Aurora POV
"What are you doing?" Madam Iwin is asking me for about the fifth time today. I never could have thought that setting dishes can be this tasking. Why should there be an exact spot on the saucer where the teacup should be kept, and if there is, why isn't it in the middle, which makes more sense? How many kinds of plates must be used in one meal? I have come to the conclusion that nobles and royals have too much time on their hands, which they certainly do because they have no work. They sit around reading, talking, drinking, eating, or organizing balls that last for hours or buying beautiful clothes.Madam Iwin is different from yesterday; yesterday, she seemed like a nice lady, handing me my uniform and giving me a lecture about the history of the palace as she served me fruit juice and mini baked pies. Now she has transformed into a complete authoritarian.I move a silver fork to the front of the rounded white bowl on the tray, and she whips my hand lightly. All I want to do is cry. My shoulder is stiff from standing too long, and my leg feels weak against the ground. But it isn't in my spirit to give up easily. I shift the fork to the middle of the other fork, which brings a smile to her face, so I guess I'm right. I beam at myself."What is the name of the fork?" she asks me sternly."Dessert fork?" I reply as if asking a question."Are you asking me?" She asks, her left eyebrow arched slightly."No, madam. It is the dessert fork," I say, trying to sound as convincing as I can."You're correct," she says as she walks closer to me. "You need to learn to be confident in yourself, Aurora. If you're not confident in yourself, no one will do it for you. And in this palace, you won't survive if you aren't confident."I bow my head to her. I've heard a lot of that advice in different ways all through my life, mainly from Mina and my mother. Mother once said, "Rora, you are so lovable, and you'll attract a lot of love in your lifetime, but you need to be confident. If you're not confident, you will lose a lot of love.""Arrange the dishes again," she instructs.This time I try to do it with confidence, trusting that I remember exactly how. I move the bigger bowls to the middle and the smaller plates to the sides, placing the different forks and spoons in between. I look at everything I have arranged, and it looks pretty good to me."I am done, madam.""Are you sure?" She asksI looked at her discouraged, suddenly doubting if I got it all right. I remember everything she just said, so I raise my head and smile despite my doubt. "Yes, I'm sure," I reply. She smiles back at me kindly and says, "You're right."She walks towards a desk in the room, opens a drawer, and brings a thick book to me. "This is everything you need. We won't have any class tomorrow." A knock interrupts her speech. She walks over to the door and opens it."Goodday, madam," says a dark-skinned girl with a curvy body wearing a uniform like mine. "There's a letter for you from the king." She gives it to her and leaves the room. Madam Iwin breaks the seal on the letter's envelope. Her eyes move quickly across the paper."Seems like you will be working pretty soon. The princess from a northern kingdom is coming to visit our king in a week. You will be part of the entourage serving her," she announces enthusiastically.I smile at her, but inside I'm screaming at the idea of meeting a princess. The Princess would definitely be a demigoddess; how can I possibly serve a demigoddess?***I walk into my new room, still in complete awe of it all, and I see Soka, my roommate, hunched over a basin of water. She doesn't turn around, but she calls out to me, "Aurora, that must be you, right?" I walk closer and find the water in the basin to be a pale red."Are you bleeding?" I ask."Yes," she replies angrily.I bent down to assist her, taking her hand out of the water. It is a fairly deep cut, but not deep enough to need much treatment."That rude, noble boy. On the gods I wish his death.""Hush," I instinctively say to her. The idea of wishing a noble dead sounds completely blasphemous to my ears; nobles are nobles by birth, hence they are ordained by the gods."Don't hush me," she snapped. From the little time I've spent with Soka, I've realized she has a lot in common with Mina; they do not know how to bite their tongues. Soka is beautiful and has the confidence that goes with it. Her maid uniform hangs at every curve, from her full burst to her impossibly tiny waist to her rounded hips. Her pitch-dark hair and eyes are a heavy contrast to her almost pale skin."He threw a cup at me. Who throws a cup at someone?" She asks as if I'm expected to answer; I give her a shrug and continue cleaning her wound."The worst part of the whole thing is him acting like I do not know how to do my job. He said I did not put the correct amount of ginger in his tea. Does he know how many times I've made ginger tea in my life?"I dab a little alcohol on her wound; she doesn't wince or show any sign of pain; she just keeps talking, almost like her need to talk transcends any feeling of pain."I told him the ginger tea has the exact amount of ginger a ginger tea is supposed to have. Then he asks if I'm saying he is wrong. So I told him to try making the tea himself next time he needs one, and that's when he threw the cup at me."I stare at her in shock. "I know right, who throws a cup at someone?" she says, mistaking the reason for my shock. Telling a nobleman to make his tea himself is completely crazy, and I wonder if she has a death wish. Even outside the palace, no one dares talk back to a noble, even if the noble is only human. Nobles, especially human nobles, are notorious for being cruel and unforgiving. People have lost lands, houses, and children because they had a bad relationship with a noble. I tied a clean white cotton cloth around her wound."Thank you," she says. "Enough of me, how was your first day?""It was okay," I say. "Madame Iwin is a little bit intense, though.""That's just a front, she's actually one of the kindest people you'll meet in the palace"I suspected that already; my encounter with her made me feel like she was simply acting to have that air of authority, but she is definitely kind. There is certainly something about her energy that draws you in and makes you adore her."Do you want to know something?" Soka asks"Sure""She's a fairy," she says with her eyes wide."A fairy?" I say mostly to myself, "I've finally met a fairy." My mother always talked about fairies; fairies are messengers of the gods. Sometimes, when two people are meant to be together, a fairy is sent by the gods to make sure they get together. Fairies are the planters of dreams for humans and demigods. They are, in a lot of ways, magical. I can't really say I know much about them; all I know is what I have heard."What is that?" Soka asks as she points to the book on my bed. I pick it up and hand it to hereligious."Madame Iwin gave it to me. She said it was everything I need."She opens it, examining it, "she gave you this? This is her handbook; she never gives anyone this," she says, confused."She probably gave it to me so I could learn fast. She said a princess is coming, and she wants me to serve her."Soka's eyes widen in surprise, making me feel a little self-conscious."She wants you to serve the princess?" she asks, putting emphasis on "you.""Yes," I reply slowly, "what?" I ask curiously."Nothing. It's kind of strange because you're new. Serving the princess is kind of a big deal. The princess is coming on a supposed courtship visit to the king, which means she might be our next queen. A lot of palace maidens want that spot."I am not sure how I'm supposed to feel about this. It feels like an undeserved promotion, like I gained some kind of favor and pushed everyone else that might have deserved it better behind me. Still, I feel excited and covertly proud that she will entrust me with such an opportunity."I'm hungry. Let's go eat," Soka says as she grabs my arms. Yesterday she brought my dinner to the room; it was such a kind gesture. I had already missed the maidens dinner time by far, and I was ready to skip because there was no way I was going to eat dinner all by myself there. The dinner I ate was the best meal I had ever had in my life. Today, my mouth waters, wondering what exactly it's going to be.We walk into the dining hall; it is quite huge, like most rooms I've seen so far in the palace. It has low tables with mats placed around the tables. In the middle of the table are different foods in deep bowls, and by the sides are piles of empty plates and utensils. A petite-looking girl with mild chocolate skin waves at us from a table. Soka grabs my hands, leading me towards the table.Soka introduces me to the girl at the table. Her name is Niola, and she works in the kitchens as an assistant cook. Soka begins to narrate her incident with the noble. Her voice becomes background noise to me as I examine all the food. Rice, vegetables, meat, and fruits At home, all the food on this table would be managed by my father and I for 2 weeks. I can't believe it's here to be eaten by three people in one sitting.I pick up an empty plate and a spoon, filling it with a little bit of everything. I'm eating and savoring flavors I have never tasted before. "Slow down," I hear Soka say. Suddenly, I am embarrassed.Niola giggles lightly, "Don't be embarrassed, I did the same thing when I first got here."Zao POVThe sunlight that spills into the garden through the stretching, huge trees is almost blinding; the flowers glow vividly in its shine. Birds whistle softly in their usual manner, flying high between trees, and hummingbirds sucking on flower nectar. I walk towards my favorite tree, the royal poinciana, and there is a woman standing underneath, her back turned to me. She is wearing a floor-length dress the same deep orange-red color as the tree. Her long, thick hair sways gently in the breeze. I continue walking towards her, and when I get closer, she turns her face to me, the sunlight casting a glow on her caramel skin. Princess Deze. Another wonderful dream from Father I raise my hands. "I'm already doing it, you can actually stop now" I say to the heavens. Father have been sending fairies to plant dreams about Princess Deze for months now. Stubbornly I held out for months now deceiving myself that I can refuse his will but right now I will do anything to stop having these dr
In spite of my resolve, I smiled to myself in my bed thinking about him; he is without any doubt the most beautiful man I have ever seen in my life, and just the thought of him gives me flutters in my belly.***Soka braided my hair in the palace maiden style. She rubbed in shea butter and argan oil all the way to my scalp. Her hold was tight on my scalp, making me wince whenever she combed. "Be still. Don't you want to be pretty?" she asked. The palace is filled with the most gorgeous people I have ever seen in my life. I'm confident enough to know I don't look bad, but being in the palace gives me a sort of insecurity about my looks. Being chosen to be a server to a royal should be one of the greatest compliments to my looks. In our kingdom, beauty is everything to females; mostly, beauty is everything we have. If I wasn't plensant to the eyes Madam Iwin would probably have made me one of the cleaners of the latrines or send me to work on the farms. It is known that the king usua
I watch the palace workers move around my palace in disarray as they prepare for the coming of Princess Deze. They carry different items, from lockers to flower vases and paintings for the princess chambers. Frankly I would have preferred the Princess to stay else where and not in my personal palace. If I had done that, it would have created issues with the nobles about keeping to tradition. Tradition demands that Princess Deze stays with me for at least 40 days before any marriage preparation can begin. During these 40 days I'm supposed to court her and make sure she gets accustomed to the palace and the unique ways of our kingdom. This would all be easier if Princess Deze takes this marriage as politically as I do. Something tells me that she might have romantic ambitions considering she is so young. She is just in her 20th year, at that year all females are obsessed with the idea of first love. A palace worker stubbles into me dropping a plain black flower vase, it falls wit
Zao POV I'm trying to concentrate on what Minister Kibi is telling me while simultaneously pondering the fact that I stole his name. I looked into the eyes of the most alluring woman I have ever met and told her my name is Kibi. Right now, it seems quite amusing to me. I wonder how he would react if he knew.I force myself to concentrate on his words, leaning further towards him.Minister Kibi explains his plan to expand palace positions to everybody, including pensants. He is quite an idealistic young man, but at his prime age, he isn't really.At his age, I was rebellious simply for the sake of rebelling. I wanted nothing that my father wanted for me simply because he wanted it for me. I wanted to create my own part and my own destiny.Looking at him, I feel a sort of connection as he speaks about his plans, hopefully. It is a dangerous goal he has. None of the other nobles will want it. But time changes things, and I'm honestly tired
Today is the day the princess arrives at the palace, and I don't know how exactly I feel about it. On one part, I'm excited about meeting a demigoddess and serving her; on the other, I'm scared about meeting a demigoddess and serving her. What if she is completely cruel and discriminating? Also, I have been able to escape seeing the King for days now, but once she comes, it becomes inevitable. My entire life will be in the king's palace, following her even when she has meetings with the king.I took extra time getting ready today, making sure I looked my best in my uniform. The dark shade of green does not look bad on my dark skin tone at all. In fact, it makes my complexion pop. I put berry scent behind my ears and coconut oil in my hair. I practice my smile in the mirror until the corners of my lips start to feel like cracking mold. 'The welcoming, accepting smile," as Madam Iwin calls it, is supposedly my best assertion in my work.I had read every text I could
_Present day_Sira walked through the deserted street, her hands crossed beneath her chest as the sea's breeze wisped through her hair, her dark skin glistening with silver hues under the full moon. The sea crashed against the barricade in lumpy shadows that spilled against the bare floor. She walked faster, putting one leg in front of the other as if in a speed walking competition, looking ahead as she concentrated on the street light that seemed only a few feet away. It was mesmerizing to her how it seemed like the distance between her and the street light never changed, almost like she walked but still remained on the exact same spot. Confused, she scanned the area, looking toward the sea as it crashed and spilled. Her thoughts swam around her head, making her agitated but not afraid. She looked at the street light scrutinizingly, trying to judge the distance for about the 9th time, looking back at the tree she never passed but that seemed to have always been there, wavi
The young woman sat at a table by herself by the wall in her favorite study hall. Her deep brown braids were packed up in a messy bun, with a pencil serving as a hold for it.This was her favorite hall because people in this hall strictly came here to read, and the hall overlooked the green outside, where many read under trees or came to gist on the grass and have a quick break from classes.Unfortunately, if Sira were to look through the wall-like windows, there was little commotion outside; everybody was either in their dorms reading more or in exam halls. The few who came for short breaks looked too stressed to enjoy their sandwich and barely had time to get their gist as they were going over what they felt they had read but felt like they would forget somehow. Unlike most days, Sira didn't pay attention to the other students. Her full attention was focused on her computer, which she used to scheme yet another document for her economics course. She was
As usual, the summer sun was without filters and shone proudly, demanding the attention of the residents of the island. Not a cloud dared to mar the bright blue expanse of sky above. Students walked around the school in flip flops and tank tops, their excitement palpable in their friendship groups as they planned for the summer holiday. The school was awash in a riot of colors: the vibrant purples, oranges, and reds of the blooming flowers set against the verdant green of the leaves."It will be so fun, guys," Talia said as she bubbled with excitement while adjusting her designer sunglasses with golden frames. Talia's family is properly rich as her father owns one of the biggest hotels on the island. Her family beach house, just a few kilometers away from the hotel, will be empty that summer as her parents were vacationing in Paris for the whole season, leaving Talia with free reign over their sprawling beach house just a few miles away from the hotel. Even after 25 y