“Why does the garden have to be so big? Just how many of these leaves are we supposed to sweep?” Jessie complained before she started pulling at her braids in clear frustration.
“It’s not that bad. If we work together, we should get everything done before sundown,” I replied before smiling a little at her.
Compared to other work that we could have gotten, I guess this wasn’t a hard task at all. On top of that, the weather was fine. The sun wasn’t too hot, and the breeze felt pleasant enough. The tree that shed leaves still provided us with shade here and there for cover.
“Let’s chat to pass the time. I’m bored out of my mind…” Jessie suggested.
Salena was a fast but silent worker. She didn’t speak much and was very shy; however, she was a very efficient worker. Her height and agility seemed to help her a lot.
“Ok…” I replied while Salena didn’t say anything.
“So, why did you two decide to come work here as maids?” Jessie asked.
“Well…” I murmured.
Should I tell them that I was brought here against my will. The truth was, I didn’t choose to work here as a maid and the prince somehow ended up winning me at an auction.
“What about you Salena? Can you please say something?” Jessie urged.
“Umm…my hometown is a small town in the north. I want to become a doctor, so I decided to come work here. People say that there’s a famous doctor who works in this palace…and there are a lot of advanced medical knowledge developed and stored here…” Salena replied in a small voice.
“Really? You didn’t come here because you wanted to marry one of the princes? Well, you’re so quiet and shy, I wonder how you’re going to attract a prince or any man for that matter…” Jessie asked, clearly shocked by Salena’s response.
“Well, I…I…umm…I don’t really care about the prince and all that,” Salena murmured.
“Huh? But you volunteered to work in the palace, didn’t you?” Jessie continued grilling her for answers.
“Yes, I did but it’s just as I told you…it’s because I want to study medicine here…if possible. The doctors and nurses in my village all say that the best doctors work here in the castle. The library here is also very big with loads of valuable books. So, I thought…” Salena began explaining her real goal again.
“She’s a bookworm. Oh, how boring…” Jessie muttered darkly.
“Less competition is always a good thing!” I chimed in teasingly.
That little joke of mine made Jessie laugh so hard that Salena managed to join in with her shy giggles.
I was more shocked at Jessie’s expectations than Salena’s dream and reason for coming here.
“What about you? You came here because you want to marry once of the princes, right? So, which one are you after?” Jessie asked as she turned her attention my way.
“A-After?” I stuttered in confusion.
“There’s no need to be shy about it. Almost every woman who works in the palace is after one of the princes. After all, one of them would be crowned as the next king. You do know that much, right?” Jessie openly gossiped.
Something told me that I shouldn’t tell these two that I was purchased by one of the princes that Jessie was talking about.
“I…umm…I came here to work and send money back to the orphanage where I grew up. I feel like I owe it to them and the other younger girls there…” I replied quite truthfully.
Although, I had no idea at that point how much money I would earn if any. The bigger problem was I didn’t know how to send money back or what Monica would make of it. When I thought about what she did to me, my feelings were complicated and so mixed that I didn’t know what I was feeling.
“Aww…really? So, none of you are here to win the prince’s heart?” Jessie asked with clear disappointment in her voice.
“What about you? Which prince are you after?” I asked curiously.
“I’m after money! If I need to climb up the ranks to get my hands on more money, I’ll do exactly that. I don’t think I can snag one of the princes, though. Honestly, I don’t have the looks, the manners, or anything that they’re looking for,” Jessie said with a laugh.
“Money? Do you need to send money back to your family?” I asked.
Maybe her situation was similar to mine in that respect.
“Nope. I don’t have a family anymore. My parents got sick and died. My little brothers got separated from me. I just want to be rich because I don’t want to be poor…ever again…” Jessie replied with clear determination in her eyes.
The sad and hardened look in her eyes told me that she had been through something awful and hurtful. I didn’t dare ask for any more details.
“Good luck to all of us, I guess…” I murmured as I busied my hands with sweeping the dried leaves.
“Who knows one of us might get to marry a prince…” Salena spoke up softly before she flashed us a sweet and shy smile.
“I want to be a princess and live a life of luxury. No more weeding the garden or sweeping the floor!” Jessie chimed in cheerfully.
“I’ll be satisfied with just being a maid…” I mumbled truthfully.
“Have you seen the princes before? Maybe you’ll change your little mind when you see them…” Jessie said dreamily.
“Well, not really…” I mumbled.
I’ve seen prince Leonard, but he was dressed head to toe in black and had a mask on. All I saw were his piercing blue eyes.
“Oh, you don’t come from this kingdom, so I guess it does make sense that you haven’t seen them. They’re on the news abroad often too, though. Everyone here has seen them, well, at least photos of them…” Jessie said excitedly.
“Right…” I mumbled without much interest as I focused on sweeping the fallen leaves.
--To be continued...