I woke up to the sound of an alarm clock blaring. I squeezed my eyes shut and brought my hands to my ears, trying to keep out the sound. It's too early for this.
I grudgingly opened my eyes and groaned before the thing stopped ringing.
Ah, that's better!
I looked at the ceiling. Where was I? I didn't remember my bed feeling so soft and I did not remember having an alarm clock or a window on my left side. And it was still dark!
I had to be in a dream. How else could I describe it? This room was completely foreign to me. Not to mention the softness of the beddings. So I turned onto my side and curled up, trying to go back to sleep only to be interrupted by the light that appeared red behind my eyelids.
Now who on earth had a death wish trying to disturb my sleep? It had to be Bobby. Oh God, I would give that boy a beating if he was the culprit. And how did he get into my room?
"Get up, Zia," I heard my mother say from the other side of the room, where the light was coming from.
"Five more minutes," I grumbled, "why do we have to get up so early anyway?"
"Because you have to work," she said.
Work. Work. Holy crackers, I had to work!
My eyes shot open as I realisation donned on me. I was in the palace, Jennifer was my roommate and she was the one talking all along. And I had to work.
Jennifer laughed at me as I practically jumped from my bed and rushed into the bathroom. I performed my morning rituals— borrowing some few things from Jennifer— and put on my uniform before following her out. She locked the door, gave the second key and we started down the hall.
"Where to now?" I asked.
"Every morning you must first report to the head maid's office to be given your share of work for the day," she said.
Good to know! We reached the office and knocked before entering. We found some other ladies getting their schedules for the day. We stood and waited until Mrs Bourne finished talking to them.
As they turned to leave, one in particular the blonde gave me a glare before walking out. The hell was her problem? What had I done? I knew then that she was going to be trouble.
We greeted Mrs Bourne and she told Jennifer her allocations before turning to me.
"You, what's your name again?" she asked.
"Uh... Zia. Zia Blade," I said. What else could I do? I couldn't lie and besides, I didn't know what the original maid's name was.
"Hmm. Ms Blade, you are to clean seven rooms in the guest wing, the trophy room, the grand staircase and lastly, you must join the other maids in cleaning the ballroom. Make sure that all these places are spotless clean." I gulped.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good. Of you go!"
I started complaining the minute we walked out of the office. I could not believe it. Seven rooms for a single person. And the staircase, how many steps were we counting? I just knew I would grow ten more years after only today.
Jennifer just brushed me off saying I was being over dramatic. She said some others got even more rooms than I did.
"Are you guys always this busy?" I asked her.
"No. Only when there's a function."
"So, is there a function?"
"Of course. The young Prince arrived back from Scotland yesterday so the King ordered a dinner be hosted in his honor," she said, nonchalant.
"The young Prince, huh!"
"He's so handsome, oh my God. Rumour has it that his hands are made of fire. He just touches and you feel your insides melt. And God, his eyes..."
Oh dear God, save me. This was why I barely had girlfriends. Here Jennifer was busy vacuuming her lungs because of the young Prince. I did not think he was even that handsome. She was acting more like a teenage highschool girl whose crush had told her he loved her if you asked.