The Aftermath

Needless to say, I got close to no sleep that night. When the morning came, I was more than reluctant to get up when there was a knock on the door from an attendant that was supposed to update us on the current situation. Apparently, the King had ordered for the Queen candidate ball to be put on hold until the resulting chaos had been solved and cleaned up. Until then, the participants would be treated as guests and could do as they wished. They granted us permission to freely explore the castle and all of its gardens for the time being. In addition to that, each candidate was assigned an escort to accompany them where ever they go. I was more than glad to find Sir Justin assigned to be mine.

"It'll be and honor to serve you Lady Eleana," he said.

"The honor is mine, Sir Justin. And please just call me Eleana. You know that I'm just a commoner."

"Hardly. You're the most noble woman I know."

"That's an insult to real nobles, y'know."

We both laughed. I had Justin escort me around the Palace for the majority of the week, Sophia accompanying me more often than not. I was in the East garden, my new found favorite, when a servant had come and informed me that the King had requested my presence. The servant led us to the throne room and I was presented before His Majesty.

I curtsied deeply, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

"Rise," He said. I stood up and looked to him. He was seated on his throne wearing nicer attire than usual. I was wearing a more simple, light pink dress previously prepared by the staff. The room was filled with what looked to be political advisors, nobles, and government officials.

"Miss Eleana Allenvere," he said, "I've asked you to be here today to discuss your reward for saving my life during the rebel's attack."

"My reward?" I questioned.

"Yes, for your bravery and for your loyalty to the crown, I will be granting you a noble title as a baroness and land in the south east of the kingdom."

What? No, no, no.

"Your Majesty, I simply did my job as your subject. I don't deserve such a graciou-"

"Are you suggesting that saving my life, a life of a royal, wasn't significant?" He asked.

"No, of course not, Your Majesty."

"Then you'll accept it."

I paused trying to think of some way to get out of this.

"May I suggest a different reward instead, Your Majesty?"

"How dare-" The prime minister interjected but was stopped by the king.

"Are you saying this isn't enough?" The king asked.

"No, Your Majesty, but I believe I have one that might be more fitting and beneficial for the both of us," I explained. The King seemed to think for a moment.

"Go ahead. However, if I don't think the same, you will accept the reward I have already prepared for you."

"Yes, Your Majesty. I humbly request to be excused from the ball and to become a palace maid for the Silver Palace," I stated. Whispers flooded the room as people conversed, surprised at my suggestion. The king had a slight frown, obviously unhappy that I would take advantage of the situation. After all, the surrounding nobles would be more than happy to know that a commoner won't be joining their ranks and soiling it.

"And why do you wish for such a thing?"

"Should the King not find his bride, I would be exempt from the execution. I have saved your life, Your Majesty, and you would be saving mine. As for being a maid... Nothing would give me more honor than to be able to serve His Majesty by being apart of the royal staff," I explained, smiling at the end, knowing I would get my way. The King stayed silent.

Eventually, he gave a slightly defeated look on his face and said, "Fine, as you wish. You will no longer be a participant in the ball and given the position as a Silver Palace Maid. I wish you luck on your endeavors."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I'm truly grateful for your generosity," I said curtsying once again.

"You may leave. You will start tomorrow," he stated.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," I said once again. I left the throne room and smiled the whole way back to my room.

"Are you really that happy about it, Eleana?" Sophia asked.

"Of course I am. I don't have to worry about being executed anymore," I exclaimed.

"Well, yeah. But you didn't even accept the noble title he was going to give you. Are you sure you just wanna be a maid?" She asked.

"Being a maid is much more suited to me than any sort of noble title," I stated.

"Lady Eleana, I agree with-"

"Uh-uh-uh," I corrected, "Just Eleana. I'm a maid now, which is a position well below yours, Sir Justin," I said grinning widely.

"Lady Eleana, I agree with Lady Sofia. You should've chosen to accept his majesty's offer. It doesn't make sense to choose to be a maid."

I pouted as his peristance, but decided to dismiss it.

"Being a maid isn't that bad y'know. You should apologize to all the maids that you're disrespecting right now," I said.

"It's different when you are a commoner becoming a maid," Sophia said.

"I know. You guys worry too much. As a commoner, I'm much more used to having to do the hard work versus letting someone else do it for me. Do you know how weird it feels to come back to your room magically clean, not having made the bed yourself? I just about died of a heart attack when someone tried to tend to me while I was in the bath," I said reminiscing unpleasant memories.

Sophia's worried expression lingered, but she didn't press any further. We made it to our room and Sir Justin stood outside as Sophia got ready for bed. We stayed up, trying to enjoy our last night together.

"It's sad, thinking that I won't see you," she said.

"Who knows? Maybe you'll become a maid too during the next test. Plus, no one said anything against us sending letters," I encouraged. She smiled softly, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Do you think that you'll become an attendant? Maybe if I get in gold, you could become my attendant," She said.

"Probably not. Those positions are meant for the higher class maids with more experience. I'll probably be put as a laundry maid or a kitchen maid," I said.

"I know I keep asking, but are you sure that's what you want?" She questioned softly.

"That's exactly what I want. The lowest maids aren't treated the best, but they don't have to meet any nobility," I said.

"...Why do you hate nobility so much?"

"I don't hate them," I said, "I'm friends with you, aren't I?"

She nodded.

"I just.... don't see myself as a noble. I've been a commoner my entire life. This whole time, nobles have been this far away existence that I wasn't going to see as long as I stayed out of trouble. I'm just trying to stay where I'm supposed to be-what feels normal to me," I said.

I feel like I shouldn't even be here in the first place.

Sophia stayed silent not know what to say.

"It's okay Sophia. We're still gonna be friends no matter what status I have. If you become queen, that would be even better," I said.

"You're right," she replied. "Promise to send me a lot of letters."

"Ok, I will. I'm sure I'll have plenty of maid gossip to tell you about anyway," I chuckled. With that we both went to bed, blowing out the candles and sleeping.