," She reassured.

"Thank you, Tina," I laughed.

From there we worked together for the rest of the day, me mainly washing or drying dishes. It turns out that if you're new they don't actually switch the washers. In the end, I reluctantly waddled to the meeting room with Tina. After a few tiring moments of standing, Mrs.Bellings came into the room. She walked in pinching the bridge of her nose, seemingly holding down a painful headache. Suddenly I didn't feel that bad about washing the dishes anymore.

"Alright, Everyone," She called.

"Thank you all for waiting and being patient. I'm sure everyone is anxious to hear their assignments for the ball, so let's just get started. I've made a list of all the candidates for the ball and each one will be assigned three different servants. You'll be in charge of basically making whatever dream date they have in mind come true. Each of you will have to report and make a request for the budget you expect it to come to. Of course, your candidate will also need to be a part of making that budget. This will also serve as a test to their ability to lead and organize a small event. Your job is simply to support and give them the resources they ask for. This King has allotted one meal time for each of the candidates, starting next week, so you'll have this week to prepare for everything," she said. She then handed a paper for us to pass around. Once it finally got to me, I saw the lady I was assigned to: Lady Telina Refferance. I looked at the room number attached to the name and memorized it before passing the paper. After all the people got their assignment, Mrs. Belling dismissed us for the rest of the day, warning us to arrive at their rooms at precisely 8 o'clock.