The Rowdy Maid And The Rotten Princess

Now I'm certain I have terrible luck.

The mask confining half of my face isn't enough to protect me from the life-threatening stench of literal horse shit. I never expected this task to be so god damn hard, but with every time the shovel touches another layer of animal waste, I am proven so so wrong. Not only is it heavy, but it looks absolutely hideous! And the smell, the smell might as well be used to assassinate people.

I take a break from the shoveling, unwilling to continue facing such a horrendous monstrosity. Dealing with unflushed poo in public restrooms is already gross as it is, but this is just a whole new level of horror. I shiver, but not in a hot sexy way, I am wholeheartedly too disgusted to be sexy right now. I no longer care about legendary warriors that have ended and saved entire empires, the palace servants who've gone through this deserve their own reward ceremonies!

While strolling to leave the lavish horse stables, a voice catches my attention within the place. How strange. With how busy the servants seem to be inside the palace, I wasn't expecting someone else to be in here. The voice in itself sounds bubbly and a bit, snobby, if we have to go into details. There seems to be no other voice responding so this mystery person is either talking to themself or they are a ghost or perhaps even both which gets cooler the more I think about it.

I follow the voice towards the end of the stalls, subconsciously clenching my fist to ready myself to box a ghost. But instead of a floating translucent dead creature, I'm met with a beautiful, young lady. She isn't dressed for horse riding, but still petting a horse nonetheless.

I follow perfectly wavy, dark purple strands of hair from a feminine lower back towards a delicate face until I'm met with glaring golden eyes. The young lady must not have wanted another presence around, made obvious by the scrunch of her eyebrows and the blatant glare she's shooting at me.

"Ah, my lady! I must've interrupted you. I apologize, please continue on and pretend I was never here."

"My lady? Do not belittle me, maid. I am Princess Hera, the Princess of the mighty kingdom Harfush. It is "your highness" to you!"

My mouth forms an immediate 'o' after hearing her words, "I apologize, your highness! My mind is just poisoned by all the horse waste I've been cleaning up is all."

The princess still looks hostile, but her tenseness seems to have calmed in understanding and there's a certain shine of understanding in her eyes. "You have been cleaning horse scat? But why? Shouldn't you be tending to the arriving nobles right now?"

"Ah, her highness is correct, but I've been punished by my superiors for unruly behavior. It's why I'm here in the first place."

"I am surprised they did not just execute you. An unruly servant is as good as a dead one. And moreover, a servant that cannot even handle the smell of feces seems to be a picky one."

My eyes narrow as my lips are sucked into my mouth, trying to comprehend the princess' hurtful straightforwardness. Although there is some truth in her words, it doesn't stand right with me to hear it from her as she obviously sees me as an object rather than an equal.

"I am guessing you're around horse shit a lot, then?" I cover my mouth with both hands immediately after those words left my mouth, too shocked to even care about where they had just been.

"My, you are bold for a measley maid. You're lucky I am too despaired to cause a commotion right now. Your head would've been on the floor by now if I were in my usual mood."

I puff a breath of air. "You sound like my superior."

"Clearly, your superior knows what she is doing."

"Yeah, she really likes to destroy all the existing happiness in my life."

"You'd be surprised to know there are many people in the world who would gladly destroy your happiness." I can no longer reply, shut up by the sheer rudeness of her words, as the princess turns to tend to her horse, rubbing its snout against her hand. The silence is almost as torturous as tending to horse turd, but the elegant look and movements of the princess makes it a bit more bearable.

"..If I may, what made her highness so upset?" I ask to break the silence, testing the waters and honestly, testing how much I get to do until my life is eventually threatened.

"Why is it any of your concern?"

"I don't know. I just want to help, I suppose. I heard being able to release your feelings to someone else usually lightens the burden."

She looks me up and down, suspicious of my intentions. I don't blame her. Not everyone tends to share their true feelings with strangers they've just met. "You? A disorderly, arrogant servant? Help? It seems like you keep forgetting your place."

"Well, my offer still stands regardless of what you think of me."

We stare at each other in silence for a long time, unsure of each other's motives, unsure of each other's next move.

"Very well. We shouldn't talk here maid, maid. This is no place for a princess."