Chapter 12
Luncheon (Part 2)
"Wonderful." One word escaped from Ara's lips as she remembered that she actually found her mate. She almost forgot about that. She shrugged and took a deep breath as she closed her eyes lightly. She's hoping everything will be just fine and in order.
"Great, the three of you were here now. Line up with them," Mrs O'Neil instructed them as soon saw them approaching. The three nodded their head and followed her instruction.
"There are three things I need to say before we start: first, never make any mistake. Second, bow down your head and never look at them, and lastly, be polite; if they talk to you, answer in a good and nice manner." All of them nodded their heads in understanding.
"Noted, madam." Mrs O'Neil nodded in satisfaction; great, I hope they won't make any mistakes. Because if they will, she doesn't know if she can help them to stay alive. She took a deep breath and looked at all the girls in front of her.
Then her gaze stopped on Ara; she's just new here. She had fewer expectations of her, but when she oriented her yesterday, she saw that she's quite a quick learner. But this time, Mrs. O'Neil is a little bit worried about her.
Ara will meet some of the most powerful and wealthiest vampires in the world; she's afraid that… they might pick on her. Ara is a mysterious girl, an aloof one. If they are curious about her, she's not wondering why. She, by herself, was curious about her, too.
"Mrs. O'Neil? It's almost time." One of the maids said to her, which pulled her back into reality. On the other hand, Ara was looking at Mrs. O'Neil, too. Ara was aware of what was running inside her mind, a perk of reading someone's mind.
Mrs. O'Neil was curious about her. Am I that mysterious? She thought amusedly. She shrugged her shoulder and looked at their senior maid again.
"Madam? Can I ask something?" Maddie raised her hand to ask a question. The woman looked at her and signed her to say her inquiry.
"Just a little bit curious since we're not really supposedly doing this job now. May I know who are they we will serve this afternoon?" She asked seriously, but curiosity could be heard in her voice.
"Oh, about that one. Of course, our king itself, Lady Alyssa, Lady Mariah, Lady Natalie, Sir Nicolas, Duke James, Mr Ingrid with his son Mr Ryle, and lastly, the Knight Commander, Mr Rogers." Maddie's lips were left hanging. So, were all of them powerful persons?
With one wrong move, your head will be gone. Geez, they need to be more careful.
"So, follow what I instructed," she paused and took a deep breath before giving them a warm smile.
"Don't be so nervous, stay calm as possible. Start working now." She announced and clapped her hand trice; that was a sign that they needed to start moving. Ara was about to get something to carry, but Mrs. O'Neil stopped her.
"Hold on, Ms. Clarkson, I want to have a few words with you." Ara looked at her with a little confusion in her eyes.
"Sure, Madam. What is it?" Ara asked as she walked closer to her. Mrs O'Neil signs her to come closer even more, so she does.
"You're new here, and it's your first time helping to prepare the king's luncheon, right?" Ara nodded her head in agreement.
"Yes, Madam." She answered shortly with a matter of truth.
"I didn't expect this to happen, that three of the maids I assigned to arrange the luncheon got sick suddenly, so I have no better choice but to force you to help us on this matter on your first day of work."
It's actually just fine on me. I have no problem with this situation at all, Ara thought but still attentively listened to Mrs. O'Neil's words.
"Since it's your first time, I'll assign you less work. And you, Cat and Maddie will rest early for working overtime." Ara smiled a little when she heard that Mrs. O'Neil was a kind and considerate person.
"Thank you, madam." She gratefully said and bowed her head slightly.
"No worries, that's all I need to say. Start working now." Ara nodded once again, and she was about to carry some of the dishes, but Mrs. O'Neil stopped her again.
"Get that one. Let them hold the dishes." She pointed to the spare forks, spoon and knife.
"Place that on the table near the wall where we will stay later. You don't have to go near the royal dining table." Ara blinked twice. Is she serious? It looks like she won't do anything at all. She smiled slowly and nodded her head.
"Nodded, madam." Mrs. O'Neil smiled and tapped Ara's shoulder.
"Go ahead now, dear; good luck." Ara nodded once again and mumbled thank you before leaving the kitchen with the other maids.
"You're still here. We are placing the first batch of the food on the table now. What did Mrs. O'Neil tell you?" Cattie suddenly showed up on her left side while Maddie was on her right.
"Nothing much, but she said we will have our rest early today for working overtime." She said that slightly shocked the two. "Really? Did she say that? How considerate of her. Haha, Paulita really loves us." Maddie said while grinning from ear to ear.
"Right, let's go. I hope they will end their lunch early. Geez, I'm really starving. Only if I can eat all of this." Cattie agreed as she spared a glance at the dishes she was carrying. The food was tempting her; its scent was really mouth-watering.
"Hold on to yourself, Cattie. That food is not for you, haha." Maddie amusedly said, which made Cattie frown. Ara just smiled because of their wittiness.
"Anyway, Ara…" Maddie called her, so she glanced at her and mumbled, "Yes?"
"Aren't you really nervous?" She asked her. Ara was one hundred per cent sure that she was not, maybe a little bothered because she would see the person. She had hoped not to see him for the third time since she had got here in the palace.
"Not really; Mrs. O'Neil said we should be calm if possible." She answered casually. Maddie nodded her head in agreement.
"Right."
"The king and the other weren't there yet. It's almost twelve," Cattie shared her thoughts.
"Maybe they were there now. You know, VIP's." Maddie said back.
"Of course, they are, especially the King. He's super special and important." Cattie said again. The king whom they feared and admired at the same time, the king whom she didn't know the name of yet. She only remembered one thing about him: his surname, Acheron.
The man who ruined her family and life. Ara bites her inner lips when she feels the rage building inside her just thinking about it. She couldn't help but get mad; it's really painful to think about the past.
"May I ask one thing?" Ara suddenly asked them. The two girls spared her a glance.
"Sure, you may," Cattie answered.
"What is the full name of the king?" She asked blankly. That question caught them off guard, "You're just joking, right? Everyone knew his name." Maddie said in disbelief.
'Not everyone.' Ara thought darkly. She doesn't want to know his name, but she needs to; she wants to know what name she will curse to death.
"His name is Vladimir, King Vladimir Van Acheron," Maddie answered.
"But ever call him by his name, never. Only those persons he permits to call him by his name can do." Cattie continued.
"And as far I can remember, it's only his cousin and Sir Nicolas whom he allowed," Maddie added. Ara slowly grinned in her mind; Vladimir surely loved to see blood.
"Anyway, let's stop talking about him. Someone might have heard us. I don't want to die yet." Ara nodded her head.
"Sure, let's move faster."