Revenge, Rejection and Regrets

ONE

Zelda

‘I’m tired, ” I said and dropped my hands to my sides in frustration. I think it’s safe to say I regret coming to Auradon now. I haven’t found out anything about these people. Matter of fact, I was an insignificant piece of trash that was not even allowed into the main castle. 

Auradon is heavily guarded and everyone here is so damn loyal. The worse thing is they seemed to be so scared of their king that they wouldn’t even dare mention his name outside. I have been here for almost two weeks now and I haven’t met the king or any of the royals one on one. How was I supposed to gather any information about my fathers death when no one here has as much as said anything ill about their king? Not even the servants.

Servants did hate their superiors as I have known. I got along pretty well with those of lesser class at Atlantis but even though they wouldn’t say anything ill about my family in my presence, I could easily tell we were hated and I always knew that was normal. My mum always told us people were not going to like us because everybody wanted a chance to be like us but they would naturally be jealous because they were not so privileged.

It’s been twelve days already for crying out loud. The King is extremely busy and he’s never in one place. I have been restricted to the smaller houses and the general surroundings to do the cleanings but never had the opportunity to enter the castle. Being a servant really sucks and maybe my sisters were right, it was a foolish idea. I sucked at cleaning and Charlotte has been the one doing all of my chores as well as hers. At least the good part about the fact that we had not entered the castle was that people didn’t notice I was sloppy and bad at these chores but I was becoming desperate.

Getting into Auradon had even been easier than I thought it would, or maybe it was just that I arrived at the right time. Apparently, they had been short on staff and I readily played the role of the unwanted orphan that ran out of the pack because I had been labelled an outcast and nobody wanted me there. 

The chief of staff, Russ, had taken pity on me and provided a space for me and Charlotte. He had been hesitant but after a few crocodile tears, he finally gave in. I think he is a nice man but the other staff  do not think the same

I have gotten friendly with a few people here and I think I am playing my role well. I have learned to do dishes and mop grounds in just a couple of days and believe me when I tell you it is not nice at all. Sometimes, I miss my sweet room and comfortable bed but each time I think of my dad, I convince myself it is totally worth it.

I was originally given a small three-by-six foam that was dipped in the middle but we soon found the store where the mattresses were kept and Charlotte managed to smuggle in a four-by-six that was completely new. It was nothing compared to what I was used to and I had troubles sleeping in my first few days here but I think I’m getting used to it now.

The most humilating part of being a maid is having other maids talk back at you. I didn’t think I had so much self control until now but I’ve made sure to give a few of them a piece of my mind. I may be a maid here but I was not going to take nonsense.

Charlotte was being her usual self trying to calm me down. She was used to these things but she often forgets our role and one time she had mistakenly called me Princess in the washer room but she was quick to cover it up so no one would notice.

She still lays my bed and tends to my own needs within closed doors and frankly speaking, there was no way I would have pulled this whole thing without her help.

“I think I have an idea, ” She suddenly says and I stare at her with one brow raised. She looked left and right to be sure we were not being heard before speaking again “we have to find a way inside the main castle today, ” she lets out.

I sighed and shook my head at her “of course we have to, ” I said in frustration. What? Did that just dawn on her or was she trying to get on my nerves now?

“I mean today, ” She added.

“How are we going to do that?” I asked her.

“You know the future queen is coming today and they are holding a party to welcome her officially to the DiCaprio family?” she asked.

I nodded my head, eager to hear her plan. The arrival of the future queen has been the talk all round Auradon. It was no news that the future alpha and King had been betrothed to Princess Kimberly from Dakarai and they were to be married in a few months. The queen was coming to join her future in-laws and husband to be to create a stronger bond and get to know them for the next couple of months before their wedding. 

As much as I have tried to gather information from the people of Auradon, the only thing I know is that the king has five sons, which is something I already knew before coming here. The five Prince’s of Auradon were highly spoken of all around the country. They were brave in battle but growing up within the walls of Atlantis, I haven’t set eyes on any of them. Not even in the past twelve days that I have been here. 

I have noticed that even the servants here segregate amongst themselves. Those that worked in the main castle looked down on the others like us that worked for the common men and nobles. It was just weird.

“I hear they may be needing lots of hands for the party and we can volunteer for the night. I mean we get to see what the inside really looks like and we get to meet a whole lot of royals and we can go snooping or even make a good impression that would get us a spot in the main castle and boom, we are in, ” she says with a smile on her face.

I fist bump my right hand again my left palm and smiled with her. Why the hell did I not think of that all this while? I know I am a smart ass but right now I have to give it up to Charlotte. She did have a point but what if I go there and flop and someone notices I wasn’t so good at the job or even fires me? 

I knew I didn’t have to worry about anyone recognizing me because I barely left Atlantis and the few times I decided to be stubborn, I disguised myself as a commoner and climbed down the walls. It’s a weird thing for a princess to admit but I miss those adventures.

“I-” I was going to give my doubts and complain when we heard Madame Abigail start to scream. Madame Abigail as she is popularly called is in charge of the daily cleaning and maintaining of Auradon. She is quite old but still unmarried and with no kids. Many times, she had done her job alongside Madam Elizabeth, but she is the main person. Elizabeth just assisted her because Auradon is so large that things like that could not be handled by only one person.

“What are you both doing there gossiping? Have you attended to your chores for the day?” She shouted, marching towards us with both her hands curled into fists like she was going to punch us. 

I really dislike her and putting up with her was one of the hardest part of this place. She was totally hostile and bitter and I totally see why no man would want to have anything to do with her. She was so damn authoritative and she always felt like she was the queen herself.

“We-”

“Yes, ” I answered before Charlotte would say anything contradictory. We had barely finished our chores but I knew Madame Abigail was not going to go over to look. She was still busy with the running around for the party today and besides it was Madame Elizabeth that had assigned chores to us earlier in the day.

She scrunched her nose upwards like she didn’t believe us.

“Yes, we have, ” Charlotte supported.

“Surely there must be other things to do, ” She added looking around. This woman would make us cut grass if she had to, just so we were busy. We had to work for every Penny we earned according to her because Auradon was no charity organization. She reminded us of that every now and then.

“There isn’t much but we could help clean up the castle and provide service for the party tonight if you don’t mind. There is a lot of work to be done and I don’t think there is enough hands to do the job for the night, ” I quickly supplied.

She thought about it for a second and when I thought she was going to refuse, she nodded her head reluctantly. 

I could feel Charlotte looking at me from the corner of her eyes. I was naturally outspoken compared to her.

“That’s not bad. I would have Alonso fix you in. Go get your equipments and meet me at my office in thirty minutes for a pass inside, ” she said and walks away.

I turned to Charlotte who squealed in excitement and hugged me. I had gotten even closer to my maid in the past two weeks. Charlotte was at least four years older than me but she has been my personal maid since I could remember.

“Come on, ” I start to drag her hands so we could go get our cleaning items. I can’t believe we needed a pass to enter the royal castle. I know how much the king and his family were easily guarded and this was a big deal for them to be letting us in. It meant that Madame Abigail had a little trust in us. I was indeed proud of myself.

We gathered our things and got to her office in less than thirty minutes. I was used to coming here because of my regular fallout with the other maids. When they reported me, Madame Abigail had been the one to mostly settle the quarrels which were not always in my favor which is why I was really surprised that she even granted us an opportunity to clean the castle.

She handed us new uniforms. The servants in the castle wore uniforms unlike us so we were to join in the cleaning and setting up, then take a bath and change into our clean uniforms to serve during the party. It was weird that I thought this to be an achievement, an opportunity to work in the royal castle of Auradon and meet the DiCaprio’s. I hoped I would be able to keep my emotions in when I face the man that was responsible for my fathers death. The mere thought of it already had me boiling with rage.

Madam Abigail gave us passes bearing our names that we could only use to enter the rather large castle and she had to make a few calls to Alonso to allow us in. Alonso is the head of security in Auradon. Things here were very much different from how it was in Atlantis. Compared to Auradon, I’m not even sure Atlantis should be considered a kingdom.

Madame Abigail got us a shuttle to take us to the castle alongside two other maids. Very soon the DiCaprio’s would pay.