Chapter Text
It was nearly mid-day and I was already exhausted. My arms ached and a piercing throb in my back was no help either. The cloying warmth of the kitchens alternated with the frantic washing of the laundry made me feel damp and sweaty.
Being the newest handmaiden for the palace of Corona certainly had its perks, the provided rooms and generous pay were huge supports but there was also something to be said of being able to live in the very same building as royalty. Granted, my first day wasn't exactly going as planned.
They had stationed me in nearly every post they could think of and I still somehow managed to mess them up. I had no talent for sewing or embroidery, so that was out from the beginning, My attempts to tend to the horses had left me covered in hay and one unfortunate guard headed straight to the infirmary, I had soaked the other maids in the laundry and I won't even mention my attempts at setting up the banquet hall. So now it was the kitchen, my only option left after this was to spend all day everyday cleaning and I couldn't imagine anything more mind-numbingly boring than that.
"(Y/N)! Take this tray up to the banquet hall now! Serve it to the visiting lord and try and make yourself presentable before someone sees you!" shouted the head chef. She wasn't the warmest figure, but she ran a tight ship and commanded great respect from all of the servants under her careful watch. I had hoped to make some sort of good impression on her, but it seems my awful first day was beginning to spread through the palace and she carefully watched me with a suspicious eye.
I curtsied, deciding not to waste time with conversation and grabbed the awaiting tray from the counter. Before leaving the hectic kitchens, I took a moment to look in the mirror. I sighed, I looked like a mess. My hair was completely astray, my eyes frantic and stressed, even in the low lighting of the kitchen I was sure I looked paler than normal, stray bits of straw had found its way onto my clothing, and I still looked suspiciously damp. I took a breath, forcing the thoughts to leave my mind, grabbing a cloth from my pocket I tied back my hair and made the effort to soothe my frayed nerves.
Rushing through the servant's halls to make it to the banquet hall before the food got cold or the guests impatient was a task I would have to learn to master. I was determined to find the place where I would fit in among the palace and make myself useful, maybe if I was lucky they could somehow forget how awful I had started. Racing through the dim halls made me feel as though I was on a secret mission, tasked with some great and important task. I chuckled lightly to myself, amused by the strange thought. I approached the door at the end of the passage, pausing just a moment to fix my posture and prepare myself for the scrutiny of royalty.
The banquet hall was enormous and beautifully decorated, decorated in sparkling gold and deep purple. The blazing emblem of Corona shimmered with a new light, the golden sun freshly polished and radiating warmth. The vaulted ceilings made me feel like a speck in a world of giants and shivered at the sudden wave of insignificance in a large world.
The banquet table nearly stretched from one end of the hall to the other and was packed with foreign dignitaries from all the seven kingdoms. I had been so busy preparing for the event that I hadn't even tried to learn what such an important event was being commemorated by the occasion. I mentally slapped myself, how could I be so ignorant? I fixed my gaze ahead, making my posture perfectly straight despite the pain in my back, I silently hoped that the smile fixed onto my face looked more genuine than it felt. I focused on making my footsteps light, hearing the strict voice of the cook as I tried to look demure and poised. I nearly laughed again at that thought, Me? Demure and poised? Yeah, no, that wasn't happening.
I approached the visiting lord, looking at the floor respectfully as I carefully set the tray before him. He was wreathed in luxury, the extensive beadwork on his richly colored clothes made my hands hurt in sympathy for the poor maid forced to labor hour after hour. I backed away softly, hoping against hope that I had done everything correctly. I was nearly to the door when an angered cry made me freeze in place.
"Maid! Yes you, servant girl!" I turned slowly back to the lord. His face was red with anger, his muddy brown eyes trained on me with disgust. I shrunk down, my eyes darting quickly back to the floor as I slowly approached the man. The room was dead silent, the low chatter that had previously filled the room now was replaced with tense quiet. I gulped, a cold sweat settling over my entire body, my fingers knotted into my apron. This was exactly what I had feared, but what had I done wrong?
"You," he sneered, the disgust palpable in his voice. "Not only is my food cold it isn't prepared anywhere near to my expectations. Not to mention your appearance, what kind of palace employ servants who look like this?" I felt my cheeks turn red, anger and embarrassment welling up within me as I repeatedly told myself that I would not cry, I refused to shame myself any further. A wave of self-loathing crashed onto me, I was a total screw up, the palace should have never hired me, I was a shame to the kingdom of Corona.
I looked up from the floor, the lord was waiting for some kind of response though I doubted it was from me. He was glaring expectantly at King Frederic and Queen Arianna but they had both been stunned into silence. All of the eyes in the room were fixed upon me and the lord, their expressions either entirely neutral or simply stunned. Would no one help me? I begged for someone, anyone to come to my aid, and then I glanced at his platter that had started this entire fiasco.
"Pardon me, your Lordship," I began, careful to mask my smirk as a kind smile. "But your meal is supposed to be cold, they are a series of traditional cold cut Coronan meet sir, and are a traditional dish of our kingdom which is why they aren't matched to your specifications I expect." The feeling of victory had masked whatever shame had come before it and I continued, "However, I will gladly exchange it for something matching your expectations if you so desire."
I curtsied, turning to leave the hall with his tray, but not before I got a look of his face. All the previous anger had drained from his expression as well as his color as he paled in embarrassment in front of the multitude of guests that had witnessed his tantrum. Heading back to the kitchens, I finally allowed the tension to drain from my shoulders. What kind of self-centered aggrandizing man visited a kingdom without bothering to learn anything about their culture. What kind of lord was this man? Who put so much value into appearances and refused to base himself on anything of true substance? Regardless, I felt proud, I had stood up for myself and my Kingdom and at the end that is what mattered. Somehow, I had survived my first day.
When the day had finally come to a close, and all the servants were dismissed to return to their quarters, I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. I knew my actions of today were sure to have consequences. I was a servant after all, and a servant was certainly not supposed to talk back to foreign lords. Somehow though, I could not find it within myself to be at all sorry. A man like that deserved to feel shame at some point in his life, maybe he'll learn something I thought to myself with a smile.
The journey to my room seemed to drag forever, the hallways stretching impossibly long, opening my door to my room felt better than I could have possibly imagined. Finally, I could rest, gravity pulled me toward the ground with every step as I struggled to keep my body in motion. Sinking onto my bed felt like heaven, and I breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
The day had passed in a blur, and now night had finally settled onto the kingdom of Corona. The forever bustling town was now quiet and sleepy, the streets empty until the next dawn. I had opened my window, and the cool night air blew gently into my room, bringing with it the sharp scent of grass and lavender. Snuggled beneath the blankets in my bedclothes, I longed to slowly drift into sleep. Then something exploded.
The room rattled around me as a cascading boom echoed through the palace. My eyes shot open, and though my body longed for sleep I forced myself to slowly rise from my warm bed and investigate. Whatever was going on, I couldn't have been the only one to hear it and wonder, right? I shivered, the cavernous halls of the palace were utterly dark and empty at this time of the night except for the occasional lone silhouette of a guard. I approached the soldier standing at the end of the passage.
"Excuse me?" I asked, my voice rough even to my ears. "What was that explosion a few moments earlier?" The guard slowly turned to me, the exhaustion and irritation on his face making me take a step back. The guard groaned, dragging a hand across his face as he mumbled something lowly to himself.
"You new here?" he asked. I nodded and he sighed again. "It's just Varian, he's the palace Alchemist. He's constantly experimenting and creating all kinds of noise, you'll get used to it eventually trust me." At this he turned away, clearly expecting this irritating distraction to be over. I pondered this for a moment. A royal alchemist? What did that even mean, and regardless of whatever insanity was considered to be normal around here shouldn't someone be concerned after an explosion?
"Where is this royal alchemist?" I asked the guard and he silently pointed down the adjacent hallway, well it was mostly silent after another sigh. I rolled my eyes if all guards were this melancholy and dull my life at the palace was looking to be more boring than ever.
Goosebumps radiated down my arms, the sharp chill of the corridors making me shiver. The hall was illuminated by only the occasional torch and left mostly to be wreathed in shadow. With every step, I felt as though some unknown enemy lurked just behind, waiting to pounce from the shadows. The soft echo of my footsteps was the only sound now in the empty palace halls. I longed for the familiar presence of the guards, but this hall was strangely empty.
The only people here were me, and the mysterious alchemist. With every passing moment, the decision to investigate seemed more rash and more moronic. Who was I to question this when even the palace guard seemed unconcerned? My breath quickened as I reached the door at the end of the hallway, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my chest.
The door was heavily bolted, reinforced with bands of steel, I reached toward the handle, only to flinch back as glowing lights began to shimmer from behind it. The colors swirled in mysterious patterns, slowly growing in intensity until they hurt to look at. I shielded my eyes from the blinding glow and gripped the handle, wrenching open the heavy door.